A BIG BUILDING, AIRCRAFT, & TRAINS

After another great breakfast, prepared by Betty Simon, we carpooled to the Tillamook Air Museum, located at the site of a WWII Blimp Naval Facility.  At the beginning of the war, the threat of enemy submarines off our respective coasts was a real threat.  At the time, one of the best ways to counter that threat, was coastal patrols by airships.  17 of these very large wooden blimp hanger buildings were constructed on the east, gulf, and west coasts.  The Tillamook facility originally had two large hangers but one burned to the ground in 1992.  All 17 were built exactly the same, with dimensions approx. 1,000 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 180 feet high.  It's worth the price of admission just to marvel at the inside of one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.

We spent a couple of hours checking out the aircraft, both inside, and outside of the building.  In addition to the collection of about 30 planes, there are videos, and other WWII era displays, including a theater movie about the history of Tillamook Naval Air Station.  As with most museums, there's also a gift shop, and a small restaurant.  We learned that sometime in the next few years, this museum is moving to the Central Oregon town of Madras.  The reason given is because that areas climate and weather is not as damaging (corrosion), and is better suited for the flying of the vintage aircraft.

 P-38 Lightning.

 B-17 Flying Fortress.

 P-51 Mustang.

After leaving the museum, we had another great meal at the Fish Peddler Restaurant in Bay City.  A few of our fellow Golden Spikers joined us, and we're still of the opinion that the food at this establishment is simply outstanding!

At 6:30, our dinner train pulled out of the Garibaldi station, with 26 Golden Spikers on board.  Pulled by a vintage diesel locomotive, in a little over 3 hours, we traveled north to Wheeler, and back to Garibaldi.  I didn't have high expectations for the meal, but my 4 course prime rib dinner was pretty darn good.  Patty, Nancy, and Bob each had salmon dinners.

 Bob & Dottie Poole were the organizers of this rally, and did a super great job!

 Kurt Simon is our chapter president, and he and his wife Betty assisted the Poole's, in putting on a great Golden Spike Rally.

Our pal Nancy, and Bob Tucker were our table mates on the dinner train.

Today, we've moving back to the Tillamook Elks for just one day, before we head over to the Pacific City Thousand Trails RV Park.  We'll be in the Tillamook area for about another week, before we spend a couple of weeks on the Washington Coast, near Ocean Shores, then Long Beach.

Old Mill RV Park - $30  Cumulative   $1,706.92