Pictures of the Week 2008-33
Hello All,
After taking a day off to do mundane things like paying bills and doing laundry we were anxious to continue our adventures on the Oregon coast. We decided to drive north to the town of Tillamook. One of the first things we noticed in the countryside around Tillamook is the many dairy farms--but more on that later. Our destination was the Tillamook Air Museum. The Air Museum is housed in a huge old military hangar known as Hangar “B.”
In 1942, the U.S. Navy began construction of 17 wooden hangars around the U.S. coastlines to house the K-class blimps being used for antisubmarine coast patrol and convoy escort. Two of these hangars were built at Naval Air Station Tillamook. They were commissioned in December 1942 and served the Oregon-Washington coastal area.
Construction of the two hangars was rushed to completion. Hangar “B” was the first one built and was completed in the spring of 1943. Hangar “A” (which was destroyed in a 1992 fire) was completed in only 30 days! Amazingly, there were no serious injuries or deaths on the whole project.
After taking a day off to do mundane things like paying bills and doing laundry we were anxious to continue our adventures on the Oregon coast. We decided to drive north to the town of Tillamook. One of the first things we noticed in the countryside around Tillamook is the many dairy farms--but more on that later. Our destination was the Tillamook Air Museum. The Air Museum is housed in a huge old military hangar known as Hangar “B.”
In 1942, the U.S. Navy began construction of 17 wooden hangars around the U.S. coastlines to house the K-class blimps being used for antisubmarine coast patrol and convoy escort. Two of these hangars were built at Naval Air Station Tillamook. They were commissioned in December 1942 and served the Oregon-Washington coastal area.
Construction of the two hangars was rushed to completion. Hangar “B” was the first one built and was completed in the spring of 1943. Hangar “A” (which was destroyed in a 1992 fire) was completed in only 30 days! Amazingly, there were no serious injuries or deaths on the whole project.
Here are a few facts about the
hangars:
Length…….. 1,072 feet
Height…….. 192 feet (over 15 stories)
Width……… 296 feet
Area……….. Over 7 acres (enough to play 6 football games) Each hangar held 8 K-class blimps.
Doors……… 129 feet high, 6 sections each weighing 30 tons, on railroad tracks, 220-foot wide opening.
Stationed at NAS Tillamook was Squadron ZP-33 with a complement of 8 K-ships. The K-ships were 251 feet long and filled with 425,000 cu. ft. of helium. With a range of 2,000 miles and an ability to stay aloft for 3 days, they were well suited for coast patrol and convoy escort. Naval Air Station Tillamook was decommissioned in 1948. Since 1994, Hangar “B” has been home to one of the finest collections of privately owned World War II flying aircraft in the nation.
Length…….. 1,072 feet
Height…….. 192 feet (over 15 stories)
Width……… 296 feet
Area……….. Over 7 acres (enough to play 6 football games) Each hangar held 8 K-class blimps.
Doors……… 129 feet high, 6 sections each weighing 30 tons, on railroad tracks, 220-foot wide opening.
Stationed at NAS Tillamook was Squadron ZP-33 with a complement of 8 K-ships. The K-ships were 251 feet long and filled with 425,000 cu. ft. of helium. With a range of 2,000 miles and an ability to stay aloft for 3 days, they were well suited for coast patrol and convoy escort. Naval Air Station Tillamook was decommissioned in 1948. Since 1994, Hangar “B” has been home to one of the finest collections of privately owned World War II flying aircraft in the nation.
We spent many hours checking
out the various aircraft, most of which are flyable. Finally, we were pooped and needed nourishment.
Remember us mentioning all the dairy farms?
Well, our next stop was the Tillamook County Creamery Association where
they turn the milk from all those cows into some of the finest cheeses in the
world. But, before stocking up our
cheese supply we had to partake in some of their famous premium ice cream. It was fantastic!!
Our next adventure took us north again to the
little town of Garibaldi for a ride on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. The 1 ½ hour journey from Garibaldi follows
along Tillamook Bay to the small town of Rockaway Beach and return. Pulling the
cars is the Curtiss Lumber Company #2, geared logging locomotive.
Geared locomotives were built for use on the
logging railroad’s steep rickety track. Heisler Locomotive Works built the
locomotive in 1910 for the Curtiss Lumber Co. in Mill City, OR. It spent its entire logging career in Mill
City. This engine was originally built as a wood burner, but in the 1930’s was
converted to oil. The 60-ton locomotive
was retired from logging service in 1957.
Departing Garibaldi we passed a working lumber
mill with a huge supply of logs stacked awaiting processing. Many times mills will place sprinkler systems
on top of the log piles to ensure they don’t dry out.
We then started seeing
Tillamook Bay. It is a scenic area,
although the low coastal clouds were taking their time burning off. One of the first things to come into view was
a pier used for crabbing and fishing. On
the end of the pier is a historic Coast Guard building. Their boats would be launched from the ramp
out of the back of the building--an
interesting concept.
Numerous large rock formations
in the bay were passed, along with ponds covered with lilies. Foxglove, fireweed, and daisies were in bloom
along the tracks which just added to the already scenic ride. The railroad and US-101 both follow Tillamook
Bay for a good portion of the trip. People sitting on their decks waved at us
and passing cars would honk and wave.
Even loaded log trucks would blow their air horns. Everyone in the area seemed to really enjoy
having the train passing through their communities and for sure we had a great
time.
The next day we took off--well sort of!! We stayed home and washed and waxed the truck and the fifth wheel in preparation for an early morning departure. After a much needed nights rest we hooked the rig up and headed north on US-101 towards Washington state.
We thought we were done sightseeing in Oregon. However, just south of Astoria we spotted a sign advertising the Lewis & Clark National and State Historic Park at the next turnoff. Since one of us was in dire need of public facilities we said “let’s do it.” So we took the next turnoff and wound around hither and foe for the next 30 minutes getting to the park. By this time it was almost an emergency situation for one of us!!
Once business was taken care of we started exploring America’s newest national park. The park rings the mouth of the Columbia River and stretches some 40 miles along the rugged Pacific coast. The Chinook and Clatsop Indians have made this region their home for thousands of years. More recently, during the winter of 1805-06, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery visited here at the end of their 4,000 mile trek across the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. The park consists of 12 individual areas that mark the success of key parts of the Corps of Discovery mission. We were at the Fort Clatsop area of the park.
Fort Clatsop was built on the banks of the Netul River (now called the Lewis & Clark River) and was the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. Lewis & Clark continuously kept hunting parties in the field gathering food. They also made salt and traded with the Indians. One side of the fort burned in recent years and the other side was gutted. This is a replica built on the original footprint. We found the fort to be interesting and quite spartan. However, it was quite well done considering the short time in which they had to erected it. The one thing we just couldn’t figure out was why they sloped the roofs inward. It can rain steady for days in this part of the country.
The next day we took off--well sort of!! We stayed home and washed and waxed the truck and the fifth wheel in preparation for an early morning departure. After a much needed nights rest we hooked the rig up and headed north on US-101 towards Washington state.
We thought we were done sightseeing in Oregon. However, just south of Astoria we spotted a sign advertising the Lewis & Clark National and State Historic Park at the next turnoff. Since one of us was in dire need of public facilities we said “let’s do it.” So we took the next turnoff and wound around hither and foe for the next 30 minutes getting to the park. By this time it was almost an emergency situation for one of us!!
Once business was taken care of we started exploring America’s newest national park. The park rings the mouth of the Columbia River and stretches some 40 miles along the rugged Pacific coast. The Chinook and Clatsop Indians have made this region their home for thousands of years. More recently, during the winter of 1805-06, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery visited here at the end of their 4,000 mile trek across the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. The park consists of 12 individual areas that mark the success of key parts of the Corps of Discovery mission. We were at the Fort Clatsop area of the park.
Fort Clatsop was built on the banks of the Netul River (now called the Lewis & Clark River) and was the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. Lewis & Clark continuously kept hunting parties in the field gathering food. They also made salt and traded with the Indians. One side of the fort burned in recent years and the other side was gutted. This is a replica built on the original footprint. We found the fort to be interesting and quite spartan. However, it was quite well done considering the short time in which they had to erected it. The one thing we just couldn’t figure out was why they sloped the roofs inward. It can rain steady for days in this part of the country.
After exploring for a few
hours we continued our journey north into Washington. For those that have never visited the Oregon
coast, we highly recommend it. You could
spend a month exploring it and barely scratch the surface.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns