Tillamook Air Museum

I Believe This is a Grumman Duck Getting Ready to Fly

Saturday, July 10, Tillamook Air Museum, OR, - 96.1 Miles Today, 9,987.6 For the Trip

I stopped today at the Tillamook Air Museum, a building I have passed by too many times on past trips. There always seemed to be a reason not to stop, but not today! The museum is housed in a World War II Blimp hanger, one of two that were built in Tillamook (Hanger "A" burned down in 1992). The hanger is 1072' long, 192' high, 296' wide, and covered with a forest's worth of local wood. It was large enough to hold 9 blimps.

While the museum doesn't have as many airplanes as the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, the difference is most of these still fly. While I was there they hauled a number of them out of the hanger & flew them away. It is a treat to listen to the unmufllered rotary & V12 engines! On the drive up US 101 I saw a couple of them flying overhead.

I didn't name them all, but those that had a nearby sign are identified. One of my favorites is the P47 Thunderbolt - I read what I believe was Bob Johnson's book "Thunderbolt!" as a child & immediately started saving to buy & build a model of the airplane. It started me on the hobby of building & flying model airplanes that lasted through college.  Lots of photos at today's LakeshoreImages post.

After the Air Museum I continued up US 101 with a brief stop at Cannon Beach. I couldn't park to get a good photo of Haystack Rock - a pet peeve of mine is finding a car parked in the middle of the few double length parking spots set aside for RVs. There was no place to park...


I'm in site 1A at Bud's Campground Grocery in Gearhart, OR. I took a short drive past Fort Stevens State Park; as expected, the campground was full. The plan is to head along the Columbia River on US 30 looking for waterfalls. Eventually, I'll start heading north to visit Chilliwack & get the refrigerator fixed. It will be nice to have gas operation back.

Dinner tonight was at the Chinese Restaurant next to the campground. My first disappointment at a Chinese Restaurant - I'm not sure if it is just a difference because I'm on the west coast or if it was the restaurant, but neither the orange chicken, the pork fried rice or the crab pots were as good as back in Oswego.