Kickstand up for Tillamook Day 5

Day 5 September 12, 2007

The day dawns and it is a nice one. It turns out the motel I am staying at is right on highway 99 so all I have to do is gas up and head south. After 4 days of twisty roads it feels kind of nice to be cruising along on some straight roads through beautiful farm and orchard country. I pass through several nice towns and then I see the turn off for the Evergreen Aviation Museum.
This is a huge building that houses the "Spruce Goose" and a large number of other aircraft, mostly military. The official name of the aircraft was the Hughes flying Boat or Hughes H-4. It was built entirely out of wood and it was intended to be used as a transport for military supplies that was safe from enemy submarines. The plane was built out of wood because it was considered a material that was not essential to the war effort. The plane was not finished at the end of the war and the congress ended funding for it before it was finished claiming that it was just a big rip-off by Howard Hughes and it would never have flown anyway. The press named it "The Spruce Goose" a name the Mr. Hughes hated. Howard Hughes spent 7 million of his own dollars to finish the plane and on November 2 1947 with Howard Hughes at the controls the H-4 was doing taxi testing in Long Beach Harbor when he accelerated the plane and took off and flew about 70 feet off of the water. After landing he put his plane away and there it stayed , perfectly maintained until he died in 1976. Now it is here in McMinnville for all to see.





























The plane is so big that it is hard to get a picture of it that really shows it well. In addition to the the H-4 there are many other interesting aircraft on display, all beautifully restored to factory new condition. Here are a few more pictures.




























This is really a great museum and on the same caliber as the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. For anyone who is interested in aircraft I would highly recommend it. In addition to the museum there is also an Imax theater there and under construction is a new building that will hold space related exhibits. I spent several hours there then I mounted up and continued down the road towards Eugene. I really enjoyed the ride down the Willamette Valley on highway 99. I got on the freeway at Eugene and it was a little tense. The with the traffic, aggressive drivers and trucks made me think I was back in the Bay Area or L.A. again. I made it to the highway 58 junction and there I left I-5 and headed east through the Willamette Valley towards Willamette Pass. I decided to stop for the night in a really nice little town called Oakridge. Here is a picture of the little motel where I stayed.
After settling in I look for a place to get a bite to eat then back to my room for a good nights sleep.

168 miles.

Kickstand up for Tillamook Day 4

Day 4 September 11, 2007.

Another cool foggy morning. I head north on highway 101. Between fog banks I see some nice places to stop and take some more pictures of the coast.






























Lots of heavy forest lining both sides of road now and with the foggy weather it makes the roads wet and a bit slippery. I am being very conservative in my riding, I really don't want a close encounter with Mr. Pavement today. Another concern as I ride are deer and even worse elk on the road. Lucky for me I don't have any problems. I notice along the way a closed truck scale and as I pull through it displays the weight on my bike with me on it. 850 pounds! No wonder my bike feels like it weighs 1/2 of a ton, it almost does! The road goes a bit inland after Lincoln City and the country changes from seascape to dairy farmland. Very beautiful and I suspect that the cows here are just as happy as the ones in California.












I finally make it to the Tillamook Airbase.
The air museum is located in a blimp hanger. Blimps were used to protect the United States from enemy submarines during World War II. The base at Tillamook was one of 14 constructed across the country at the beginning of the war. They were built on the west coast, the gulf coast and the east coast. This hanger was one of two built at Tillamook. The other hanger was at the right of the air museum. Unfortunately someone decided it would be a good idea to store hay in the hanger in the 1990's. It caught on fire and quickly destroyed the wooden hanger. Now there is only one hanger left.


This building is so big that it could hold five blimps inside of it at the same time.






















Inside are some interesting aircraft to see and also some other interesting displays. Outside of the hanger is the plane that I came to see, the Mini Guppy.

The original Pregnant Guppy was built to transport rocket components from their manufacturers to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The only other option for transporting these oversize components would have been a 3 month barge trip from California to Florida. They took a C-97 Air force transport plane and added an oversize fuselage to accommodate the cargo. The Pregnant Guppy and the much larger Super Guppy were a big part of this nations quest to put men on the moon before 1970. Next came the Mini Guppies. Two were built in the hopes that air transport of oversize cargo would be a commercially viable business for AeroSpacelines, the builder and owner of the the Guppies. The tail of the aircraft swings open to allow loading of cargo. Unfortunately during flight tests of Mini Guppy number one the simulation of a lost engine during take off caused the plane to unexpectedly roll causing the wing to strike the ground. The plane was destroyed with the loss of the flight crew. The remaining Mini Guppy seen here had only limited commercial success. I worked for Aerospacelines when we were undergoing flight certification for the Super Guppy Transport (SGT1). After that was complete we started SGT2 but I got laid off before it was done. Later on SGT3 and SGT4 were built. They were all bought by the company that builds the A300 Airbus. The planes were used to ferry fuselage sections from England and Germany to the final assembly plant in France. They have been retired now except SGT4 which was bought, ironically, by NASA, to transport rocket components which was the original purpose of the Guppies. I feel kind of bad seeing the Guppy here as it is. There is no plaque or other information about the plane and it is a very interesting piece of aviation history that was built by some very creative and talented people. The plane looks to be in pretty good condition but I sure would like to see it inside and protected from the elements. It would be pretty cool if the public could get a look inside of it too. The cargo area is very impressive to see how big it is.

After I left the museum I decided to continue north to Astoria. The road goes back to the shore line and then at the Columbia River it turns east towards Portland. One can continue north on highway 101 by crossing the bridge at Astoria, it is several miles long. I find a little restaurant near the bridge and have a great dinner of fried clam strips and rhubarb pie for dessert.








The object in the foreground of this picture is all that is left of a boiler that served the cannery that used to be located at this site.











After dinner I take a ride to the top of a hill in Astoria to see a monument called The Astoria Column. You can see all around the area with great views of the Columbia River.
One can climb to the top of the tower if they wish but I pass this time. I continue east on highway 30 which follows the Columbia River to Portland. My plan is to find a nice little campground along the way but I really don't see anything. I continue on in till it gets dark and before I know it I am in Portland. Humm, no campgrounds here so I find a motel for the night. At least it is nice and warm and dry here.

288 Miles.

Kickstand up for Tillamook Day 3

Day 3 September 10, 2007

Finally I have left the road gremlins behind and have a smooth day on the road. After 150 or so miles yesterday I try to cover a little more ground today. I spend about 8 hours on the road. It is still foggy and cool on the coast with a lot of drizzle along the way. I stop at a place where people view the wild elk that are in the area but I guess they must be at the Elks Club because I don't see any here.

Elk viewing area.














On the bridge over the Klamath River there are four gold bears two on each side of the bridge. I think it would be cool to get a picture of them but there is no place to stop on the bridge. As I continue on I notice two more bears on the side of a frontage road so I set my camera on a rock and get a picture of one of the bears and me (and the rock!).Just a short distance north of Klamath I stopped to visit some of the local celebrities.














I stop for lunch in Crescent City California for lunch. From there it is only a short drive to drive to the Oregon state line. Lots of trees and forests lining the road sides all the way up the coast. In places I noticed that behind a few rows of trees the forests have been clear cut by loggers. Its almost like the trees lining the road are a false front to hide the ugliness of the clear cut forests behind, kind of sad.

I ride through Coos Bay, it smells like new sawed wood, lots of big piles of wood chips around the water front. I noticed a lot of fishermen on the rivers fishing, for salmon I guess. There are lots of lakes and bays along the way and also some very beautiful bridges along the way. Just north of Coos bay is the Conde McCullough bridge. It looks like you are going through a cathedral as you drive over it.














This bridge is over the Rogue River at Gold Beach.

And this one is in Florence.

There are lots of nice ocean views along the way also.




























I found a room in the town of Florence.

I have dinner at the Hot Rod Grill a pretty cool place with lots of old car and 50's stuff inside. Some of the booths are in old car bodies like in the movie "Pulp Fiction". I hit the sack after dinner and get some rest for tomorrow.

259 miles.

Kickstand up for Tillamook Day 2

Day 2 September 9, 2007

Campground at Caspar Beach.
















I woke up about 7 and fixed something to eat. I packed up and looked around the area a bit. The beaches around here are well know by Abalone fishermen. They put on wet suits and dive for the Abalones, a shellfish that clings to the rocks underwater. They are considered to be a great delicacy and are very expensive in restaurants.

Abalones are found on the rocks under the water.

I took a ride up highway 1 to Fort Bragg and looked around the harbor a bit. it looks like fishing is the main industry around here.

Harbor at Fort Bragg.

I continue north on Highway 1 over another great motorcycle road but because the road is quite wet I am very cautious. I am still getting used to the extra weight of my bike with all my gear on board. It weighs about 600 pounds without me on board. As I continue up highway 1 the sun comes out and I stop to stretch and warm up a bit. A nice couple, Roy and Nancy from Ohio stop to stretch too and we visit for a while. They are in a rented car but they both ride bikes back home. I tell them to be sure to stop at the Samoa Cookhouse on their way north, more about that later. I make it to highway 101 at Legget. I decide to take the Avenue of the Giants a scenic alternative to highway 101. I am finally starting to relax and just enjoy the ride and not worry about getting anywhere in particular.

Rest area on the Avenue of the Giants.

I stop again to change my visor and while trying to turn around on some gravel I turn the handle bars to far while I am going slow and the bike goes over. I don't get hurt except for my pride. Try as I might I can not get my bike back on her feet. A guy pulls up in a Corvette and offers to help me and between the two of us we get her up. Turns out he is a rider too. The road Gremlins have struck twice in two days but hopefully I will lose them after today. I make a quick stop in the small town of Scotia one of the last company owned towns in the Pacific Northwest. It is a lumber town with 2 mills in operation. I stopped at a little park and took a few pictures of the old locomotive and donkey engine on display there.
This a picture of the towns history museum.

The Samoa Cookhouse.

I stay at the Motel 6 in Arcata and head over to Eureka for dinner at the Samoa Cookhouse. It is a real cookhouse that was used for many years by mill workers on Samoa Island near Eureka. Back in the 1960's it was opened up to the public. The mill is all gone now but the cookhouse remains.

The menu is pretty basic, you get what they are serving on that day served family style on long tables covered in red checked oil cloth. You get to visit with your neighbors as you eat. It just so happened that I talk with another couple from Ohio during dinner but not the same folks as I had talked to before on the road. After dinner I ride to the south end of Samoa Island then I turn around and head back to Arcata and my motel room to rest up for tomorrow.

Total miles 149.

Kickstand up for Tillamook

Day 1 Saturday September 8, 2007

After all the planning and dreaming about my trip it is finally time to go and guess what? I can't find the keys to my bike. I look and look and look but no luck so I decide to leave with my spare keys. I sure hope I don't lose them too.
I ride up Highway 1 through Santa Cruz and stopped north of there for a little break. I had a nice conversation about my bike and my trip with a surfer there. This beach is a great spot for surfing, wind surfing and surf kayaking. That looks like fun. I may try it someday, at least you don't have to stand up on a board to catch a wave.

Traffic through San Francisco was horrible. It took me over an hour to get through the city to the Golden Gate Bridge. I rode across it but I really couldn't enjoy the view that much, too much traffic and narrow lanes meant I had to pay full attention to the road ahead. The best way to see the view is by walking across the bridge but this time I just settled for a stop at the view point on the north end of the bridge. Most of the tourists here seem to be from outside the USA, I heard a number of different languages spoken. The Golden Gate Bridge is actually painted an orange color not gold, the name comes from the inlet from the Pacific Ocean to the bay.

First half of route 116 miles.

From the GG Bridge I continue north towards Sonoma and the Valley of the Moon. Finally the sun comes out and the ride is beautiful with rolling hills and vineyards. I jump over the hills to the Napa Valley at the town of Calistoga. This is the location of California's geyser named Old Faithful.






I continue on highway 128 to Cloverdale then continue on towards Boonville. I don't stop but it looks like an interesting place, kind of like in the movie Deliverance. I haven't brought my guitar so there is no point in stopping. Highway 128 is a great motorcycle road with plenty of nice curves and not to much traffic. When I get to the coast it is foggy again. All of the state campgrounds are full so I stay a a private camp at Caspar. It is pretty crummy and after I set up my camp I go into town to get something to eat. Later back a camp it is drizzling and very damp and drippy all night long.

Second half of route 174 miles.