Fair Winds and Following Interstates
We had stopped at the World's Largest Spitting Clam in Newport, WA, on our way to the Navy's MWR facility at Pacific Beach. So when Tom, our camping neighbor, offered to take Harold clam digging the next morning, Harold decided to give it a try. The license didn't cost much and Harold thought it would be something to experience. Thanks Tom!
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| World's Largest Clam?? |
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| Tom showing how it's done |
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| Harold's turn |
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| Limit of 15 |
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| Cleaning the catch |
May 1 - 6, 2024
From our Camp Rilea base we a took in a couple of small museums in the Long Beach, WA, area in addition to the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, OR.
After seeing cranberry bogs from Coos Bay and north, along with Ocean Spray signs here and there, we stopped by the Cranberry Museum in Long Beach. They have a couple of bogs on site. Not much was happening in April, but it would be a cool site in the fall.Ok, we really wanted to try the cranberry ice cream they make there.
The World Kite Museum featured a lot of Oriental style kites and a military kite exhibit. Harold was really impressed with the Saul Barrage Kite.
On our way to our next campsite, we stopped for a driving break at the Northwest Carriage Museum
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| Looking out the window |
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| Cranberry scoop |
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| Modified boots cause less berry damage |
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| Maybe for some families |
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| Gibson girl rescue kite, Garber target kite, Saul Barrage kite |
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| C-spring Dress Landau |
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| Hansom Cab |
May 2, 2024
In Astoria, OR, we took a couple of hours to explore the Columbia River Maritime Museum. We had seen a photo of an exhibit featuring a CoastGuard cutter and decided we wanted to see it. The museum was one of the better ones. It was a bit more crowded than usual when we visited since there were two cruise ships anchored in port.
We learned that the bar between the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean is considered one of the most dangerous in the world by mariners. Kudos once more to the Coast Guard.
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| Lighthouse boat |
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| Pilot boat |
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| Food truck? |
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| Red labels help hide rust on the can |
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| A similar photo lured us to the museum |
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| Whew! |
April 29 - 30, 2024
There are plenty of opportunities along 101 for driving breaks and sightseeing. Each little town has some sort of attraction or museum. We took advantage of several.
Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport attracted us because of its aquarium tunnels. We thought that sounded pretty cool. It was. However, much of the other indoor exhibits were undergoing renovations when we were there. So we missed out on a lot of stuff.
Tillamook Air Museum captivated us with its claim to being housed in one of the largest clear span wooden structures in the world. It was one of 17 blimp hangars in WWII. Steel was needed for other things and the northwest had plenty of timber. The building is massive and the museum contains some interesting exhibits. We spent an hour or so wandering around before hunger set in and we headed the couple of miles up the road to Tillamook Creamery. While the ice cream counter looked enticing, we ate a cheese-filled lunch before taking the self-guided tour overlooking the cheese factory floor. We stocked up on Tillamook items before heading out.
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| Best part of Oregon Coast Aquarium |
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| Could house 8 blimps |
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| Rosie Riveter beginnings |
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| Feeling tiny |
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| Yum! |
April 26 - 29, 2024
Highway 101 through Oregon is truly scenic. If you ever get the opportunity to travel on it, as one person recommended, it's better starting in the north and travelling south. Most of your scenic pulloffs will be on your right toward the ocean. Of course, we were headed north. Oh well.
In addition to the wonderful scenery, we also noted the apparent difficulty in maintaining this road. The warning signs seemed constant - sunken road, slide area, bump, slow. It's not a lot of fun bouncing around in a motorhome. Add the frequent periods of rain and we were glad that we had carved the route into smaller travel days.
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| Beautiful |
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| Lots of lumber |
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| Slow down or you will spill your coffee |
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| Only 3,365 miles to Boston, MA |
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| Hmm...what happened here? |
April 23 - 27, 2024
We headed a couple of hours north on Route 101 from Crescent City, CA, to the Coos Bay, OR area. Our campground was Sun Coos Bay in Charleston. It felt like a long way from 101, but it was right on the ocean and very relaxing.
We took in the Oregon Coast Historical Railway Museum in Coos Bay and happened to hit the North Bend Coast Guard open house event on our way to the next destination. After having recently watched The Guardian, we made sure to thank them for all they do!
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| Is the beach "greener" on the other side? |
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| Contemplation |
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| Distant lighthouse view |
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| Hi Charlie |
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| Oregon Coast Historical Railway Museum |
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| I recognized the transmission panel |
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| North Bend Coast Guard |
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| Rescue Demonstration |
April 20, 2024
On our way from Klamath Falls, OR, to Crescent City, CA, we passed through Cave Junction, OR. We had thought we’d take a day trip back to visit Oregon Caves National Monument. Just down the road we saw the sign for Siskiyou Smokejumper Museum. Great! We’d have two things to do on our day trip.
After reading the cave restrictions regarding gear, shoes,
apparel, etc, to protect the bats against white nose syndrome, we decided to
skip the experience. I can’t tell you what I wore yesterday, let alone over the
past year or so where we’ve been in several caves. I do know I only have one
pair of jeans and one pair of hiking shoes and we had been in Lava Beds
National Monument only a week or so earlier.
We still decided to take the hour scenic drive to the
Siskiyou Smokejumper Museum. We were curious as to what it would contain. Our tour
guide, Mike, was stationed at Siskiyou in the 1970’s. This particular station,
which was closed in 1980, got its start in WWII. Well, for the most part. There
was talk just prior to the war of how to protect the remote forest areas.
However, when the war started, things got a bit delayed.
However, during the war, the Japanese started sending
incendiary balloon bombs with hopes of starting massive forest fires to both
rob the US of natural resources and to demoralize the people. Smokejumpers were
needed to access remote areas of forest and put out the fires before those
fires became serious threats. Where do you get able-bodied men to be
smokejumpers when most are overseas fighting?
The forest service looked eastward to conscientious
objectors, mainly Brethren and Mennonite men, who while opposed to killing
people, were not opposed to helping their country. They also utilized the Triple Nickles, a black paratrooper unit that was not permitted to fight. After the war ended, many veterans,
especially paratroopers, filled the ranks.
Today, while the forest service utilizes many advanced tools
to fight fires, nothing will take the place of the smokejumper.
