Monday, July 29, 2023
We are heading up to Tillamook today. It’s only 80 something miles to our next campsite yet it will take us 3 to 4 hours to get there. The reason? The road is not conducive to warp speed travel, especially in an RV and we plan on seeing some sites along the way.
We pass through what seems to be endless forest emerging occasionally to views of the sea that include state recreation areas and state parks. First up is Brian Booth State Park, a day use park, then the ever popular South Beach State park that does offer camping as well as day use. Across Yaquina (pronounced Yaqwinna) Bay from the park is Newport (10,890 souls). We visited Newport a few days ago so we continue on.
A short ways up the road is Beverly Beach State Park, equally popular with South Beach. We pass viewpoint after viewpoint as our equipment doesn’t fit in most parking areas and the views are obscured by fog. They go by the names of Otter Crest Scenic Viewpoint, Devil’s Punchbowl, Finger Rock, Rock Creek Scenic Viewpoint. We’ve traveled the coast many times and have visited most of these sights so we aren’t sorry for bypassing these beautiful areas of the Oregon Coast.
We arrive in Depoe Bay (1800 souls), known as the whale watching capital of the Oregon Coast. It’s also considered the coolest town on the coast as the hottest day of the year is only 68 degrees!
And another thing its known for- it’s home to the smallest active harbor in the world at 6 acres! The town was named for Charley Depot, a Siletz Indian.
Next comes Lincoln City (9815 souls). It seems like once you enter the city you will never drive out of town it’s so long! We catch a glimpse of 685 acre Devil’s Lake, a popular place with boaters and campers.
More Oregon State Beaches pop up along the way, the the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife area. We pass through Pacific City (1019 souls), the city’s main attraction is the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. The Nestucca Valley includes the farming oriented towns of Cloverdale (242 souls), Hebo (241 souls) – Chinese for Lord of the River, Beaver (122 souls), Blaine and Hemlock in this beautiful farming area.
We come to Tillamook (5231 souls), named for the Tillamook people. The first recorded European landing occurred in 1788 with settlers arriving in the 1850’s. During WWII the Navy operated a blimp station near town at the Naval Air Station Tillamook which now houses the Tillamook Air Museum and remnants of the naval base. The region has five rivers.
The town’s economy relies of dairy farms with milk cattle supplying the Tillamook County Creamery Association‘s production of cheese, gourmet ice cream, yogurt and other dairy products. Approximately 1 million people visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory every year. The lumber industry is also making a come back in the area.
Blimp Hanger B along with some WWII machinery
The Tillamook Air Museum is housed in the last remaining blimp hanger, Hanger B. In 1942 the Navy began contruction on 17 wooden hangers to house K-class blimps that would be used for anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort. Two of these hangers were built in Tillamook. Hanger B was completed in August of 1943 and Hanger A was completed in only 27 working days. Eight airships were housed here. Hanger A was destroyed by fire in 1992. Each ship was 252 feet long, 80 feet in diameter and had a range of 2000 miles. The air station was decommissioned in 1948. The hangers measured 1072 feet in length, 296 feet wide, 192 feet high for an area of 7 acres or 6 football fields and could house eight blimps!
We stayed at Misty River RV Park, about 4 miles up the Wilson River from town. The park caters to full timers it seems but is quiet. The park has two large dog runs conveniently located across from our site. The RV sites are well spaced at the west end of the park but a little more crowded near the entrance. It was an OK stay with one exception- our power supply was pretty shakey dropping all the way down from 120 volts to 90 volts. The low voltage can do great harm to expensive components of RV’s- A/C units, heater blower motors and residential refrigerators are particularly suseptible. None of these appliances are cheap. Glad we caught the low voltage before it did any apparent harm so we could discontinue their use or augmenting their power with our on board generator as necessary.
We’ll be heading to our home for the months of August and September. We’ve hosted at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery many times. This may be our last volunteer stint as we are close to aging out and still have some traveling to do.
See y’all at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery!
Travel With Jil and Mike 