Sunday (June 13): I’ve passed the mid-point of this trip; I planned 35 nights away and I’ve completed 19 nights. The time is going by much too quickly.
The weather forecasts were correct: the rain continued overnight and well into today. During the night, the rain was very heavy at times. Whenever I woke up I would check around the trailer to see if any water was leaking in. Not a drop! I am one happy camper!
I left the campground late morning and headed toward the Tillamook Air Museum about 20 miles away. With the 100% prediction of rain for most of the day, an indoor activity seemed like a good idea. However, I didn’t get there as planned.
While driving along Highway 101, I noticed some interesting fog patches clinging to the hilltops in the distance. I turned into the rural area and headed toward the hilltops, stopping occasionally to take photos. Eventually I found myself on a narrow country road winding between farm properties and open valleys. It was beautiful. There were very few places to pull over to take photos, so I would often stop in the middle of the road, get out, snap a few photos and get going again. With such little road traffic, this was pretty effective.
At the end of the road, I entered a small county campground, the Kilchis River County campground. The ranger at the entrance kindly encouraged me to drive around and check out the campground. It is nestled in the woods and the sounds of the Kilchis River drifted up from below. It seems so remote, yet is only about 6 miles from HWY101.
Satisfied with the results of my foggy scavenger hunt, I got back on course and drove out to the Tillamook Air Museum.
The museum is housed in an enormous wooden hangar, designed to store blimps. Its size makes it easily visible from the highway a couple of miles away.
Upon entry, I was a bit underwhelmed. I expected to see numerous displays of full aircraft, something I’ve experienced in other smaller air museums. Instead, the, hangar interior featured three full aircraft, a few jeeps, some trainer cockpit displays and an smallish tarp-enclosed display room with small aircraft and vehicles. The far end of the hangar was closed off to the public and appeared to contain about 20 recreational vehicles. Heck, I would have enjoyed looking at those!
I made the most of it and eventually left to head back to town to get some food supplies.
I stopped at the Tillamook Creamery and took a couple of photos of the crowds of people at the facility. The creamery is offering self-guided tours, with moderated numbers of people allowed in. A long line of umbrellas protected the owners from the steady rain while waiting to move indoors. The outdoor concession area was equally packed.
After returning to the campsite, I noticed the rain was lessening, so I ventured down to the beach for a last visit. The rain politely waited for me while I meandered along the water’s edge until I was satisfied. By the time I returned to my trailer, the rain reappeared and baptized me one more time.
Tomorrow I’ll head north and cross the Columbia River into Washington for my last beach campground visit.
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Roadtripping with Ron 
The hangar looks just as large as the dirigible hangars at Moffett Field/ Nasa Ames Research Center in Mt. View.
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