We slept late this morning but by 9am we were on the road heading north finally! Thursday’s forecast was supposed to be “cloudy” in the morning and clearing by afternoon. “Cloudy” means FOG!! The other day when we crossed on Rt 42S we came over the crest of a big hill and below us was a valley that was veiled in soft white Angel Hair fog. It reminded me of a science project that son Dave and I did on fog when he was in grade school. “We” made a diorama of hills and valleys out of paper mache and used angel hair for the fog! Today as we went around one curve, we would drive into the mist. Around the next curve we drove out of it. We stopped at several turnouts to see high cliffs with crashing white waves, huge rock formations with sprinkles of birds on top and beaches and blue water! In Depoe, we parked by the break wall that was right by the bridge and harbor and enjoyed breakfast at the Sea Hag Restaurant!!
Our afternoon side trip was 40 miles inland to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville. Inside the mammoth beautiful building was the Spruce Goose, built by and flown by Howard Hughes! It took the 4 years from 1942 to 1947 at a starting cost of $18 million to build this wooden flying boat!! It flew once and went 70 ft high for about one mile and was never flown again. It cost $1 million per year just to store it after Mr. Hughes passed away. Then, for a few years it was displayed in California, next to the Queen Mary. In 2001 it was purchased and moved to Oregon to be completely restored and put on display with a multitude of other restored historic planes and memorabilia. Sheltered under one of the huge wings is also one of the remaining Tri Motor airplanes that was built by the Stout Airplane Co. in Dearborn Michigan! When I was a kid, our family had flown in one of the other “Tin Goose” from Port Clinton Ohio to the island of Put in Bay! We have pictures of my father getting his old service cycle motorcycle out of that plane. This one has many more fine appointments like curtains on the windows and wood trim!
From the museum we headed back to the coast to find yet MORE scenic turnouts to satisfy my picture taking addiction and found Cape Meares State Park and Lighthouse. The lighthouse is only 38 ft tall and you approach it from above and behind it. The view from there was spectacular! H sat in the van while I ventured further up another path thru the tall pines and spruce to see the “Octopus Tree” – a misshaped spruce that has no main trunk, just 8 or so wide spreading limbs. The tree has a spread of 46 ft and is estimated to be between 200 and 300 years old.
Further up the road, and around several more curves and thru more quaint towns, we stopped for the night at the Harborview Inn in Garibaldi. This “Inn” strongly adheres to the minimalist theory! A bed with a nightstand, a wall hung TV, a small table and 2 chairs that could have been made at Michigan Tube & Swagger!! Painted white cement block walls complete the décor! But it is clean and not nearly as expensive as the motels on the main road! Behind the 16 unit motel is a RV Park and in front is the harbor! The tide is out and the water is calm. The commercial fishing boats and all the charter boats are all docked and quiet for the night, making interesting reflections on the harbor water. The birds are squawking across the cove and we saw a seal swimming near the fishing pier. And the fog is trying to sneak into the quiet cove again!!
