This POST was supposed to be done on 05/23/2013, but I got about three days behind. So I am finishing it up today, 05/26/2013 and posting it. I'm not sure what date it will post on, but hopefully it won't mess things up too much!!??
Today, we are really "Wayward"! I forgot what happens to RV Parks and campgrounds when the Memorial Weekend comes around! Basically, NO CAMPSITES!!! I had planned on staying near The Dalles, Oregon, but as I called one RV Park after another, I got the same response - "Sorry, we are all booked up for the weekend"!!! I kept calling and working my way east and finally got the KOA in Pendleton, Oregon - and they had some openings for the weekend!!
So, here I am and I plan to stay here (at least the trailer will) through Monday. I won't be sitting here, though. I plan on driving back to The Dalles and explore their museums and then to drive the more Southern part of the Oregon Trail. I'll get to explore, but I will have to drive more than I wanted.
Today wasn't a loss though!!! As I was driving along, I remembered the Airplane and old car museum that I had wanted to visit. I figured that I had a few hours to spare, so I pulled my trailer into their parking lot and went inside.
The staff was really great and they will walk you through their two buildings and talk about all the airplanes and cars and motorcycles and things as much as you want. One thing they stressed was that all the airplanes and cars and everything in the museum is supposed to run and they take each item out to run at least once every two years, if not more. I'm more of a walk along and read the signs type of guy, so I left our little group and went off exploring on my own.
Most of the airplanes were private, small, personal airplanes. But, there were a few unique old commercial airplanes. One was an old 1928 Boeing Model 40C, which was the aircraft that helped get Boeing into the aircraft building business. This was one that had crashed, was recovered years later, and rebuilt using Boeing's drawings. Here are a few photos of it –
Another nice old airplane was a private executive airplane. It was a 1957 Beech (Beechcraft) E18S. This was a nice airplane inside and out - a great reconstruction job! And it's not a small airplane! Here are a few photos ---
Those were the only airplanes that really interested me. Now, the number and variety of motorcycles was quite awesome. Here are some photos of just the Harley Davidson’s ---
1912 ---
1918 ---
1927 ---
1929 ---
1933 ---
1938 ---
1942 --- (Military)
They had quite a bit of military vehicles in this museum. Here’s a Viet Nam era Jeep carrying an unusual gun --- rocket launcher???? You decide!!!
The number of old cars in this museum was breath taking! They were all restored and almost all were in running order! A few of the cars were my favorites --- such as a 1936 Cord (no, not Accord – a Cord!!!). This was a very popular car for the movie stars of the day!!! ---
Muscle cars from my younger days ---
1968 Pontiac GTO ---
1970 Oldsmobile 442 ---
1968 Plymouth Barracuda ---
1968 Dodge Charger R/T ---
Sports cars ---
1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL "Gullwing" ---
1974 Jensen-Healey ---
Unusual cars like this 1908 Stanley Steam Car ---
And of course, what collection would be complete without these cars ---
1951 Studebaker ---
1956 Ford Thunderbird ---
1957 Ford Thunderbird ---
1957 Chevrolet Corvette ---
I could go on and on, but I won’t. I need to plan tomorrow’s travels, so I will go for now, but I will see you all again tomorrow. Again, to quote that great comedian, Red Skelton, "Good Night and May God Bless!"
Happy Trails ---- Jon
Happy Trails ---- Jon
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