Tillamook: Slice of history and a wedge of cheese

TILLAMOOK, Ore. -- Followed closely by their dad, a couple of young boys scrambled up the metal stairs adjacent to the vintage World War II B-25 Mitchell bomber. From their vantage point, the three were able to peer into the immaculately restored cockpit of one of the most legendary bombers in America's World War II arsenal. The sound of the airplane's two 1,700-horsepower engines roared from a video display nearby.

Launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet 800 miles from Japan on April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25s commanded by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle bombed the Japanese homeland in a daring daylight raid. It was the first attack on Japanese territory since Pearl Harbor.

Compared to bombing raids later in the war, the damage inflicted by Doolittle and his crews was of little physical consequence. But the famous raid was a huge morale booster for an American public still reeling from the devastating attack on the U.S. fleet in Hawaii.

Essentially, the Air Museum in Tillamook, Ore., is a history classroom without those nasty books getting in the way. Every airplane in the museum collection has a story, told over and over every day in one of the most unusual and historical buildings in the country.

Since 1994, the collection of mostly WWII vintage aircraft has been housed in what was once a blimp hangar built mostly of wood for the huge lighter-than-air-craft that were used on anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort duty off the Oregon coast during the war. Two of the more than 15-story-tall hangars were erected at the Naval Air Station Tillamook. One burned down in 1992 and the remaining one was turned into the Air Museum.

Because it's considered a historical structure and is the largest clear-span wooden structure in the world, the hangar is literally and figuratively a huge part of the museum. If you don't mind getting a little dirty, lie on your back on the concrete floor, look up for a few minutes and take it all in. Afterward, have Bob Osborn, who has logged hundreds of volunteer hours at the museum and photographed practically all of the airplanes in the collection, answer any questions you might have. Osborn can talk serious airplane.

Part of the inside of the hangar is covered with a large, heated tentlike structure for a more intimate display environment for some of the aircraft. Even if you aren't an airplane buff the artistry of design and powerful presence of, say, the P-38 Lightning under the tent will make you take notice.

Museum visitors look at the elegantly restored but unusual looking PBY-5A Catalina "flying boat" as they would a famous painting. They just stand and stare for long periods at one of the air-sea workhorses of World War II.

Everyone of the mostly World War II vintage aircraft at the Air Museum has a story. Part of the display in the hangar is covered with a heated tentlike structure for a more intimate display. (JEFF LARSEN / SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER)

After countless thousands of volunteer hours, a number of the planes have been restored to flying condition and participate in air shows around the country. So, if you want to see a particular aircraft at the museum, call ahead to make sure it will be there when you are. The museum also has an extensive gift and memento shop and a cafe.

The museum is off the beaten track a bit, but once you get on U.S. Route 101 headed south out of Tillamook you can't miss it. In fact, the only way you could miss it is if you're driving at night. Huge black letters on the side of the hangar spell out "Air Museum."

But Tillamook isn't necessarily well known for the great air museum. Tillamook, in fact, is a brand name known around the world by people who associate the name more with cheese. "You mean there's a town named Tillamook?" is a common response.

The climate makes the northern Oregon coastal area where Tillamook is situated one of the finest regions in the world for dairy farming. More than 20,000 cows call the Tillamook area home and the region accounts for nearly a third of the milk produced in Oregon. Thus, lots of cheese.

Appropriately enough, the Chamber of Commerce's poetic tribute to the region is "Land of Cheese, Trees and Ocean Breeze." It's no mistake that cheese comes first. Every year, says the Tillamook County Creamery Association, 55 million pounds of cheese with the Tillamook brand logo on it are delivered to destinations around the world.

At the auspicious Tillamook plant just north of town on U.S. 101 -- thanks to an elevated viewing area at the visitor center -- you can watch how cheese is made and get a close look at the squeaky-clean production areas. More than 1 million people visit the plant each year.

On the left side of the viewing area, you can see how the cheese is produced. Some days the giant curd vat is fired up, but usually there's not a whole lot to see because the production process is so automated and enclosed.

The real action, however, is on the other side, where the cheese travels from cold storage -- where it has been aging -- through the packaging facility. Along the assembly line, the cheese is sorted, weighed and packaged in what looks like a more chaotic chain of events than it really is.

The creamery staff made a point that they usually don't package cheese on the weekends, so weekdays are probably the best time to see the production area at full tilt. Whatever the case, if the action is slow, head back downstairs, grab a toothpick-full of Cheddar samples and head for the ice cream concession or cafe. The strawberry ice cream is to write home about ... either in a plain or sugar cone. Ask for a taste -- the visitor center staff encourages it -- then indulge.

Besides the freebies area, the ice cream concession and cafe, a complete gift shop and retail store, the creamery has an educational area where you can watch a DVD about the cheese-making process.

The "Trees and Ocean Breeze" part of the chamber slogan is just west of Tillamook, and there's plenty of both. From Cape Meares State Park and its lighthouse south to the state park and campground at Cape Lookout, there is some of the most spectacular scenery on the Oregon coast. You must drive the 20-mile Three Cape Scenic Loop Drive to appreciate the scope and grandeur.

Part of the Cape Lookout campground is set back several hundred yards from the ocean beach in a grove of evergreens, which affords some protection from the almost constant wind. It's 12 miles southwest of Tillamook and facilities include four yurts, 54 full RV hookups, 191 tent campsites, two campsites for people with disabilities and four group camping areas. Cape Lookout is a very popular campground, so reservations are highly recommended almost year-round. You need to make reservations two days to nine months in advance.

Cape Meares is 10 miles west of Tillamook at the north end of the 20-mile scenic loop, which includes Cape Lookout and Cape Kiwanda. Cape Meares is strictly a day-use park but it offers some incredible ocean viewpoints, including a short hike for a close-up look at the 1890s lighthouse. The area is also a popular bird viewing area because it borders Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge. Common mures and tufted puffins nest in the face of the ocean cliffs.

If you want to spend time in the Tillamook area, consider staying in Oceanside, a picturesque hillside village on the coast nine miles west of town. Because Route 101 goes inland through Tillamook instead of along the water during this stretch of the coast, Oceanside and nearby Netarts are not inundated with crowds and cars.

Oceanside is a low-key community with loads of rentals and easy access to a prime sand beach known for its agates. There is no central reservation service, so you probably should visit the area and stay where you can the first time (there are standard motel accommodations in Tillamook, such as Shiloh). Then do some rental scouting in Oceanside for a later visit.

GETTING THERE

Interstate-5 south to Portland, take the I-405 exit toward Beaverton/U.S. Route 30/St. Helens/Ocean Beaches and merge onto I-405 S. Take U.S. Route 26 Exit 1D toward Beaverton and merge onto U.S. Route 26. Take state Route 6 toward Banks/Tillamook/Forest Grove. From Seattle, about five hours without a food stop.