<– Day 40 –Apr. 28th: Firehouse #4  | OVERVIEW | Day 42 – Apr. 30th: R&P 4WD and Herm –>

Well, what a surprise! On Tuesday the cold and rain showers forecasted by people paid to predict such things continued to be scared away by the blue sky and warm temperatures in Oregon. Such weather would have been perfect for the coast of Oregon, but our mind was too changed to change back.

We spotted this mural just as we were leaving Rogue River, Oregon.

Anyone who has ever driven north on Interstate 5 through southern Oregon knows what a pretty drive it is. Successive low mountain passes of about 2000 feet chase any boredom away.

Our Tuesday drive to McMinnville.

Our first stop of the morning was at Canyonville at exit 98. When traveling north with my sister back in December I’d spotted several jeep bodies on what I thought were shipping containers just off the Interstate. They were still there when we passed this time, so we pulled off to get a closer look at them. While there were no identifying ‘for sale’ information, I believe these belonged to Del Blanchard, who is actually operates out of Myrtle Creek according to his website [Ed Note: Del has since passed away.]

In the pic below, the body on the right appears to be a galvanized (no stainless) CJ-3B body. The one in between is a CJ-2A/3A Stainless. The body on the right is an all-stainless CJ-3B body (I saw no indications of galvanized floor parts) that includes some interesting windshield tighteners.

Here’s a 2012 ad for the bodies:

Odd note: If you use Google’s street view feature, you can just barely see the jeeps on the utility boxes if you are in the southbound lanes of I-5. However, as of now, if you try to view the jeeps from the northbound lanes, the jeeps are not present. Nor are they present from the on ramp right in front of the utility boxes.

After my photos we hopped back onto I-5 and drove north. Around the Eugene area we decided to get a bite to eat. Ann wanted some smoked meat, so she hunted down Longs Meat Market. It turned out to be a great choice. Their smoked pork chops were tender and tastey. Even better, they had an excellent freezer section with containers of beef, chicken and pork fat for sale. They also had lamb, chicken and beef stock (and possibly others) for sale. My biggest score was a couple containers of frozen demi-glace. I needed those for the following reason.

A couple days ago a reader donated some money so Ann could have a nice dinner. After doing some searches, I discovered a place with great reviews called the Lost Coast Brewing Company. Pleased with the reviews, I did a google search and found what I thought was their menu. The item I knew Ann would enjoy the most was the Bison Meatloaf with a cognac-demiglace sauce. Since she loves beef, but it doesn’t love her back (semi-allergic reaction to the cow protein) bison is a great substitute. When we showed up at Lost Coast, we got a seat and were very surprised when the menu arrived and it contained nothing I’d seen on the internet. sigh. So, with my newly purchased Demiglace, I should be able to create something similar.

And since I’ve already digressed into food, I forgot to mention Monday night’s pizza from Kaleidoscope Pizzeria and Pub. Fantastic! When they delivered the pizza, there was barely any cheese, which surprised us. But, the pizza quickly won us over. Their strategy for a great pizza rests with a great tasting crust combined with a fabulous tomato sauce (and to call it a sauce cheapens it). The food was so good Ann bought one of their t-shirts (cool t-shirt!).

Ok, back to Tuesday. Once we were done with our lunch we drove to McMinnville to see the  Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

The museum has a bunch of planes, a couple jeeps and more. You’ve probably seen these jeeps online, but here they are again. Both are GPWs, but one is more GPW than the other. The first is a July 1942 GPW that is missing some tool box lids.

This GPW is in better shape. I can’t remember the year on it.

The center piece of the museum is the famous plane Howard Hughes constructed known by most people as the Spruce Goose. It was started in 1942 and completed in 1947, it’s structure is built entirely of wood (to save aluminum and steel for the WWII effort) with the wood is mostly birch.

The Spruce Goose is amazing in its size and scope. It towers over all the other planes in the building. The wingspan is wider than a football field. There are a variety of ‘wow’ statistics connected to this project. You really have to see this in person.

Even better, if you pay $25 you can tour the flight deck and sit in the cockpit. Since our entrance was free (thanks to Ann) it was a no brainer to pay for this extra. She was especially excited. For our fee, we got to tour the flight deck area, get our photo taken by the tour guide (and a copy of it printed) and hang out inside the plane for a while. It was cool!

It was hard to pry her out of the Pilot’s seat.

If you ever get a chance to visit the museum, definitely take the Spruce Goose tour. And, if you love planes, you’ll enjoy this museum.

<– Day 40 –Apr. 28th: Firehouse #4  | OVERVIEW | Day 42 – Apr. 30th: Part I – R&P 4WD –>