A Goose Made of Spruce – That Is Actually Birch

December 8, 2020 Tom Dills 2 Comments

Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose” at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon

Ever since I was a kid interested in airplanes, I remember reading about and seeing photos of Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose.” Officially known as the Hughes H-4 Hercules, the Spruce Goose was – at the time and for a while after – the largest aircraft to ever fly. The Wikipedia Page for the plane is a rabbit hole of more information for anyone wishing to delve deeper. After many stops on a long journey, the current home for the plane is the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

I didn’t realize that the Spruce Goose was in Oregon when we started making plans, but I came across a reference to it during our research. When I found out that we would be very close to McMinnville, a town in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine region, stopping there was a no-brainer. Except…the museum had been closed during Oregon’s response to the Covid virus. Fortunately the conditions had improved enough for Oregon to allow museums to re-open shortly before we left home on our trip. Good timing – the state has recently re-entered a lockdown phase the the museum has closed again.

Cargo bay of Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose” at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon

As you can see from the photos, the plane is simply enormous, dwarfing all of the other aircraft in the museum. For even more geekery, check out this article discussing the various calculations of “largest aircraft” along with a size comparison.

Seeing the Spruce Goose in person was a real treat. In fact the entire museum is really well done, with two separate buildings – one for aircraft and the other for space related displays. It was especially nice to have a good indoor thing to do, since all that haze you see in the outdoor photos is smoke. 🙁

Photos of the flight deck of Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose” at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon

For even more photos from the museum, I’ve created an Adobe Portfolio Page. Check it out!

Photo Project: 50 States

Cruising The Oregon Coast (In Smoke & Fog)

December 6, 2020 Tom Dills 2 Comments

Barview Jetty Park near Rockaway Beach, Oregon

When we left Cannon Beach we headed down the coast, hoping to catch some views of the Pacific Ocean scenery before turning east toward McMinnville, a town in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine region. We didn’t get many long-distance views, but we did manage to see some interesting things along the way, including the ferocious prehistoric creature I posted about previously. 🙂

Rock formation known as “The Three Graces” along US-101/Oregon Coast Highway near Garibaldi, Oregon

What looks like fog in these photos is a combination of actual fog and smoke from the wildfires farther inland and some drifting north from northern California. Thanks to the magic of white balance adjustment, these look mostly like fog, while the original files have more of an orangey-brown cast to them.

Views of the Port of Garibaldi and Garibaldi Marina in Garibaldi, Oregon

We spent a bit of time exploring the marina in Garibaldi, a small town of 800~ on Tillamook Bay along US 101. The marina provided us with some visual stimulation, and the addition of the smoke/fog allowed for some interesting photographs. Garibaldi is home to a scenic railway – which was not operating – a maritime history museum, also closed and a US Coast Guard station. It might make for a good destination on a return trip, as there appear to be a number of quaint looking inns nearby!

Cape Mears Lighthouse on Cape Mears, Oregon

We had hoped to visit the Tillamook Creamery, but it had closed just prior to our arrival due to a combination of the virus and the heavy smoke. So we moved on to Cape Lookout (home of the dinosaur) and Cape Mears to check out the lighthouse before making our way to McMinnville.

Tillamook Cheese Visitor Center (closed) in Tillamook, Oregon

Roadside Finds

Ferocious

December 4, 2020 Tom Dills 2 Comments

I found this guy on the beach at Cape Lookout State Park near Tillamook, Oregon. No idea what his story was but he looked lost. Maybe I should put his photo on a milk carton. Or a Snapple bottle…. 🙂

Photo Project: 50 States

Haystack Rock and Cannon Beach, Oregon

December 3, 2020 Tom Dills 2 Comments

Foggy & smoky morning at Cannon Beach, Oregon

Now that winter has decided to arrive and the temperature has turned colder, I’m starting to get back to the photos from our Northwest road trip. I’ve been shooting more than I’ve been processing, so I’m just a little behind but will eventually get caught up!

Haystack Rock at sunset over the Pacific Ocean from Cannon Beach, Oregon

Kathy & I spent two nights in Cannon Beach, Oregon specifically to see the sea stacks along the coast. Probably the most famous stack is Haystack Rock, which sits just off the coast and literally in front of “downtown” Cannon Beach.

The size and scale of Haystack is a hard to capture in a photograph, but I did include some people in a few of my shots for scale.

Unidentified Sea Stacks off the coast in Cannon Beach

Unfortunately, despite being there for two nights and nearly 48 hours, the smoke got so thick that when combined with the usual coastal fog, we only got views of the rock formations the very first night and the following morning. After that I “knew it was out there somewhere” but had to be satisfied with the photos I got.

Two Photos Are Better Than One. (Didn’t have the guts to tell him that the mask works best on the front of your head. )

Random Thoughts

Thankful

November 26, 2020 Tom Dills 2 Comments

Sunrise at Swan Cove Pool, Chincoteague Island National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” -John F. Kennedy

Things are a lot different for many of us this year, but Kathy & I wish everyone the best for this day and always. We have much to be thankful for.

Photography

A Quiet Afternoon

November 22, 2020 Tom Dills 4 Comments

A fall afternoon at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve near Huntersville, North Carolina

It was almost like I had heard Jeff Curto’s words in my head, although I didn’t actually hear them until we got home. Jeff’s most recent podcast talks about it isn’t necessary to travel long distances or to exotic locations to make interesting photographs. Give it a listen if you don’t already subscribe. And you know you should. 😉

Kathy and I decided to spend a nice late-fall Sunday afternoon at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, a county park near Huntersville, North Carolina and about 8 miles from our house. We packed a picnic lunch, laced up our hiking shoes and spent a couple of hours wandering the trails along Mountain Island Lake, the lake that we live close to, but not at. It’s not Lake Superior, but it’s what we’ve got. 🙂

We’ve been to Latta a number of times over the years, and I’ve made lots of photographs there. But it had been a while. There are things to see and photograph at all times of the year, but I have often sold it short since it is – as Jeff alluded to – in our “back yard.”

Kathy & I had already decided that we’re going to stick close to home for the next few months, and are planning to get out and explore our own area. I’ve said for years that I like to be a “tourist in my own town” but have never sat still long enough to give it a chance. Sounds like now is as good a time as any!

Random Thoughts

Too Much Like Work

November 20, 2020 Tom Dills 4 Comments

Evening on the beach, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

I thought we retired….

In the last few weeks, we’ve taken advantage of a “break in the action” to meet up with a few of our key professional people – medical, legal and financial stuff that we need to address on occasion. On top of that we’ve been working on a few home improvement projects. As a result, the calendar has been “full” of stuff. An appointment on Monday, an in-person meeting yesterday, conference call today, more stuff next week. Aye-yi-yi…feels like we’ve gone back to work! 😉 I realize that it’s nothing compared to the schedules we kept when we were actually working for a living, but it feels….busy! 😉

Sunset colors looking toward Tybee Island, Georgia from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

But once we get through next week we’re hopefully pretty much clear sailing through the holidays. Should be more time for important stuff like processing photographs and making blog posts. 🙂