Wanderung 29

Alaska or Bust

July 2014 - August 2014

3 Hope to Seattle
Portland, Oregon 4
Index


 

August 10: Boeing Airplane Museum and Olympic Peninsula

Bob:

I tried but ultimately could not tempt Chris into accompanying us to the Boeing Museum of Flight--possibly because he has seen what happens to me in an aviation museum, which is a rather unfortunate Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde transformation. In any case, he left early to avoid rush hour traffic and begin his ride back home. We had breakfast, put the rollies in the trunk, signed out of our motel, and drove a bit toward the center of the city where the museum is located on the grounds of a small airport. It turned out to be a fantastic museum with several of the really large aircraft, including a Boeing 747 and a Concorde SST (Super Sonic Transport), sitting outside a fairly large set of display halls just jam-packed with smaller airplanes.

Monika:

Chris is a really, really early riser and he was antsy to get back home. So he left before we got up. Since Bob is an aviation fanatic, we had decided to visit the Boeing aircraft museum before going on to the Olympic Peninsula.

Bob:

Inside the main complex, I went nuts trying to read and take pictures of everything in the two halls we visited--after several hours we decided we did not have time for the historical "Boeing Hall" building that is apparently the real Boeing design facility from the early years of the company (maybe next time!).

Monika:

We were in time for a tour. The main hall has almost as many aircraft as the Udvar-Hazy center here in Washington and Bob was in seventh heaven.

Bob:

The main hall basically traced the history of aviation from the gliders of Otto Lillienthal and the Wright Brothers to supersonic aircraft and even the moon landings, which is quite a range! I was particularly intrigued by a 1-man jet-powered flying basket built by a jet engine producer to showcase a very small jet turbofan--I had never heard even a whisper about such a thing, but apparently it worked quite well. Amazing.

Monika:

There were lots and lots of aircraft of all eras ....

Bob:

But I really am an old fashioned, stick-and-rudder type of pilot, so I gravitated more to the pre-WW I and WW I-era aircraft which I could at least imagine flying. The WW I and WW II aircraft were in a separate hall dedicated to military aviation, and both the quality of the aircraft displays and the information on the plaques was just outstanding. Although I like WW I aircraft, the reality of the absolute carnage in the skies and the loss of so many brave young men, is quite depressing.

Monika:

... and more and more...

Bob:

In contrast, the early years of aviation prior to 1914 and the inter-war years of 1919-1938 allows me to look at the planes without the damnably depressing thought of warfare. There were, of course, many pioneering aviators that lost their lives in those periods, but the intent was peaceful development of aviation capabilities to the overall benefit of mankind. And a second, and probably far more important reason for most of those pioneers, was simply that flying almost any aircraft almost any place is a hell of a lot of fun! My personal opinion as a pilot is that flying the old stick-and-rudder airplanes by pilotage at low altitudes whilst watching the world roll by underneath your magic wings, is simply the most wonderful experience in the world. You skim across the landscape with seven-league boots and time really seems to stand still while you drink in the very essence of the world below you and the sky above you. I fail to do this experience justice with words, so please, Gentle Reader, take a flight in some small, preferably open-cockpit airplane at low altitudes in the rural countryside and see what I mean.

Monika:

... and more ...

Bob:

But all good things, like all flights, must come to an end. We wanted to drive up and camp in the Olympic National Park, so we reluctantly left the museum and headed South and around Puget Sound and then back North to the top of the peninsula upon which Olympic National Park is located.

Monika:

Let's be honest, Bob reluctantly left... I had been ready for a while.

The route we chose got us out of the city quickly and to the other side of the inlet and over a bridge to the Olympic Peninsula. There we drove past Port Angeles to the Elwha campground.

Bob:

There we found the same campground that we had stayed at in 1972 after I got out of the Army and we traveled around the country before I entered graduate school in the fall. Although much had happened in the intervening 40+ years, it was very satisfying to know that we could still enjoy camping there, somewhat like closing a circle in our lives. Putting up the tent, we settled in and enjoyed an evening campfire.

Monika:

We had camped at Elwha on our long camping trip in 1972 after Bob got out of the Army. Going up a mountain, our engine had seized. Our car was towed to Port Angeles and we stayed at Elwha for a week while the car got a new engine. Ahh....the memories. The campground was still nestled among the tall trees of the northwest but now there were RVs where before there only had been tents.



Copyright 2014 by R. W. Holt and E. M. Holt


 

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