Monday, July 15, 2013

Well, I've procrastinated for a full week this time!

Here are some camera photos I failed to post last week; they're from the large burl wood shop right across from Jerry & Sharon Work's place in Kerby, OR.  Its a fantasmagorical place of furniture and decorations made from mostly redwood roots and burls:


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As planned, Jim & Judy Hupy arrived on Monday with the trolley for engine removal.  Jerry and I had most of the disconnecting finished, so we did only a little more work that day.  On Tuesday, we pulled the engine; here's Jerry doing the "dirty deed":



After Jim completed the TDA (Tear Down & Analysis) of the failed engine, Sharon took this of Jim, Jerry, Judy and me:


The TDA showed that the engine, which Jerry had been assured was a near-perfect example with original bores, forged pistons, and all premium quality was, in fact, a poorly executed "refresh" of a previously bored engine.  At least two cylinders were badly scored, probably by improperly installed piston rings.  The bearings, which from Jerry's description of the noise we expected to be bad, were not.  The "beach sand" in the crankcase was from the scored cylinders.  SAD!

Reluctantly, after the great hospitality afforded by Jerry and Sharon, I departed on Wednesday to continue my journey NORTH.

I wound up in Eugene, OR, to visit my old, never-before-met, friend, Kelvin Dietz.  He and his wife were in the midst of preparations for a trip themselves, so our visit was short, but I did enjoy dinner with them on Wednesday evening.  The next morning, they came by my camping spot at Valley River Center:


If you're ever in Eugene, but sure to visit that location.  The Willamette River flows through Eugene; its banks, for 12 miles, are lined with beautiful parks, with bike/jogging/skateboarding paths, and other amenities, all of which seem well-enjoyed by the public.  At the Valley River Center mall, the huge parking lot is shared with those river facilities.  Overnight RV parking is permitted (2 nights per 30 day period), with permits issued by the mall security.  With a lot of room and security patrols in the area, one could hardly ask for a nicer place to park.

From Eugene, I moved on to Salem, to visit with Jim & Judy Hupy.  Parking in their backyard, beside Jim's shop, I felt right at home.  I'm afraid Jim didn't get much work out of me, but he still fed me good (in addition to his renowned mechanical expertise, he's also an excellent cook and prepares most of their meals).

On Saturday, Jim and I went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, OR  <http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/the-museum/>.  My particular interest in the visit was to see the "Spruce Goose", Howard Hughes' (in)famous wooden seaplane, largest wing-span aircraft ever built.  That was just as impressive as I'd expected.  But I was not expecting the facility in which it's located:  The Evergreen Museum is a fantastically wonderful private undertaking.  There are 3 main buildings:  

A water park, which has on its roof, reportedly as the starting point for a water slide, a Boeing 747 -- we didn't visit there.  

The second building, contains the Spruce Goose and MANY other notable aircraft from a replica of the Wright Flyer to an SR-71.  All in immaculate condition and exhibited in spotless surroundings with excellent descriptive posters.  


It's really not possible to do the aircraft justice in a photograph, especially when its confined to a building into which it will barely fit.




Visiting the cockpit is an extra-charge tour which we didn't spring for, so these fuzzy photos were made of a video screen



 The third building, which I originally suggested we skip since I'd "seen it all", is the Space Museum.  That was the biggest surprise of the day.  Not only did they have replicas of many of the most significant of our US space achievements, but also of those from Russia.  There were MANY items which I had NOT seen -- many, not even known about.

DO NOT fail to visit that museum if you're anywhere nearby.  It's the equal in quality of any, including the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB or the USN Aviation Museum at Pensacola.

On Sunday, I bid adieu to Jim & Judy and headed back to the Pacific coast, at Otis.  I had no particular destination in mind and visited several of the county and state parks along the coast before stopping for the night in Garibaldi, OR at the Old Mill RV park.  Here are a few pictures of the coast to illustrate the beauty of the area:





Garibaldi, population 775, is very much a seaport/fishing village



Right beside the RV park where I'm located is the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad
which I almost took a ride on, just for Fred Veenschoten -- but I wouldn't have been able to adequately describe it to him, so this will have to do:



Until the next time,

Ken H.

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