Day Six - Lewis and Clark Eat Cheese!
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2008
1
11
24
Trip End
Jun 24, 2008
Tillamook,
Oregon,
United States
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
By Kelsey
I am never going to eat cheese again.
Today we went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon. Now, I knew cheese was made of purposely rotten milk, but I had never actually seen this said milk. Let me tell you, it is gross. At first, it just sort of looks like cottage cheese, but then it hardens some more and pretty soon you're looking at pale yellow curd. Then it is vacuum-packed to, they didn't say this, but I'm pretty sure, to keep it all together in a square sort of shape because if it wasn't sealed tight enough, it would probably just flop over on the conveyor belt into a mess of warm cheese/jello-looking goop. And that's all before it's been aged for 9-17 months. After it rots some more, you're supposed to eat it. Enjoy!
The Tillamook place did have some pretty tasty ice cream, though. Of course, I didn't see how it was made...
Before the cheese house, back near Astoria, we visited the spot where Lewis and Clark built their fort for the winter once they reached the ocean. The original fort burned down two years ago, but there is a replica that is almost finished. I find it ironically humorous that those men could build a fort with hand tools in a few weeks, while today the new fort has been worked on for two years and still isn't finished. That's motivation for you.
Did you know that the map Lewis drew of over 4,000 miles of land was only about 40 miles off? Impressive, I do believe.
After the cheese place, we drove north to Vancouver, Washington. We'll be staying here for three nights. That, folks, is a record!
Later,
Kelsey
Current gas price: $4.24/gallon
Starbucks count: 26
Today's iPod choices: Hairspray (the musical), Aubrey Haynie
Today's reading material: Alice in Wonderland
