Great Northwest Trip - Cheesy Tourist Stop

Sue looks upon Tillamook Cheddar Cheese
Assembly Line

As has been mentioned several times on these pages; Sue has become quite the home cheese-maker and connoisseur of cheese.  Accordingly, we scheduled a diversionary trip to Tillamook County, in the Northwest corner of Oregon to visit the large cheese factory there.  It was a happening place, the 20 acre parking lot was stuffed with RV and international folks ready to sample a small free cheese cube and then get enticed into buying an ice cream cone.  We enthusiastically joined the cheesy throng of tourist.

The "tour" was self-guided, meaning that you were allowed to look through windows from above the manufacturing floor and read educational signs post below the observation windows explaining the basic process.  We watched as 40 lb chunks of cheddar were automatically delivered, sliced into retail sized blocks, wrapped and boxed.  Of course Sue wanted to know more details than the basics, but was pleased to see and figure out much of the industrial process.  As it turns out, half of the Oregon labor force was canned earlier this year and much of the Tillamook Cheese process has been relocated to Idaho.  I am not sure why, but my suspicion is that Oregon has a regressive, anti-industrial mentality and set of policies and it makes economic sense to move those jobs 1,000 miles away from the Tillamook County cows.  We were not mooved to buy at the Tillamook Factory Store, since all of the products are readily available at local grocers throughout the NW.  We did move a few blocks down the road and stopped in to the Blue Heron French Cheese Creamery.  Again free samples.  I asked if these sampled were locally made varieties of cheese?  The Cheese girl said, "No.  Blue Heron has made all of their cheese in Wisconsin since 2007".  This relocation of jobs from a state that makes it illegal to pump you own gas. Just so backwards.  It is little wonder that Oregon has the 2nd highest unemployment rate of any state in the country.

Our cheese expedition to the old County Tillamook was a worthy and inspiring one.  However, it put us way behind schedule.  Once we cross to Washington State on the north side of the Columbia River, I filled up my own gas tank, washed the windows and made our "whey" to LaConner for a brief stay with Bob, Ann, Robert, Katy Ann and Hannah + pets.