The Hood River getaway was so wonderful that, as promised, the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM for short) deserves a feature all its own. I loved this museum far too much to leave it as just a paragraph in my Hood River recap.
WAAAM is a sprawling aviation and automobile museum located beside a small airfield in Hood River. As we pulled into the parking lot, we were greeted by snow-capped mountains rising dramatically both behind and beyond the museum, an impressive setting before we had even stepped inside.
What truly sets WAAAM apart is that it’s a living museum. Most museums display static artifacts behind ropes or glass, but here you’ll notice oil stains beneath the airplanes because many of them are still operational and actively flown. The antique aircraft are maintained in flying condition, and the vintage cars aren’t merely polished showpieces: they still run and drive.
And the scale of the place is astonishing. The museum spans a massive five-acre building packed with history in every direction.
Inside, you’ll find early biplanes and classic aircraft, including a Curtiss “Jenny,” alongside hundreds of vintage automobiles ranging from Model Ts to elegant luxury classics. There are motorcycles, military vehicles, antique engines, tools, and countless quirky transportation artifacts from what truly feels like the golden age of travel and innovation. Every corner reveals something unexpected, and it’s the kind of place where you can wander for hours without realizing how much time has passed.
One of my favorite parts of the experience was talking with the enthusiastic volunteers, whose stories brought the collection to life in unforgettable ways. One fascinating tale centered around an impossibly delicate vintage glider with extraordinarily long, thin wooden wings. We learned that gliders like this played surprising roles during World War II, and that this particular aircraft had recently traveled cross-country to appear at a major aviation event, a reminder that many of WAAAM’s aircraft are not simply museum pieces, but active participants in aviation history.
Another unforgettable story involved a Cunningham-Hall PT-6 fitted with skis that reportedly landed in Montana in deep snow country with a veterinarian on board to rescue six stranded horses, flying them out one by one.
We also saw what is believed to be the oldest Boeing airplane still flying today: the 1928 Boeing Model 40C. After crashing in southern Oregon in 1928, the wreckage sat abandoned for decades before eventually being recovered from the remote crash site and painstakingly restored to flying condition.
That’s why WAAAM feels less like a formal museum and more like stepping into a working time capsule. The volunteers, the stories, and the still-functioning machines create an atmosphere that is deeply personal, hands-on, and full of passion. It’s not just a collection of old vehicles—it’s living history, lovingly preserved by people who genuinely want to share it.
