Heceta Head Lighthouse #6

Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything, very busy, but that is no excuse, I will definitely stay on top of this in the future. Continuing the lighthouse tour, this is Heceta Head Lighthouse, just north of Florence, it is just beautiful, one of the most photographed spots in all of Oregon. The lighthouse is currently undergoing a complete renovation, should be done by next Spring/Summer, will definitely take a trip over to see the finished product.

Take care, as always, more to follow......

 

Heceta Head Lighthouse (March 30, 1894)

Named after the Spanish Explorer Don Bruno de Heceta, the Heceta Head Lighthouse towers 205 feet above the Pacific Ocean. This lighthouse is one of our favorites because of the amazing view of the ocean. This site was purchased in 1889, and five years later on March 30, 1894, the light was lit by Andrew Hald, Heceta Head's first principal keeper. Unlike a number of the other lighthouses on the Oregon coast, Heceta Head Lighthouse doesn't offer stories of life and death. Several families had the opportunity to call Heceta Head their home. The children all attended school together in a single-room, as travel around Heceta Head was somewhat minimal due to its remote location. However, this all changed soon after the highway was completed between Florence and Yachats in 1932. Nearby, there is a bridge over Cape Creek and a tunnel that makes its way through the hillside. A couple years later, electricity finally arrived at the lighthouse and the lamp was replaced with a bulb. Probably the most excitement for Heceta Head was during World War II, when the Coast Guard sent 75 men to this station to word against prospective Japanese attacks. Besides that, there really isn't much to tell. Don't let that stop you from visiting this icon of Oregon's past. This structure has been renovated and offers an enjoyable afternoon high above the sea. Heceta Head Lighthouse is above the Lion Caves - 12 miles north of Florence off Highway 101. Look for the road to Devil's Elbow State Park around milepost 178. You will have about a half mile walk up a hill from the park.



 

 

Sand Boarding

During the last part of our last week of summer vacation, we took Justin and a couple of his friends to Florence, OR, to do a little sand boarding. There is a nice little place located right next to the sand dunes that allows you to rent the boards for a full 24 hours, and there is plenty of terrain to explore and try your skills. There is also a ramp located right next to shop, that is a lot of fun, to either start or end your visit, in our case, the kids tried the ramp at the end of the day. Hope you enjoy the photos, we sure enjoyed the day and it will definitely be an activity that we will try again in the future, take care!

Mount St. Helens

We went to Mount St. Helens a couple of weeks ago, it was a spectacular day, we have been meaning to visit the mountain for the last couple of years, but it just never fit in to the schedule. It is hard to believe it has been 32 years since the mountain erupted on May 18, 1980, I still remember it like it was yesterday, in fact, we had to cancel soccer practice because there was just too much ash in the air. We have been up there several times and it is still hard to imagine how much elevation the mountain lost after the eruption and is now replaced by a huge crater, I have attached a short story about the eruption, enjoy, as always, more to follow...

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96 miles (154 km) south of Seattle, Washington and 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a friend of explorer George Vancouver who made a survey of the area in the late 18th century.^[1] The volcano is located in the Cascade Range and is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire that includes over 160 active volcanoes. This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows.

Mount St. Helens is most notorious for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am PDT,^[2] the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche triggered by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, caused an eruption, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft (2,950 m) to 8,365 ft (2,550 m) and replacing it with a 1 mile (1.6 km) wide horseshoe-shaped crater.^[3] The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles (2.9 km³) in volume. The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the volcano and allow for its aftermath to be scientifically studied.

As with most other volcanoes in the Cascade Range, Mount St. Helens is a large eruptive cone consisting of lava rock interlayered with ash,pumice, and other deposits. The mountain includes layers of basalt and andesite through which several domes of dacite lava have erupted. The largest of the dacite domes formed the previous summit, and off its northern flank sat the smaller Goat Rocks dome. Both were destroyed in the 1980 eruption.

Lighthouse #5-Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse

As you can see by the description, this lighthouse is attached to a residence and it is not very easy to take pictures of, in fact, you have to pull to side of the road and then get out on the highway and take pictures real fast. Deb and Justin were quite nervous watching me out on Highway 101, as cars are whizzing past around the corner, it actually makes for a nice picture, pretty background, take care, more to follow........

Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse (1976)

Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse was built by Jim Gibbs, a former keeper of the famous Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. The tower is a replica of the 1898 Fiddle Reef Lighthouse, which was a lighthouse on Vancouver Island long ago. Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse stands 110 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Gibbs decided to build this private lighthouse as part of his home. It is located on the cliffs just south of Yachats. Jim Gibbs has written a number of books, including Tillamook Light and Pacific Graveyard. He is a true historian of lighthouse, maritime and shipwreck history, and has collected a number of treasures from the past that now decorate his home. This lighthouse is not open to the public, and can only be viewed from mile post 166 on Oregon's Highway 101. Just after passing this mile post marker, look down off the northwest side of the highway, and you will see James Gibb's home and lighthouse as shown below. We ask that you please respect his privacy, and not go any closer than what the freeway has to offer.

Japanese Dock

Taking a quick break from the lighthouse tour to show you a couple of pictures of the Japanese dock that floated some 4500 miles and landed at Agate Beach near Newport, OR, we wanted to take some pictures before the dock was dismantled and removed from the beach. It was quite an awesome sight, the dock was over 60 feet long and was nearly seven feet tall, it is the largest piece to wash up on Oregon's shore as a result of last year's tsunami.

Lighthouse #4-Yaquina Bay

This is the other lighthouse in Newport, it is on the south end of town, where as Yaquina Head is on the north part of town. This lighthouse is no longer used, it is fun to visit, rooms are very small, designed for the particular time period, pre-1900's, take a look at the pictures of Justin in the lighthouse, it looks like a giant in the small rooms. Take care everyone, more to follow.....

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (November 3, 1871)

The lighthouse on Yaquina Bay is another popular lighthouse to visit along the Oregon coast. You wouldn't imagine this lighthouse was only in operation for three years, and was nearly torn down several times. Nonetheless, it stood the test of time and now offers a terrific place for visitors to take a brief look into the past. A number of people had wonderful expectations for Yaquina Bay and the Newport area. As a result, this lighthouse was built to begin the expected migration of settlers into this fertile land. The lighthouse was lit for the first time on November 3, 1871. Both before and after the completion of the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse people argued over where the lighthouse should have been built. As a result, the Yaquina Head Lighthouse was built just two years later. Then, just one year after that, on October 1, 1874, Yaquina Bay's light was extinguished. Because of the short amount of time that this lighthouse was in operation, there are few stories to tell. However, there is a short story written by Lischen M. Miller that details a sea captain's daughter who was never to be seen again after entering the abandoned Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. This story as well as the lighthouse's historical presence is what kept it alive through the years, as this house spent a number of decades in shambles. It wasn't until 1974 that Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was fully restored by the Oregon State Park Group. Today, visitors from all over visit this house. It is one of the few that are open all year, and can be viewed from the inside. Several of the rooms have memorabilia of Oregon's maritime past that are on loan from the Oregon Historical Society.

Lighthouse #3-Yaquina Head

This lighthouse, along with Heceta Head lighthouse, are probably the two we have visited the most, the views are quite spectacular, I have taken a lot of photos of this area, and I am always excited to go back, it is one area of the Oregon Coast I could go back to every time we visit. I am including a couple of my favorite photos of this lighthouse, the one with the birds is one of Grandma's favorites.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse (August 20, 1873)

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is one of the most popular lighthouses in the United States. There are hundreds of thousands of guests that visit every year. The tower is the tallest on the Oregon Coast - soaring 93 feet in the air. This lighthouse is the only Oregon Lighthouse with a marble floor. It stands 162 feet above sea level, and can be seen from ocean vessels as far away as 19 miles. I was told this by one of the kind volunteers at this lighthouse. He added that it can be seen "no further, thanks to the curvature of the earth." There has been much talk in the past that this lighthouse was supposed to have originally been constructed on Otter Crest (ten miles north of Newport). However, this rumor was found to be a misconception. During construction, two different boats met their doom on Yaquina Head's shores trying to deliver supplies. After much labor, the lighthouse was lit on August 20, 1873. There was a large dwelling built for the three keepers that manned this lighthouse station. Because of this lighthouses proximity on the coast, there were a number of storms and high winds that caused surface damage to the tower and the keeper's dwellings. Fences were built to ward off rocks and other debris from destroying the property. However, this didn't stop the tower from being struck by lightning in October of 1920. Luckily, through the years, the lightening and severe storms haven't really hurt this lighthouse. In fact, to this very day the structure of the lighthouse is within one inch of being perfectly straight. If you would like a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding area, be prepared to walk circles up a number of lighthouse stairs! Also, it is worth the time to talk with the volunteers at this lighthouse; they are all very nice and have a number of interesting stories and facts to offer. At the top of this lighthouse you will get a good view of the lens that magnifies a blinking 1000 watt light bulb.

Lighthouse #2-Cape Meares

Hello everyone-this lighthouse is located just outside of Tillamook, where we went to the cheese factory, it is located in a very pretty area, please see the description I found on the internet with regards to this lighthouse.

 Hope all is well, will be posting again very soon!





Cape Meares Lighthouse (January 1, 1890)

The Cape Meares Lighthouse resides 200 feet above the Pacific Ocean just beside steep cliffs. This lighthouse doesn't offer many stories of peril like its sister lighthouses on the Oregon coast. On January 1, 1890 Cape Meares was lit by Anthony Miller (the first principal keeper) and his two assistants. At this time, the lighthouse consisted of a fire-wick kerosene lamp and an eight-paneled lens that had both red and clear panels to create a red flash every minute. Cape Meares' light could be seen for 21 miles. The story of Cape Meares reads much like "Little House on the Prairie." A number of families took care of this lighthouse through its years. Cape Meares Lighthouse experienced weddings, childbirth, and one death. A keeper, and new father, by the name of George Hunt became sick and died from severe pneumonia on July 10, 1903. While tending a lighthouse may seem like a fun job, it comes with a price. Most lighthouses, including Cape Meares, were a good distance and difficult journey from the rest of civilization. In 1963 the original lens was replaced by a flashing light. The lighthouse no longer needed someone's careful eye. A few years after this, the Oregon State Parks took control of the area. You can now view the lighthouse by visiting Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint. The parking lot you will use was once the keeper's dwelling and barn. The path you follow down to the lighthouse is the same path that the keepers once used.



Lighthouse #1

As you all may know, it has been a goal of mine to take a picture of every lighthouse in Oregon, well, this summer, I was able to complete the task. There are 11 lighthouses listed in Oregon, however, 2 are actually attached to residences, therefore, there are really only 9 actual lighthouses, but I did take a photograph of all 11. Starting with this post, I will feature one lighthouse at a time, with a little background about each one, I will start with the northernmost lighthouse and work my way south down the coast of Oregon, hope you enjoy the journey! The first lighthouse is Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, and it is located just outside Cannon Beach, in the Northern Oregon Coast, I have added a story I found on the web just beneath the photo.

If you venture to Ecola State Park you will be treated to your best view of the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. This is about as close as you will get to this particular Oregon lighthouse, as it is located one mile from the shoreline. So, if you would like a good look at Tillamook Rock you will have to bring your binoculars.

Workers had to improvise to overcome the many challenges presented by the task of building this lighthouse. 30 feet of rock was blasted to create a flat structure for workers to build on. The construction claimed one man's life, and took over two years to complete.

Just days before the final completion of Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, workers heard a ship approaching in the night. The lighthouse was not prepared for lighting, so driftwood and lanterns were set on fire to warn an English ship by the name of "Laputa" of the approaching dangers. The next morning the workers found the "Laputa" had struck the mainland, killing all sixteen passengers on board. Days later, on January 21, 1881, the lighthouse, standing 133 feet above the ocean, was lit for the first time.

Five men worked this lighthouse. Four were always working on "The Rock" with a fifth taking a break on the mainland. Because of the violent waters around Tillamook Rock, these men would often be stuck for months at a time without their scheduled provisions. Life on this rock was very hard; there were no families or female keepers. As you can imagine, the storms made for wretched conditions; waves would crash over the rock bringing heavy debris.

The constant wear and tear on this lighthouse made it the most expensive to operate in the nation! Because of this, the lighthouse was finally abandoned and the light turned off on September 10, 1957.

This lighthouse is now a "cemetery at sea." It is designed to hold more than a half-million urns of human ashes, and is privately owned.

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is not open to the public but can be viewed from Ecola State Park. This park is located on the north side of Cannon Beach. I recommend that you visit this park and bring some binoculars to view the lighthouse with. This is one of the most beautiful places on the entire Oregon coast! If you visit the Seaside or Cannon Beach area, you simply have to stop by. Ecola State Park has a $3 parking fee.

First Entry

Hello everyone,

Sorry it has taken me so long to post my first blog entry, life is busy, but that is no excuse. I will make a conscience effort to be more pro-active to share the photos and stories from our adventures, I am looking forward to sharing, hope you enjoy the photos.

We had the opportunity to go to Idaho last month, we stayed in Twin Falls, and went to visit Shoshone Falls. It is referred to as the "Niagara of the West" as it is actually 50 feet taller than Niagara Falls.

The second photo is the State Capitol building in Boise, it is beautiful, makes Oregon's and Washington's seem ugly by comparison, I think they just need a good cleaning.

The third picture is the "blue turf" at Boise State, what a nice facility, the field looks better in person than it does on television, wouldn't mind going to a football game there some time.

Finally, I have accomplished my goal of taking pictures of all the lighthouses in Oregon, I will forward pictures in the coming weeks, maybe one per day with a story.

That is all for now, please look for more posts in the very near future, hope all is well with everyone, talk to you soon!