Oregon Lighthouse Tour --- Part 2 of our 40th Anniversary

I have lived in the state of Washington for most of my life, but I think that my heart is still in Oregon.  I never tire of visiting the Oregon Coast......in my opinion there is nothing like it in the world.  Since Ron and I were only able to get away for a couple of days for our 40th wedding anniversary, we decided that we would take a few more days, and go again, because this will be the only time during the entire summer that we will be able to get away for more than a day. 

We decided that we would make this a tour of three particular lighthouses on the Oregon Coast....Cape Blanco which is the most southern one, then the Umpqua River Lighthouse which is near Winchester Bay, then finally Heceta Head which is just north of Florence.  Not wanting to waste any time, we left late Thursday afternoon after I had finished teaching music lessons, and drove through the night.  We got to the Umpqua River Lighthouse at 3:30 am in the morning, and drove straight up to the lighthouse.  As we pulled in the parking lot, our jaws dropped.  It is a red and white Fresnel lens that shines light onto the trees as it circles, and then shoots a beam 21 miles out to sea.  Words, or photos for that matter, cannot describe what we saw.  It was incredible!

Ron got a fantastic shot with the beams of light shooting out.  (I'm not posting his picture here, because he wants to put it on his website for sale....it is really good!)   http://www.ronsouthworth.com/lighthousegallery.htm  The first thought that came into my mind as we saw this incredible light shining in the darkness, was the hymn "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy."

 

"Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy from his lighthouse evermore.

But to us he gives the keeping, of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower light be burning, Send a gleam across the wave.

Some poor fainting struggling seaman, you may rescue, you may save."

 

 

I'll talk more about this lighthouse later.  (It was our favorite one!!)  Since we were planning on staying in Bandon for two nights, we continued driving south when it started to get daybreak.

 

The first lighthouse on our official tour, was the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, just north of Port Orford (and south of Bandon).  We got there before it opened, ate breakfast, but within a half an hour, there were practically a dozen cars waiting for the gate to open.  They only give tours of the lighthouse during certain months of the year, and we wanted to take advantage of that, so we bought tickets for a tour.  It was well worth the $3 fee for admittance.

 

 

The Cape Blanco Lighthouse is very well preserved.  In 1992, vandals shot up the lens, and it had to be replaced.  (some people are really idiots.)  It was a first order Fresnel Lens, but they replaced it with a slightly smaller one...but still bigger than a 2nd order lens.  (Fresnel lenses go from First Order being the largest, to a Sixth Order, being the smallest.)  There are volunteers who show you through the building, and explain what took place and what things were used for.  It's very interesting, and educational as well.  This is the only lighthouse which we actually got to go into the lantern room with the lens.  It weighs between 2 and 3 tons, but only has a 1/2 horsepower motor to turn the gear to rotate the lens.   

 

It's hard to describe how incredible these lenses are.....they are really a work of art, besides being a useful navigational tool.  The wind really blows hard at Cape Blanco.....but on this particular day, there was barely a breeze.....practically unheard of!  I asked the volunteer guide how hard the wind blew here, and he told me that several years ago the wind gauge broke at 179 mph.  Now, that's a wind!  Rocks had come flying up the cliff from the beach and actually broken the panes of the lantern room and chipped the lens.  There has even been times when birds have been blown through the glass panes.  (poor bird!)

The light bulb is a 1,000 watt halogen bulb, that shines 21 miles out to sea......as far as the curvature of the earth will allow you to see over the horizon.  The prisms and bull'seye glass is SO thick and clear.  There is an extra blub that is ready to activate if the working bulb burns out, so they are never without a light.  The bulbs are changed every three months.

 

The Cape Blanco Lighthouse has gone through a restoration about 5 or 6 years ago, and it is very well maintained.  Being right next to that giant glass lens, was quite a sight.

 

 

Ron, standing in the outer parking lot, before the gate opened.

By this time, we were really getting tired, because we had not gone to sleep yet.  So we decided to head back to Bandon......actually Bullards Beach State Park....to eat lunch, and then find out motel.  We checked in, got settled, ate dinner, and then headed back to Cape Blanco to try to get some sunset shots of the lighthouse and surrounding area.  I think that Ron is completely in his element when he's got his camera in hand, and searching for just the right spot to set up his gear. 

We weren't the only people with the idea of coming here for the sunset.  At least a half a dozen other cars showed up, and some people even brought lawn chairs to set up so they could get comfortable while they watched the sun go down.  This was the only evening that we actually had a few clouds to make the sky interesting.

I try not to take the same pictures as Ron, but sometimes that is impossible to do.  There are only so many angles that you can shoot from.  I used my D200 both this evening, and the next evening at Bandon.....the rest of the time I just used my little Sony RX100 point and shoot, so I wouldn't take the same photos as Ron.  (My photos end up being more of a chronicle of our trip.)

Since we were shooting straight into the sunset, it's really hard to get a good photo, so we decided to shoot an HDR.....which is a series of photos....some underexposed and then overexposed, and then they are combined to make the right light reading.  This was my first attempt at doing something like this.   (Ron's turned out really good, but I'm not posting them here, because he will put them on his website for sale.)

I  wanted to try something different, so I put a star filter on my lens, and got this shot. It makes for an interesting photo....Nikon D200.  (and yes, the sky was really that color.)

I kept my Sony RX100 in my pocket and pulled it out every once in a while.....I took this one with the point and shoot, just to see what it would do.  (Ron's HDR of this turned out fantastic!)

 

 

To say the least, when we finally got back to our motel that night, we slept pretty soundly.  We were so tired.  But Ron wanted to get some sunrise shots too, so we got up when it was still dark and headed back to Cape Blanco.  The beautiful pink morning glow, only lasted about 20 seconds.

 

One of the nicest State Parks we have even been to, is Bullards Beach State Park, at Bandon.  Every day while we were there, we would drive out to the State Park for either lunch or breakfast. 

 

The Coquille River Lighthouse is in such sad condition.  It really needs some tender loving care.  The light has been taken out (and rumors have it, that it was destroyed and thrown in the ocean by workers who were laid off.)  It is a very picturesque lighthouse, but definitely not very well taken care of.

 

The next afternoon while we waited for a nice sunset, we walked along the cliffs at Bandon, and just enjoyed the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone was enjoying the beautiful weather and the beach.  Bandon can be a fairly touristy town, so if you want pristine sand without a lot of footprints, you won't find it here.  But the sea stacks at Bandon are the best around.....they are huge!

 

I took this panoramic of Ron, at one of the cliffs above the beach at Bandon.

 

This panoramic, is looking the opposite direction....west and north.

 

 

A view looking north from the cliffs at Bandon.  You can see the Coquille River as well as the lighthouse and jetty.

 



 

I love the sea stacks at Bandon!!

 

 

I wanted to take some photos at the beach that evening, so I finally talked Ron into going with me......he said his feet were hurting because of the pedals on his bicycle at home, and he didn't feel like walking all over.  But once we got down to the beach, he walked with me anyway.  (D200 shots)

 

 

 

We had a nice little room at the La Kris Motel in Bandon.  It was very small, and run by the owners, but it was clean and had everything we needed.  We were fine until our next door neighbors had to come out on their front doorstep to smoke.  Ugh.  So we decided to pack up early and head out to Bullards Beach State Park for breakfast again.  There was a bit of morning fog, but the sun was coming through in spots....it was very pleasant.....didn't get too hot. (back to using my Sony RX100.)

 

Even though it was filtered sun, it was still bright on the eyes, and very warm.  The beach is a great place to have breakfast.

 

 

Our next stop was the Umpqua River Lighthouse at Winchester Bay, again, only this time in the daylight, so we could take the tour.  (I took the photo below from the beach below the lighthouse, with a telephoto....D200.  It's actually quite a way inland. because the sand washed it away twice before when it was sitting right on the riverbank.)

 

 

 

We were able to go on a tour through this lighthouse as well, plus there is a great museum that used to be the Coast Guard Command Center that we walked through.  This lens weighs 4 tons......it's hard to imagine how heavy that is.  But we had a unique opportunity with this light.....we actually got to poke our head up into the actual Fresnel lens itself and take photos.  All of the glass is clear, but there is red glass that is mounted on the outside that makes it look like the prisms are red.  

 

 

Can you tell that Ron is having the time of his life?

 

This is a view of the exterior of the lens. You can see the red glass that is mounted on the outside.  There are only two lenses like this left in the world.....the other one is in South America.....I think Brazil.

 

I love how the stairs wind up to the lantern room.  They are free standing, and are not attached to the brick wall.  There is only one support partway up that actually touches the bricks.  We were told that the lighthouse will move and contract with the weather's heat and cold, and with people climbing the stairs everyday, it also would vibrate the bricks, so that is why there is only a huge support beam for the stairs partway up.

Ron tried to get a shot looking straight up the circular room of the lighthouse base.

 



These are the original keys for the Umpqua River Lighthouse.

 



 

The Umpqua River Lighthouse sits on Coast Guide property, and you can drive up and park right next to it.  It's hard to get an "artsy" shot of it during the day.  The photo below is of our group in the lighthouse tour.

 

The original Coast Guard Commander's Office and Crew Quarters, is now used as a Museum.  They had rooms still set up as it would have been several decades ago, plus lots of displays and information

 

I love this model of this old sailing ship.

 



 

Our next stop was at Heceta Head Lighthouse, just north of the Sea Lion Caves and Florence.  This is the most photographed lighthouse on the Oregon Coast.  It has been completely covered up for the past two years, as it was undergoing an extensive renovation.  It looks absolutely new and beautiful now.  They had pictures there that showed how much it had deteriorated and rusted, and now it is exquisite.  It is the twin sister to the Umpqua River Light....only this First Order Fresnel lens was made in England, while the Umpqua's was made in France.  (The view below is from the parking lot, before we hiked up to the lighthouse...1/2 mile one way.)  As you can see, we had a foggy day.  The sun would almost come through the fog at times, but never quite made it....hence we didn't get any really good pictures.

 

 

Here is the staircase in Heceta Head light, looking up.  We were able to tour this lighthouse as well.  It is now in pristine condition.  Gorgeous!

 

 

We could only go to the bottom of the stairs into the lantern room.  The lens rotates one revolution every two minutes.  It is the strongest light on the Oregon Coast, and shines 21 miles out to sea.

 



There is a trail that goes up the hill behind the lighthouse, which we took.  I think it would be a nice photo if we had some sun and puffy clouds for a sunset.  We are definitely going to go back and try it again sometime.

The assistant Light Keepers House has been turned into a Bed and Breakfast.....there are rumors that it is haunted.  It is a duplex because there were two assistant keepers.   The main light keepers house was just beyond this, but it has since been torn down. 

 

You can see how immaculately they have restored this lighthouse.  They even had to make new corbels for underneath the walkway at the top.  The baring ball at the top, was completely rusted and eroded away, so they made a new one.  The paint job is fantastic.  The lighthouse has only been open for two weeks since it's restoration.  And yes, the roof is really that red!

 

I had to try out a feature on my Sony that I haven't used before.....it's a panoramic when you just hold down the shutter and move the camera.  Turned out pretty cool.  Can you see Ron?

In case you missed him, here is shot of him close up.  We came back to the lighthouse after closing hours of the tour, so most of the people were gone.  The wind was blowing like crazy and kept blowing off my hat.  But the view was absolutely breathtaking.

This time I took a panoramic the "real" way....one shot at a time, and then stitched them together in Photoshop.

 

We stayed at the cutest little motel in Yachats, for our last night.  We loved it!  It had a huge room, plus a great view of the ocean.

 

 

Here is the interior of our room......pretty nice!

 

And this is the view from our window.  We brought all of our own food, but this last night we went to dinner at a great little restaurant just around the corner.

I wanted to stop at Cape Foulweather, because they have a wonderful little gift shop there, and the view is incomparable. This shot is looking north out of the window of the gift shop.....it is situated on a cliff, and goes straight down to the ocean from the window sill.  Cape Foulweather is know for some of the strongest winds on the Oregon Coast....that's where it gets it's name.  It's is located just a few miles north of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, at Newport.

We didn't visit the Yaquina Head Lighthouse this trip.  They have closed it down because of government cutbacks, and are trying to figure out a way to still have the tours.  It is run by a different department in the government, but it is manned by volunteers.

We hope to be able to get a good shot of this one as well, someday.  So we went to Agate Beach State Park just to check out the view.  The wind was blowing like crazy, and I was not real excited about getting out of the truck to get blown apart, so I just stood by they truck to take this shot.  I think that we might need to rent a longer telephoto however.

 

Ron is already checking his calendar to figure out when we can take our next trip to the Oregon Coast.  We want to go at different months, because the weather is so different during the different times of the year.  I kept thinking it would be fun to have some of our kids and grandkids come with us.....but they would probably be bored to death.  When you're a photographer, you do a lot a waiting around to get the right light....and stay up late, and get up early, so you don't get much sleep at night.  We took lots of naps in the afternoon though.  I'm glad that both Ron and I enjoy photography....it gives us something to do that we both love.  Hopefully I'll get his photos up on his website before too long.  Then it will be time to go on another trip to take some more!