We woke today to rain and more rain. But after lunch, the rain stopped and the skies cleared. So we took a chance and headed to the lighthouse. It turned out to be clear and just a little breezy.
The colors of the ocean!:
Check out those clouds over the mountains – very stormy there:
They were giving tours today so off we went. It is about .25 mile from the parking lot to the lighthouse and the scenery..oh my.
The road:
The views:
The clouds:
The lighthouse:
“The most westerly and southerly as well as the oldest continually operating light station in the state, Cape Blanco Lighthouse is situated four miles north of Port Orford. Cape Blanco itself is the westernmost point of Oregon and the second-most westerly point of the United States after Cape Alava in Washington.
Jutting 1.5 miles out into the Pacific Ocean, the headland is often exposed to strong winds. Most of the time, wind blows about 20 miles per hour (mph) but during the winter storms, it can reach 100 mph. During the Columbus Day Storm in October 1962, the gale brought deadly winds up to 180 mph.
Constructed in 1870, the lighthouse is 59 feet high and towers 245 feet above sea level. In clear weather, the beam can be visible as far as 23 nautical miles out, warning ships away from dangerous reefs. In 1980, it became fully automated.”
We stopped in the gift shop, got our tickets, and started the tour there.
Our tour guide told us all about the history of the land. This is the second most westerly point in the continental United States. Winds average 20 mph and in storms the wind can be over 100 mph. Once it hits 50 mph, they stop the tours and close down the lighthouse and gift shop.
The gift shop / small museum was originally the shop that was renovated.
While most Oregon lighthouse keepers rotated their stations every few years, the men and women stationed at Cape Blanco were a dedicated bunch. Two keepers, Langlois and his replacement, James Hughes, served at the cape their entire careers, 42 years and 36 years respectively. And in 1903, the first women lighthouse keeper was stationed here.
The original setup:
Entering the lighthouse building:
The original layout – now there is only one room and the lighthouse:
Barrel of Lard – this was the original lamp fuel for the light:
How they got the lard to the top:
As we have seen in some of the other lighthouses, the stairs are freestanding and not attached to the wall. However in this one, the landings are attached. (We could not go up the stairs. .)
Every lighthouse we have been, we have found that all the white paint was removed from the inside because of the moisture. I wonder if they were all done at the same time.
The bricks for this one were brought in by land. All other materials were by sea.
If you look at the bricks before the door and the white brick wall after – this is the thickness of the lighthouse. However, between the two areas is a space for air flow.
This was original two rooms – the work room and the oil room:
Looking toward the lighthouse stairs and our docents in the picture with Andy – they were wonderful:
The white smock on the right that was worn to clean the lens and a list of the tools of the trade:
The tools of the keeper:
They had to keep everything very clean, including the house, barn and all other buildings. There would be an inspector that would come every so often and check. If something was not clean, they would either get a “demerit” or be fired. We were told one story that one of the keepers had five children and the one little girl did not clean up her room before the inspector came thru. Yep, they got dinged!
We had perfect weather for this tour and I am so glad we waited:
The Fresnel Lens:
https://www.us-lighthouses.com/cape-blanco-lighthouse
https://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=125
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/cape_blanco/#.Y1ROfXbMJPZ
Our site at the campground:
The rest of the day rained and then cleared again so I took a chance on seeing the sunset from the lighthouse parking lot. This was about 20 minutes from sunset and a light rain started:
And we were blessed with a beautiful rainbow:
And the clouds, wind, and rain rolled in:
And that was the end of the visible sunset:
After the sunset – oh well!
Tonight is our last night on the Oregon Coast. Tomorrow we head to California but we will still be on the coast.
So stay tuned and enjoy today.
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