Our lighthouse adventure coming to a close

Umpqua River Lighthouse

I can’t believe that that month of March is almost over.  Today we start our last 3 days of hosting at Heceta Head Lighthouse. This has been a great experience and we hope to return one day when the tower is open and the light is on. There is a slide show on the renovation in our displays and I have watched it now several times. It is amazing that they were able to get it looking like this is just over a year. The amount of detailed hand work that it took to preserve this building is just amazing. We have had a chance to see several of the other lighthouses and I may be biased but I think this lighthouse is the crown jewel of the Oregon Coast. If you drive this coast line anytime after June it will be well worth your time to stop and visit.

We also have enjoyed the people here and the park. If we returned we would hope for a site that we could get our dish to work, but for a month at a time, I know I can handle being without it. Because we just have to go a short ways to the day use area for cell it doesn’t feel as isolated as we were in California. I am looking forward to being in places that we will have continuos cell and internet. I have fallen so behind on the blogs I read it will take me awhile to catch up. It seems like when we do go somewhere to get online it is never for long enough. I miss my mornings when I could relax with my coffee and spend time with friends via their blogs. 

Oregon Dunes

Shore Acres Botanical Garden

Last week on our days off we drove south along the coast to checkout the Umpqua Lighthouse and a couple other Oregon state parks. The Umpqua River Lighthouse is still manned by the Coast  Guard and is a working lighthouse and there are no tours. It was great to see the light on! Then we stopped at Sunset Beach and Shore Acres State Park. The sites at Sunset Beach campground seemed a lot shorter that the ones at Washburn. There isn’t a campground at Shore Acres but there is a beautiful Botanical garden. Its clear that spring is gradually making its appearance. Even with it just partially in bloom it is a beautiful place to visit. 

View from overlook at top of Cape Perpetua

Our other outing was just this week, on Monday we went to Cape Perpetua for a long hike. This area is just about 7-8 miles north of us and is a National Forest Service park. We took the Cook’s Ridge and Gwen Creek trail loop that is approximately 6.5 miles. It is a great hike. The first two miles gains almost 1000 feet in elevation but then levels out and has a nice 3-4 miles of downhill. It takes you through old growth forest with some very large trees. Not as big as the redwoods but big enough to make you feel very small. There are steams cascading down in small waterfalls and the beautiful Gwen creek. It ends with nice views of the Pacific ocean. As if all of that wasn’t enough we drove the winding road in the day use area up to the top of the park where the view is absolutely stunning. I don’t think the photos due it justice. The day was kind of gray so the photos come out a little flat but believe me the view is anything but flat even on a gray day. There were a group of about 5 college boys up there at the same time.  One fella, before he knew I was there, yells out “this is the most #$!!**X beautiful view I’ve ever seen”. I actually have to agree with him though I probably would have stated it differently.

The Oregon coast has quickly become one of our favorite places. It has mountains, forests, lakes, dunes, rivers, lighthouses and the ocean. Its hard to beat. We will be a little sad to say goodbye. The good news is, it is high on our list of places to return to.

I'll leave you with some more photos of the gardens. Spring is here. :)

Happy Trails.................