Chapter 61 - Going Home

This is a departure from my usual modus operandi. I usually end my ugly screeds with a picture quote, another fop to my huge vanity.

However, I couldn't think of a good beginning to this last chapter of The Lighthouse Quest and the phrase, "All good things must come to an end..." kept running through my head and so I just ran with it.

I looked around saw some other things and came up with this semi-original quote of my own.

So there it is. A good thing has come to an end. It's time to pack our bags and head on back to LCO. To be sure, there will be some further adventures along the way as we gently motor at a leisurely and gas-saving pace back up The 101...that's a given.

But to take it a step further, with this end, why, it opens the doors to new beginnings. A new Adventure!! Another Quest!! The next chapter.

And so, having cleared the air somewhat, let's kick the tires and light the fires (Quick!! What movie is that quote from!?!) Let's get started.

Hahaha, I'm sure you got the quote. It's from the movie, Top Gun. Maverick and Goose are getting all macho as they walk down the flight line for some more blazing adventures.

But I'm not even remotely macho so I'll start my final chapter on this current adventure with a picture of some gorse. 

A certain beauty...infused with danger.

I was feeling a wee bit artsy-fartsy shooting the gorse. But, enough. No mas, as they say south of the border.

Our first stop, as we left was an old school that was in the process of being converted into an apartment complex. 

We took a drive out to see the lighthouse at Cape Arago and, on our return, spotted this school being advertised as apartments. So we resolved to drive back.

Hahahaha, evidently the idea of living in a refurbished classroom, the uniqueness of it, appeals to both Carol and I.

This one was still being worked on by the Maintenance Man who also worked at the owner's Trailer Park. It was going slowly. Oh, it is in the Charleston area of Coo's Bay. Or, as the locals call it, Charley-town.

We took the time to see the lighthouse but we also spent some time just visiting the coastline. Wow!! There's a lot there to see.

And I begin with this artsy-fartsy.

There was a large rock set a short distance from the shoreline and the top of it was covered with grass. And a couple of Canada Geese. I had never thought of geese being that close to the ocean but there they were...honking and doing geesey things on that small 'island' set just off-shore.

And I got a nice picture. I like the way the green dominates the lower right side while the blue of the ocean takes over the upper left. And, in the center, two lone figures of gray with a touch of black.

Colors. Hmmmmm, I wonder what this would look like in B&W.

(Nah, it doesn't work. Ratz!)

But we were there to revisit the Cape Arago Lighthouse. Lonely sentinel set off on an island of its own. Kept apart from the rest of the world by choice as the bridge that once spanned the gap between the island the and coast has been deliberately left broken and unusable.

A good place to stay when the Zombie Apocalypse finally happens.

A wider view from our viewpoint. The broken bridge is to the right and hidden behind the outcropping.

Here you can get an idea of where the Lighthouse is versus the viewpoint. And how rugged the coast is along this part of it.

There's a clean view of the ocean from this Lighthouse.

Occasionally, the Indian Tribe who controls the land here will open it up to visitors. Not too often, though.

Ah, the beauty of the Oregon Coastline.

The Coast is rugged and unforgiving...and battered and shaped by an ocean equally fierce.

From the viewpoint.

Then we drove up a little ways to the Shore Acres State Park.

This place alone is worth going back to see again. What a landscape. Again, I'm not a geologist but I'd be interested in learning more about these rock formations and how they were formed. Fascinating.

Before we get to them, let's take a moment to marvel at the uprooted tree. See it, just to the left? Those are the roots and the trunk of the behemoth is lying on the ground. What forces must have worked to take this monster, rip it out of the ground and place it up here on this crest?

Wow!!

OK, I can't explain any of this other than to present it and try and paint it with my meager words.

Like this. A smooth expanse of rock broken by some rugged rocks jutting up and out of it.

We both were taken with this part of the Coast.

Then there was this. I got the impression in my head of seals, resting on the shore. But heres another rock formation. 

Don't ask, I don't know.

And this!! 

What!?! How!?! Why!?!

Oh, and we saw an Oyster Catcher. Not too often you see these little fellows.

And then I spotted this lone figure way down in a semi-protected cove. Just standing on a rock.

It's a Harlequin Duck.

Ain't it something!?!

Unperturbed by the rising tide. Just standing there looking uber cool.

OK, if you know me you know there are 40-50 pictures of this guy standing there. But, because I like you, yada, yada, yada, I'll stop right here with Harlequin pics.

Still, it's a cool-looking duck.

Seriously, I can recommend a trip to this park just for the view of the coastline.

And yet another Oyster Catcher!

A semi-detail of the rugged and unforgiving coast. I can see where the ancient mariners wanted and needed those lighthouses as they navigated these shores with their sails and sextants.

I don't know. But, WOW!!

What was going on here!?! 

Party, Mother Nature!?! A little too much to drink, eh!?!

Amazing.

This isn't a threat, but I could go on and on with pictures of the unusual rock formations along the coast here. But it's time to move along and so let's head up the coast to another light...just because we can..and another adventure.

The Umpqua River Light.

With this commanding view of the Pacific Ocean.

This is the kind of a light where you just come, see and go.

Oh, there's a small museum there and you can schedule a tour of the lighthouse but because it's set in the middle of base housing there's not a lot you can do there involving the light.

You see, from the parking lot. You shoot, from the parking lot. and then you say, "OK, that was fun. What's next?"

The fresnel. This light was built at the same time as the Heceta Head Light. They used the same plans so this light is exactly identical to its northern neighbor. 

Kind of like the twin brothers, Jamal and Juan. You know what they say, "Once you've seen Juan you've seen Jamal."

Hahahaha, I crack myself up!!

Oh, BTW, it's a first order fresnel.

A little history of the light.

In all it's glory, surrounded by base housing. You gotta question the wisdom now of putting the Coastie's housing all around the light. 

Hmmmmm, I think I've seen this before.

But then we spotted, in the expanse in front of the parking lot, this guy, a Rufus Hummingbird.

I was pleased to see him and even happier that he sat still long enough for me to get more than a few pictures.

OK, this is enough. But I have more. Just ask. I'll show them to you. All of them. Honest.

There were plenty of robins there and plenty of opportunities to shoot them as well. 

And we even got to see...a Red-Tailed Hawk.

Can you say, WOW!?!

Bouncing back and forth between the robins and...

...the Red Tailed Hawk.

There were a goodly number of birds there. Like this white-crowned sparrow.

And a rather noble looking robin.

And this sleek beauty. Looking good, Lady.

Last one, honest.

So we got to see the light and a couple birds. Hahaha, Winnah, Winnah, Chicken Dinnah!

By this time the urge to get on back was greater than the urge to do some adventuring and so we headed the nose of the KIA northward on Carol's Street and headed back.

A good trip. A good time.

And then, when I got back, the next morning I found Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were back to visit for another spring.

Here's the Mister...

...And the Missus.

All in all a great adventure. 

Life is made of these little adventures in between the daily routine of living. I couldn't say 'grind' or 'rut' of living because, well, y'know, I'm retired. Routine is a much better word to describe my daily walk through life.

And it's nice to step outside the routine at times. Do a little gentle exploring...see some new sights, experience some new tastes and give ourselves an opportunity to refresh our joy at living.

And also to put paid to a particular bill. To accomplish some small something. Getting to the last two lighthouses after several years was satisfying. 

And life is good.

Since I started this rant with a Notable Quote, I'll end it with something I found on the 'Net. Hahaha, breaking all the rules here.

All good things do come to an end. It's part of the cycle of life. But each ending is simply an opportunity for a new beginning. Another adventure.

Hooah!!

And so, cue the music please,

Ciao!!

Chapter 60 - The Last One!

The third day began as nicely as the previous one. The weather was reasonable and we were ready to head off down south to find the final lighthouse of our glorious and noble Quest.

And The 101 is as beautiful going south of Bandon as it is going north.

This day we got to see our first, of many, cranberry bogs. They are all over the place south of Bandon. My impression is they're not at all like I envisioned them from the TV commercials. 

I don't know how deep these were but they didn't look as deep as the ones on TV where the guys wear those hip-waders. But they grow honest-to-goodness cranberries there so what do I know.

It was, honestly, worth it for the drive alone. The scenery is amazing.

Having spent most of my life in a suburban/urban environment, it is such a treat to be living here. I mean you can physically leave one city, travel through a beautiful forest or along the scenic coastline, and then enter another city. It's a kick in the pants!!

And I enjoy it.

I especially enjoy finding small treasures nestled in these small towns along the road. It's one of my great pleasures, when traveling, to find a one-of-a-kind restaurant, cafe or, as we did here, a 'Greasy Spoon' to eat at.

The food is always good but, y'know, the most important part of the whole thing is the ambience. The atmosphere, the mood, the flavor of the cafe as it is expressed through the decor, the tables, the chairs, the kitchen, the whole Magilla.

Hahaha, I love me some Small-Town America and on this morning we were fortunate to find a small piece of it in Langlois, Oregon. The Greasy Spoon Cafe.

Plain, unadorned, unpretentious. I could tell immediately after looking at this menu that I was really gonna like this place.

Here it is!! Order up and enjoy!!

There was the outside dining area, three picnic tables with benches. But we opted to eat indoors and thank goodness we did. 

Hahaha, lookit!! Ain't it grand!?!

And this is exactly how wide the cafe was. It was like it had once been a short trailer.

A husband and wife own the place. He is a trained chef and was the first cook here. After a while his wife suggested he train her and that they switch positions. She would take the kitchen and he could hustle tables for a while.

And they did.

And he must be a good teacher cuz the food was great. There she is running the whole kitchen by herself.

Plus, they just serve up breakfast and lunch. They close around 1300 and have the afternoon to clean, prep, get ready for the next day and then enjoy themselves.

Oh, and they have Mimosas, too.

Keeping with the 'Spoon' theme, there was this clock.

Hahahahaha, coolio!!

And on the back wall this case of collectible spoons.

Plain, simple and filling. Small-town America at its best.

I think it is the feeling of familiarity. It's that you feel like you could be welcome here and people would come to know you. It's different from the big chains.

You can't go back in life. Can't have do-overs. But, at least for a moment, you can briefly visit some things that bring you comfort and a sense of belonging. Maybe that's my affection for these small-town diners.

You know life is serious and these folks are making a living but you also get a feeling, maybe a false one, but it's a feeling nonetheless that it doesn't always have to be difficult or hard.

Sometimes you can just put something together and work it and enjoy life. Sometimes.

And the food arrives. Ahhhhh, looking good. I had the, in case you go back and check the menu, Classic Country Breakfast with a 'Meat choice upgrade - a grass-fed beef paddy.' Eggs, over easy, hash browns, gravy and sourdough toast.

And Carol rolled the dice and came up a Winnah!

She had the 'Benedict Arnold' with ham, avocado, chilis, local baby greens, poached eggs, English Muffins and drizzled with home-made balsamic.

And she said it was 'Ga-uud!!' I think this is a local take on an old standard. Whatever it hit the spot for Carol.

And while we were eating an old guy in a 1952 MG TD Sportster pulled up. Yeah, he had the required mash-up cap along with leather gloves. 

Kind of a cliche, eh, wot.

(Do I sound too jealous?)

Soon enough, after the enjoyable breakfast, we were on our way again. And just the drive alone was worth it.

It was great.

I have developed an affection for these 'road' pictures. They're not particularly attractive for the most part but there is something, like with the mailboxes and the gulls, that keeps pulling me back to them.

What is it about the open road. The blacktop reaching out into the future in front of you? What appeal does it hold? I don't know. 

Still it calls me and I, carefully, take its picture when I can.

This one is a kick. Mystery, safety, whatever, there is something just up ahead, around the bend or over the hill. Something to reach for.

And it was, in this instance, the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.

I had thought I had a pretty good artsy-fartsy picture. When I looked through the EVF (the attachable Electronic View Finder for you great unwashed), I swear I saw the WHOLE lighthouse nestled neatly in the small frame made by the top of this sign. It was all there!! From the top to the bottom, I could see the lighthouse.

Then, when I got back and downloaded the pictures I found that I had half a lighthouse. The top half but, really, still just half a bloody lighthouse.

Kee-rap!

Still it does bring you into the next part of this chapter, the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.

Sorry. No Tours Today.

Hahaha, you bet, life was definitely different back in 1876. Talk about an understatement.

        

But some things remain almost the same such as the view you can get. This lighthouse sits on a cape, or, if you will, a peninsula jutting briefly out into the ocean. So when you're on it you can look and see the ocean from three different sides. 

And it is wide enough that it effectively creates two separate vistas...one to the north and the other to the south...of the coast.

Looking north here.

And you can see, as you enter onto the peninsula, the lighthouse in front of you.

The northern part of the cape with its steep drops and rocky coast. Life was so different back in 1876 but I'm sure they appreciated the sweeping views as much as we do today. 

And pulling back with the lens...not everything has to be a zoom. You get an idea of how large this cape is.

And looking to the north, still.

As you enter onto the cape it is narrow enough to be able to see both the north and south coastlines. Not well, but you can see them.

Follow the dirty gray road,
Follow the dirty gray road,
You're off to see the Lighthouse, the wonderful lighthouse up there.

(sung to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road")

(#IshouldbebutI'mnotsorryabit)

Still facing north. The prettier of the two coastlines.

And...getting artsy-fartsy. I can't help myself, most times.

We both saw this large bird soaring over the cape up ahead and then he began making circles and moving east, towards us.

At first we thought eagle. Couldn't be a vulture, no wagging of wings. Nope!! We were thinking eagle.

Imagine our surprise when we got to see him closer up. It's a doggone Red Tailed Hawk.

And, later, and further away, we saw two of them circling together as they hunted. Or maybe they were doing a mating dance. 

Regardless, it was a kick in the pants.

Hey, finally!! The southern shore. I bet you thought I was pulling your leg about being able to see to the south.

Nope!! There it is just not quite as dramatic as the coastline to the north.

And a nice, neat, clean and clear picture of the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. The final one.

Hooah!!

Now I like this picture. The wide vista, the blue sky, the uncluttered scene.

I just wonder if I should have put it, the subject, square in the middle of the pic. I like that I'm thinking as I shoot. I deliberately cut off the foreground and included a lot of sky. I think that lends itself to the isolation of the light. It's role as a lonely beacon in a sea of darkness.

Or this one. Subject slightly off-set. Again, I was at least thinking.

This one, while it has all the components of the other, clear, clean, uncluttered, doesn't sing to me. It doesn't resonate. And I think it's because the subject here has been moved to the side. This could be because I'm arguing with myself as I view it as to what is the subject? The trees? The sky? The Light? It's not as clear a statement. It makes me, and possibly you, have to figure out what the photographer's (me) intent was. 

Too much work.

I had fun working around this light.

No annoying peoples to get in the way. No lines running off the building. No plaques or Park Service signs to break the spell.

Just the lighthouse.

And I was still thinking. Or whatever it is I do that passes for thinking.

I included the foreground in the preceding picture but not so much in this one. Essentially they're the same but...

I think I prefer the one with the foreground leading up to the light. More context? Makes it accessible cuz you can walk up to it? 

I don't quite know. What do you think?

Carol working her magic with her phone. Selfie with the last lighthouse. I should have done that, too.

A detail for your viewing pleasure.

How about that blue sky, eh!?!

The west side of the light. All the others are of the east side, the side we walked up to.

Things were definitely different then. They had a better sense of beauty and function. Without the TV or all the other crap to distract them, they tried to introduce beauty whenever they could. They tried to  put something pleasing to the eye in their surroundings. The things they would see everyday.

I love the architecture of that era. Clean, strong, and symmetrical.

The first lens here was a first-order fresnel. It was moved to Tongue Point near Astoria and replaced with this second-order fresnel in 1936.

The view from the north end of the lighthouse looking up the Oregon Coast.

And just because.

To save money they decided to make the bricks onsite rather than ship them down from San Francisco. They commissioned 200,000 and used around 80,000 in the construction of the lighthouse. 

Then, guess who (I'll give you a clue - wasn't me), spotted this guy sitting in a snag towards the northern end of the cape. 

Ka-Pow!!

Nailed it! Had to reach out a bit, though.

And I (Yay for me, finally) heard this little fellow and then actually saw where he was.

It's the State Bird of Oregon!!

A Western Meadowlark.

And just because, this little guy merits TWO pictures here. Oh, believe me, there are plenty more but I'll only put up these two.

The State Bird, y'all!!

What a view, eh? Looking south...somewhere down there is the former Great State of California, about 60 or so miles down the coast.

This isolated lighthouse holds at least four Oregon records: it is the oldest continually operating light, the most westerly, it has the highest focal plane above the sea at 256 ft., and Oregon's first woman keeper, Mabel E. Bretherton, signed on in March 1903.

And Carol, keen Birder that she is, actually went beyond the "Do Not Enter" signs to walk into this field. She wanted to get a good look to see if the Osprey was still in the snag.

Look at her, reveling in her Scofflawlessness.

I almost reported her to the authorities. I have evidence.

One final view before we began our trip back up the coast to Bandon.

But before we headed to Bandon, we drove down to Port Orford. 

Unimpressive. A long, ugly strip mall. But they do let you know where you can go to get a view of the beach.

And we did get to see their City Jail. Fighting crime must have been a spartan affair in Port Orford.

That was about it. Another day, another lighthouse. 

Oh, wait!! The LAST lighthouse.

Hahaha, it was all worth it. Just sorry it took so long to get to all of them.

It was a grand adventure. We saw six lighthouses in three days. It was the first time seeing two of them.

And we celebrated, in a fashion, St. Patrick's Day.

All in all it was fun.

Hooah!!