It was a day for exploration. The weather was clear, cool and breezy. We hopped into Charlotte, took the squiggly road back to 101 and headed south to Cape Blanco. We have tried twice before to go out to the lighthouse at Cape Blanco but both times we were turned back. In 2014, the howling wind was blowing our trailer into lanes where it should not have been and we chickened out and turned around. About two weeks ago we came down to Cape Blanco with just the truck but it was so foggy we were having a tough time seeing 50 feet. The road to the lighthouse was closed.
Today, we drove right out to the lighthouse parking lot. The wind was whistling along at about 35 knots but the skies were blue. As soon as we left the parking lot, we ran into a volunteer couple named Jim and Bliss who directed us toward the observation building/bookstore/library/fee station where we paid the $2 a head entry fee. They should charge more.
The Cape Blanco Lighthouse sits atop Cape Blanco, the furthest west spot in Oregon. Magnificent cliffs extend north and south from the Cape and the ocean below us was pockmarked with massive rock monoliths and reefs. The views up and down the coast are spectacular. The lighthouse itself is pretty interesting. This lighthouse still operates, unlike the lights at Cape Arago and Heceta Head further up the coast.
On the way out of the lighthouse grounds, we ran across Jim and Bliss again. They were trying to stay in places out of the stiff wind and we all found the leeward side of their Ford F-250 a great spot for chatting and checking out the fabulous views. We found out a lot about the area, some of the locals and some interesting lighthouse tidbits. We also found out they are full-time RVers like us and go from place to place like us but, unlike us, they volunteer to help out in parks. They were very nice folks. Maybe we’ll stop in and see them again tomorrow.
Peggy and I also probed all the paved and some of the gravel roads west from 101 between Bandon and Cape Blanco but none seem to make it to the ocean. The scenery was gorgeous anyway. This is a particularly stunning part of the world and we both eagerly await more exploration tomorrow.
There’s some pix of all this wonderfulness that you can see if you click here