Day 66 – May 15 – Heceta Head Lighthouse

We had an appointment for the dogs to be groomed at 9:30 in Florence so about 9:15 we headed out to drop them off and then explore the coast north of Florence while they were at the groomers.

We drove north on 101 and soon came to an overlook of the lighthouse.  It sets on the edge of a cliff over the ocean.  Below the cliff is a small sandy beach with a couple of sea stacks just off the edge of the cliff.  We took some photos and drove on towards the lighthouse. 

Lighthouse and assistant keeper's house

There was some road construction and we were stopped just short of a tunnel.  Once out of the tunnel we crossed one of the many historic bridges along the Oregon coast.

Just past the bridge was the turn off for the lighthouse.  We drove to the parking lot and got out of the car.  It was a half-mile walk to the lighthouse.  Dorrie and Mary stayed on the beach while Rick and I walked up the path.

About half way up the path we came to the assistant light-keepers house.

From that point on there was a small concrete walkway as part of the path.  At one point there was a plaque stating there was originally a wooden walkway with a handrail so the keepers could find their way in the fog and at night.

Common Murre on the rocks

Here is a little summary on the history of the lighthouse.  “Heceta Head is named for Bruno de Heceta, a Spanish navigator and explorer, who surveyed the Oregon coast in 1775. The lighthouse was constructed between 1892 and 1893 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.  The head lightkeeper’s house was demolished and the lumber purchased for $10 in 1940 following the move from kerosene to electricity to power the lighthouse. The salvaged wood was used to construct the Alpha-Bit Café in nearby Mapleton.”

Rick and I returned to the parking lot and walked out on the beach to where Dorrie and Mary were walking around.  They had seen four starfish in the rocks, two were purple in color and other two were the brown color we normally see.

We drove back to the Old Town area of Florence and got some ice cream.  We walked around some, trying to get a good view of the bridge over the Siuslaw River at the edge of Old Town.  This is another of the historic bridges and undersides are as impressive as the top. 

 

The dogs were not ready yet so we went into a bar on the river and killed some time over drinks and nachos.  A couple we met on the beach by the lighthouse suggested a restaurant we decided we wanted to try for dinner.  The dogs were finally ready so we went to pick them up.  The groomer’s dog had 10 puppies, so we all went in to see the puppies.  They were really cute and Rick and Mary were tempted to get one – the mother was a lab and the dad was a fence jumper.

We took the dogs back to the camper and Dorrie made reservations at the Water Front Depot – the place we were told about on the beach.  We returned to the restaurant and had another good meal of fresh fish.  We are becoming quite the fish eaters on this trip!

We had decided to have dessert of pie and coffee – but the restaurant only had one type of pie and it didn’t appeal to any of us.  We tried three other places for pie and ended up returning home without dessert.

Tomorrow we move to a state park (we hope) and will not have phone or internet service.  I will post the missing days when I have service again.