Cape Blanco State Park

The next stop on our tour of Oregon’s coastal state parks was Cape Blanco State Park. On the day we arrived the weather was cold and gloomy. Really, really cold. So cold that even though we bundled up with three layers, our trip to the beach was brief and brisk.

Crazy Tim, where’s your hat!

Luckily the beauty of the beach made the cold journey worthwhile. Cape Blanco is a far more rugged part of the coast than anywhere we have previously visited. There are no soft rolling dunes, or grassy meadows leading up to the beach, just cliffs and ocean.

Another deserted beach

Large pieces of driftwood pile up along the bottom of the cliffs

Look at this cool rock we found! It’s like rocks within a rock. There were quite a few of these scattered around.

rocks on a rock

It’s a good thing we made it down to the beach because the next day it rained and rained and rained. We stayed inside all day except for a few quick trips out with the pooch. Needless to say after that we were more than ready for an outdoor excursion, and luckily the next morning the rain stopped and the skies cleared. It was still cold though so we headed over to the lighthouse for a tour.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

After our previous unsuccessful attempts at touring several lighthouses, this time we made it happen. In addition to viewing the inside of the lighthouse we also learned some fun lighthouse facts. A few I found most interesting are: 1) The Cape Blanco Lighthouse is located at the most westerly point of Oregon. 2) When it was first in operation the light was fueled by lard which the keepers had to carry up the stairs in a copper jug to replenish once a day. 3) The rotating glass lens that resides at the top of the lighthouse today was built in France in 1936 and shipped over here in numbered pieces.

The rotating lens

We learned lots more fun facts and tons of figures like how big the lens is in diameter and height, how many bricks it took to build the the lighthouse, and how far out to sea the light shines. Of course I don’t remember any of these numbers, but if you want to learn more about the Cape Blanco Lighthouse check out these links here and here.

Backside of the lighthouse

The lighthouse sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean below. On one side is a bay filled with giant rocks thrusting out of the sea.

The bay view

On the other side is a view of the beach we had visited a few days prior.

The beach below

We’re glad we finally got to tour a lighthouse, and despite the cool temps and one day of almost non-stop rain, we enjoyed our time at Cape Blanco. We must be moving on though. We have two more state parks to visit before we head into California.