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Newport, Oregon
All Photos © Tim N. Touchton
Each photograph
is available as an 8x10 for a cost of $ 12.00
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I took this photograph on June 26, 2000 while on our way along the coast
of Oregon
on Hwy 101. We visited Heceta Head, Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head Lighthouses
all
on the same day. We stayed in Reedsport this night and visited the Umpqua
River
Lighthouse the following morning. We had left Vancouver, Washington in the
morning and
headed south and then jumped west on 126 towards Florence after we made it
to Eugene.
I have completely worn Richard out on this trip and we have packed in so much
activity and
travel each and every day. In Oregon the gas attendants pump your gasoline.
Oregon and New
Jersey, I believe, are the only 2 states that you are not allowed to pump
your own gas. I was told
repeatedly, while in Oregon, "you're not from around here are you?".
We had stopped at the famous
Sea Lion caves while heading up the coast around the Heceta Head Lighthouse,
except I wasn't going
to pay $6.50 each just to see the sea lions. It is an awesome site, but we
saw plenty of them in California,
and for free. We did spot a few along the Oregon coast as we traveled. It
seems that nothing is free in
Oregon. You have to pay for everything, even to enjoy mother nature is at
a price. Coastal Oregon is
very beautiful, but you have to pay to see any park, any beach, any hiking
path, etc. It is almost impossible
to see the massive Oregon Dunes too since every way to get to them is "for
a fee". I'm not used to having
to always pay to view nature. However, it is beautiful here, very beautiful.
The weather this day is gorgeous with beautiful clear blue skies. A really
nice day to see lighthouses and
drive along the coast. Parts of 101 are pretty scary to drive with sheer cliffs
and hair pin curves. There are
no railings along Hwy 101 (or Hwy 1 along the west coast) and that adds to
the nerves.
This lighthouse is just past a very interesting bridge going over the river
with a beautiful view from the bridge.
The lighthouse has a large tower just beside it, which I think ruins the photograph,
so I tried to keep it out of
the scene. This lighthouse in in the Yaquina Bay State Park in Newport and
was Oregon's shortest commissioned
active lighthouse. It was commissioned in November 1871 and decommissioned
from active service in 1874.
It has been restored to a working lighthouse in December 1996 by the Oregon
Parks and Recreation Department
and the Friends of the Yaquina Lighthouses. There is a gift shop in the basement
and the building is now filled with
furniture of the 1870's period. The original lens has vanished. The stucture
is open to the public.
Many locals say that the lighthouse is haunted, reinforced by the fact that
it was only in use for 3 years.
It was deactivated because of how close it was to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
The sister lighthouse
was supposed to be built 10 miles north (not just 3 miles as the Yaquina Head
Lighthouse was). The
supporting lighthouse was supposed to be Cape Foulweather but the weather
was so bad in 1873 that
the ship bringing the materials could not land near the cape. Instead the
materials were off loaded at
Yaquina Head.
Information about the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse:
Established: in 1871
Deactivated: in 1874
Lens: Fifth-Order Fresnel
Materials: wood
Tower height: 51 feet
Lighthouse focal plane height: 161 feet
Reactivated: in 1996
Present lens: 250MM optic
Present lens installed: in 1996
National Register Status: Listed Ref #74001692
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