Sunday, May 11, 2025

Cape Perpetua, Heceta Head, and Other Things


May 6-11

Chose to drive south on 101 to see the coastal sites on our days off. Stopped at the Siuslaw National Forest to see the Devil's Churn (these sites never seem to be named Angel anything)





A crack that was filled in by a later lava flow



Cape Perpetua






Heceta Head Light House

Heceta Head residence for 2 Assistant Lighthouse Keepers and their families



Heceta Head Lighthouse has a rotating 1st order Fresnel lens that is on 24/7 versus "ours", Yaquina Head Lighthouse, which is a fixed 1st order Fresnel lens with a unique "signature" blinking pattern, also on 24/7.


Beautiful but invasive

Heceta Head Lighthouse looking south from the 101

Sea Lions congregating - these are all males since the females stay down in California

Had to stop here! A 45 foot sperm whale washed ashore here in November of 1970. After a few days the Oregon Highway Division decided to detonate explosives to get rid of the carcass, only managing to spread its bits all over 

Florence Bridge 

Oregon Dunes

Thursday we spent the bulk of the day at Hatfield Marine Science Center, a research and educational center operated by Oregon State University.
A Wolf eel

Gumboot chiton

Underside of a gumboot chiton, the largest of the chitons

And since the main brewery of Rogue beers was just down the street ...

Closed out the night by going to Lincoln City to watch short films on efforts towards accessibility in natural areas. The woman in the middle is one of "our" rangers, Taryn.
The presentation was held at the cultural arts center which also had an exhibit of fabric art bringing attention tho the issue of female genital-urinary fistulas and the devastating effect they have on the lives of women in Africa when untreated. On a more lighthearted note was this crocheted/knit whale


"Our" lighthouse with its signature 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on, 14 seconds off seen from Moolak Beach area 

Back to work, it was tie to relish the sites of Yaquina Head.

The wall of the quarry at Quarry Cove



Ochre sea stars (the correct terminology, not starfish like I had called them for 65 years)

Large red rock crab

Iridescent seaweed

A mossy chiton


This is the fish that Joe, a local volunteer at YHONA, caught - almost


Home sweet home, along with those of our co-host volunteers

2 comments:

  1. Fun to have a visual of your "home," to move it from my imagination.

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  2. For some reason… I didn’t know about your blog…I LOVE it!!!!

    ReplyDelete