The area was a challenge to shipping and as a result, the Umpqua River Lighthouse shown here was built in 1891. located 165' above sea level, the lighthouse is still in use today and can be seen some 19 miles out to sea.
The lighthouse station is also nearby and featured this original lifeboat that Rick was very impressed with. Given the large surf in the area, this boat is certainly not large enough to make us feel comfortable about heading out over the bar.
The famous Oregon Dunes run through this area for some 40 miles and are huge.
Popular with ATVs, these dunes are hundreds of feet high and seem to run forever along the coast. The day we visited had light wind, but even so, the sand was blowing throughout the area which causes the misty look in the photo.
We saw lots of off-road vehicles charging around on the dunes. The drivers were pretty well covered up, including face masks to defeat the blowing sand. I will bet the sand is very impressive when there is a stiff wind.
We stopped at a small wayside run by the US Forest Service and lo and behold, who should we run into but Gifford Pinchot, first head of the Forest Service! Born in 1865, he looked really good for 147 years old! Actually, this re-enactment was very interesting as he described the Forest Service efforts in the area.
1 comment:
Great pictures, especially the Coast Guard ones:)
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