Cape Blanco and Agate Beach

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Hi Blog!

Today was our last day near Bandon, Oregon. Yesterday, we explored north on US 101 all the way to Reedsport. This morning, we headed south on US 101 toward Port Orford. Along the way, we stopped at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. Cape Blanco was named in 1603 by the Spanish explorer Martin D'Aguilar because of the chalky appearance of the headland. 

The park land historically was settled by Patrick Hughes, a native of Ireland, who came to the place in 1860 and developed an extensive dairy farm, which spread into bottom land along the Sixes River on the north side of the cape. The spacious house that Hughes built for his large family overlooking the Sixes River estuary in 1898 is all that remains of the ranch complex.

The park land was purchased from the Joseph N. Hughes Estate in 1971. At the westernmost tip of the cape is a U. S. Coast Guard lighthouse reservation including an 1870 lighthouse. The headland is 245 feet above the sea and the light is visible for 22 miles at sea. Because of many past shipwrecks at this point, a powerful radio beacon for navigators was placed at Cape Blanco. 

The lighthouse is open for tours through October. The stairs wind their way to the lamp room. To save money during construction, over 200,000 bricks were made on-site. It took almost two years to make enough bricks to complete construction.

In September 2002, the Fresnel lens was removed from the tower for restoration work as the caulking, which cemented the thousands of prisms to the brass frame, was starting to deteriorate. Hardin Optical of Bandon was tasked to work on the lens and succeeded in disassembling and recaulking the lens. The lightbulbs are provided by the U.S. Coast Guard. When one burns out, the other turns on. Only the Coast Guard can replace the bulbs.

Since the lighthouse was far from any harbor, its primary function was to warn ships away from the reefs, which extended from the cape. Looking down on all those pointy rocks, it's no wonder over 3,000 ships wrecked along the Oregon Coast.

Those isolated outcrops of rock standing in the ocean are called sea stacks, and they are remnants of rocky headlands that were eroded by wave action. It took nature millions of years and great force to create these spectacular sea stacks. Many stacks were the result of volcanic action, with lava flowing to the sea. Cooling lava became hardened basalt over time. The heavy basalt remained buried under marine sediments for millions of years. As the climate shifted and sea level receded, the rocks were revealed and parts worn away by winds and water. 

Our next stop was to be Agate Beach; however, we had trouble finding the beach access. Google took us to a nearby neighborhood and instructed us to walk through someone's yard to get to the beach. We decided instead to go to the Visitor's Center and get better directions.

The Port Orford Visitor's Center sits on a bluff overlooking a beautiful beach. Port Orford is the oldest town on the Oregon Coast and the most westerly town in the lower 48 states. The very helpful volunteer at the Visitor's Center gave us a local map and highlighted the directions to Agate Beach.

But first...lunch.  We couldn't have asked for a prettier lunch spot than this viewpoint overlooking the beach in Port Orford:

After lunch, we took a walk along the Port Orford beach.

We found an arch in one of the sea stacks.  It was possible to walk through it, and we found other sea stacks framed in it:

After a good stretch of our legs, we jumped back into the Jeep and drove over to Agate Beach (a/k/a Tseriadun State Recreation Site). In the photo below, Dave stops to admire Garrison Lake, which is a popular trout fishing spot.

A short trail led us out to the beach.

The ocean breeze was brisk, but the afternoon sun warmed us.

Let the rock collecting begin!  And, along the way, we encountered some unusual specimens of sea life, too:

The beach was blanketed by tiny polished stones -- each one prettier than the next. We finally had to say enough was enough, as Kathy's pockets were stuffed full. Pictured below is a small sample of our booty.

After taking our rocks back to the RV, we got cleaned up for dinner with Harry and Jo Redifer at Lord Bennett's in Bandon. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't join us as he wasn't feeling well. So, it was up to Jo to entertain us with tall tales of life along the Oregon Coast.

After dinner, we drove over to the Bandon Beach to take in the sunset.

Photographers lined up down on the beach to get a photo of the sun setting through the arch. We decided to take in the view from the cliffs above the arch.

The beautiful end to a beautiful day on the Oregon Coast.

Tomorrow, we head down the 101 into California. Goodbye Oregon. We will be back!