Rainy Day Lighthouse Tour

 So it looks like it is going to be on and off rain for the remainder of our time down here in Oregon so we have decided to make the best of it. Today we headed just up the road to check out the Umpqua River Lighthouse. 

The lighthouse was originally built in 1855 right on the river channel but had to be moved because of seasonal flooding and erosion. It became unstable and eventually collapsed. They built the existing one in 1894. It is located  100 ft above the river so no problems with flooding.  By being so hight up it now could be seen further away and not just at the river mouth.  It is 160 ft tall. It has a first order Fresnel lens and reaches 21 nautical miles. It became automated in 1966.  It flashes 2 whites and 1 red flash every 15 sec. 

The lighthouse is located on the Umpqua coast guard station inside the housing area.  There is also a grey whale watching station located it in front.  Unfortunately we are too early in the year to see the migration north. 

We took Lukie out on the the beach to let him run around. The whale that was beached here earlier in the year has been washed out to shore.