A Tale of Two Lighthouses

We left North Bend and moved on to Newport, Oregon. It’s not very far to Newport, so we stopped along the way at an Oregon State Park Wayside for a picnic lunch and to let Raider run on  the beach. Oregon in general does a wonderful job on their state parks, they maybe the nicest we have seen. Along the central coast they have several waysides that have great views of the ocean and most have picnic tables.

 

In Newport we are staying at the Newport Marina and  RV Park. You know this is a good location when a Bald Eagle flies over while you are unhitching. This RV Park is also in walking distance of a Microbrew, two aquariums,  and has great views of the bridge that cross the Yaquina River.

We had only planned to stay a day or so in Newport, but after talking to the camp host realized that there was much more to do here then we had known. So, we signed on for a week. Our first stop was the Rogue Microbrew.

This brewery has an amazing 30 beers on tap and available for testing. Admittedly after tasting 8 or so its hard to remember which is which. They also have some of the best tasting Pub Food we have ever had. In another building close by they also have a Rogue Distillery that produces rum and gin. It is the first distillery that we have come across on our travels.

Newport is the first town we have come across that has two light houses. The Yaquina Bay lighthouse is just across the bridge and over looks the river. It must have the shortest in service record for any house anywhere. It went into service November 3, 1871 and was decommissioned in October 1, 1874. Built on the top of a bluff the light is 161 feet above sea level.However, it wasn’t visible to ships coming down the  coast. Almost immediately work began on a new lighthouse at Yaquina Head. Yaquina Bay lighthouse is the only lighthouse in Oregon where the light is actually built into the living quarters and It is believed to be the oldest structure in Newport. Also unique to Yaquina Bay Lighthouse the light did not flash but had a continuous light.

Just four miles north of Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. At 93 feet tall the Yaquina Head Lighthouse is the tallest on the Oregon coast and was built from 370,000 bricks!

The Yaquina Head Lighthouse sits on BLM land known as the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. The rocks just off shore are nesting sites for 65,000 Common Murres, Brandt’s cormorants, pelagic cormorants, pigeon guillemots, western gulls and glaucous-winged gulls. The rocks are also used as a pupping site for Harbor Seals. While having a picnic lunch we saw at least two California Gray Whales just a few hundred yards off shore slowly making its way north.

 

Our slide show of A Tale of Two Lighthouses