We spent the morning at the enjoying China Mountain House. While the view is spectacular from the deck, Edie found the rope sculpture far more fascinating. I don’t think she has ever seen anything quite like it.
John found a spot where he could both enjoy a book and the view.
When he tired of reading, John decided it was time for some exercise.
Still, after a while we decided to do some exploring. And the logical place to start was just north of here at Cape Blanco.
I must freely admit that I did not take this picture but borrowed it from NASA. Cape Blanco can be seen as the farthest point on the left. The name supposedly comes from Spanish explorers who sailed past the area and called it “Cabo blanco.” George Vancouver called it Cape Orford, but his name only stuck to the nearby town. Cape Blanco is generally considered the most western point in the contiguous states. It is also one of the most seismically active spots on the continent as well, and the land rises several millimeters a year.
Because of its location, and the rocks and reefs which surround the point, it is not surprising that this was the location of the first lighthouse along the southern Oregon coast. And despite what I already wrote about visiting lighthouses, it seemed like we should stop in since we were here.
This lighthouse is actually still functioning though I suspect that today the electronic equipment surrounding the lighthouse – all surrounded by fences and signs instructing visitors to stay away – are more important for navigation than the light issuing from the tower. Nevertheless, there is a 1000 watt bulb in the lens which shines day and night.
The docents here at this lighthouse were really knowledgeable and good. And they were so regretful that they could not let the dogs in the tower. But I don’t think they would have cared much for the stairs anyway.
A couple miles down the road from the lighthouse is the farmhouse of the Hughes family. Patrick Hughes, originally of County Tyrone in Ireland, was a pioneering dairyman and he established a ranch with over 100 cows on 2,000 acres along the Sixes River. He built this house in 1898. A Catholic in Protestant Oregon, he not only built the local parish church, Mary Star of the Sea, but also set aside one of the rooms in his house as a chapel.
The house is furnished in period antiques though not many have any necessary provenance to the house itself. Our guide decried the pink wall paper in this bedroom, but the sign at the door indicated that the occupant of the room was a son who never married….
There is no ranching taking place in the area right now, and the land has been allowed to slowly begin to revert back to a more natural appearance. We took the dogs on a hike. It was windy and cold! But Eli had his ball so he didn’t care.
We stopped on our way back at Port Orford Heads State Park. This is a smaller headland than Cape Blanco located right in Port Orford itself. The Coast Guard set up a rescue operation here in 1934 and it remained active until about 1980. The dormitories and other buildings from this era are still intact and form a museum. We were too late to do the tour of the museum, so we just looked at the boats.
Back at the house, John relaxed with some cheese and crackers and enjoyed the spectacular view. The dogs, exhausted from their afternoon romps, just slept.
I cooked dinner, and we ate with view of the sun setting into the ocean.
Evening brought to a close a near-perfect day on the Oregon coast.
After darkness fell, we watched a movie on the home theater system. I doubt I would ever invest in a 14 foot screen built into the living room ceiling, but it was fun anyhow.
