Heceta Head Lighthouse serves a dual purpose from its perch 205 feet above the Pacific Ocean. It has aided mariners since 1982 and lures landlubbers to gaze at presence on the headland. According to write-ups, this lighthouse gets more visitors than any other on the Oregon coast.

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The waves pounding and breaking on the rock formations in the cove below Heceta Light were hypnotic...

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...the view of the light from the mouth of Cape Creek was awesome...

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...and sand castles abounded.

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This interesting plant called darlingtonia is found in bogs in Northern California and Coastal Oregon. It reminded me of the jack-in-the-pulpits from my younger days. Insects are attracted by the scent of the plant into the leaf opening under the hood and get trapped. They fall into a pool of liquid and are then digested and absorbed as food through the plants thin lower walls. Perhaps this is a relative of the plant in Little Shop of Horrors!

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Dinner tonight was in this roadhouse full of old cars and 50's memorabilia. Here we are with Jan and Jerry eating in a '49 Ford - what fun!

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Here in Florence we are in the heart of the Oregon Dunes National Area. We decided this would be a great place to catch the sunset so off we went. The dunes themselves were incredibly beautiful...

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...though it was mighty cold with the breeze off the water. Thank goodness for blankets!

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What a thrill it was to not only witness an unbelievably colorful sunset, but also...

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...watch these kite boarders fly through the sky as they caught the wind in their kites.

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Umpqua Lighthouse was the first lighthouse to be built in the Oregon Territory in 1857. It was built near the mouth of the Umpqua River. It was undermined and destroyed by flood in 1864. It was rebuilt at its present location in 1891 where it continues to shine it's guiding light of 2 white flashes followed by 1 red.

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Umpqua Light stand sentinel at the mouth of the Umpqua River and above these beautiful sand dunes.

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Heading inland a bit we found ourselves at an elk reserve where these guys were relaxing in the afternoon sunshine. What they were actually doing was chewing their cud just like cows do.

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Today found us day-tripping to discover the covered bridges of this area. We were successful in finding Wildcat Bridge that was constructed in 1925 (restored in 1990) and has a span of 75 feet...

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...Lake Creek Bridge which spans 105 feet and was constructed in 1928 (rebuilt in 1984) and...

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...Deadwood Bridge, constructed in 1932 (restored in 1986). Lane County, where these three bridges are located, was the first Oregon County to build covered bridges and still maintains more than any other county west of the Mississippi. Early bridges used a truss and housing design furnished by the Oregon Highway Department and as a result, most of the bridges are similar in appearance.

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Today finds us in the Bandon area the locale of the Coquille River Lighthouse. This light went into service in 1896 and is the smallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast. It has a very simple exterior and resembles characteristics of the High Victorian Italianate style. Unfortunately, the lighthouse became obsolete in 1939 and suffered due to vandalism and weather damage. Today it is open but is still in need of much restoration.

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Driving the Beach Loop Road, we saw arch rock...

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...face rock...

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...and beautiful areas of beach and sea grass.

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The Bandon beaches are popular for agate hunting (we not only found agates but also fossils!). We had read about Seven Devils Beach so went to find it. It was pretty there but no agates, We decided to continue down the road and much to our surprise, we found ourselves on a gravel road heading toward Charleston...

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...and the Cape Arago Light.

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