Heceta Lighthouse houses Oregon's most power beacon and overlooks scenic bluffs. It is probably the most photographed lighthouse on the Oregon coast.

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We took a road to the ocean and found ourselves high on the bluff overlooking the port of Port Orford.

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This is a unique harbor where boats, both commercial and private, are hoisted onto and off the dock on a daily basis using these huge cranes. We talked to someone on the dock and found out that rent is $300 a month and that includes power and as many hoists as you want.

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This is an area of many beautiful rock formations like this arch rock.

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As we were sitting enjoying the water, the sun and the beautiful rock formations we began to see whale spouts out by the rocks. We were told that there is a resident pod of gray whales here.

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Tourism, fishing and cranberry farming are Port Orford's primary industries so we set out today to find some cranberries being harvested. We found this bog where this machine was being run through to detach the berries from the vines. Once detached, they float to the top.

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In this bog the cranberries are gathered within wooden booms and are ready to be removed from the water. Unfortunately we weren't able to find a bog where the cranberries were being removed. We were told that there are early and late cranberries with the early ones being used for juice. We also learned that Ocean Spray likes to mix east coast and west coast cranberries with the rich color coming from the west coast varieties.

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Spanish Explorers named Cape Blanco, the area where we are camping, for its chalky appearance due to a concentration of fossilized shells. Here the oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon coast towers 245 feet above the ocean. It was commissioned in 1870 to aid shipping generated by the gold mining and the lumber industry.

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Just below the lighthouse this rock formation, called Needle Rock, juts proudly out of the ocean.

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Constructed in 1898 for a pioneer dairy farmer, the Hughes House is an ornate, two-story, 11-room ranch home. The 3,000 square foot home, constructed of old growth Port Orford Cedar at a cost of $3,800, is an example of an Eastlake style Victorian.

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Today was rich in wildlife. We saw this doe with her twins...

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...these wild turkey as well as egrets, blue herons and hawks.

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