I can’t tell you what time it is as time doesn’t matter. Getting going this morning didn’t matter. Where we were going didn’t matter either. What we did know was that we had to go south as tomorrow we go north. But why would going north one day not allow us to travel north on the previous day? Our next lodging location is only about 25 miles north of Ocean Haven, and over the two days we’ll be up there, we’ll need things to explore. So we headed south today.

Having been south yesterday to Carl Washburne State Park, we decided to get past that, and the Heceta Head Lighthouse meets that criteria. For reasons unknown, we weren’t longing to stop at this lighthouse and so further south we ventured.

We didn’t get out of the pullout before I saw my next photo on this moss-covered wall. This is not a site one sees every day unless they live nearby, in which case this is likely a common occurrence, but for me, this is an extraordinary sight that requires a photographic reminder of one of the little details that make so much of this coastal journey so memorable.

Big vistas far into the distance. The beach stretches forever on a blue sky day when no blue sky days were in the forecast, adding to the charm, and we are bowled over. How can we be in a hurry to be somewhere when the place we are passing through demands we stop and gawk at the spectacle?

Like the moss-covered wall at the previous stop, the curve in the road from where we came caught my attention as one of the views that feels so indicative of what’s familiar about this coastal drive, so a photo gets added to the sequence of events.

Still on the northern outskirts of Florence, Oregon, we are about to pass the Happy Kamper Yarn Barn when I spot the open sign and whip into the parking lot. It’s been some years since we last stopped, as it just so happened that on previous visits to the area, it was either a Sunday or Monday, the owner’s days off. Determined to help the local economy the best we can, we leave with five skeins of yarn.

Lunch was courtesy of leftover chicken from last night’s dinner that had been transformed into chicken salad. The coffee is from our coastal coffee favorite, Dutch Bros. The dock was at Gardiner on the Umpqua River. Would you believe it if I told you that the quiet away from the ocean was a welcome soundscape?

Last year, we tried visiting a nature preserve on Bolon Island but couldn’t find it for the life of us. Today, we found the Tide Ways Island Memorial Park, which must have been what we missed back then. The walk is a short one next to a boatyard. There’s a sign near the beginning of the trail that tells of the double-crested cormorants and the guano they leave on the plants in the area that remain until the next rains. We saw a small bit of cormorant poop, but not enough to bag up and drag home as fertilizer for our cacti. Have I ever shared with you that we have something for mushrooms?

Five minutes later we are at the end of the trail. You don’t even get a proper scenic view, but we get to add this to our ever-growing list of places we’ve been on the Oregon Coast.

We’re in Reedsport and stopping in at the Timber Faller’s Daughter shop. Last year, we flew into Portland and drove Interstate 5 south of Eugene to Drain, Oregon, before turning west to head out to the ocean. Just before reaching the 101 highway, we spotted a sign for yarn. Of course, we stopped. But the Driftwood Farms Yarn & Candle Company was closed. That shop is next door to the Timber Faller’s Daughter, and its owner let us know that the woman who owns the shop next door was at a Clam Chowder Festival down the road in Coos Bay. Off we went for chowder and yarn. This year, we are determined to buy something from the lady who helped make last year’s trip just a little more memorable. Carrie, who owns Timber Faller’s Daughter, specializes in crafts and fabric but also has a few yarns, roving, and a nice supply of notions.

Carrie’s friend Paula was also in the shop, socially distanced and masked up, too. I’m happy we hung out a while and barged into their conversation because we learned that Paula has recently taken up dying with lichen and mushrooms. As a matter of fact, she had three bundles of roving she’d recently dyed as her first experiments, two with lichen and one with mushrooms. The wool she used was from Natalie the Jacob sheep and the lighter roving was dyed with Old Man’s Beard lichen, and the darker brown one used Foliate Lichen. The third piece of roving was dyed with Western Red mushrooms that have a pink hue.

I offered to buy her work so Caroline might bring it into something when we get back to Arizona as a more personal memento of a thing deeply connected to the Oregon coast, but Paula insisted that I not pay her a thing. I tried a couple of angles to get her to accept our money as a donation; instead, she suggested I make a donation to the shop, so I handed Carrie the cash. Then, from her kindness, she went and grabbed some other roving dyed with Slippery Jack mushroom, which is a creamy tan color, and tore off a hunk for us. I’ll be posting photos of the roving after we get back home.

Next door is Driftwood Farms Yarn & Candle Company, which Caroline headed over to as we didn’t know when they closed, but we knew that Timber Faller’s Daughter was closing at 3:00, and we were getting close to that. Last year, we grabbed a green skein of yarn which has already become socks, and now we have two new skeins, one destined for socks and the other a scarf. Caroline picked up a skein for herself along with some buttons and a yummy dark chocolate bar with black fig. Seeing it was only about 3:15, we realized that we still had time to get down the road for a lighthouse tour but we’d have to move fast as they stop at 4:00.

Umpqua Lighthouse is an all-time favorite destination on the coast. Why this lighthouse stands out is likely due to its amazing light signal that features one red beam and two white beams before the cycle repeats. More about that shortly. We arrived on time, and the guy in the gift shop, who wasn’t sure if anyone was available to give us a tour, quickly found the person who was happy to do that for us. So off we went into history.

This was our second tour of the lighthouse, though I cannot find the blog entry that details the first visit. Our memories tell us it was back on one of the trips my mother-in-law Jutta was visiting, but who can be certain? In any case, this feels like the first time we’ve ever been here. Tom, our guide this afternoon, is knowledgeable and enthusiastic, qualities that are perfect for us, especially when this ended up being a private tour for just Caroline and me.

The history of this fresnel lens is worth the price of entry alone. The French company F. Barbier made it in Paris in 1890. This large 1st-order lens was one of only a small handful they made in the company’s history; today, it is priceless. We learned that the red light, filtered through the red glass, which was made this way using a process involving gold, has to be supplemented by surrounding pieces of red glass to compensate for the 30% loss of light that occurs due to the red filter. The signature of the light is one red beam and two white beams that are 4 seconds apart and continuously repeat as the fresnel is spun around the light source; the sequence is a total of 15 seconds. What makes this a 1st Order lens is its massive size that can focus its light out about 20 miles to sea.

Standing on the stairs and looking directly up in the lens is like poking your consciousness into another dimension. It’s certainly from another age, as it’s highly doubtful that these complex lenses will ever be built again. Nor will new lighthouses dot the landscape as GPS and electronic beacons have mostly replaced these iconic structures. Even this lighthouse might not be around forever as it’s corroding, leaving one to wonder if the local municipality that now manages it will have the kind of money that could be required should major structural renovation become necessary.

Getting so close to evening, we decided to hang out a bit longer so we could see the lighthouse working its magic, but first, a bit of sunset.

Just around the corner, we’ve stayed at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park a number of times, in the yurts specifically. On those visits, we come out here multiple times per night to enjoy the silent symphony of light that gracefully floats on the trees surrounding the lighthouse. You can’t imagine how peaceful and simultaneously festive the red and white light spinning slowly on the forest is. In the distance is the sound of the ocean, but up here, more often than not, we have been alone to enjoy this 128-year-old fixture. Tonight, though, we’ll be heading back up the road to our place along the ocean and will have to dream about lighthouses.