I knew little about Tillamook, OR except that it was a dairy town and I only knew that because our grocery stores have Tillamook cheeses and ice cream. The town of Tillamook itself wasn’t a major stop on our itinerary, but served more as a jump off point for the hiking areas relatively nearby.
Our first adventure outside of Tillamook was to the Cape Meares Lighthouse.
As you can see in the picture below, there is a clear path from the parking lot to the lighthouse area. It was a dreary day, but the seaside’s dramatic ambience was enticing. Ocean storms can be dramatic!
The top of the Tillamook Lighthouse seen from the walking path
I hadn’t appreciated the fact that lighthouses have lights with different color patterns. The red and clear glass created a “signal” to let captains know that this is Cape Meares. Not only are there different color patterns, but the duration that each color is visible is very precise.
Clear and Red glass create the signal that this is Cape Meares
Before taking the lighthouse tour, we walked to the edge of the visiting area to capture a few stormy photographs of the picturesque rock formations and the choppy waters of the Pacific.
The rocky coastline was stormy this day
Here’s a closer view…
The lighouse was near the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean and therefore did not have to be too tall for the sake of visibility.
The roofline to the right helps point to the short stature of the lighthouse
From the inside, visitors can appreciate the lens arrangement and all of the mechanisms required to operate and maintain a lighthouse
The colorful glass seen against the dark metal provide visual appeal
The polished gears gave evidence to the excellent condition of this lighthouse and the machinery needed to operate the turret.
Gears used to rotate the turret
This picture gives a good representation of the size of the main tower of the lighthouse.
The vertical portion of the lighthouse
The tour was very interesting and the docent was very knowledgeable about lighthouses in general and of the Cape Meares structure specifically.
There were a few more stops we could have made in the park, but the weather was not conducive so we decided to head back to town. On the return path, we came across a very large Banana Slug (Ariolimax columbianus). I placed a quarter next to it to help viewers understand the size of this animal; impressive for a slug.
A very large Banana Slug (Ariolimax columbianus)
One last look back at the coastline before the trip back to Tillamook.
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Read previous posts about our adventures hiking and exploring in Oregon:
Exploring Astoria, Oregon – Part 1
Exploring Astoria, Oregon – Part 2
Exploring Astoria, Oregon – Part 3
Adventures in Oregon: Warrenton to Seaside
Adventures in Oregon: Hiking at Indian Beach
Adventures in Oregon: Views from Ecola Point
Adventures in Oregon: Movin’ On Down the Road
Adventures in Oregon: Garibaldi’s Graces and Pier
Read more Hiking and Exploration posts HERE
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Cape Meares, lighthouse, ocean, pacific, beach, scenery, history, landscape, pacific ocean
