Cape Arago Lighthouse

Hello one and all. Hope you are well. I am good and I have another adventure to share with you. Back in October I shared about a trip to the coast and a lighthouse that didn't go so well. You remember.... the wind... a monster? Yeah, I didn't enjoy that trip so much. Well, today I'm going to tell you about a trip to the coast that went MUCH better. It had a lighthouse and everything (but, thankfully, no wind or monsters).

My human took us to the Cape Arago Lighthouse and Sunset Bay State Park just south of Coos Bay, Oregon.

The lighthouse sits on Chief's Island located about 2.6 miles north of Cape Arago. (Why they named it the Cape Arago Lighthouse when it isn't actually located at Cape Arago is a mystery to me.) The original lighthouse was first put into use in 1866 to help ships going into Coos Bay. This was later replaced with a new lighthouse in 1909. That was replaced in 1934. All the old buildings were eventually removed and all you see today is this last lighthouse built in 1934. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 2006. The land was eventually turned back over to the Native American Tribes in the area. Today there is no public access to the island, so you can only see the lighthouse from the mainland or from a boat. You know my opinion of boats!! We saw it from a lookout point on the mainland. 

The best viewpoints are in Sunset Bay State Park. So that's where we headed. There is a trail that my human could use that takes you to a viewpoint. The views were great and it is surrounded by bushes and trees, so I felt really comfortable. No wide open spaces (no eagles having me for lunch) and good wind breaks (my wiskers thank you). Here are some of the pictures my human took from the viewpoint. Nice, huh?

The trail to the viewpoint also connects to a trail the goes along the coast line. It weaves through the trees with a few breaks, giving great views of the ocean.

We walked a short distance on that trail. Saw lots of cool moss and lichens along with some great mushrooms.

It was a nice trail. I liked it because of the trees. You KNOW I like trees. Trees rule. 

I also met a few dogs on the trail. Now I don't hate all dogs, I just don't automatically trust them. I keep my guard up around the beasts. Most of the time we keep our distance, but occasionally I let one come up to me. We met a young puppy on this trail. She seemed excited to see me. (Who wouldn't? I'm cool!) She didn't seem like much of a threat to me, so I let her sniff me. We actually touched noses! You see, I can be accepting when I don't feel threatened. Good encounter.

After the trail, my human drove us to Sunset Bay Beach. It was getting late in the day and my human has a hard time walking through the sand, so we didn't get out of the car. She watched the ocean while I ate salmon. I had the better deal. Salmon! Yeah! Much better deal.

There was a guy on the beach with some sort of glider or something.

It had like a parachute on it with a fan to get the parachute in the air. He kept trying to get airborne, but never made it. He couldn't seem to adjust the thing for the breeze coming off the water. Obviously not an engineer. Silly human. Even birds can do that. Oh yeah, stupid birds have no trouble at all getting airborne. No trouble at all. Oh well. I got salmon. Take that stupid birds.

So there you have it. Not all trips to the coast are bad. There are plenty of places even a cat can enjoy. Another fun trip. Till next time, may the sun shine warm upon your face and may the road be soft under your feet. Be safe, my friends, and as always, keep wandering.