Umpqua Lighthouse 08.23.11

The Oregon coast is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and today we got a glimpse of what it looks like from the top of the Umpqua Lighthouse. There are only two lighthouses with this exact design in the world! The other lighthouse is located in Brazil. Our tour guide told us that in the days before the Coast Guard was established the lighthouse keepers would be responsible for cleaning and polishing the prisms and brass so that it would clearly reflect 21 miles out to sea. Several ships were wrecked along the rugged coast and the lighthouse keepers would go and rescue those who were shipwrecked. Some of them lost their own lives trying to save others… When we went up the winding staircase and reached the prisms we were amazed by the beauty of it all. We’re planning to go back and see it at night sometime!