Today was the nicest weather day of our entire time here in this park. It was sunny all day with only a very few clouds. I do believe that the high temperature actually broke 70 this afternoon and there is still no fog on in the park! We made a hike in to Munsom Falls this morning to see the highest water fall in the Oregon Coast Range. After lunch we visited the pioneer museum here and then drove out to see th largest Sitka Spruce in the state this afternoon before returning to camp. Even then we sat out in our lawn chairs until dinner, then went over to see the ranger 
lead campfire program. The ares is truly spectacular when the sun is out.After lunch we made a stop at the local historical museum. It was intersting but since it was such a nice day we soon headed back outside. We made another stopr to see the largest Sitka Spruce in the state and then went out to Cape Mears Spit, to visit the location where a resort community slowly slid into the ocean and was washed away back in the thirties. By the middle 50's the town was given up and soon after the last building was washed away.
Muffy also enjoyed the day since she got to go along for all three of the hikes. If there were more days like this, the area could really grow on a person. I heard that the forecast is for more fog tomorrow.
What a wonderful morning! We slept late and got up to bright sunshine and no clouds at all. One can hardly find even a small wisp. I do believe that we will go hiking. Can it possibly last all day?
One of the more interesting things about working as staff in any historic site or attraction is the many people that you get to meet. Volunteers are allowed to drive down the paved trail the 1/4 mile down the slope from the main parking area and to park just above the lighthouse and so many people do notice our Texas license plates and comment to us about where we and they are from. In addition, it is pretty common to ask where folks are visiting 
from as a part of greeting them. While the most common places to get visitors from by far is Oregon and Washington, many Texans take the time to identify themselves to us because of our plates. In addition we have had visitors from Florida and Maine as well as many other states. We also have a great many visitors from Canada and among those who especially are visiting lighthouses, the Canadians would be a pretty 
significant share.
One of my favorites was a gentleman who stopped for my lighthouse talk who told me that he was visiting his third lighthouse for that day and that it was number 178 on his list of lighthouses that he plans to visit! He also added that he had just celebrated his 80th birthday last week! His goal is to visit at least 300 lighthouses in the US and Canada. He happens to be from Michigan, the state that has the most lighthouses of any in the US.
We also see a great many foreign visitors here and especially from Europe. We can recall several from UK, one family from Norway and one from Finland, several from Germany, two from France, also others from Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. I think what is most surprising to us is the number of European RVs that we see here. There are quite a number who ship the RV over water and travel completely around the world. Here are two of them who are doing this now, one from Germany and the other from Switzerland.
Late breaking news flash! The sun is shining today and it is only partly cloudy!
Just down the road from the state park lies a series of private homes. Among those, one really stands out, not only for the very large house with a smaller one for the caretaker's residence. This, along with the very landscaped and manicured grounds tends to draw attention to the place but there is one feature that is even more worthy of notice. If you look closely at the picture you will discover that the grounds are surrounded by a very high chain-link fence which is even topped by razor wire! Further examination will also find that the gate even has a guard tower to the left of the driveway!
Needless to say, a frequent question of the park rangers here is about the ownership of that property and the reason for the security. Being no different, we too inquired about this. It seems that the property is one of the homes of a resident of nearby Tillamook, who also happens to be a part owner of the Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas. The word is that he has that type of security around all of his several homes simply to protect himself and his friends from the hordes of poor trash who want to gain access to him or his money! I suspect that a better explanation may a diagnosis of paranoia!
What makes the fence even more special is the fact that there is no fence along the water side of the property which is on the bay, because they want easy access to the water and the state of Oregon prohibits any private ownership of beachfront within 50' of the high tide line! For that reason the fences stop at that point and it would be relatively easy for one to walk down to the water line and around the end and on to the property, particularly when the tide is out.
It is said that the owner is seldom ever in residence, but if he is so concerned at all of his homes, he must lead a pretty unhappy life!
As I sit here today I am remembering what it was that made us choose to buy our home-base in Texas, as opposed to the coast of either Washington or Oregon. What that reason happens to be is sunshine, or the lack there of! Today it is raining off and on, just as it does much of the time in this area. There is a very good reason for everything being green and 
vegetation growing very quickly. It gets plenty of moisture and everything that grows well here are plants that do not require a great amount of sun. I have come to suspect that people who require a lot of sun don't thrive all that well here either!
This being day four of consistent rain and drizzle I did check the weather and they say that we can expect 20% likelihood of showers tomorrow with a slight chance of sun breaks! Monday and Tuesday do hold promise with a prediction of "partly sunny" before things go back to the more common pattern of clouds and showers.
This led me to take a look at the forecast for our next stop, about 100 miles to the south and there it looks similar, but around 10 degrees warmer! It sounds some better. No matter what the weather, we will make this a fun experience, but we may also be quite slow to return to the area. It sure helps to make the hot Texas temperatures sound more friendly!
On our time off we decided to do some exploring in the area. We drove south and up the ridge to a parking area that is on the ridge which extends out to the end of Cape Lookout. We had heard about what a wonderful hike it is, but after checking things out the decision was made for Pam to wait at the car as the terrain is rather difficult. As it turns out that was a good decision with the ankle issues that she now has. The hike is nearly 5 miles, round trip and there are many places that are rocky, steep and sometimes slippery. Even though many people do it in sneakers, this is a trail for hiking boots. It should also be done with ample water and perhaps a snack and you should allow at least three hours and four might be wiser. I found that I pushed hard enough that it might have been more fun if extra time had been allowed.
None the less, for anyone who spends some time at Cape Lookout State Park, if you like to hike this is one to remember. The views of the area are nothing short of spectacular and i highly recommend it. It is not a hike for those not in condition nor the unprepared, but when done properly it was one outstanding experience!
On Sunday morning, when we were unlocking the door to the lighthouse, suddenly there came from the water area a loud rush of noise as in the exhale of air by a giant! Moving quickly to the rail on the overlook we saw the falsh of the back of a 
young gray whale as it rolled over and submirged back into the water. Watching the water we soon discovered that we had a juvinial whale that was feeding in the waters just off of the point where the lighthouse site. About every five to six minutes he would rise to the surface and spout water as he exhailed and then took a new breath to dive once more.
Even though he was not moving all that rapidly he would only be visible for a few seconds with each trip to the surface and each time he would return more than 500 feet from where he was last seen. It quickly became a game in attempting to predict just where he would surface, as well as when. Even though he did not show much more than his spout followed by a flash of his back each time, it was truly an exciting event. After shooting perhaps a dozen pictures, we had to go inside and get the lighthouse open to visitors. Taking pictures of a whale is not an easy event. I have posted the very best one that I got. He really was there must before the shutter opened! Since you do not know where he will next appear, you rarely have time to actually get a shot that shows much of anything, but he really was out there all day!
We have now completed our first work cycle at the lighthouse. It is located across the bay from the park where we stay and nine miles by car. It is a very scenic drive over and the lighthouse and park around it are especially beautiful! The staff here and at the lighthouse are truely wonderful and have already made this a memorable experience. While the first few days were a bit of a learning time, we still managed to feel useful and appreciated.
Both parks are places that anyone traveling through this area should plan 
to spend some time. The lighthouse is pretty unique in that it is very short, due to its location on a high cliff on the headlands. It is in fact the shortest on the west coast and one of the two shortest in North America. Our work hours are from 11 to 4 on Sunday through Tuesday. Pam works mostly in the gift shop and I do interpretation for the visitors. Outside volunteers come in to help out as needed and to relieve each of us for lunch. So far this has been great fun!
We are now well settled in our site at Cape Lookout State Park and live in a group with three other park volunteers. One of the volunteers here works for the national wildlife refuge that surrounds the lighthouse property. There are six other volunteer couples at other locations in the campground. There are 263 campsites, six cabins and 13 yurts. The park also has a day use area, a bicycle camp area and a group area. The lighthouse is day use only.