The Coquille River lighthouse was built in 1896 to guide ships into the shallow and treacherous waters at the head of the river. It is one of 8 remaining lighthouses along the Oregon coast but is nonworking, replaced by an automatic beacon on the south jetty in 1939.

The sunny day we visited the wind was fierce and there was mist coming up from the water over the river and south shore. The amount of driftwood on the beach indicated to me that this is a stormy area and my suspicions were confirmed by information in the lighthouse.

The wind had created patterns in the sand that J. described as moonscapes. I had a hard time standing steady as I photographed the area. All I could think of was how hard life on the ocean can be because I was becoming exhausted on a beautiful, sunny day.

The gulls were having a hard time flying against the wind – and this Western Gull is working hard at getting a handout from the couple who are eating an apple in their car. He allowed me to get so close I wanted to reach out and touch him.