Tag Archives: Cape Disappointment State Park

Fishing in the Surf

I spent a little time at North Head Lighthouse looking back down the beach I had been walking along earlier in the day.  It is a vast area so the people down below were but specks against the sand.  However, one person did catch my eye.  He was fishing in the surf and standing out in the shallows as he cast into the water.  Not sure how successful a location it is for fishing but it didn’t look like the easiest way to catch your dinner!

North Head Lighthouse

I have already posted shots of a lighthouse from my visit to Cape Disappointment but I did hint in that post that there was a second lighthouse in the area.  This is North Head Lighthouse.  It sits at the end of the beach I walked along.  For a long part of that walk, it was a distant shape on the cliff overlooking the beach.  I finally got close to it and took some less distant shots but this was about the time I realized that some rain was coming my way and a speedy retreat might be in order.

I did think a visit to the lighthouse would be in order before I left so I drove up to the parking lot.  Unfortunately, there was no space to park and I didn’t fancy parking a long way off and walking back in.  However, something was on my side.  It was starting to rain again.  I figured that a lot of the people that had walked out to the lighthouse would be making a retreat for their vehicles.  I drove to an overlook a little north and spent a few minutes there before returning to the parking lot.  Sure enough, it was now a lot less busy and there were spaces everywhere.

It isn’t a long walk out to the lighthouse from the lot.  You go past the house the keeper used to live in and a second property.  I think that they are now available as vacation rentals.  It seems like a cool place to stay but I imagine it feels a lot more remote when everyone has gone and it is dark.  Might be a good spot for astrophotography on a clear night.  (A stormy night might feel a bit more dramatic.)

There was some restoration work underway which meant a few areas with fencing and tape so I made the best of getting them out of the shots.  The lighthouse itself looked in good condition and the view from the headland was very impressive.