Tillamook lighthouse
is situated on a huge solid rock, over a mile off the coast of Oregon
at Tillamook Head. Here the ocean beats at the rock as if to challenge
the lighthouse; "Hold on if you dare!" *
I had seen the lighthouse numerous times from
Cannon Beach, Oregon, and from highway 101 northbound along the coast.
Its history and remote beauty intrigued me. When I acquired a camera
with a powerful zoom lens, I took the opportunity to get as close as I
could to the lighthouse for gathering my research material.
The weather was wonderfully clear
on a warm sunny day.
The best view is a vantage point on Tillamook
Head, north of Cannon Beach through Ecola Park. The weather was wonderfully
clear on a warm sunny day. Packing cameras, camera bags, tripod,
sketch book and supplies, and backpacks filled with miscellaneous
necessities, we started (what I thought was) a short uphill hike.
Step by step, up and up, the trail wound
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around until at last we came out at the top
of the headland and there before us in the distance was "Terrible Tilly".
My husband set up the tripod and began shooting both video and still shots.
We stayed for hours at the park
I made color notes and sketches in my note
book, checking frequently to make sure that Ed was not getting too close
to the slippery edge with a several hundred foot sheer drop. The
ocean was quite calm on that day, but the waves still seemed to relentlessly
pound at the rock.
We stayed for hours at the park, observing
a beautiful sunset from the beach below the headland. In my studio
later, I began a series of watercolors of the lighthouse and the one large
oil that now appear on my website. I'll always remember the pleasant
day spent researching this historical light as I travel the Oregon coast
near Cannon Beach.
* Read all about Tillamook Rock Lighthouse and how it got its
nickname "Terrible Tilly" in "Pacific Northwest Lighthouses"
by Bruce Roberts and Ray Jones
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