Looking up at the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast:

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon

Gazing up 92 feet:

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon

Peering up inside the Yaquina Head Lighthouse tower – 114 stairs to the watch room:

Inside Yaquina Head Lighthouse Tower

When the lighthouse was constructed in 1872, the children of lighthouse keepers and lighthouse visitors were not permitted to climb the 114 stairs in the tower to the watch room because the US Lighthouse Service feared they would trip and fall on the steep stairs or squeeze between the posts of the handrails. The Yaquina Head Lighthouse retains its historic stairs and handrails and thus the safety of children climbing the stairs is still a concern. Today, children must be at least 42 inches tall to climb the stairs of the tower. Additionally, adults must accompany and assist children ascending the lighthouse tower.

Source: Bureau of Land Management

I will vouch for that justifiable feeling of fear on the part of the US Lighthouse Service! On our last visit to this splendid lighthouse and the surrounding Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, our 5 year old grandson was “tall enough” to climb the 114 stairs to the top of the tower. I confess to being the big sissy of the group. The little guy waited patiently with my understanding hubby and quizzical son-in-law as I whizzed by them to climb to the top and back by myself. My very prudent and proper “respect” for heights seems to quickly blossom into a full blown scardey-cattedness when I’m with little ones (I know I’m not alone in this*)!

Come on up!

Glancing up at the first order Fresnel lens, manufactured in Paris in 1868 by Barbier & Fenestres:

Yaquina Head Lighthouse Lens

About the light:

The light has been active since Head Keeper Fayette Crosby walked up the 114 steps, to light the wicks on the evening of August 20, 1873. At that time the oil burning fixed white light was displayed from sunset to sunrise. Today, the fully automated first order Fresnel lens runs on commercial power and flashes its unique pattern of 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on, 14 seconds off, 24 hours a day. The oil burning wicks have been replaced with a 1000 watt globe.

Source: Friends of Yaquina Lighthouses

Looking north from the top of Yaquina Head Lighthouse toward the beautiful beaches of the Oregon Coast

It was a “Great Day for UP!”

*My case in point: The Coastal Path, 36c – Kingsdown to St Margarets at Cliffe

~~~

WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Up

~~~