Coquille River Lighthouse as it looked to us in 1990.

Some friends of mine are traveling to Oregon tomorrow, and our discussion about their trip led me to recommend visits to the state’s many beautiful lighthouses. As it turns out, their travels will take them along a good portion of the Oregon coastline, leading them past several of these marvelous beacons. Heceta Head, of course, is a favorite of mine, being the inspiration for (and gracing the cover of) my latest romantic mystery, POINT SURRENDER.

Yaquina Head, Yaquina Bay, Umpqua River, Cape Arago and others are all on the route. However, I gave my friends specific instructions to visit Coquille (Koh-kel) River Lighthouse in Bandon. With Google’s help, a quick search of this distinctive, octagonal beacon reveals that it has been refurbished since my visit in the early 1990’s. LighthouseFriends.com seems to have the most updated info, and they mention some discord concerning the paint colors on this 113 year old station. Seems some folks feel it should be all white. Personally, I’m just thrilled it’s been restored.

When my family visited Bullards State Beach Park in 1990, my young sons delighted in playing amount the rocks on the jetty. The younger, just 4, managed to plop himself down into the cold waters of the Coquille River! He thought it was a riot until I had to strip him down in the parking lot, behind our open car door, and redress him in dry clothes.