Tillamook Rock Lighthouse

The Graveyard of the Pacific is a nickname given to the coastal region in the Pacific Northwest stretching from Tillamook Bay, on the Oregon Coast, northward to the tip of Vancouver Island, Canada. The prevailing northwest winds and south-streaming Japanese current tend to set vessels onto the lee shore. This coupled with the region's heavy seas; frequent and unpredictable weather; fog; and the rugged, rocky coast have caused the loss of numerous vessels and lives. More than 2,000 vessels and 700 lives have been lost near the Columbia River entrance alone.

The lighthouse keeper has gone the way of the iceman and the blacksmith, but his story remains. Here are the unique adventures I experienced as a lighthouse keeper on a seagirt piece of real estate off Oregon's timeless shores. Since that adventure at Tillamook Rock lighthouse, more than a couple of decades have passed, during which automation, computerization and many other remarkable innovations, such as television, have become an accepted way of life.