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Saturday, March 3, 2012

Cape Signals.


Cape Blanco, Curry County, Oregon, United States, westernmost point on the contiguous United States.
We have arrived in the Far West. From here, we go across the Pacific to Asia.

Our terrain reminded pioneers of Scotland, Ireland. Many people settled here from those green places with hills and heather resembling their fathers' or mothers' homelands.  Fences were built for sheep out of gorse, a spiny bush that provided vegetation and color and a sure way to divide territory. From the sky, in spring and summer, the gorse appears as a blooming orange ribbon circling plots of land.

Now, cattle and sheep share the territory with cranberry bogs in low lands where water pools automatically and temperatures never reach above 70F.

The radio/weather signals on Cape Blanco have tracked hurricane force winds on a regular basis, year in and year out. The light in the lighthouse has been shining continuously for over a hundred years, warning mariners of cliffs and outcrops dotting the coast line.

It's no surprise that we have few days of fog here. Winds keep skies clear and the sun shining regularly.

Cape Blanco


23 comments:

Butternut Squash said...

Beautiful. I can see the resemblance to Ireland and Scotland. Looks like a wonderful place for a healthy walk.

Brian Miller said...

nice...it carries its own beauty....i like light houses as well....

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Yes, I can see why it would remind people of Scotland or Ireland too.

dianefaith said...

Beautiful! Every time you write about temperatures below 70 degrees, my mind almost refuses to comprehend it. One could do a lot of knitting -- and actually wear it -- in a climate like that :-)

Linda Myers said...

We did an independent walking holiday for a week in Ireland. It does look a lot alike. Except in Ireland we saw structures that were more than 400 years old!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Lovely picture! I used to live in Oregon (Salem, Beaverton, McMinnville, Turner). I have a friend who moved from England to Texas and I told her she'd picked the wrong state to feel at home!

Shannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z

ds said...

All that and cranberry bogs, too?! Wow. Yes, very much like Scotland & Ireland. you live in such beauty. Thank you for sharing it.

Diane said...

It amazes me how different countries are similar to other places. When we were driving my in-laws around S.Africa they were always comparing them with places that they knew in the UK. I agree that these pictures look very like places in Scotland or Ireland. Hope the tornadoes stay away from you. Take care Diane

Roberta Warshaw said...

What a lovely spot! Some day I will get out there. I have never been to your glorious state, I am embaressed to say.

NitWit1 said...

Love the post. As we traveled this past September we compared and contrasted the countryside with other places we had lived, visited or were stationed in the military.

Like others, I love lighthouses, too.

Rob-bear said...

Fascinating spot and story, rosaria. I like lighthouses, but their history of automation surely destroys some of the mystique.

And cranberry bogs. That's delightful.

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

It looks wonderful, Rosaria! What a perfect place for your retirement!

rjerdee said...

Interesting connection of your area to Ireland and Scotland...rather like the connection my relatives made to Norway while homesteading in Minnesota.

Perpetua said...

It certainly does look like parts of Scotland I know well, Rosaria, though the architecture is rather different. :-) I can well understand why homesick settlers, especially the many who were almost forced to emigrate from The Highlands of Scotland by circumstances, would want to root themselves somewhere which reminded them of home.

Vagabonde said...

This looks like a place where you can do some deep breathing and take in as much oxygen as you can – it looks so far away from city smog.

Donna said...

How neat that you live in a place that reminds folks of Scotland and Ireland!! We have rolling hills too but ours are full of trees etc. Yours has the added benefit of the coast and nice weather!!

Deborah said...

Rosaria, you keep moving toward windswept outposts... It says a lot about you. i'm fascinated by the "ad" that popped up in the lower left corner of your blog - love it - it's against my montana representative denny rehberg - who is a wealthy trust fund idiot running against jon tester for montana state senate. glad you are on the right side of the political tracks!

Jenny Woolf said...

I love the loyalty and dependability of lighthouses.

I have looked at your blog about Brian and want to tell you what a lovely looking person he was, such a kindly and good looking face.

erin said...

what a unique landscape, rosaria. you make me want to travel.)

xo
erin

Maggie May said...

Yes...... seems with the bogs and gorse and ruggedness, Ireland could be likened to this place.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

That gentleman's lady said...

I love Scotland, and if your terrain reminds others of Scotland, I know that I too will love it.

Rosaria Williams said...

Thanks, everyone.
Do stop by if you are ever this far west. Just ask for Rosaria, and everyone will know where I live. If you are a hiker, kayaker, fisherperson, or surfer, you'll think you died and gone to heaven.
I'll have room for you.

Creative said...

Good to see other parts of the world. I've been to loch Ness and lovely Pitlochry. Scotland is a place of mountains and lochs. That's how I see it and the last time we went, we visited the picturesque Sweetheart Abbey. Don't think we will ever go abroad again - so much to see in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland.