Although our local lighthouse is attractive in the summer, I find its stark winter beauty even more compelling. Yaquina Head, Oregon’s tallest lighthouse, rises a majestic 93 feet above the westernmost point of the basalt headland which juts one mile into the Pacific Ocean.

The lighthouse has guided ships along the west coast since August 20, 1873, when the first keeper climbed its punishing 114 steps to light the oil burning wick.

Today, of course, everything is fully automated.

But on a crisp, cool day with few visitors, it’s easy to imagine how lonely and desolate this remote spot must have seemed to the lightkeeper’s family.