Terrible Tilly | Laninga's Travel Blog

Ecola State Park, OR

September 6, 2021 John Laninga 1 comment

Our hike today at Ecola State Park had some terrific views. And some rough spots, the trail was steep and muddy. But the views were worth it. This park is near Cannon Beach, OR.

We shortened our hike a bit as I pulled my calf muscle a few days ago and it was acting up on me. Wouldn’t have been so bad, but the steepness coupled with slippery conditions made for a more tense hike, not good for a sore calf muscle.

We started out early, right about 10AM, and there were a few cars in the parking lot. But by the time we left at noon it was almost full. And coming back down the hike we saw quite a crowd of people. Last holiday of summer, nice weather, and everyone wanted to enjoy it. I’m glad we did!

A quick story about the Tillamook Lighthouse, also known as Terrible Tilly. Construction was started in 1878, and it took almost 2 years to build. Terrible storms and hurricanes made for some awful construction conditions. Once finished, there were always four keeper at a minimum. Their “shifts” were on the rock for 3 months, then 2 weeks off, and meant some terrible conditions for the keepers, both physical and mental. Some didn’t last more than a week.

The storms were terrible. The wind would tear chunks of rock off the island itself and throw them through walls, water tanks, even the lighthouse windows. Despite enforcements everything needed frequent replacement. Floating debris would plug the foghorn, which also required regular maintenance.

In 1957 the lighthouse was replaced with a red bouy. It was then sold to a private individual, but he lost title due to some serious swindling. The island then had several owners, each a story in itself.

Eventually it was turned into a columbarium. You could have your ashes stored there at prices from $1,000 and up. Unfortunately, the last owners lost their license to store peoples remain and the rock has been sitting empty since 1999. But it still is great for picture taking..

Left: during a storm. Right: my picture today.

Categories: Traveling Tags: Ecola State Park, hiking, Terrible Tilly, Tillamook Lighthouse

Oregon coast, Part 2

July 3, 2014 John Laninga Leave a comment

After we left Florence we went to Lincoln City where we enjoyed the scenery and a nice waterfall hike. And we had some of the best Dungeness crab we’ve ever had at the Casino. To make up for it, we had a longish (and muddy) hike on Cape Lookout.

From Lincoln City we went to Seaside where we stayed at a Thousand Trails park. The scenery around here is just fantastic, as is the hiking. And of course, a visit to Astoria included the Maritime Museum (very interesting!) and of course Bowpickers Fish and Chips.

We hiked in Canon Beach, but the trails were too muddy so we turned back. But again the scenery made it wort its while. We did get a view of Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, also known as Terrible Tilly because of the really bad weather in this area. It was decommissioned in 1957 and is now privately owned… and used as a columbarian (place to store cremated remains).

Since we had so much rain, we went to Fort Stevens where the main trails were paved, much easier to navigate. But Fort Stevens was fascinating, first built during the Civil War and used during WWI and WWII. It was fired on by a Japanese submarine in 1942, marking the only time US soil had a direct attack.