This post begins with a disclaimer. If you read a wide array of workamping job descriptions, you find a huge variety of job titles, duties, hours and expectations. My job title was Lighthouse Interpreter which meant I’d give tours to visitors to include history and interesting information about the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

So, the disclaimer is that my workamping experience at Heceta Head Lighthouse only represents my experience at Heceta Head Lighthouse. And you cannot assume that my work experience (and the unexpected perks that came with the job) is reflective of other workamping experiences.

But Let’s Begin at the Beginning

To give the full picture, let me share the process and my experience from the beginning.

I started the research seven months prior to my December assignment. All workamping jobs with the Oregon State Park system are in one place which made looking through my options quite easy.

I found five that met my criteria. That is, they were lighthouse positions during the fall and early winter. On the same website, one click got me to the application where I listed each of the five positions I sought.

Then, I emailed each ranger in charge of each particular lighthouse to reiterate my interest in the job. Although the email was not required, I hoped it would improve my chances.

Not sure if it made a difference. But I heard back from one. And, a few days later, Ranger Ben called me for a brief phone interview. After that, I received an email notice that I was a Heceta Head Lighthouse Interpreter for the month of December.

Yippee. I did a little happy dance. That was early June.

In November, Ben and the Oregon State Parks system followed up. Next, they asked me to complete paperwork for a background check. After that, I completed online safety training which included tests after each of the 16 modules. The online estimate said the safety training would take eight hours. It took me five.

Update

During 2020, I was scheduled to be an Interpreter again. This time at Kam Wah Chung Historical Site. However, it was cancelled due to COVID-19. The site is a small building and tours are conducted inside so it makes sense the place was closed for the season.

I then spent time looking for other volunteer opportunities in Oregon. I was so sure I was going to get this one camp hosting position. Turned out, it had been filled not long before I applied.

It made me make a mental note about the timing of applying. Whenever possible, 10-12 months in advance, I think, would increase my chances of getting a position. If you are looking, this tip might help you too. However, keep in mind my experience is in Oregon. Other states might be completely different. But it’s never a bad idea to plan as far in advance as you can.

The Layout

I need to pause here to orient you. Otherwise what follows might be confusing.

Driving south along Highway 101 in Oregon (about in the middle of the state along the coast), you’ll go through a town called Yachats (pronounced YAW-hots). Thirteen miles later, you’ll find yourself in the Carl G. Washburne Memorial State Park. On the west side of the road is the day-use parking lot which abuts the beach while the east side of the road is the Carl G. Washburne campground.

The campground is where I stayed for the month. Some readers have expressed an interest in my thoughts on campgrounds. My review of the Carl G. Washburne State Park is on Compendium (scroll down until you get to my review). It’s almost all positive.

Continue south on Highway 101 for four miles and you’ll come to the turn-off to the Heceta Head Lighthouse. Follow the road down to the day-use parking lot. Like the other day-use lot, step out of your car, take a dozen steps and you’re on the beach. Or, you can walk one-half mile up the dirt path to the lighthouse.

If you don’t turn down the road but, instead, continue along Highway 101, next you’ll pass an amazing scenic view. This turnout is one reason Heceta Head is the most photographed lighthouse in Oregon. You get a stunning view of the lighthouse.

A hop, skip and a jump farther down the road, you’ll pass the privately-owned Sea Lion Caves. And, finally, in another seven miles, you’ll reach the town of Florence.

Can you picture it? Okay, back to the story.

Workamping Orientation at the Shop

I arrived on the last day of November so I’d be ready to work—bright-eyed and bushy-tailed—on the first day of my work month. Ranger Ben helped me back into my campsite, gave me a volunteer binder, told me to read it and bring questions to orientation the next morning.

The next morning, eight of us plus Ben met at “the shop.” The shop is the buildings where the rangers have their offices, keep vehicles and other equipment. It is one-quarter mile north of the campground. Five of us were lighthouse volunteers and three were camp hosts at the campground. There were two couples and four solo women volunteers, including me.

At orientation we talked safety, including a lot about what to do and where to go in a tsunami situation, what to do in circumstances such as bad weather or nasty people, and how to fill out our time sheets. Then Ben collected paperwork.

After the orientation, I followed Ben to his office to get my uniform. I was the only person who hadn’t volunteered for the State of Oregon before so the only one in need of a uniform.

I got a hat, a vest and a name tag. During each shift, we must wear the name tag and either the vest or the hat though most of us wore both. I keep the uniform for the next time I volunteer with Oregon State Parks. Additionally, I was assigned keys.

Workamping Orientation at the Lighthouse

For the second half of orientation, we met at the parking lot of the lighthouse. First, Ben told us to park in spaces backwards when we work. The reason? My first thought was for a quick getaway since images of tsunamis peppered my brain. But the real reason is that people who park backwards have less parking lot accidents.

I had no idea. Though, on this matter, I did have an “aha” moment later in the month.

I suck at backing up big things. I thought it was just when I backed into a campsite with the trailer attached. Turns out, I’m not too good at backing up my giant van by itself either. It takes a lot of up-and-back to get myself between the white lines.

Next, Ben showed us where to find cleaning supplies (the backside of the bathrooms). Each shift, we were to pick up parking lot garbage as well as any we found on the trail up to the lighthouse.

Then we walked together up to the lighthouse. We walked at the pace of the slowest volunteer, an 80-year-old woman. But it was nice because it allowed me to read the information signs along the way. The information signs, essentially, take the place of the interpreters during hours when the lighthouse isn’t staffed.

Arriving, he showed us our office (one of the lighthouse’s oil houses) and the little museum (the other oil house).

The volunteer office included:

• a space heater (a much-used item in December)
• a reference library for self-education
• a first aid kit
• two phones (one landline and one cell)
• cleaning supplies
• a logbook to record work hours and other relevant details each day such as weather, animals and birds spotted or interesting visitors

The museum included artifacts from the light keeper days (a uniform, oil can, etc.), a replica of a traveling library, broken lens rings from the mid-1990s when a ranger cleaning the Fresnel lens broke two rings (a $25,000 accident), the visitors’ book and a television. During our shift we would run a loop of photos, either from the early days of the lighthouse or photos from the 2011-2012 renovation.

Another Pause

Normally, you’d find the museum items in the workroom. When entering the lighthouse, the workroom is the first room,

But, in July 2018, the lighthouse closed to tours for maintenance. When I arrived in December, it remained closed to the public. This didn’t change what we said to visitors, it simply changed the location.

Rather than greeting people in the workroom and leading them to the top of the lighthouse, we talked with them outside.

When the lighthouse does open again (and, it may well be opened now), tours will be limited to the lower level. In order to preserve the integrity of the structure, visitors will no longer walk to the top. Apparently, this is common and, at the time I was workamping, only one or two lighthouses in Oregon still take visitors to the top.

As I Was Saying

Even though the lighthouse was closed to the public, as part of orientation, we got to go inside. I loved it. It was my first time inside a working lighthouse and I was in awe.

Ben gave us a brief description of what we’d do should the lighthouse open during the month. He explained how to conduct tours (this is really about how to manage people in a very small space). But it was brief as he didn’t expect it to be opened during December.

Then we ascended the narrow metal spiral stairs. He explained what work the light keepers did on each landing. And at the top, we saw the beautiful Fresnel lens and the gears that rotate it.  

My Workamping Schedule

We worked three days on, three days off which meant we worked four days per week. The hours were 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. However, there was an exception. For four days, the hours were 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. for a holiday Open House in conjunction with the Light Keepers Bed & Breakfast. Though my schedule fell in such a way that I only worked one of the four evenings.

Do the math and you’ll quickly figure out that’s not 20 hours per week.

During the winter, fewer people visit the lighthouse. Most of the year, the hours are 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. so that’s where we lost a few hours. Additionally, we added an extra hour to each shift to account for the drive-time to and from the campground as well as the walk up and down the hill.

In the end, I averaged 12 hours per week. However, that figure doesn’t include the five hours before I arrived. Though, it does include the orientation hours as well as the monthly safety meeting.

But the big reason for the low average hours was because of a big storm and a king tide.

The Big Storm

When you live in a trailer or RV, you feel weather. The first few times in super windy conditions, I was sure the trailer was going to end up on its side. That’s how much it rocks and rolls. The first time I parked under trees during a wind storm, I was sure my solar panels would crack from all the falling branches.

Knock on wood. Neither of those things happened. And even though I’m now accustomed to things banging on the roof of the rig and being knocked side to side from wind gusts, the fear of real harm (to me, the pets and the rig) never goes away.

The night of December 17^th hard rain and sticks pounded my trailer. Strong wind knocked us around and the big gusts actually scared me. I didn’t sleep. I later learned. gusts were up to 90 miles per hour in places. Gusts of 100 miles per hour can knock an RV or trailer on its side. Though, to be honest, I don’t think it got that bad at the campground.

The next morning, sticks and even whole thick branches covered everything. Quill (my trailer) got pelted with a lot of sticks but no huge branches. Good thing because it’s hard to imagine surviving that without something broken or damaged.

At least one highway sign came down. A funny note: I learned which highway sign the next time I came to the campground from Highway 101 because I drove right past my turn. My cue to slow was that road sign. After that, I looked for the road sign laying on the side of the road.

Additionally, the storm left the lighthouse parking lot littered with bowling ball sized rocks, huge pieces of driftwood and lots of sand. The rangers closed the lighthouse parking lot. As such, I did not work that day. Or the next.

The King Tide

A king tide occurred a few days later. You know when you look at a tide chart it is positive and negative numbers along with a time of day? The negative number indicates the lowest point of the tide while the positive number indicates the highest point of the tide. The time is when those tides occur.  

A king tide is defined by Wikipedia as “the highest tides.” In Oregon, at least where I worked, they considered tides over 10 feet a king tide.

Remember what I said above about the parking lot and how close it is to the beach? Literally, steps away. Can you guess what happened next?

Just about the time debris was picked up from the big storm, the king tide arrived and threw more sand onto the parking lot. It became the third day my shift was canceled due to a closed parking lot.

More Workamping in the Future?

Despite the scary rain and wind, despite the cold, despite how sick Solstice got and three vet visits (two of which meant driving four hours to the vet hospital), I loved my workamping experience.

I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

To read the history of the lighthouse, how the old lighthouse worked, how the lighthouse works today and to read the details of the awe-inspiring Fresnel lens, take my Heceta Head Tour.

Links to Relevant Posts:

• The Unexpected Perks of My Workamping Job
• Workamping: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How
• Introducing My New Oliver Travel Trailer
• Tips for Making RV Park Reservations
• Oregon’s Heceta Head Lighthouse

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• How Not to Die (Book)
• DampRid Hanging Moisture Absorbent Bag
• SAMMART Collapsible Dish Drainer with Drainer Board
• The T Level
• Green Gobbler BIO-FLOW Drain Strips

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