Lighthouse at Fort Worden

Just north of Port Townsend is Fort Worden. Back in June '19, just after Charlotte was born, we spend the night here at the fort in one of the officer's houses. It now functions, among other things, as a hotel. We thought we'd visit again to have a look at the lighthouse. On the way out to the point, we passed this wharf which now serves as sea life museum.

According to Wikipedia:

Fort Worden [is] a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps base constructed to protect Puget Sound from invasion by sea.^[2] Fort Worden was named after U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Lorimer Worden, commander of USS Monitor during the famous Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War.^[3]

Constructed between 1898 and 1920, Fort Worden was one of the largest Endicott Period (1890-1910) forts to be built and a rare example of a post built according to the precepts of the Endicott Board on land not already occupied by an existing fortification. It was located within sight of a potential (if unlikely) enemy fortification, a British Royal Navy installation on Vancouver Island in Canada.^[4] The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.^[5]

So, as you can see, it was once a functioning defense of the US. These days, it is a place for visitors and fun. On the way to the lighthouse, we passed a campground that, for some reason, has people camping in it.

Out at the northern point is the reason for our visit today...the lighthouse and the associated buildings.

Even though it is sad that things are not very well maintained, it does make for a scene with a bit more historical character. It strikes me that this looks like something from a Hitchcock movie where the protagonist gets stranded when his/her car breaks down. It is a place of shelter but it doesn't feel like a safe place.

Lots of angles and shapes to see when looking upwards from the side of tower. As you can see, this is a very cloudy day (still "sunny" on the Seattle scale...it is not raining) so the only features in the sky is various shades of grey.

But to let you know that there is a little color to found here, one of the small outbuildings is metal and the door has rusted.