Day 47, Sat. May 19, 2018, Point Reyes,CA., explored. Lighthouse and more!

The Point Reyes Lighthouse is 365 steps down. We are "up"on top

A view from the top looking north along the beach.

 The lighthouse journey was probably the highlight of the day. That meant a 20 mile ride on winding, bumpy, twisting roads all the way. The road was "paved". It was at the same time beautiful to see. That included the rolling hills, scattered cattle across the land,  the yellow and blue Lupine, many hills and every once in a while a grove of red cedar  that were bent by the constant wind that blows off the Pacific up into these hills.  It was a grueling ride, but as we left the trailer early, there were few cars on the road and only one in the parking lot when we arrived at the Lighthouse area.  We pulled over a few times to watch for birds. There is a closed gate at the entrance to the Lighthouse, but with a handicapped license we were able to access that, and drove up a one lane   narrow drive (500 feet off the Ocean on both sides) that looked like a good place to park near the walk to the view of the lighthouse.  After I parked, Ruth walked ahead to take photos f the Lighthouse some 350 steps below, as I talked to the Ranger, and he explained to me that the rules meant that I could park at the bottom of that narrow drive, and would I do that please? Of course I started to oblige but Ruth had finished the photos so we walked to the truck together and drove out the way we came.  He admitted that he signage was not clear.

The Ranger gives demonstrations of the Fresnel lens in the light of the Lighthouse a few times a day. They were expecting 40 mph winds later so he wanted to get everyone down there on time. By the time we finished the crowds were beginning to come up the road.

One of the roads leading to the Lighthouse (20 miles)

At th etop of the cliff the wind is fierce at 40 mph

The wind gets to bend the cedars in a beautiful form over the road.

Yellow Lupine . There were miles of these.

One of many bays that surround the Park . (Home Bay)

On the way back we did get some beautiful and interesting photos on this rolling, narrow, bumpy, two lane road. The Peninsula was originally owned by a Mr, Shafter who divided it up into five sections call A, B, C,D, and E,],  , each one a ranch , mostly to produce milk for butter and cheese.  Lter more ranches wer added continuing the lettering to "Z". This developed so that the industry supplied the west with those products until the arrival of paved roads and motorized trucks.  Along with that came strict rules about pasteurization and cow cleanliness.  The the ships and carts came to a halt and the industry slowed down considerably. Today both products are produced but all milk has to be shipped out for a second processing as the laws demand that.  That rule also slowed the industry locally. Many of the original farms are still in place. (See pic) They were established in 1847 or so and have operated up to the present day. Today there is a move to eliminate cattle ranching on the Peninsula, and tender each owner a 20 lease that will end after that. It is a debate that is ongoing.

Hikers getting their gear on. There were hundreds.

One of the original dairy farms

Those "San Diego" Salmon berries

One stop, (and there are many places to explore in this 35,000 acre Park), was an Estero on a bay.  There, at one time, was a huge, profitable  Oyster farm, in which the owner had been the major oyster farmer in western CA. When the Park Svc., wanted to establish the Park, he was given a 40 year "grandfather" clause to stay on, after that time it had to close so there are few oysters on that Bay anymore.  The seals and the otters compete for any that are there. There are  many on Tomales Bay further inland as we found out later when we drove around to that side.  At the Estero we also saw three Elk that were feeding across the Bay. We did not expect that , as their range is the north end of the Peninsula.  The bear and mountain lions are gone from here now.

We did not see many birds today  (23) but did get some good ones like the PERIGRINE FALCON, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, WESTERN SCRUB JAY, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, and the WHITE TAILED KITE . As the sea water around the Point has cliffs, this attracts some of those birds that use those for nests. The Falcon and the Guillemot are examples of that and we saw them at  the Lighthouse area.

We did get to see one of the "larger" towns on the coast (CA Route #1) and that is the community of "Point Reyes Station" or "Station" (pop. 800) as it is lovingly called by the natives. It has all you would want and seems to be a bit posh with goods for hikers, travelers and retirees. (More later on hikers.) We stopped in at the "Market" to get a few foodstuffs. There I saw what was probably the largest selection of vegetables and fruits in any market I have been. Really! There had to be over a dozen types of lettuce as an example.and it went on from there.  Remember we are on CA and only a few miles form the "Valleys"of produce. It was almost unreal, but a well stocked store that took care of the clients needs. A small container of HOT Guacamole dip  was $4.65 and a MILD Guacamole dip was $6.65. Go figure! Someone tell about that type of price structuring?

As we first came into the Visitor's Center yesterday, there were dozens of cars and vehicles with folks getting materials out of their trunk or making sandwiches, or getting their packs together for hiking. This park has the most hikers I have seen at one time. Granted it was Saturday and a weekend, but the overflow parking lot was full as many of them were getting their permits  at the desk, to camp on the trails and know what the parameters were. It was quite a scene.(see photos)

We ended the exploring of the Park with a stop at a small State Park (Day use only) on the east side of Tomales Bay.  It has a beach where folks gather out of the wind and have picnic and the like. We arrived just as a group was setting up their tents and bringing the food down to the beach. It was a fine setting, facing a long bay that was calm and serene. The sun was shining, but the air was cool.
 

The beach for picnics is well used.

 We settled for hot dogs tonight (my choice) as Ruth was very shook up with the ride to the lighthouse and back. She will need a day to recuperate I feel.

Tomorrow we will explore that southern portion of the Park which includes the Point Reyes Bird Observatory and Field Station as well as a Lagoon and Bolinas Point, the southern most piece of 'real estate'  in the Park.