Point Reyes Lighthouse
Point Reyes Lighthouse is 50 miles north of San Francisco in the Point Reyes National
Seashore. This is a protected area covering approximately 71,000 acres and is a wonderful area to explore. There is only one, very small town in the whole area and that is Inverness. Most of the area is uninhabited but there are quite a few historic dairy farms which are still in operation so there are lots of cows.
Point Reyes itself is a curiosity as it is moving north at a rate of 2 inches a year. The rocks and vegetation are completely different here than on the opposite side of Tomales Bay.
There are a number of interesting places to visit. North of Inverness there are three, small secluded beaches on the Tomales Bay side - Shell Beach, Hearts Desire Beach and Marshall Beach. They are hard to find and not signposted at all from the road. At the northern end of Point Reyes there are free roaming Tule Elk and they are a wonderful sight. Also in the same area is the Historic Pierce Point Ranch with a self guided tour around the complex. Running past the ranch is the lovely Tomales Point Trail.
Today though we are headed for the lighthouse. This involves a drive of 20 miles from the entrance of the National Seashore, passing a few of the dairy farms. At weekends and holidays during the whale watching season, no cars are allowed to drive to the lighthouse and there is a bus shuttle instead. At this time of the year we can drive all the way to the small car park at the end.
As we got out of the car we had a marvelous view of the Farallon Islands. There is a 0.4 mile walk with some breathtaking views to get to the beginning of the lighthouse complex. There is a small visitors center before you get to the top of the steps leading down to the lighthouse.
As we approached the steps, we met a lady who was waiting for her son to return from his trip down to the lighthouse. We had a fascinating conversation with her. What an interesting life she had led. In the ten minutes or so we were talking to her we almost had her life story. The highlight was her telling us that for a few years she had been a hooker in Berkeley. I won’t give any more information in case anybody who reads this knows her!
Finally we had our first sight of the lighthouse. As this is the windiest and foggiest place on the
western coast, the lighthouse was built way down so it’s light could be seen below the fog. It looked a long way down and there were signs warning that there were over 300 steps and it was equivalent to a 30 story building.
There are a couple of places where you can take a rest along the way. The steps themselves are narrow and shallow. Goodness knows what it is like when there are a lot of visitors going up and down. We, as usual, had the place almost to ourselves. So a good tip is to arrive early in the day and preferably not at the weekend. The views of course are stunning .
I walked down quickly without taking any breaks at all and my legs were quite wobbly when I got to the bottom. I turned to look back up and watched as Tom was taking it at a much slower pace and taking the opportunity to stop and take photos from the platforms. The climb back up though looked extremely daunting and I was not looking forward to it.
Building the lighthouse was a major problem. A level area had to be blasted by dynamite. Transporting building materials took a long time and then it had to be lowered 300 feet down the cliff. On December 1, 1870 the first light shone out to warn passing ships that this was a hazardous place. Ships still went aground occasionally after the light was switched on but the number was drastically reduced.
The lens was designed by August Jean Fresnel and built in 1867. It was shipped by steamer from France and arrived in Drakes Bay after its perilous voyage around Cape Horn.
It was a lonely, 24 hour a day job being a lighthouse keeper. Alcoholism and insanity were frequent consequences of the work. In fact, one of the keepers took to drinking the alcohol used for cleaning the lens.
Now there is an automatic light but the old light is kept in good working order in case the automatic light fails.
The lens itself is closed to the public but the lower levels are accessible, not that there is much to see. There is another building next to the lighthouse which houses old machinery.
Here is another prime location for whale watching. The best times to view the whales are January to mid February and again from mid March to mid April.
Eventually I had to make the climb back up the steps but surprisingly it was easier than I thought. I did take advantage of the the platforms though to admire the view.
On the drive back to Olema we took a slight detour on the road to Chimney Rock. We wanted to take some photos of Drakes Bay. It is here that it is believed Sir Francis Drake took refuge in 1579 when he circumnavigated the globe. He made some reference to the cliffs reminding him of the White Cliff of Dover and they certainly do look like a smaller version of them
As we were on our way back to the main road we came up close to a skunk. It was a very narrow, single lane road and we spotted the skunk up on the bank to our left. We slowed down for a closer look. It was the first time I had seen a live one. They are so pretty. But this skunk was not as happy to see us. He immediately turned his back on us and raised his tail. We did not hang around.
November 18 2007 05:26 pm | Special Places
