CA 06: Point Reyes, Muir Woods, and the Rock

Point Reyes is a great place to explore some of California's beautiful shoreline. The first thing we did when we visited was drive to the farthest reaches, to visit McClures Beach, where we walked a narrow path down to the shore. The path wound between small hills covered in a dozen different kinds of flowers. Around a bend we finally came into view of the sea, white capped and dark blue. Once we were down on the sand beach, our only company was a family with some small children. It was very quiet and peaceful with only the sound of the ocean and a few birds. There was a small stream cutting through the sand and flowing into the ocean. I became distracted with digging trenches into the the pebbled stream bed, and well could have spent the whole day there, but Jake pulled me away, and we loaded back into the car and headed towards the light house. Along the way we spotted some of the Elk which are kept in a reserve here, with cattle inhabiting much of the rest of the point.

There's a visitor's center on the cliffs above the light house, that you have to walk a little way to get to. On the particular day we visited it was extremely windy, and it was something of a struggle to walk into it. By the time we reached the visitor's center, our cheeks were stinging. Outside the visitor's center is a whale skull on display, and I scanned the water for whales, but I fully realized I wouldn't be able to make them out with all the white caps, unless possibly if one decided to beach itself. The very nice lady inside the visitors center told us that we couldn't go down to the light house because the wind was too high, but she was more than willing to sell us the California Audubon book we'd been looking for all week, and finally found on the gift shop's shelves. It was a cold and cheek stinging walk back to the car after that. We drove a little way to the elephant seal overlook, and though it wasn't as impressive as what we had already seen on our first day, it did provide good viewing for these unique animals.

We were starved at this point, so we stopped and had some BBQ chicken pizza at an adorable little shop just outside the park. The building looked like it belonged on the New England coast, not thousands of miles away near the opposite shore. It was called Priscilla's Cafe. The website claims the food is organic, and I can attest that is was very fresh.

After our lunch, it was on to Muir Woods, a redwood forest north of San Francisco. The forest was dappled in shadow and light from the branches high over head, and we explored along long winding wooden board walks. Horsetails and sorrel grew among the thick trunks, and a small stream with trout flowed between the trees. From the gift shop, I was able to pick up gold plated redwood needles to add to my Christmas ornament leaf collection, and then it was time to head off for our evening cruise to the most infamous U.S. prison: Alcatraz.

At Fisherman's wharf, we had enough time to grab some ice cream before hopping in line for the cruise. As we arrived onto the island, the sun was surround by a pleasant glow as it began to set. There were enormous sea gulls everywhere on the island. The park rangers split us into smallish groups and escorted us up the hill to the doors of the prison, while explaining some of the history of the island and buildings. Once at the prison, were were given audio devices, and given our leisure to walk about and listen to history. after we had finished with the audio tour, we had a little time left to explore the facilities on our own. I guess one thing that surprised me was how beautiful the island is, and how beautiful the view of the city. Finally, we were herded back onto the boat, the city now lit, the sun gone, and the boat turned back towards the city's shores.