Point Reyes National Seashore

For most of my life I have lived within a few short hours drive from the North Bay and Point Reyes National Seashore. Twice I drove right past it on my way to other places. Never had I thought to even pop in to see what all the excitement was about… until Kerri. This is Kerri’s old back yard. The part of California that she frequented and knows well from her time living in the Bay Area.

We have been camped just outside the National Seashore at Olema Campground in what seems to be constant drizzle and wind. Such is the life near the Pacific I suppose. We even attempted a camp fire one night only to be met my soggy logs and a lot of smoke. We gave up after burning through all out paper-trash trying to get the logs to ignite.

Finally, on the weekend, we took the one forecasted clear day to run into the park lands to hike a portion of the Tomales Point Trail which offered numerous breathtaking views of the waves beating against the rocky coastline to the West, Bodega Bay to the East, and gobs-n-gobs of Elk everywhere we looked. Even though I come from many visits to the Rocky Mountain National Park where Elk play a role in any scenic view, the amount of Elk in this one small area was flabbergasting. I reluctantly admit that I was impressed.

With the sun dropping low in the sky, we set out to see Point Reyes Lighthouse where I was lucky enough to come by a Visitor’s Center to nab up another lapel pin (National Park # 72 by the way) for my collection. We decided not to hike down the 200 or so steps to see the lighthouse up close and personal, instead taking in the whole scene from a distance away that saved the knees from the abuse.

With the sun setting, we set out to see the elephant seals and  sea lions at Sea Lion Overlook to complete the one-day visit.