Day 47 – April 26 – San Francisco Area Lighthouses

We drove to Point Bonita Light in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just across the bay from San Francisco.  To get there we crossed the Bay Bridge once more, took highway 101 to the Golden Gate Bridge.  Crossing it we drove to the path leading to the lighthouse.  Our book on lighthouses said it was about a one-mile walk to the lighthouse so we all headed on the path.  The path started up hill at first and we hoped we would be able to see the lighthouse once we topped the hill.

Well, once we topped the hill, all we saw as a down hill path that curved around the hillside.

The path leading down to the lighthouse

We walked on until we came to a bridge on the path. The wind was really blowing from the ocean side.  Not far from the bridge we saw the path lead to a tunnel – but there was a locked door on tunnel.

Tunnel leading to the lighthouse.  If you look close, you can see the path once used on the side of the hillside

The ocean on the side of the path

It was right at noon, and Dorrie had seen a sign that the lighthouse was open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12:30 until 3:30.  Rick and Mary came into view so we walked back to them to see what we wanted to do.  We debated on returning to the car, but in the end decided to wait since we had already walked back this far.

After 30 minutes we saw four or five people with nametags walking our way.  They said they would open up, but first one of the group told us a little about the history of the light.  It seems the current light is the second one built in this area.  This first light was placed on a hilltop, which turned out to be a poor choice since the area has so much fog the light was not effective because the fog covered the light.  So a new light was built, sometime in the 1870s.  The new light was placed on the point lower to the water.  To get to the location a very narrow path lead around the hill.  It was determined that a tunnel was required and in a span of 8 weeks the tunnel was built.  They did not use anything but picks and shovels in the construction.  The tunnel is about 100 feet long.

After exiting the tunnel we got our first view of the lighthouse.  

Our first view of the lighthouse.  Note the bridge to the left of the lighthouse

Dorrie in front of the light

To reach the lighthouse we had to cross a suspension bridge – which move from side to side from people walking on it and the wind blowing against it. 

The suspension bridge leading to the lighthouse

There was an arch in the rocks that the lighthouse was built on – one of the staff said it was called the Salt Arch.  

Arch, lighthouse, and bridge

Waves working on the rocks

She also told us the keepers lived up the hill on the bluffs.  At one point one of the keepers had some small kids and the parents were afraid the kids would fall off the cliff.  So the father fashioned a harness for the kids to keep them safe – and one did fall off the cliff but was not hurt because of the harness.

We walked back to the car and just as I approached the car, the wind blew my hat off and over the edge of the cliff.  It stopped on the plants just over the edge.  I started to try to reach it and a young gentleman held my arm and I managed to get my hat back. 

We drove to a great overlook of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. 

A clear day in San Francisco 

After pictures and a lunch eaten in the car we started for Point Reyes Light – about 50 miles away.

The road to Point Reyes Light was very curvy and rough.  At one point we hit a bump so hard that Dorrie and I flew off the back seat.  We reached the lighthouse and once more there was an uphill path we had to walk.  The sign said it was four tenths of a mile to the lighthouse.  It was a very hard walk and we were disappointed to find there was a downhill walk to the lighthouse on the edge of the cliff.

We took some pictures from above since the warning sign leading to the lighthouse said the walk back up would be about the same as walk up to the top of a 30 story building.

This point has the strongest wind in California – up to 130 miles per hour.

The impact of the strong wind on a group of trees

When the wind is too strong the walk to the lighthouse has to be closed to protect the visitors.  While we were looking down at the lighthouse we were told there were Orcas heading back out to the ocean, but we never could really say we saw them.

A beach view from the path leading to the lighthouse

Flowers on the cliff over the ocean

After the walk back to the car, it was time to return to the camper.