...Point Royal.
It is a good bet that when Sir Francis Drake landed on Pt. Royal in 1579 it was several yards further south from where it is today. This little peninsula was located even further south near where Monterey is about 60 Million years ago and is moving about 2 inches per year. Shaped like what I would describe like a "sliding T-bevel" tool, it is joined to the San Andeas fault line on the edge of the Pacific Plate. It was here where the epicenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was centered. While SF was destroyed by fire and explosions the plates here simply just moved 16 yards and caused huge fissures along with flipping the morning train on its side.
It is a good bet that when Sir Francis Drake landed on Pt. Royal in 1579 it was several yards further south from where it is today. This little peninsula was located even further south near where Monterey is about 60 Million years ago and is moving about 2 inches per year. Shaped like what I would describe like a "sliding T-bevel" tool, it is joined to the San Andeas fault line on the edge of the Pacific Plate. It was here where the epicenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was centered. While SF was destroyed by fire and explosions the plates here simply just moved 16 yards and caused huge fissures along with flipping the morning train on its side.
See the gap in the fence line.
When Sir Francis claimed the Point for England the queen was aware that this land belonged to New Spain and confiscated the captain's log and under threat of treason commanded Drake and his crew to keep silence and refer to the land as New Albion. It was nine years later that the Spanish Armada was destroyed and the British accepted Drake's story as official.
Today the drive from Reyes Station about 20 miles in distance takes you on Sir Francis Drake's Highway to the very point of the peninsula where a lighthouse equipped with the most modern equipment issues warnings to ships coming too close to the coastline. The drive takes you through lush agricultural terrain and fields with grazing black and white cattle. It is not unusual in the summer months what we experienced about half way to the point. While at Reyes Station just 10 miles back we bathed in 85 degree sunshine, suddenly we were in the middle of dense fog and icy winds.
When Sir Francis claimed the Point for England the queen was aware that this land belonged to New Spain and confiscated the captain's log and under threat of treason commanded Drake and his crew to keep silence and refer to the land as New Albion. It was nine years later that the Spanish Armada was destroyed and the British accepted Drake's story as official.
Today the drive from Reyes Station about 20 miles in distance takes you on Sir Francis Drake's Highway to the very point of the peninsula where a lighthouse equipped with the most modern equipment issues warnings to ships coming too close to the coastline. The drive takes you through lush agricultural terrain and fields with grazing black and white cattle. It is not unusual in the summer months what we experienced about half way to the point. While at Reyes Station just 10 miles back we bathed in 85 degree sunshine, suddenly we were in the middle of dense fog and icy winds.
Unfortunately, access to the lighthouse was closed. It is noteworthy, that Pt. Reyes provides a spawning environment to a host of sealife, including elephant seals. An estuary shaped like a human hand was named Drake's Estero. Why the Spanish name Estero was given, puzzled us.
The fog people
The picture above gives you a feel of the summer fog experienced by us. It also shows clearly how the trees are coping with the foggy conditions and the ever present wind. On this day walking underneath the tree umbrella it actually was raining and at least 5 degrees colder. You could see these human figures wrapped in a hooded sweater in these foggy conditions and not just on Pt Reyes, but also on Bolinas. Apparently, the Indians had a belief these were sacred grounds, but you should not stay too long, lest you go insane. We could understand that!
The picture above gives you a feel of the summer fog experienced by us. It also shows clearly how the trees are coping with the foggy conditions and the ever present wind. On this day walking underneath the tree umbrella it actually was raining and at least 5 degrees colder. You could see these human figures wrapped in a hooded sweater in these foggy conditions and not just on Pt Reyes, but also on Bolinas. Apparently, the Indians had a belief these were sacred grounds, but you should not stay too long, lest you go insane. We could understand that!
Back under a cloudless sky we took the Earthquake trail a .6 mile loop. It gave us a chance to walk on either side of the continental plates, westerly on the path we stood on the Pacific Plates and taking a step to the East we bounded onto the North American Plate. Walking the educational path, I had the feeling that below us was that sleeping beast and at any minute it could wake up and swallow us up. Kind of walking the edge. In a sense it was exhilarating.
In closing, the three if us had a great time. I was so lucky to have both my grown daughters for these three days. It was a bit colder than we expected, but the sauna and hot tub warmed the girls and it wasn't too cold to use the BBQ grill on two occasions. At the same time we had a roaring fire going as well. Mid-July in the northern Hemisphere this is crazy!
I have tried to capture what I thought the highlights for me where. If Hillary and Margaret want to add their thoughts, please comment. Once again, the wildflowers were everywhere and a poster said Pt. Reyes was home to at least 90 different kinds of wildflowers. Remember, that strange cauliflower looking plant in Ft. Bragg? I ran across it again at Pt. Reyes and apparently it is a Coastal Buckwheat. Another mystery solved.
We hated to say Good-bye to this natural wilderness. I do hope you were able to copy and paste the address I provided in the earlier message. If not, just Google or Bing Pt. Reyes, it gives you an idea if the beauty of this special little place.
I have tried to capture what I thought the highlights for me where. If Hillary and Margaret want to add their thoughts, please comment. Once again, the wildflowers were everywhere and a poster said Pt. Reyes was home to at least 90 different kinds of wildflowers. Remember, that strange cauliflower looking plant in Ft. Bragg? I ran across it again at Pt. Reyes and apparently it is a Coastal Buckwheat. Another mystery solved.
We hated to say Good-bye to this natural wilderness. I do hope you were able to copy and paste the address I provided in the earlier message. If not, just Google or Bing Pt. Reyes, it gives you an idea if the beauty of this special little place.
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