We were planning to just spend a night here and then be on our way but now that we had two anchors out, the dinghy all set up and a steady weather forecast, we thought we might as well spend an extra day exploring this place that, from the bay looked pretty sweet. That’s how a one day stay turned into three.
For our first shore trip we motored over to the old Coast Guard life boat station what had built in 1927 and abandoned in 1968. The National Park Service restored it in 1990 and now preserves it for posterity. One of the old type “T” 36-foot motor lifeboats in the boathouse sitting on marine rails looking ready to go.
The primary structure is the station is the boathouse, built in 1927. Designed to house lifeboats on the first floor with the station’s crews quartet on the second floor. They have a CG surf boat sitting on the marine rails looking ready to go, with period furniture all about and even art work on the walls. In it’s hay day over 50 people staffed this station. It kind of spooky now with no people around and looking like they all just stepped out for a moment.
Bev and I hiked up the hill from the life boat station and as we gained altitude the views just kept getting better. We passed a small heard of deer that let us get within 50’ of them. It’s was wonderful to be around wild creatures that don’t consider is a threat.
That’s Malo in the photo below sitting at anchor in Drakes Bay:
When we were on Malo, 100 miles off shore, she doesn't feel small to me. She feels big and mighty. But when we got off of her, climbed that hill and looked down upon her sitting out in that bay, she looked so small and venerable. Like a delicate sea bird bobbing out upon the waves, improbable things but yet, there they are...
Every way we looked the views were spectacular. The air was crystal clear and the light has a special quality about it that seemed sharp and glowing at the same time. I wondered if that was caused by the moisture in the air.
The next morning we set out in the dink to explore both sides (ocean & bay) of the point from the water. The ocean side was craggy, wild and ocean blasted. We came up on a beautiful and secluded beach covered with about 50 or so sleeping sea lions. They were sleeping in the morning sun arranged in three groups. The first group was made up the largest ones. We guessed those were the males. The second group was composed of smaller individuals. Both of those groups were sound asleep at 8:30 in the morning. The last group must have been the nursery as it was made of about 4 or 5 very small sea lions the smallest of which seems to be an infant. These ware all awake and playing in the water right next to the beach.
We turned back into the bay and headed over to a large beach where we landed the dink and went for a walk along the shore.
As we walked we could see a whole lot of fresh animal tracks in the sand. We could see lots of raccoon tracks, a couple pair of deer tracks and some dog like tracks. Popular place.
We were delighted to see lots of pelicans too. They were successfully diving for fish all around us. We could tell because then they camp up from under water we could see them raise their huge beaks and shake their catch down their throats. As we came into the beach, the flock settled down just down the beach from us to digest after their meal.
Over all, besides being remote, unspoiled and gorgeous, Point Reyes seemed quietly magical and even sacred. Bev wondered out loud about how the native Americans felt about this place, if it was sacred to them. I had been wondering the same thing. As a society, we’re loosing our connection with nature, which makes the few remain places like this all the more precious.
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