Historic Point Reyes Lighthouse

We had seen the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse from a distance a couple of days earlier when we visited Point Reyes. But never really got close enough to take photos.

Pizza from Café Reyes

Steve was determined to have a closer look! So we chose a day that we could accomplish a few things all in the same place. First we picked up an unbelievably delicious pizza at Café Reyes and then we drove to the parking lot of the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse to have lunch with a view. I don’t know if it was the ocean view or the salt air, but it was one of the most delicious pizzas I’ve ever tasted.

Path to the Historic Point Reyes Lighthouse

After lunch we started walking and taking a ton of pix. It was very windy up on those cliffs and the path to the lighthouse looked endless. I went back to the car. But my intrepid husband marched himself all the way down to the lighthouse. He was well rewarded for his efforts as you can see.

A history of shipwrecks

Often hidden by fog and buffeted by fierce winds and waves, the Point Reyes peninsula splintered ships and shattered dreams. The first recorded shipwreck occurred in 1595. But wrecks were not uncommon until San Fransisco became a major port following the 1849 Gold Rush.

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Navigating around the headlands was safer once the lighthouse was constructed in 1870. However that did not stop shipwrecks. Even today, with modern navigational methods, Point Reyes’ rugged coastline still claims ships and lives.

U.S. Life-Saving Service

The original light station was built in 1870. But the mere fact that there was a lighthouse didn’t guarantee safe passage around this peninsula of land. For those unlucky enough to have wrecked there the lighthouse offered hope for survival. Beginning in 1890, highly trained crews of the U.S. Life-Saving Service struggled against the Pacific Ocean to save others. These men sacrificed their own comfort, family and even their lives while executing their duty.

The Service worked closely with the nearby Lighthouse Board and Weather Bureau to monitor the coastline and coordinate rescue operations with one another during emergencies. They even established a cemetery for fallen crew members at G Ranch.

Lifesaving Station

After years of bureaucratic wrangling the lifesaving station finally began operations in 1890. The perimeter fence of Historic Point Reyes Lighthouse enclosed a boathouse, living quarters and a garden. A lookout tower stood on a nearby bluff. In addition they also maintained a small, auxiliary boathouse on Drakes Bay after 1894.

Prior to a telephone being installed in 1895, surfmen walked three and a half miles and descended the stairs to the lighthouse so that light keepers could telegraph San Francisco for assistance.

The first lifesaving crews used oar boats that were launched through raging surf. Rescues were very dangerous and physically exhausting. Multiple trips were often necessary to remove all of the victims. The motto of these surfmen was “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.”

Move to Drakes Bay

In 1927, the U.S. Coast Guard moved the lifesaving station to the Drakes Bay boathouse location. It was a safer place to launch lifeboats, especially their large, motorized boats that had to be launched from a marine railway.

From the shelter of Drakes Bay, safer, self righting boats could be launched. Rescues were performed with 36-foot long motor lifeboats. Motors extended the boat’s range and allowed crews to save their strength for rescuing victims.

Why do the cows cross the road?

After our informative visit to the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse, we headed for our third reason for going back to the area. On our way to Cowgirl Creamery we passed a vast dairy farm with breathtaking landscape. AND, we encountered a very first for us. We had to stop, along with several other travelers, to allow a whole herd of cows crossing the road!!! It was really quite cool watching these gentle giants amble across the highway to get to greener pastures.

Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Shop

At long last we could buy some luscious cheese at the Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Shop. It was like being a kid in a candy shop. There were so many amazing cheese, crackers, spreads and serving tools that I didn’t know what to look at first. But I figured the cheese had to be my primary focus.

Steve and I selected a couple of cheeses and one box of crackers and then headed back to the RV. After inhaling an entire pizza for lunch we weren’t all that hungry for dinner. That was actually perfect because all we both wanted was to taste the cheeses.

I made a mini charcuterie board with our cheese selections from Cowgirl Creamery, crackers, fig jam, juicy fresh green grapes and some thinly sliced Genoa salami. It was the perfect meal after our fabulous day in Point Reyes.