May 12 - Port Reyes National Seashore

Happy Mother's Day.

Well it's vacation time! And today I'm flying to San Fran and then heading north to Port Reyes National Seashore.

I've never been there before but both hiking companies I've hiked with have held trip there. So not its my chance to see what the excitement is all about.

It's not a great start as my flight is almost an hour late. I'm not sure why because the plane was there. But we made up a tiny bit of that time.

Then the luggage was slow coming out AND then the train to the rental cars arrived but the doors would not open for almost 5 minutes. I got on to an already crowded train. Next stop nobody gets off and more people squeeze in. Next stop nobody exits. Next stop is for cargo so nobody exits or enters. Then we are moving to Rental and the train stops and goes backwards. Yikes!

Things get figured out and the train reverses and proceed to rental cars to which my car empties. 

Here's a positive, I'm already checked in so I just proceed to get my car and I get a quick exit. Yea!

But my phone won't connect to the car and I have to drive with my phone on my lap w/ my phone not providing any audio. I do ok and find Target in Sausalito. Wow! Most stuff is locked up and the prices are insane!

I stop at a Subway nearby and start heading to Point Reyes Station (no stops). And I get my phone working by just plugging it into the USB connection -- what a relief!!

Once off the highway, it's a very windy road with several turns. Very hilly, a tad bit brown, but very pretty.

I arrive in Port Reyes Station and it's a zoo! I drive thru but I have no idea where I'm going since GPS keeps trying to turn me around. I stop and try to reset the GPS to Inverness but I have no service. Ugh!

I stumble across the Bear Valley Visitors Center and see a Ringlet. And have service to point me in the right direction!!

So I'm finally off to the lighthouse. On the drive, I find my hotel and it's right on the bay. The tide is out now and I make a stop at the old shipwreck (Tomales Bay Shipwreck). It's behind the Inverness Store.I got lucky when a group of people left.

I continue on and eventually lose the sun to a light fog. Drive is windy with lots of cows and flowers.

I make a stop at South Beach. 

These flowers look like Moss Roses!! And they are everywhere.

I walk to the beach for a quick look -- just a normal beach! No ocean smell. :(

I continue on towards the lighthouse but it's more than packed. I turn around when I see all the cars and head to Chimney Rock. Oddly, it's down a one lane road (that's bi-directional). It too is packed but I do find roadside parking. Yea!

I make it to the trail and start my way down a trail that is filled with flowers. Pink, yellow, violet, white - lupine, shrub lupine (I love it), and so many others. The flowers are worth the trip! (And here's just a few of them.)

I can hear elephant seals somewhere below.

I'm approaching an overlook to the right and I look left and find a doe bedded down in the vegetation. When I came in they warned to go slow because there are fawns running around. I looked for a fawn but couldn't see one. Doesn't mean there wasn't one there.

I go right and am looking down (way down) to a beach with Elephant seals (and yes, they are making noise). Very cool.

I continue on and finally reach the end point.

There I stop to watch a gopher (may be) digging out his hole. That is until people start bothering him and he's now trying to fill his hole. Tourons!!

Time to head back.

The deer is now up and feeding!!

I see a male/female Goldfinch pair.

Back at the parking lot, I head to a Seal Viewing area (maybe a 1/2 mile). 

See this other bird; one I will see a lot of this week.

These guys are much more active jousting and the like both on the ground and in the water.



It's about 330 when I get back to my car. I think about heading to the lighthouse but it's still foggy and I'm just not sure how much it has emptied out. I can always try Monday or Tuesday.

I head to the Iverness Motel where I'll be staying the next 2 nights. It's on Tomales Bay!

I get to the hotel just after 4:00 pm. I head out to the store to get a $12 turkey with cheese sandwich. I got to say it was a big sandwich.

I take a quick look at the shipwreck as the tide is in now out.

I'm thinking about going out tonight but it's been a long day. I'll walk out on the boardwalk in a few.

I did go out on the boardwalk and nothing exciting. However, at one point last night (before sunset), I peeked out my bathroom window and there was an Egret outside - very exciting!

Also, I got serenaded by frogs last night! Put me right to sleep!

Awesome day!

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