Last week Larry and I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite parks, Point Reyes National Seashore, to prep for Larry’s upcoming mural image for the park’s new map. Point Reyes lies at the tip of a narrow peninsula which sticks out some 15 miles into the Pacific Ocean. Although known for its foggy and windy weather it was mostly sunny while we were there and I was able to capture some spectacular views like this photo of Drake’s Bay. It’s believed to be here that Sir Francis Drake came ashore during the summer of 1579 to repair his ship. There is reference to “the stinking fogges” in the ship’s chaplain’s log, so nothing much has changed.

Tule elk are endemic to California and were the dominant grazers at Point Reyes National Seashore until their extirpation in the mid 1800’s.  Thought to be extinct a small group of about 30 was discovered in 1874 on Henry Mill’s cattle ranch near Bakersfield. Mill had the foresight to preserve this isolated group which over the last 100 years grew in size to an estimated 3,900 tule elk in 22 herds across California. In 1978 10 tule elk (8 females and 2 males) were reintroduced to Tomales Point from the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge near Los Banos. Further conservation efforts  has increased the number of tule elk in Point Reyes to approximately 450. Point Reyes remains the only National Park unit where tule elk can be found. What a treat it was to photograph them. We also  saw many Columbian black-tailed deer (below). I’ll be posting more elk and deer photos on my website soon.

At the suggestion of park staff we stayed at Motel Inverness on Tomales Bay and couldn’t have been happier. We felt right at home with the large fireplace and ‘lodge-like feel’ of the place. Larry took advantage of the nicely lit dining table for sketching his ideas for the mural.

While I did take advantage of the pool table for a few games of ‘8 Ball,’ I spent most of the time at the motel roaming around outside photographing the surroundings. Below is Tomales Bay from the deck.

 

An old building down the road.

And a sign that made us both laugh. Are they counting people or dogs or both? :)

Thanks for reading.
Nancy Cherry Eifert