Since our last update we have visited an old gold mine, a lighthouse, a beach hosting elephant seal families and a prison! We also hunkered down through even more atmospheric rivers, two of them! Neither weather event was quite as severe at our location as what we endured two weeks ago. I know that other parts of California were not as lucky. I also got my first haircut since Montgomery, AL (avoiding the feral camper vibe). I enjoy visiting a new salon on the road, because it allows me to be briefly immersed in the non-touristy aspect of a random town. Adventure is everywhere!
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| Empire Mine Owners’ Estate |
Empire Mine State Historic Park: $5 to step back in time! What a bargain! This park is fascinating. Enjoy the rose garden and estate grounds that surround the Empire Mine owner’s mansion. They had a pool, tennis court and all the lovely things you would expect of the very wealthy. Just a short walk from their front door is the mine yard and the entrance to the actual mine. There are displays of the equipment, water pumping machines and all of the shops required to maintain everything for mining. Peek into the mine shaft via stairs that take you down about 40 feet where you can look into the creepy darkness beyond the lights. When it was in use the mine was over 11,000 feet deep with 367 miles of tunnels and produced over 165 tons of gold! Water has since reclaimed the entire mine (spooky).
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| Empire Mine Shaft |
We couldn’t help but notice that in all of the photos, none of miners were smiling. It had to be a very tough life. Also, mules were used to pull carts in the mine. (They weren’t smiling, either.) The information displayed tried to make it sound like they were treated humanely despite photos of the mules with all four legs tied up and heads covered (to keep them calm) as they were lowered into the mine to live the rest of their lives (yup, they even slept down there…it was a different time). And to think of the hoity-toity life going on right above the miners and mules toiling away in the dark! Two sides of society, literally the top and bottom.
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| Point Reyes National Seashore |
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| Map Showing Point Reyes Along Coast |
Point Reyes National Seashore: Being so close to the Pacific Ocean, we wanted to make sure we took a day trip to explore a bit. Point Reyes is about three hours from Beale Air Force Base (where we have been since January). The drive to the coast is mixed with a TON of chaotic traffic followed by quiet, serene and quaint towns that lead to the ocean. Point Reyes Lighthouse is on a little hook into the ocean, so it is way out there. We drive through cattle farms/pastures and a landscape that conjures the rugged, windblown memories Greg has from northern parts of the United Kingdom.
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| Point Reyes Lighthouse |
The lighthouse itself requires a moderately challenging, nearly half-mile walk from the parking area to the top of the very long staircase (over 300 steps) down to the rocky shore where the lighthouse sits. I believe there was parking closer to the lighthouse observation area for those with a handicap parking placard. Lighthouse access was closed the day we were there, but we had a good view of it from above. And the walk to the lighthouse had beautiful, sweeping views of the wild beach below. No whales to see in February. We read that January and March have them going by, but not when we were there! Ha!
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| Elephant Seals at Drakes Beach |
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| Male Elephant Seals |
We started the day with the goal of seeing the lighthouse. But
reading more on the way we learned about Drakes Beach being crowded with elephant seal pups and both the adult males and females. The timing was perfect, because, according to the very knowledgeable and helpful volunteer docents, the females were due to leave soon. They had the beach blocked off and people were in the parking lot and on the visitor center ramp observing the noisy group on the beach. The pups were a dark color and were mostly cozying up to mom. The males had their harems nearby and would take their territorial disputes to the water or battle right amongst the pups! That was scary given the size difference and the fact that the males just rolled right over the little guys. There was also a lot of mating going on which is great since elephant seals were once hunted nearly to extinction. Access to this amazing, beautiful place is FREE!!
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| Greg & Laurel in Front of Folsom Prison |
Folsom Prison Museum: Parking in the visitor lot is free, and the museum only costs $2 (bring cash or be prepared to buy something to get up to the $5 minimum credit card charge). This prison is still an active prison, so there is no opportunity to see the inside of any of the prison buildings. The guard will tell you how far you can walk towards the prison wall to take a photo (about 50 yards). The museum is in a small building that looks like a house. The people working there are very informative and the types of items on display are the kind that require reading and a love of detail and even elements of the macabre. I’m not sure younger kids would find it too interesting with the exception of the huge, very detailed Ferris wheel constructed by a prisoner out of 250,000 toothpicks nearly 100 years ago. I wonder if it was a bit difficult for the artist to part with it when he was released from prison. Or maybe his toothpick art was an obsession to keep his mind off his literal ball and chain and he was ready to leave all it behind.
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| Toothpick Ferris Wheel |
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| Johnny Cash Concert Poster |
Most people associate Folsom Prison with the famous Johnny Cash performance he did for the prisoners in 1968 and the ensuing live album. There is an entire room dedicated to that. There is also a Johnny Cash Trail with a bridge and artwork. I was surprised to learn that Johnny Cash was never imprisoned except for small brushes with local law. Not sure how I got the impression that he shared a type of kinship with prisoners. Hmm.
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| Fampcamp Sign |
We are pulling out the chocks, leaving behind the endless, blooming almond orchards and resuming our travel northward in one week (don’t tell Cleo). We have many fun adventures planned, including camp hosting at a Washington State Park in exchange for a free campsite! I am sure the cats will enjoy the new catio views. They might be tired of staring at the same cows across the road here at the Beale AFB Famcamp. One of the things I will miss about staying on Beale AFB is the sound of coyotes yipping and howling each night at 10:00 pm when Taps is blasted across the base via the Giant Voice notification system. It is beautiful and haunting.
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| Greg & Nemo Enjoying a Sunny Day |
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| Cleo Judging a Bird |
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| Nemo After a Game of Cornhole |
200 Square Feet with Catio Views 
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