NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

After an overnight trip to the amazing Crater Lake National Park, it made sense to make a stop halfway to break up the long flight back to Los Angeles. While holding short of the runway, there were quite a few F-15s in the pattern, since this was a training base for the Air National Guard. They were doing touch-and-gos which, with me being a huge fighter jet fan, was a blast to watch. Leaving Klamath Falls, it was another close pass by Mount Shasta before heading south to Sonoma County Airport.

After arriving in Sonoma County, it was a race to a place called the Cypress Tree Tunnel at Point Reyes to beat the sunset. I had heard of this place and tried to visit a place very similiar while in Northern Ireland, called the Dark Hedges. The Dark Hedges were made famous by the hit HBO show, Game of Thrones. However, the hedges were absolutely packed with tourists and never allowed me the photo that I wanted. The Cypress Tree Tunnel was just the opposite, not a soul around. The fog started rolling in as the sun sank lower, giving an ethereal feel to the place.

From there, it was a very foggy drive out to the lighthouse. The fog was so thick that you could barely see a car length in front of you which made for some fun driving through the windy roads. There was a herd of deer that was out grazing along the road. Arriving at the lighthouse, it was so foggy that you couldn't see anything. That brought the day to an end.

Point Reyes has a "shipwreck" that is very accessible to the tourists and while many people have seen the boat, not many know its story. It isn't a true shipwreck, it is a ship called "Point Reyes" that was towed to where it sits with the hopes of restoring it. The restoration never happened but the boat served as a beacon for locals and tourists alike as it provided a great subject for many photographs. Instagram has brought the boat a lot of fame and it also brought it a lot of pain. Not long ago, a photographer decided to try some long exposure steel wool photographs. This ended in a fire being started on the mostly wood boat. One careless act brought about a storm of publicity and an outcry for people to adhere to the adage, "Take only photos, leave only footprints."

The final stop before heading back to LA was the lighthouse, one more time. The fog was starting to lift and the sun was peaking through the clouds. The lighthouse sits on a point, about a quarter mile from the parking area. While the walk to the top isn't bad, there are 300+ stairs that lead down to the lighthouse itself and more than a few people were huffing and puffing on the way back up. The places that I visited this time are just a few of the great places at Point Reyes. Point Reyes is a great place to explore and a place that I highly recommend. Enjoy the photos below and see you on the next adventure.