On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Dangerman
Seems like a fine day to share some photos and stories about Lighthouses that I have visited; as I shared last time, I became a Lighthouse fanatic a couple of decades ago (goodness, how time flies, even if I don’t; I’ll come back to that thought in a moment) …
This is the Battery Point Lighthouse (at high tide; this will be important in a moment) from the closest access point to the island where it is located (which is here). Being on an island is a bit of a problem …
… but here is the location at low tide. Problem solved!
I don’t know that I’ve ever been there (and it’s been many times) where the access is completely dry, so I’m going to continue to call it being on an island and not a peninsula.
One of the really cool things about this Lighthouse is one can volunteer to live there for 30 days as the docent (although I’m not sure that includes the winter months). I’m on the list for sometime in the 2030’s or 40’s or something of that nature. I’m not at all sure how trips to town would work given that low tides are when one would have guests visiting.
I didn’t take any pictures inside the Lighthouse for some reason (maybe I didn’t have my camera when I went inside; I don’t recall) but that video link I shared shows the interior well enough.
One more Battery Point picture as this one has such a nice mellow feel to it. I should probably blow it up and crop it but … another time.
This is the St. George’s Reef Lighthouse from the closest land to where it is located. I know, it’s fairly hard to see, but it is there, 6 miles off of the Coast.
OK, time for a confession and prepare to be disappointed with me. Recall early on in this posting where I said I don’t fly? Last time I was on a plane was about 20 years ago …
… and I have never been on a helicopter. Not happening any time soon.
OK, if I HAVE to do it to visit this Lighthouse (visiting by boat would be FAR too dangerous) , OK, sign me up …
… but the Helicopter service out to the Lighthouse has been repeatedly grounded at least twice that I know of in recent memory. Nothing safety related (thank goodness), just matters related to licensing and insurances and similar paper related issues. That’s unfortunate, as I’ve heard rumors that somebody wants to turn the location into an overnight location, which I would definitely risk life and limb to do.
So, no first person lighthouse pictures, but I do have a couple of interesting links showing others visiting the Lighthouse. They are here and here.
Yeah, I will be thrilled to be on THAT helicopter someday …
…but, it’ll have to be done.
Here’s a photo from a commons area online. This Lighthouse is at (or very close to) the top of the most expensive lighthouses to build for obvious reasons.
So, one might ask how this Lighthouse came to be …
… which leads me to briefly talk about the Brother Jonathon tragedy (1865). I don’t want to go too deep into the details of that shipwreck as I don’t want to go gloomy here; it’s a fascinating story in many respects, however. The shipwreck was caused by greed and stupidity (maybe that is being kinda redundant) and more than their fair share of bad luck. The Brother Jonathon story in much more detail can be readily found through the Mighty Google.
This is at the Brother Jonathon Cemetery in the Pebble Beach section of Crescent City. The passengers ranged from the fairly famous to those at the lowest end of society. I’ve researched the Brother Jonathon a fair amount and the reason why is because of the 4 heroes that saved the 19 survivors of the shipwreck (note the dedication). I’ve long wanted to know more about them but, alas, their names or anything about them is lost to history as best I can tell.
Time for a more happy photo after the last one. This is off of Howland Hill Road, which is very easy to find in Crescent City and well worth the effort needed to wash the car afterwards.
This is a 1st Order Fresnel Lens from the Saint George’s Reef Lighthouse. It, and many artifacts, from the Lighthouse and the Brother Jonathon, are located in the Del Norte County Museum in Crescent City, which is a very fine small museum.
One final picture from Battery Point Lighthouse looking towards St. George’s Reef Lighthouse. It’s hard to see but it’s there (somewhat right of center).
Only location I have ever been where 2 Lighthouses are in the same photograph.
raven
Wowzer!
kalakal
Love this! Thanks for the post
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
Battery Point lighthouse looks like it would make a fine foreground for a nightscape image.
Benw
Very cool
JeanneT
Great photos! I don’t think it was ever easy being a lighthouse keeper, but they do stir some romantic chord in me, and I love to visit them here in the Great Lakes.
BretH
Lovely photos and great stories!
eclare
Very interesting post. I think I see the St. George lighthouse in the last photo!
TheOtherHank
I believe Crescent City was the site of the only North American fatality due to the Fukushima tsunami. Okay, Google says it was 20 miles south of Crescent City.
Dangerman
@TheOtherHank: I’m fairly sure that was at the end of the Klamath River. 20 miles? Seems about right. There is also a stretch of coast just below Orick that is a good place not to be in a Tsunami.
I think next post will be Pt. Reyes. Don’t have a lot of pics but maybe some stories (like looking at the stairs down to it and thinking, hmm, can I get one of those Helicopter things?).
WaterGirl
Beautiful pictures! That last one captures what I love about being by the water on a cloudy or stormy day.
*not meaning stormy as in hurricanes.
eclare
@Dangerman: I’ve been there!
Ruckus
@Dangerman:
Have been to Point Reyes. The stairway is daunting but not as bad as it looks. OK you feel like you are climbing stairs for what, a half hour? It’s very much worth the climb, a beautiful, very well kept up lighthouse, well worth the visit
Anyone want to see how long the stairs are, go to Google Earth and search for it.
Rose Weiss
Wow, I never thought I’d see someone say that their favorite city to visit was Crescent City! I live in Oregon, less than an hour north of CC, so I’m very familiar with all the places you mention. I agree that the whole surrounding area is gorgeous and interesting, but the towns themselves are bleak. The breath-taking coast and amazing redwoods are enough reason to spend time here though.
Origuy
I love lighthouses. There’s a very nice one in Pacific Grove, the Point Pinos lighthouse. It was built in 1855; the interior of the lighthouse keeper’s house was restored to the 1890s, I believe.
I’ve never made it up to Crescent City, I’ll have to do that one day.
Interstadial
Thanks for highlighting a beautiful area that’s not well known. The videos were amazing, including the views back towards the snow-covered Siskiyou Mountains.
The best time to visit that coastline is outside of the spring-summer coastal fog season. Most of the time during that season there’s a dreary low overcast with poor visibility at ground level.
Munira
I love Crescent City and the lighthouse on Battery Point. I’ve spent a lot of time at the Crescent Beach motel. Thanks for the photos and the video.