Super-fantastic Journeys

When you travel the end of the Point Reyes Headlands to visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse, you want to make sure to take a little extra time to head out to Elephant Seal Overlook.  Drakes Bay on the south side of Point Reyes National Seashore Headlands provides a protected area for the Northern Elephant Seal to raise their young.  The first breeding pair came to the area in 1981, and the population of these animals has been growing ever since.  The largest number of seals can be found here from December until March, which is the birthing season, and then into the spring, the females and juveniles will be on the beach for molting. We visited in June, and there were still many elephant seals on the beach, but not like in February when there can be up to 600 animals on this section of beach. The Elephant Seal Overlook trial is a short half-mile round trip trail that takes you out to a viewpoint where you can watch these animals interact with each other.  The trail is flat and easy to walk,

 The Point Reyes Lighthouse is located at the end of the hook of land that makes the Point Reyes National Seashore.  This 37-foot high lighthouse was first lit to guide ships in 1870 as they navigated past this point heading into or out of San Francisco Bay and along the California Coast. To get to the lighthouse today you will depart the town of Point Reyes Station on Sir Francis Drake Blvd and drive through the beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore.  Along the way, you can choose to stop and walk through the Cypress Tree Tunnel or stop at a number of the beaches that have access along the road.  You will have to make a couple of turns but the signs along the way will help you.  This area also has a number of dairy farms along the way, which you literally drive through and makes the drive interesting.  The drive is about 20 miles and will take you about 40 minutes to complete each direction.  Eventually, the road will end in the parking lot for the trail to the Point Reyes lighthous

Cow Girl Creamery 80 4th St. Point Reyes Station, CA 94956 Hours: Open 11 AM  - 4 PM Thursday to Monday  (Closed Tuesday and Wednesday)  (415) 663-9335 Web Site Cheeses: Mt Tam - Tried It Red Hawk Wagon Wheel We had a piece of truffled brie during a wine tasting in Napa Valley from Cowgirl Creamery so when we learned that we were going to be close by when we were on Point Reyes we made a point of making a visit to buy some cheese for the rest of the trip. They have a nice retail space and a little kitchen where you can order a grilled cheese sandwich made with their cheese. We purchased some Mt Tan cheese from the creamery and Point Reyes Blue, some crackers, a cheese knife, and a grilled cheese sandwich and we had lunch for three taken care of. There is really nowhere to eat outside that is very comfortable, and there is no eating inside at all. There are some planters and benches that you can sit on, on the side of the building and we made that work. The grilled cheese was cooked