Point Reyes!

Sarah (in Raleigh) and I drove to Point Reyes to see the scenic vista! It was amazing! Last minute decision - let's make it by sunset - hope in the car - drive via GG Bridge - keep going along the famous 1 - make it there rushing to see it while there is still some light.




Yes! Ok, we've seen it. Let's now wait until they light it up (only a few times a year). "Are you here for the program?" ..."umm, we're here to see it light up" "well, there's room in the program if you want to join" "alright, we'll join the 'program'".



So we join the "program". Our tour guide brings us down to the lighthouse and we go inside for some historical background. She tells us about the lighthouse and some of the shipwrecks that have occurred.



Then we move up and look at the meat of the opperation, the fresnel lens. The lens concentrates the light into a beam. The rotation of these beams creates a blinking effect (even though the light is always on powered by 140 lbs of coal AN HOUR).



Each lighthouse has distictive pattern which depends on the number of fresnel lenses that surround the light widthwise. Point Reyes light house blinks once every 5 seconds. Another might be every 3 seconds and another would be every 15 seconds. Like clockwork.



There's light!