POINT SUR LIGHTHOUSE
Big Sur, California
Well, just today on February 3rd, 2001, I finally drove down Highway One from Monterey, Ca. until I saw the familiar hump of a quasi-island that is, Point Sur. I stopped a couple of times on turnouts for photos as I came down the highway to the lowland entrance to Point Sur Light House. Then I had to wait for a little while at a locked gate. Two Docents showed up and the several cars that had gathered for the 10 AM tour followed them in to the bottom of the hill. You gotta drive through a cow pasture with the cows all around. Go slow, it's also unpaved. Other obstacles are on the road, if you know what I mean. Everyone parks and they start telling you stuff right away and as you hike up the hillside. 350+ feet or near there. You can only bring water bottles. And you're there for three hours. Five bucks. I had a great time.
After the steamship Ventura sank off the coast here in 1875, it still took Congress eleven years to set aside some money to build the lighthouse. By the end of 1888, Point Sur Light House was nearly complete, but the money gone. The next spring, more money was allocated and on August 1, 1889 the light began to shine. Every 15 seconds, an alternating red and white light flashed to mark this new sentinel on the California coast. It boasted a $12,000 1st order Fresnel lens, now on display at the Maritime Museum of Monterey. The lens was removed in 1972 and replaced by a pair of revolving aero-beacons. They continue to flash at 15 second intervals but only white.
Best to have a wide angle lens because your working distance is limited. They want you to stay on the pavement. You'll understand when you look down. The rock is all metamorphic and can crumble easily. It seemed so steep to me that I think your chances of hitting water are good, but from that height into that surf, you'd probably wish you had hit the rocks. So stay on the pavement. They limit the size of the groups to 40, but there usually aren't that many. There are plenty of opportunities to get pictures with out anyone in them. The weather was sterling for a day in February. You should be prepared for more wind and cooler temperatures.
They have been working on the lighthouse to restore it to the past. All those newfangled radio things are being hidden in a water tower structure to reduce the number of antenna on top of the hill. The old tramways are gone but the museum and docents have pictures of life back then. The lantern room was closed back in December and so I skipped the tour then. This time we were allowed to go up in the lantern room and thus the photo below from inside the lantern looking north. It felt like a heater blast every time the beacons flashed on me.
Here's how I saw it:
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OF THE MOUNTAINS
John B Caddell
Copyright 2001