Canyonfire: Tule Elk Reserve, Point Reyes National SeashoreOne of the remarkable attractions of Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County is Tomales Point at its northernmost tip, which contains a tule elk sanctuary. Hunting and reduction of grasslands during the Gold Rush period reduced the thousands of tule elk to a handful, but the animal has been reintroduced and is now thriving. A herd of over 200 grazes peacefully at Tomales Point. Saturday, 9 February 2002, was a beautiful sunny day, so I took the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to San Rafael, then Sir Francis Drake Boulevard west across Marin County to Point Reyes. Tomales Bay, a narrow estuary of the Pacific Ocean lying straight as an arrow on the San Andreas Fault, marks the northeast boundary of Point Reyes National Seashore. Sir Francis Drake runs up the west side of Tomales Bay through the picturesque town of Inverness. Just beyond Inverness the road turns inland and then splits, with the left branch (Sir Francis Drake) winding southwest across the peninsula to the lighthouse perched precariously on rocky Point Reyes itself. The right fork (Pierce Point Road) trends north, eventually dead-ending at the five-mile trail to Tomales Bluff at the far north tip. Return to Canyonfire Photo Gallery Larry Lynch |
