Keeper’s Log Battery Point Lighthouse Tuesday, June 7

This morning the tide was out early and there were visitors on the point as early as 7:30.  I fed both Ginger and Fred at different times.  Ginger tends to eat and keep a close eye on me, then fly away.  Fred, on the other hand, will walk with me as I look over the tide basin even though I already put the food down for him.  As I walk back to the picnic table and sit down, then he will eat - almost as if to say “business before pleasure”.  I use a small tin cup to scoop the small cat food pellets.   I left the cup on the top of the table and that son of a gun tried to swipe my cup.  Now we know we have to keep an eye on Fred…if it’s not nailed down, he’ll take it if he thinks he can carry it!

We conducted tours from 10-11:30 this morning with the help of Bill and Gretchen Schmidt.  We had 55 guests and collected $143 in donations.  During one of the tours, a local guy described how they dismantled a large section of rock and turned it into the boulders used to construct the jetty that exits today.  The jetty is vital to the protection of the town from future tsunamis.  In 1964, a massive tsunami, triggered by an earthquake near Alaska caused extensive damage to Crescent City and was responsible for 11 deaths.  In 2011, when the Japan earthquake hit, Crescent City once again bore the brunt of the resulting tsunami, but due to the jettys and sea wall, the damage was minimal beyond high water and damaged boats in the harbor.  

I went out to check the remaining visitors on the point and met a family from Wala Wala, Washington.  We decided to let them in with their two small children.  The incoming tide would not permit a full private tour, so we headed directly to the top of the lighthouse tower.  I always include the fact that the tower and light are 77 feet above sea level and is visible 14 miles out to sea on a clear day.  A 6 foot man standing on the beach can see approximately 3 miles out to sea, so the higher a lighthouse light is, the better.  In our location on the top of the natural rock point, the structure does not have to be as high as others which are built on or close to sea level.

Afterward, I watched as the tide crept slowly in.  The tidal basin was full of people and I felt like I needed to hang out for a while.  Sure enough, I had to make three trips down to the basin to encourage people to turn around and splash their way back across the shallow water before it became deeper.  Finally, it seemed, I was off sheep dog duty and we could sit down to lunch at 1:00 PM.  

During lunch, I heard something and thought we had some people on the point.  We looked down in the greenish Pacific and here was a sea lion barking as he his way around the point.  After lunch, we relaxed and read a little.  Teare did a load of laundry.  

Later in the afternoon, California time, we Face Timed with son Billy and girlfriend Samantha.  

During dinner, two young men were sitting outside the radio room window on the picnic table just hanging out.   I went out after dinner and fed Ginger and visited with them.  One of them had a bicycle, so I suspected they were locals.  Again, I learned something from them.  They are students from the local high school.  While visiting with them, a grey whale came very close to the point shooting his spout spray 10 feet into the air.  One of them told me he was a surfer.  He pointed to a large island of rock west of Battery Point and informed me this was a bird and seal sanctuary.  He continued to say it also attracts a great white shark which comes around every so often.  If I were him, I would surf at the other end of town…

I fed Fred and he came to eat while I was still just a couple feet away.  After dinner, we decided to take advantage of the low tide and go for a walk.  After a brief chat from a couple from Sun City, Arizona we walked along the bluff and had some nice views back at the lighthouse.  It was misty to begin with and this turned into more of a light drizzle while we were halfway through the walk.   It is a dark, rainy night as I write.  If it gets any colder, I will stoke the wood burning stove that heats our bedroom.   Thanks for joining us on this great adventure.  B&T