Wednesday, September 18, 2019

9/5 Muir Woods & Alcatraz Tour

Until this past spring, if you wanted to go to Muir Woods, north of San Francisco on the Marin Headlands, you had to take your chances on getting a parking spot.  The five mile road to the National Monument is very curvy and steep and had no shoulders whatsoever.  (The steep, sharp curves are a very good reason I took no photos of the road, in fact.)  When you got to the woods, you would be very, very lucky to get a parking spot in the small lot.  People parked somehow on the non-existent shoulders and walked or turned around and went home.  

Now, however, there are two solutions to parking:  a shuttle from town and reserved parking permits for people with a handicap parking permit.  Both cost $8, but from my perspective, I think this is a very good solution to the parking problem.  It means you can be certain of getting access to this lovely spot.  And there are no longer people having to hike in long distances along the highway, pushing kids in strollers.  

The old parking lot is now handicapped parking and a shuttle turnaround.   I have a handicap permit because I cannot walk long distances, so I was happy to be able to park here.

Muir Woods is not a large place, but it is one of the very few remaining groves of ancient coastal redwoods, the tallest trees on earth.  While there are many hiking trails, there is also a very easily walkable boardwalk that is even handicapped accessible for wheelchairs, which is nice. 

Hard to get a photo that shows the real size of these trees, plus when I look up through my camera I get dizzy, but here is one photo looking into the canopy. 


The boardwalk is only about a half-mile long, but anyone who wants to can walk on farther or take one of the easier hiking trails. 



Coastal redwoods live only in wet coastal areas at less than 2,000 feet in elevation.  The wet coastal climate also produces a lot of ferns and other plants that thrive in cool, wet areas. 


Young redwoods often sprout from the roots of a parent redwood stump.  The trees in the middle of this photo are growing in such a "family circle" and are genetically identical.  Here is an article about these family or fairy rings:  https://openspacetrust.org/blog/fairy-rings/ 

Me standing in front of an ancient, hollow, redwood stump.

After an hour or so at Muir, we headed south across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco to take the Alcatraz boat tour.  Big Tip:  If you want to take the boat tour to Alcatraz, make your reservations at least a month or so in advance, even in the off-season.  This area is extremely busy all year, no matter the weather! 

Arriving on Alcatraz, after a very chilly boat ride!  These big buildings were apartments for families of prison employees, by the way.  Did you know that children grew up on Alcatraz and took the ferry across to go to school each day?  

The apartments look pretty run-down now, but they were in a lot better condition in the 40s through the 60s when they were occupied.  

The prison at Alcatraz was built on top of an earlier Civil Way fort, so in some places, you can still see the original buildings.

A gun tower with a terrific view of the Bay Bridge and the cities of San Francisco and Oakland. 

This is the back of the employees' apartment building. 

A water tank with some Indian graffiti.  If you are too young to remember this occupation, here is a good article about it:  https://www.history.com/news/native-american-activists-occupy-alcatraz-island-45-years-ago 

A close-up of the graffiti. 


Heading into the main prison building. 

This is a group shower room.  

The main cell block area.  

This was set up as a typical cell.  Notice the vent under the sink is very small. 

This is one of the cells where the infamous prisoners escaped from.  Notice that the vent has been made much larger. 

If you came to visit a prisoner, you were on the other side of this wall, talking through these small openings.  

An administrative control room. 

View from the area outside the cell house.  


 It was a steep walk up and then down from the cell house to the dock.  Along the way were various maintenance shops and storage buildings.

It was a long day with a lot of walking, but we did stop for dinner at Pier 39 for dinner before we headed back to Napa.  No photos, however.  Sometimes when I am tired, I just put the camera away. 

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