Touring Crescent City

Crescent City was the most impacted harbor on the West Coast by the 2011 tsunami. It was completely destroyed. Entering the marina, we saw two buoy markers in the middle of the channel just before the docks. We were confused as to their purpose and did not know which side to pass on. I randomly picked the left side and passed without incident. We asked some guys at the dock what they were, and they went into a long story about how they rebuilt the entire marina after the tsunami but neglected to extract the giant rock that lay below the surface. I later asked the lady in the marina office, and she said it was a part that wasn’t dredged deep enough, and boats can safely pass on both sides of the buoys.

What appeared to get a lot of disaster funding were the dock pillars, what we came to call the “pillars of destruction”. They were massive and right on the edge of the docks, which made for a very scary docking. I was afraid to get too close to them, so had to make a couple of attempts to get close enough for the guys to jump off and tie us up. Later, when we turned the boat around, I did get too close and hit a pillar with the back of a solar panel mounted to our davits. Thanks to Tim for fending us off once we heard the crash. Sean checked the panel, and it wasn’t cracked. Phew!

We had a lot of fun in this area. Access to the Battery Point Lighthouse, a short walk from the marina, is inaccessible during low tides. I called ahead to see if we could get a tour, but the recording said there were none at this time of the year. So, we were extra happy when the door was unlocked and we were able to join a tour that had just started. It’s not a very tall lighthouse, but at the top where the light is, the tour guide pointed out the St. George Reef Lighthouse about five miles north of us and 7 miles out to sea. Hundreds of lives had been lost from ships crashing on the reef, so they finally built the lighthouse in 1891. It is a treacherous place, with waves crashing over the top of the lighthouse, 145 feet above sea level. It was decommissioned in 1975. It was cool to see it from the top of Battery Point Lighthouse, but we were also excited that we would be able to see it from Adventure when we rounded the cape on our way up the coast.

We learned to ride the local transit that includes a dial-a-ride, which we used to get to the small airport to rent a car. We drove to the Trees of Mystery, where you walk through an old-growth redwood forest, a set of walkways suspended high up in the canopy of the trees, and then take a gondola ride to the top of the mountain to catch some great views of the ocean and the mountains. Do not pass this area without going to this place. It was awesome! On our way back, we drove to the Last Chance Trailhead to hike to Endert Beach.

After returning the car, we called for a dial-a-ride to get back to the marina, but there was the Rumiano Cheese Factory on the way, and we asked to be dropped off there instead. We were disappointed that they had stopped their tours since Covid but got a few cheese samples and bought several types of cheese, some summer sausage, olives, ground coffee, and other treats. Tim struck up a conversation with a man that was buying something there and he ended up offering us a ride back to the marina.

Ocean World is just a short walk from the marina. Although the place is quite small, it had the best gift shop I’ve ever seen. The mammals are all rescues that could not be returned to the ocean. They have a sea lion and seal show, a small touch tidepool, an aquarium, and a pool where you can touch a shark. We were there with maybe 20 other people. Nice quaint place. Go here if you are passing by.

After a week of checking out the Crescent City area, we’re off to our next destination.