Notes For Friday the 25th, final day

We had a wonderful last day on our trip.  We woke up to a terrible rainstorm. Winds were whipping and we feared we would have a really wet day.   Just as we finished breakfast, the sun came out and the skies cleared. Amazing how quickly the weather turned in our favor.

We loaded the bus and headed to Muir Woods for our last visit to see the Redwoods.  The park was beautiful with the sun shining all around and mixed in with the all the trees.  The trees seemed to sparkle with the left over raindrops and rays of sunshine.  There were some waterfalls and running water under bridges that made those relaxing water sounds.  As expected, the Redwoods were a sight to see.  Event though we spent the other day visiting the redwoods at Henry Cowell park, we found this visit just as breathtaking.

After buying up even more books to bring home, my fellow travelers had to pull me away from the bookshelves once again, we loaded up the bus to go to the Earthquake Trail which was located inside the state park, Point Reyes.  What an interesting walk this was for all of us.   We actually stood on the San Andreas Fault line!!!  The fault runs right through this trail and is now marked with posts.  They had all kinds of interesting facts and information about the famous 1906 SF earthquake that destroyed most of the city.  There was even a fence on the fault line that was divided and moved 16 feet after the quake.  This shows how the earth below actually moved the land 16 feet in one direction.

We also walked the second trail that marked the area Native Americans once lived in the area.  This was in the Great Bear Valley part of Point Reyes.  We were able to enter a real sweat lodge that was used years ago by the natives. They used the sweat lodge to "sweat out" all the toxins for 2-3 days hoping that this would also provide them a vision, a vision of how to solve any issues or concerns that affected the tribe. 

After walking those trails, we headed to the lighthouse.  The view of the land as we twisted and turned up and down the winding roads on the way to the lighthouse were amazing.   By now it was mid afternoon and the winds had picked up and the temps were very cold.  Luckily we were all dressed in many layers.  I was so thankful I remembered to pack a pair of gloves!!!  There were 300 steps that take you down to the lighthouse to overlook the water with an amazing view.  Of course 300 steps down means 300 steps back up!!!

After our exhausting day, we loaded up the bus and headed back to SF to get ready for our farewell dinner together.  It was such a life changing week for all of us.  We were so sad to see the week come to an end.  Our trip organizers from the Monarch Teacher's Network did an amazing job putting this trip together for us.  We all learned so much and are excited to share that knowledge with our classes back home.  Thank you Eric, Brian, and Luella.... you are all correct, this trip was truly a "gift" for all of us to share......so excited to  help out this upcoming summer!