Wednesday, June 27, 2012

52) Channel Islands National Park

Visited: Sunday, June 24th, 2012

The visitor center for the Channel Islands is very nice - if not easy to get to mid-triathlon - but it really is insufficient.  We followed up with a flight out to Santa Rosa island, on which there were eight people - the two pilots, a couple taking a day away from their kids, and the four of us.  And it's - unique, I think, really best sums things up.  Everything is a bit of a surprise.  In particular, Crab Stonehenge - a structure built by some previous visitor - was both funny and impressive to come across.  Ethan added to it by moving a second crab (empty shell) there.  It was only once we got there that I realized that I had flown with my pocket knife, for the first time in many years.

It was particularly interesting to discover that the island had been an active ranch as recently as a year ago.  The presence of a schoolhouse - albeit not in use as such for many years - was odd to think about; the island feels well away from everything, and it's hard to imagine with enough children there to necessitate a school.

We flew over Anacapa and Santa Cruz; I wish we'd seen the other two islands, but that seems to have necessitated the boat tour.  Next time...

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