I don't remember ever going before. Dad told us when we talked with him later that he took everyone when we were young - but I don't know if it is really true. It took about 90 minutes to get there and the cost was a bit pricey ($9 for a day visit). It was all worth it though.
We hiked around a bit and it was so peaceful. That is a rare thing for us with a big road behind us and the regular air traffic above us (even now as I type this there a helicopter noising about). We are lucky enough to have Apache helicopters (up to six at a time) buzzing our house while the china rattles at least once a week. So the silence and solitude were especially welcome.
We enjoyed just stopping and listening to the quiet which included pretty chirping from various birds that were hidden among the rocks. There were almost no trees at all. The terrain is so very unique, like when you run hot water over an ice cube, it kid of looks like the terrain was just carved like a piece of wood.
It was a beautiful day. We were a bit worried because it was raining a lot on the way there. But when we got to the island the rain was far away and it was overcast. So the weather made for perfect picture taking and wonderful views all around.
After hiking for awhile we went back to the car to drive around the rest of the island and upon getting to the car realized we went hiking at the perfect time because the wind was really kicking up and a large dark cloud was getting dangerously close. Within moments of getting into the car the rain came down. It was strange that while hiking we didn't see anyone, but while walking back to the car we saw many people heading up to where we'd been hiking. So they weren't so lucky, they got rained all over.
Here is a 360 degree view and commentary from yours truly from the perch of buffalo point! Those rainclouds in the distance are the ones that eventually showed up and started dousing the landscape.
Driving around in the rain was fun. We'd pull over as we came upon the signs with information about the island and animals. They were very interesting to read. We saw bison and antelope. We also saw different kinds of birds including avocets, black-necked stilts, phalaropes, and of course sea-gulls. It was a good time. We think it would be great to return on mountain bikes, there are some great riding trails.
I have included some panoramas of the area to show how neat the day was and the terrain. Click on them to see the real detail...
Here's a few pictures of us on top of the Buffalo point on the northwest end of the island. The view from up here was spectacular!
And in case you didn't get a good look at the Buffalo Point contours:
Here's a picture of the rear end of a bison. We should have gotten a shot of his head, they are so flat and triangular!
In this last picture, the black dots are ALL birds! This island is a very important migratory stopover for many species.
Indeed, our visit was a wonderful time. Quite unexpected. We were about to not even go when it was getting late, but it turned out to be a unexpectedly enjoyable!
