A Weekend in Point Reyes

Not long ago, the teacher who manages the AP Environmental Science Program at our school asked if we'd be interested in chaperoning a weekend trip to Point Reyes. She knew we were the right people to ask. In our opinion, you'd have to be crazy to refuse an all-expenses paid weekend at a rustic camp in the heart of Point Reyes. Of course there is the fact that 50 high school seniors would be there with us -- a factor that could take away from the peace and solitude that a weekend in Point Reyes may otherwise offer. Still, you'd have to be crazy to refuse and we're not crazy. But, it turns out, there are some crazy folks out there because 20 seniors opted out of this amazing weekend trip.
We stayed at the wonderful Clem Miller Environmental Education Center. The name of the Center was a constant reminder of just how special Point Reyes is. Back in the '60s, JFK proposed designating a portion of the Massachusetts coast as the nation's first coastal National Park. Hearing this, Congressman Miller fought for a similar protected area on the west coast of the U.S. Without this effort, Point Reyes today would be a completely different place. A four lane highway and many housing developments were in the plan before this area was designated a National Seashore. There are plenty of National Parks, State Parks, and other protected wilderness areas but there is essentially no other spot along the United States' entire west (or east) coast that has been kept wild and free of human development. With that thought on my mind the entire weekend, the beauty and importance of Point Reyes took on a whole new meaning.
At the Clem Miller Center, pity was taken on us as we had the boys with us so we got the deluxe cabin all to ourselves. While everyone else suffered in communal rooms packed with 20 bunk beds, no heat, no electricity, and a shared, outdoor bathroom, we got an electrified and heated cabin with private bath all to ourselves. Not bad, not bad at all. For two nights in Point Reyes and the magnificent scenery it offers, we would have taken tents.  Still, we were not about to refuse the deluxe cabin and it sure felt good every time we looked out the window to see a student frowning in jealousy when they saw the steam rising from our cabin's chimney. At the end of the weekend, the organizers asked, "We're leaving soon. Whose going to miss this place?" Less than five hands went up. What a shame but, with every such experience, these students will come closer to where we want them to be. We hope that if we keep spending weekends in nature, our boys will be those few who raise their hands in the future.