@goldengatenps

class="content__text" If we say “Fetid adder's tongue,” do you think dainty forest flower or something mysterious & magical? For us, these miniature marvels are both. Their spotted leaves sprouted from the soggy forest floor by the dozen in early winter, seemingly out of nowhere. From slender stocks rose orchid-like flowers with a "fetid” odor that attracts their pollinators, flies. Once that happens, the stems keel over to delicately drop the seeds, covered in a chemical that entices ants to pick them up & bury them far away. From them, a new generation will sprout again. Most come to Muir Woods for the towering trees – but look up and look down, for there’s wonder all around. What have you noticed on the forest floor? #MuirWoods #FindYourPark #EnquentraTuParque #BigTreesLittleThing Photo: NPS/ Jace Ritchey

March 02, 2023

class="content__text" The Point Bonita Lighthouse Guided Sunset Tour is returning! After a winter hiatus, the sunset tour will be offered: 🗓 March 5th & 🗓 April 2nd The first 32 tickets are released two weeks before each event date, and an additional 8 tickets are released two days before. Go to recreation.gov to book your tickets! The tours will increase in frequency after these two initial tours, so be sure to check back for more dates in the future. What have you been waiting for the return of this spring? Photo: NPS, Cordelia Vargas

March 01, 2023

class="content__text" What in the PARK is THAT? MYSTERY SOLVED: This is part of the launch control panel at the Nike Missile Site. Behind the panel are four keys, used to activate the launch sequence. Golden Gate National Recreation Area works together with a dedicated group of volunteers to preserve the site as it was during operations to remind visitors of the physical and psychological effects of the Cold War on the American landscape. Open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 12:30pm - 3:30pm. To learn more about the Nike Missile Site visit our webpage: http://ow.ly/z7S150MVLC6 Check out some historic photos here: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=104389&id=F94358ED-155D-4519-3E48A622AC48FB4E #EncuentraTuParque #FindYourPark #GOGA50 📸 photos: NPS / Tory Starling

February 28, 2023

class="content__text" What in the PARK is THAT? Let's test your Golden Gate National Recreation Area knowledge: Can you figure out what and where this is? Check our feed again tomorrow to learn the answer. #EncuentraTuParque #FindYourPark #GOGA50 📸 photo: NPS / Tory Starling

February 27, 2023

class="content__text" Oh what a night. 🌨️ The Bay Area experienced an uncommon weather event: snow! Seen here is snowfall on Mt. Tam this morning. Follow @mounttamalpaisstatepark for park updates. ❄️❄️❄️ Photo by Kirke Wrench NPS #GOGA50

February 25, 2023

class="content__text" Engineers do a lot of things! The Army Corps of Engineers are the builders and designers of many unique military installations... including some that fall within #GGNRA! The next time you visit the Marin Headlands, try and see if you can find this mark of the Army Corps of Engineers... Hats off to all of our engineers! Photo: NPS, Al Blank #EngineersWeek #NPS #FindYourPark

February 24, 2023

class="content__text" Perspective is everything! Can you name these parks and/or particular locations? How have humans influenced the natural landscapes in our parks? The answer to that question depends on how you frame it... #GOGA50 #EncuentraTuParque #FindYourPark #FramingNature 📸 photos: NPS / Tory Starling

February 24, 2023

class="content__text" 🎼 “Turn up the lights in here baby. Extra bright I want y’all to see this!” 💡 🎶 -Rihanna What is THIS beautiful feat of engineering?! Meet: The Fresnel Lens - a monumental step forward in lighthouse lighting technology… Fun Fresnel Facts (say that five times fast!): 💡 Named after its inventor, French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel… 💡 The ‘s’ in the name is silent pronounced “Freh-nel.” (Pardon me do you have any grey poupon? 🇫🇷 👨‍🎨) 💡 In 1822, Augustin discovered that by arranging a series of lenses and prisms around a light source into the shape of a beehive (😉Beyonce stans 🐝), the strength of the beams could be greatly improved! 💡 It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." 🚢 x 1M 💡 Fresnel lenses come in several sizes, aka “orders” ranging in size from the largest, the first order, to the smallest, the eighth order. 💡 Large second order lenses, such as ours still in place at the Point Bonita Lighthouse, were usually used on major seacoasts, with a more powerful beam that shines up to eighteen miles out to sea. 💡 The flashing pattern of the light is called its characteristic. Mariners consult a chart/list that tells them which lighthouse flashes that particular characteristic, and what color the light is. (The Point Bonita Lighthouse flashes on for 3 seconds then off for 1 second). 🧠 To learn more about our beloved Point Bonita Lighthouse and/or to stay up to date on our current hours of operation please visit our website: https://www.nps.gov/goga/pobo.htm Photo: NPS, James Manzolillo #GGNRA #EngineeringWeek #MarinHeadlands #GOGA #FindYourPark #TurnUpTheLightsInHereBaby #PointBonitaLighthouse #EncuentraTuParque #EngineersWeek

February 24, 2023

class="content__text" As we celebrate President's Day, do you ever wonder what George Washington was looking for that fateful day during our Revolutionary War? Maybe it was the scenic vistas of the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area!? Come visit during the President's Day holiday weekend and see for yourself all the wonders George Washington missed, and wish him a Happy Birthday! Photo: NPS #GGNRA #PresidentsDay

February 24, 2023

class="content__text" What’s the story with the coho salmon run this year in Redwood Creek? Alas, we’ll have to wait for summer juvenile coho surveys to know for sure if any fish made it back to spawn. All the wet weather made the creek impassable for the monitoring team right during the peak of the usual spawning season, so there’s a big data gap for adult coho and their redds (nests). The team surveyed before and after the storms and found no coho. That’s disappointing but unsurprising. Coho breed in three-year cycles, so the adults we're looking for this year would have migrated to sea two years ago. When we surveyed outgoing young salmon that year, numbers were low. Expectations for returning adults were only in the single digits from the outset. Biologists did stumble upon a lone salmon swimming a few meters upstream of her redd (nest) last month. To their surprise, it was not a coho, but a Chinook—or king—salmon! Chinook turned up in Redwood Creek for the first time just last year. Learn more about this unusual observation at https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/sfanblog_chinook-in-redwood-creek-once-again.htm 📷: National Park Service Fishery Biologist Mike Reichmuth examining a spawned-out female Chinook salmon in Redwood Creek, January 2023. NPS / Matt Millado.

February 24, 2023

class="content__text" “My cabbages!!” – definitely said by Earth Kingdom cabbage merchant, maybe said by former Point Bonita Lighthouse residents. #NationalCabbageDay celebrates this versatile vegetable with ties to cultures worldwide, like in the Korean dish Kimchi or the Irish dish Corned Beef and Cabbage. Not only is it versatile in cooking, but it is a hardy vegetable that can survive in harsh environments. In 1901, Freda Engel and her husband, lighthouse keeper Hermann Engel, transferred to the #PointBonitaLighthouse. Frustrated with the army rations provided, Engel decided to buy cabbage seeds on a visit to San Francisco. She planted the seeds in the rugged Point Bonita soil while five months pregnant, and her garden succeeded! The cliffs that surround the Point Bonita Lighthouse are covered with wild cabbage today. These leafy greens are descendants of the cabbage planted by Freda Engel over a century ago. Photo: NPS, Cordelia Vargas

February 24, 2023

class="content__text" Back by popular demand! Crab Fishing with NPS Interpretive Park Rangers! 🦀 Join NPS Park Rangers from the Marin Headlands for a complete hands on catch-and-release crabbing program! Upcoming Dates: 🗓 Saturday, February 25th (9am - 10:30am) 🗓 Sunday, March 12th (9am - 10:30am) 🦀 Takes place at the Fort Baker Fishing Pier in Sausalito. 🦀 Limited to 40 participants per day. 🦀 Please reserve your spot in advance by clicking the link in our story and filling out a simple form -OR- Please call: (415) 331-1540 Please leave a message with your name, date you'd like to attend, email address, telephone number and how many people will attend. Please mention you are reaching out regarding our Crabbing Program. *Please call the morning of in case of bad weather. Rain / high winds cancel the event* (415) 331-1540 *UPDATE: Both Crabbing Programs (2/25 and 3/12) have reached their maximum capacity for attendees* Photo: NPS, James Manzolillo #GGNRA #GOGA #Crabbing

February 17, 2023