Bull elk in rut, click here for field notes.
Tomales Point
    Photographs of Pierce Ranch and
    Tule elk preserve at Point Reyes National Seashore, California
Photography by Peter Neibert
Pierce Ranch, spring afternoon.  The white Pierce
Ranch  buildings are the trailhead for Tomales
Point.  The trail shows at the left of the buildings
and pokes-up again in the distance near the left
edge of the frame, just beyond White Gulch,
nearing the stone alignment.
When you enlarge the photo at left, you can see
the White Rock Face (near the right edge) -- the
natural feature from which White Gulch is
named. Camera is facing north, Tomales Bay
shows in upper right.
Click on photos to enlarge view.
Pierce Ranch, winter sunrise.
Tomales Point is still green in late Spring, when elk calves are born here.
Pierce Ranch, morning wall.
Copyright © Peter Neibert
On the Bay side, the stone alignment points to peak of Mt Saint Helena
On the ocean side, the stone alignment bends, painting north of Mt St Helena.
WildFlowers: early bloomers at Tomales Point March 17, 2007

However, when you step back to the west (Ocean) side of the trail
and sight again, you'll see that section of the alignment points to a
less distinctive area north of Mount Saint Helena, as shown in the
lower photograph.  This change in outlook means there is a bend
in the alignment -- commonly thought to be a straight line.  You
can also see this bend in the alignment very clearly on Google
Earth.

Why does the "wall," or stone alignment, bend at the point where
it is intersected by the trail?

What is the significance of the bend ?  What might this bend mean
to traditional Native American appreciation of the alignment?