Tag: Montauk Point State Park

the unexpected

This was taken near the end of my walk around the Montauk Point Lighthouse. Along the right edge of the image you can make out the “road” that was made when these giant boulders were laid along the shore to protect it from erosion.

What I didn’t expect to see at the end of my walk were these stone markers along the edge of the sea. Suddenly I felt like I was in some kind of sacred space where each of these represented a story or some kind of memorial.

I was alone in this field of small stone towers…

i don’t see any signs

Back to Long Island and Montauk Point Lighthouse for today’s post. On the north and south side of the lighthouse you can walk down to the shore, as you can see in the image above. When I turned to take this image I noticed the large rocks in front of the lighthouse featured a shelf – like a path – in between the two sloping sections of rock. I thought to myself, “I don’t see any signs… so…”

So, I started walking around the lighthouse. It was low tide, so I was grateful to stay dry while at the same time wondering what it would be like to walk around the lighthouse at high tide!

It was a short, but beautiful walk with the mighty Atlantic Ocean filling my view. Thanks for stopping by.

top of the light

At the end of the spiral staircase inside Montauk Lighthouse you step into a small chamber directly beneath the panels of glass (the lantern) that surround the guiding light that shines across the waters. A state park employee greeted my entrance into the chamber by informing me that I am not permitted to stand in the glass enclosed area above us. I can only take 4 or 5 steps and peer into the very top of the lighthouse. In the black and white image above you can see the small Fresnel lens (beneath the triangle plate) that currently sends light to signal ships and sailors. Compare that lens to this one! – https://rutakintome.com/2019/05/17/fresnel-art/

I was SO tempted to step into that lantern area, but, I chose to behave. The exit into the lantern wasn’t the only way out of the chamber. There was a small archway that faced north outside to a small space large enough for one person to stand and lookout. Here is what I saw:

Turning around and walking east across the chamber I was surprised to see this:

Just another day at the office. Thanks for stopping by.

light stairs

It was a dizzying climb to the top of the lighthouse. The relatively small space and limited field of vision was disorienting, in a fun kind of way.

The Lighthouse was completed on November 5, 1796 and is the oldest Lighthouse in the State of New York and the 4th oldest Lighthouse in the United States. The Tower is 110′ 6″ tall and there are 137 iron steps to the top of the tower. Thanks for that Google.

If you would like to explore the story and history of the Montauk Lighthouse a bit more, this is a good place to start: https://montauklighthouse.com/info/lighthouse-history/ Next: what I found at the top.