Gray Whale Skull Point Reyes Lighthouse

After passing the wind swept trees on your way to Point Reyes Lighthouse at Point Reyes National Seashore, you will reach the Point Reyes Lighthouse Visitors Center. Just outside the visitors center to the left is a gray whale skull:

Gray Whale Skull Point Reyes Lighthouse National Seashore

Along with some other gray whale bones:

Whale bones at Point Reyes Lighthouse

The skull and bones are well weathered as they are outside and not protected from the elements, but you have the chance to see the skull up close and touch the bones if you wish. Definitely worth stopping to investigate before or after you hit the Point Reyes lighthouse.

Touching Rock Crystal Cave Sequoia National Park

When you get information about what is allowed and not allowed when exploring Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA), one point that will be repeated is that you’re not allowed to touch the cave formations within Crystal Cave. Touching the cave formation damages them. When you touch any formation, oils from your hands are transferred to the formations which could inhibit their continued growth. Crystal Cave is a living cave and is still actively growing.

Since there’s certainly a desire by many people to touch the cave formations, there is a Touching Rock at the cave entrance which you can see and touch. This hopefully gets the touching urge out of your system (or at least allows you to resist while in the cave). Millions of people who have entered Crystal Cave have done so by first putting their hands on the Touching Rock:

the touching rock at Crystal Cave entrance in Sequoia National Park