by Patricia Freer

Created on: October 25, 2009   Last Updated: October 28, 2009

Less than two miles off the shore of San Francisco sits a small, rocky island. Spanish Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala discovered it in 1775, and named it "La Isla de Los Alcatraces", meaning "Island of the Sea Birds." Two hundred thirty-four years later, people are still intrigued by this island that we now know as Alcatraz Island, or simply "The Rock."

Alcatraz Island has a diverse history, from holding the first lighthouse on the West Coast, to being home to a military prison, then an infamous Federal penitentiary, to the site of an American Indian uprising, to the present-day tourist attraction run by the National Park Service.

The Park Service first allowed visitors on Alcatraz in October of 1973. In that first year they welcomed 50,000 visitors, a figure some historians believed to be higher than had ever been on the Island since it was first inhabited in 1854. Today more than 1.3 million people tour Alcatraz Island, each year.

Many tours are offered at Alcatraz, including special bird watching, and garden tours. They also have daily self-guided tours. The Park Service rates the night tour "most complete tour". This tour provides a personally narrated boat tour around the island, guided tour from the dock to the main prison, and special programs not available during the day. This tour is limited to a few hundred people, making the experience that much more intimate.

Intrigued by the description of the night tour, I booked a reservation for the 6:45 P.M. tour on a Saturday night. My daughter Karyn, always ready for an adventure, joined me.

Alcatraz ferries depart from Pier 33 on the San Francisco Embarcadero. At 6:35 we began boarding the ferry but not before we were offered a chance for a souvenir picture, as a keepsake, which we declined. We're locals, after all.

As we neared the island the first lighthouse on the West Coast was still standing, waiting to greet us. The lighthouse was put into service on June 1, 1854, to guide the hundreds of ships headed for San Francisco during the Gold Rush.

The first building visible from the dock is marked with a sign announcing the "United States Penitentiary." Surrounding that, in large black letters is "Indians Welcome" and "Indian Land." On November 9, 1969, a small group of American Indians landed on the island and claimed it in the name of the "Indians of All Tribes." The intent of the occupation was to focus attention on the plight of American Indians. The story got them international attention and support

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