Boat ride back. Air felt almost as icy as it looked.

Outstanding colors in tonight's sunset. Taken from the moving boat, so it's a bit blurry.

I love the skyline when the sun is low in the sky

Sunset on March 6 2009

Seagull filled sunset

Bluesy sunset March 6 2009

Moon on the night of March 6 2009

Moon through a window of the warden's house.

Exploding bird? No, just one flying away. I'm not sure why my camera did this.

The nesting Western Gulls make the island dirty and smelly, and they're obnoxious, aggressive and loud. Still, they're ours, and we love them. And don't they keep themselves blindingly clean?

Called "The Chapel" (though it may have never been one) and "The Schoolhouse", this building's last use was an apartment for single guards.

Taken from the lighthouse keepers house basement toward the city

A glorious day; Alcatraz and Angel Island

This sunset from February 20 2009 was especially dreamy.

Red white and blue skies

We see boats of all types and sizes in the bay

We're saddened that the lighthouse's light was exchanged for a dimmer one last year.

Full moon rise behind the dock guard tower.

The gardens of Alcatraz are kept beautiful by dozens of volunteers; here our gardener Shelagh is drying out wet gloves.

A crescent moon through old concrete railings.

This sunset was on January 29, 2009.

Visitors jostling to get the sunset photo with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

On certain chilly days the bay turns an icy green

The lighthouse at Alcatraz on a rare windless night; the warden's house is in the background

San Francisco Skyline

Visitors often mistake this as a torture cage. It was actually a place of refuge for the guards on wall duty from the bone-chilling winds and fog.

When the sun is low in the sky we get dramatic colors. There's a hint of a rainbow over the hills of Albany.

February 9th 2009 was a full moon rise. At Alcatraz, we watch it rise over the Berkeley hills to reflect off the bay.