Alcatraz Island marks 50 years of being open to the public

“It’s been quite a wild ride,” John Cantwell, a retired Alcatraz park ranger, said as the island’s lighthouse rose behind him. The island was socked in by fog so thick that the San Francisco skyline, less than two miles away, could not be seen. Alcatraz, Cantwell said, is “a place where natural wonder and even inspiration can be found.”