What do a teenager and her mom visiting from Dubai, two teachers, a tax accountant, a librarian, court reporter, a medical writer, a botanist, an architect and a fifth grader all have in common? They are all docents of the “Keepers of the Patos Light” Lighthouse program.

The program started off in July of 2010 with an overnight campout and two lighthouse open days. They continued the docent camp-outs to cover about every other weekend through Labor Day. At the end of the  first summer, 224 visitors were welcomed into the Lighthouse. In 2011, they managed to open the lighthouse for 20 days from July through September, resulting in visits from 665 people.

So what do the docents do? They open the lighthouse to the public and show people around. They tell visitors about the history of  the island and lighthouse, using a collection of photographs taken on Patos in various decades. There is also a small lighthouse library of nature guides for the area.

Docents reach the island either on their own boats or are transported by the rangers of Washington State Parks. Docents camp out on Patos for their stay. There is no water or electricity. For more info, email patoslightkeepers@hotmail.com.