The Visual Delights of the Oakland HIlls

I can rarely resist the temptation to photograph sunsets, sunrises, and other scenes from our perch atop the hills.  It seems that no two views are ever the same.  So, feast your eyes and look for the subtle differences.

Cloudy day with late afternoon sun reflected on the bay

Sunset colors reflected over Mt Diablo

Sunset clouds over the hills to the northeast

Morning mists at sunrise

Sunrise on a morning with high clouds

Typical winter sunset colors

Valleys full of mist

Mackerel (as in fish scales) sky

Venus shining at sunset, mid-January

A different perspective on a bay sunset

Venus and the rescent moon in the night sky, looking west over the bay

Mid-January crescent moon - the smile in the sky

Exploring Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve

Last weekend we took a 45 minute drive to Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve to hike a bit. As someone who grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvnia, I was interested to know whether Pittsburg, California which we passed near on our drive had any connection with the Pittsburgh I know.

On the road

The answer is yes.  Black Diamond refers to coal.  Back in the late 1800's there was mining and steel making in this part of Northern California. Thus the connection to Pittsburgh, PA.

The road windng into the park entrance

Large boulders dot the hills

As we started our hike, we found that there was once a town here.

Info kiosk with photos of old Somersville

What the old town site looks like now

There were both coal and salt mines in the area that is now Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. Erick and I decided to hike the trails leading to the old mine entrances.

Traces of the coal along the path

Erick ponders the mine car rails

The hillside near the mine entrance

On our way up to see another mine shaft.

Erick trying to get some light on the subject with a shakable flashlight

Resting a bit before finishing the climb

Views from the trail we took

Multicolored sandstone

What goes up...

...must go down

The outside structure is up

Work is in progress to restore the entrance

This area isn't open in the winter months - guess we'll have to come back when it is.

Park flora and fauna:

Just missed a ground squirrel that ducked back into its burrow

A laurel growning in a crack in the rock

Mistletoe clumps

Mt. Diablo Manzanita in bloom - the bees were very busy

The pine tree and...

...its pine cone close up

Time to go.  So it's back to the parking lot.  But, who could pass up a chance to pet a gopher snake?  Just remember to pet in the same direction as the scales.

Trails we didn't take - maybe next time.

Gopher snake

The park ranger explained that most of these snakes are hibernating right now.

Welcome, 2015

Holiday wreath 2.0 - Douglas fir & huckleberry

New Year's Day hike in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve:

We walked down to the Labyrinth and found it quite wet after the recent rains.

Steep cliffs surround the Labyrinth area

Sibley hills in the late afternoon sun

Abstract "painting" - an experiment with my iPhone 3G:

Evening bay side

Evening bay side 2

Dancing lights

Zooming lights

Tree-nado

And, of course, the sun & moon continued to do their thing as we flipped the calendar page over to January 2015.

Morning sun on the bay

Sunset  after a clear day

Moonrise, early January - canyon side

Sunset with clouds

Some leftovers from 2014:

Late December 2014 - Mackerel ski

The occasional bay side pastels

We hope your year is off to a good start.   January 17, we mark the anniversary of our leaving the house in Chelsea, Michigan to make our way to California.