Mt. Diablo State Park

One Saturday afternoon we went up to the summit of Mt. Diablo.  We can see it easily from the house.  I walk towards it every morning to the entrance of the State Park, exactly one mile from the driveway.  That particular entrance, though, is only for hikers and horses.  We left the house, turned towards town, then back again and around and went in the North Entrance which is for vehicles.  It took awhile to drive the long winding road to the summit.  While Clayton sits at 394 ft. elevation, the summit is almost 4,000 ft. 

The road we live on that "dead ends" into the state park entrance.

Along the way there are many picnic areas and hiking trails.  We stopped at one called "Rock City".

Lots of rock outcroppings to explore and climb upon.

Elizabeth found her own cave.

While it may be 80+ degrees in Clayton, on the mountain, it was much cooler; it was almost 60 degrees and windy up top.

At the top.  According to the signs and information here, the top of this mountain has been used for surverying Northern CA and Nevada.  Many survey points are taken and line are drawn from this top point. 

While we picked a clear day to go, it was cloudier at the summit.  We were able to see rivers, bridges, and towns aways off but the Golden Gate Bridge and the city were in the haze.

With the binoculars, we could easily see Mitchell Canyon Rd. (our road) that goes into the park.  Following that, we could make out the quarry, and just barely could tell where the house was.  Jeff found 3 spruce trees that are in the back in a Zen garden and I found the light color of this gravel in the driveway.

The mountain again as seen from Mitchell Canyon Road

The quarry as seen from the road.