Diablo-San

Last week, my brother and I went to the top of the Mount Diablo, which is the most prominent physical feature in the Bay Area (other than the Bay itself.) It's 3, 489 feet tall, and on a clear day affords a sweeping view of the area. Unfortunately, fog was covering the peninsula on the day we went, as it often does, so we didn't see much of San Fran.
The Native tribes of the area believed Diablo to be the center of the world. You see, it is the northernmost location of some Southern California plants, the southernmost location of some Northern California plants, and has some plants not found anywhere else on earth (the Diablo Sunflower and the Mt. Diablo Globe Lilly are two of them.) In addition, James "Grizzly" Adams used to hang out here. So, it's a special place.

Here are some pics.

Interesting rock.

On top of the world! Looking toward the Central Valley.

Jonny, doing some heavy lifting.

A Raccoon.

Jonny, smiling pretty.

Another interesting looking rock.

Jonny, doing some rock climbing.

View to the South.

More Jonny.

The trail on the side of the mountain. Very dry, low scrub vegetation - kind of feels like a desert.

A pretty looking plant.

View to the North. Our house is in there somewhere.