Yay! We get to go hiking again! Yanni (my trusted friend and sidekick) and I have not been hiking together for over a month or two and are glad to be out again. Yanni knows a place in Mount Diablo State Park and we set out into the foothills. I don my hiking shoes, grab my hiking stick and we're off.
It's dry and hot, but we are happy to be walking around the hills and just being out among the wilderness; the
outside.
The ubiquitous vulture followed us everywhere we went. I've written often about these magnificent birds and frankly, I was glad to see them again. As ugly as they are, they are rather gentle and glide effortlessly above our heads.
As we wander up, up, up the mountain (Mt. Diablo), we get some awesome views of the valley below. Check out this house. Seems quite rich, but I like the layout. Looks like something that Madonna would have. Nice driveway.
As we hike along, the trail continues toward the mountain. It's hot and I wonder if my water will hold out for the 8 - 10 miles, but we do fine. It's late summer and we see few wildflowers, but it is quiet and peaceful. It smells nice.
And, we have friends overhead.
Another cool house. I really like this one as it wraps around the pool. We saw no one out there, figuring that if you have a house this nice, you probably have a job that requires that you are at work a lot. Still, we wanted to be invited over for a pool party, so we hang around this place for about an hour waiting for the invitation that never came.
More vultures overhead. It was beginning to look like Hitchcock's
The Birds as more and more began circling above.
We continue our hike up the mountain knowing that we will have to come back down this same path.
We get hungry and decide that it's time to take a break and have lunch. Here's our little spot in Paradise: cool, breezy and restful. Wondering what's on the menu? Peaches, bananas, almonds, cheese, salami, raisins, granola bar, and my peanut butter/jelly sandwhich. Yeah, nobody starves.
Not surprisingly, we have company. Turkey Vultures always sit in one tree according to the pecking order of the flock.
Yanni points out the beauty of the valley below us. Cool REI hiking chairs, huh? These really work. Only 22 ounces and they fold up small and compact.
We head out and cross through this ridge. You can see the trial that we took. It looks more rugged than it was.
Our constant companions...
It was so hot that I needed to take several breaks. Actually I was OK, but Yanni was crying, "Please stop so I can rest. You are so strong, but I am weak." (OK, Yanni went on ahead, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
I read a story in Popular Photography about how to get a white background, so I thought I'd try it. Came out OK, eh?
After the hike, we went to a local park to have a beer and found this lovely spot.
Does it get any better? Hanging out with my bud, drinking beer, talking about the hike, enjoying the park, and looking forward to seeing my wife (after she returns from work.) No, it doesn't get any better.
Yay! We get to go hiking again! Yanni (my trusted friend and sidekick) and I have not been hiking together for over a month or two and are glad to be out again. Yanni knows a place in Mount Diablo State Park and we set out into the foothills. I don my hiking shoes, grab my hiking stick and we're off.
It's dry and hot, but we are happy to be walking around the hills and just being out among the wilderness; the outside.
The ubiquitous vulture followed us everywhere we went. I've written often about these magnificent birds and frankly, I was glad to see them again. As ugly as they are, they are rather gentle and glide effortlessly above our heads.
As we wander up, up, up the mountain (Mt. Diablo), we get some awesome views of the valley below. Check out this house. Seems quite rich, but I like the layout. Looks like something that Madonna would have. Nice driveway.
As we hike along, the trail continues toward the mountain. It's hot and I wonder if my water will hold out for the 8 - 10 miles, but we do fine. It's late summer and we see few wildflowers, but it is quiet and peaceful. It smells nice.
And, we have friends overhead.
Another cool house. I really like this one as it wraps around the pool. We saw no one out there, figuring that if you have a house this nice, you probably have a job that requires that you are at work a lot. Still, we wanted to be invited over for a pool party, so we hang around this place for about an hour waiting for the invitation that never came.
More vultures overhead. It was beginning to look like Hitchcock's The Birds as more and more began circling above.
We continue our hike up the mountain knowing that we will have to come back down this same path.
We get hungry and decide that it's time to take a break and have lunch. Here's our little spot in Paradise: cool, breezy and restful. Wondering what's on the menu? Peaches, bananas, almonds, cheese, salami, raisins, granola bar, and my peanut butter/jelly sandwhich. Yeah, nobody starves.
Not surprisingly, we have company. Turkey Vultures always sit in one tree according to the pecking order of the flock.
Yanni points out the beauty of the valley below us. Cool REI hiking chairs, huh? These really work. Only 22 ounces and they fold up small and compact.
We head out and cross through this ridge. You can see the trial that we took. It looks more rugged than it was.
Our constant companions...
It was so hot that I needed to take several breaks. Actually I was OK, but Yanni was crying, "Please stop so I can rest. You are so strong, but I am weak." (OK, Yanni went on ahead, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
I read a story in Popular Photography about how to get a white background, so I thought I'd try it. Came out OK, eh?
After the hike, we went to a local park to have a beer and found this lovely spot.
Does it get any better? Hanging out with my bud, drinking beer, talking about the hike, enjoying the park, and looking forward to seeing my wife (after she returns from work.) No, it doesn't get any better.
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