So the plan today was to get up to Mt. Diablo to see the snow. But just near the entrance on Northgate we saw a long line of cars, and a long line of cars turning around to come back the way we had come. The thumbs down from one of the returning drivers sealed it, so we also turned around and headed to
Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area (try and say that ten times fast) instead. I had never heard of this park, but it was actually a really nice find just on the edge of Walnut Creek.
We followed the course of a creek, having to cross it several times. That made for some interesting dances across the rocks. Above us there were tons of beautiful rock formations.
And there were also caves big and small scattered about.
The buckeyes were just leafing out, filling the woods with bright green light.
Lots of baby buckeyes too and the first blue dicks were popping out.
We also saw buttercups and lots of miners' lettuce, some red-tailed hawks and a woodpecker.
And in the end we did end up seeing some snow, though from far away. Here are some of the foothills covered with a nice dusting. The peak itself was covered in a much thicker coat.
This is such a precious time right now -- it seems every day a new-to-the-season wildflower is popping up. I hadn't found any blue dicks yet, but did see footsteps-of-spring (known as early bloomers, hence the name) and a tiny population of shooting stars on the trail out to Alamere Falls. And on Steep Ravine on Mt. Tam there's a whole slew of redwood understory gems, like Calypso orchids, fairy lanterns, and fetid adder's tongues.
ReplyDeleteThanks katie. I thought it was too early to see the orchids out on Mt. Tam. I always like looking for them. I don't think I've ever seen the fairy lanterns there. I'll have to go soon.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to go back when the buckeyes are in bloom- it's a heavenly hike with the scent in the air! It must have been quite a relief to have a nice peaceful hike after being stuck in snow-gawker traffic!
ReplyDeletebeautiful! greetings from someone rooted in Bulgaria :-)
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ReplyDeleteSo, did you see snow? I'm a bit disappointed myself, after all the promises, it's cold but we only had 1/2 inch of rain.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you have a Castle Rock over there. We have Castle Rock on this side of the Bay as well.
Those verdant hills look so inviting. Late winter is actually one of my favorite seasons, when the landscape starts greening up and some beautiful early bloomers start to manifest themselves.
ReplyDeleteYou chose well: Wait hours in line to see the snow...or stumble into someplace new and cool. Snow notwithstanding, it's clear spring is on its way. (They're predicting the weekend snow level here is going to get down to 1500 feet--almost unheard of. So we might actually get a chance to drive east for less than half and hour and see it all around.)
ReplyDeleteAt first from the title I thought you were down at Castle Rock State Park in our neck of the woods. I didn't realize there was a Castle Rock near Walnut Creek. Thanks for the tour, the caves look intriguing!
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