My brother drove here from Georgia in his Jeep and Eli is quite taken with this new vehicle parked in the driveway. "Yeep! Yeep!" he calls out every time he sees it, so it was time to take him for a ride. Off we went to Mount Diablo State Park.
We kept the Jeep's top and windows up until we reached the park, then pulled over to stow them. For some reason, the sound of the Jeep's Velcro closures cracked Eli up. Eli also liked that the Jeep is high, so he could easily see out. Most of all, Eli seemed amazed by being able to ride along looking up at the sky. He kept pointing up and giggling.
We followed the winding road up, up, up to the viewing platform at the top (3849 feet). From there we could see a teeny Golden Gate Bridge in the distance as well as San Francisco's miniature skyline. The late afternoon sun was shining off San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and Suisun Bay. The towns of Walnut Creek, Danville, and Concord were spread out in the early autumn haze.
It was a golden afternoon. The grass on Mount Diablo is tall and pale this long after the rains stopped. The landscape fairly glowed in the sunlight.
Although the grass here is gold rather than red, it made me think of this quote from Willa Cather's novel about the American prairies:
“I wanted to walk straight on through the red grass and over the edge of the world, which could not be very far away. The light air about me told me that the world ended here; only the ground and sun and sky were left, and if one went a little farther there would be only sun and sky, and one would float off into them, like the tawny hawks which sailed over our heads making slow shadows on the grass.”
--My Antonia by Willa Cather, 1918. pg. 16.
A Mama's Two Cents:
We loved Mount Diablo, but it is primarily a wilderness area rather than a playground-type park. We did find a shady picnic area for Eli to explore, but it didn't keep him entertained very long and Eli wasn't as taken with the breathtaking views as the adults. The Jeep was the main attraction for Eli, so for a next trip to Mount Diablo, I'll pack a picnic and bring more toys.
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