Rock City On Mount Diablo

Anybody remember that Saxon song, "Rock City?"

So we went hiking in Rock City, on Mount Diablo. This is a wonderful area and unfortunately, our experience was spoiled somewhat by the brush fires that have been happening just south of the Bay Area. This forced the gnats to seek moisture and when they weren't flying into your mouth or ears, they would fly into your eyeballs.

Check out this Jimmy Durante-like formation. "Good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are..."

Some of these sandstone formations have taken on almost a lunar-like quality, though of course you have some vegetation to dissuade you of that association. Here below is all the pertinent information about the "Wind Caves" and how old the formations are-

Some of the formations are grouped close together and some are a hundred feet away.

I climbed this Jabba The Hut-looking hill and did you ever have a hill wink at you?...

...well I did. I climbed this one right below, as well. The beauty of Rock City is that you don't need climbing gear at all, just a good pair of sneakers with a reasonable amount of grip. The handholds and footholds are easy to find and the sandstone is forgiving enough that it doesn't cut into your fingers, as evident by these footprints.

I wonder if Dana married him or her...

Without any perspective, this tunnel looks bigger than it is. It's actually fairly small, a German shepard would bump its head on the roof.

You can just visualize how a section of this rock just split, eroded and crumbled away one day. We'll be back up here, probably after the second rain of the season and next time, we'll bringing insect repellent.