Audible Mount Diablo: Recent Episodes
Joan Hamilton: writer, producer
Audible Mount Diablo is an invitation to adventure. Its free multimedia tours combine lively interviews and music with the rush of wind and the chirps, howls, and growls of wildlife. Naturalists heighten visitors’ appreciation of the sights and sounds at each stop, tell tales of the mountain’s past, and suggest what to look for around the next bend. Perfect to prepare for your first--or your hundredth--trip up the mountain.
Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo and the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association
Produced by Audio Guides to the Outdoors
When you spot a raptor flying high in the Bay Area sky--dark, perhaps wobbling a little—chances are good that it's a turkey vulture. In this short video, learn about some of the species' special skills, underestimated grace, and (ugh) disgusting habits. A MOUNT DIABLO INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION video featuring KEN LAVIN. Videography by Kendall Oei, still photos by Wally De Young, Kendall Oei, Joan Hamilton and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Take a peek at Bay Area wildlife when they think no one is watching, as they share one of the few seasonal watering holes remaining in the area. Production, images, writing and narration by Wally De Young. Music by Chris Haugen. Sponsored by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Special thanks to the Wild Mount Diablo team, Joan Hamilton, Staci Hobbet and Kendall Oei.
In this final episode, Save Mount Diablo unfolds an audacious plan for winning broader protection for the Diablo Range in an era of climate change.
The "Fire, Drought, Rain, and Hope" series explores life in California’s inland Coast Range after the huge fires of 2020. It ventures into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love. Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
CONDOR COUNTRY
In Pinnacles National Park, author and conservation biologist Joseph Belli “babysits” condors as a volunteer for the National Park Service. In this episode he teams up with soulmate Seth Adams of Save Mount Diablo to survey wildlife in the park and beyond.
The "Fire, Drought, Rain and Hope" series explores life in California’s inland Coast Range after the huge fires of 2020. It ventures into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love. Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
HENRY W. COE STATE PARK: How fire made a big wilderness better.
The sixth in a series of Save Mount Diablo's videos about the mysterious, little-known 200-mile long Diablo Range. Viewers venture into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love—and vital as refuges for plants, animals, and people in a time of climate change. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
COYOTE CONNECTIONS
Keeping cities safe and wildlife healthy.
The fifth in Save Mount Diablo's series, "Fire, Drought, Rain, and Hope," about the mysterious, little-known, 200-mile long Diablo Range. The series takes viewers into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love and vital refuges in a time of climate change.
Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
OHLONE WILDERNESS
How Wildlife Fared After the 2020 Fire
The fourth in a series of Save Mount Diablo's videos about the mysterious, little-known, 200-mile long Diablo Range. Viewers venture into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
CORRAL HOLLOW How a ranching family helped build a park.
The third in Save Mount Diablo's series, "Fire, Drought, Rain, and Hope," about the mysterious, little-known, 200-mile long Diablo Range. The series takes viewers into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love and vitally important in a time of climate change. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
Three Wild Years in the Diablo Range
With the help of ranchers, naturalists, scientists, and land managers, this 9-part series showcases the mysterious, little-known 200-mile long Diablo Range after the massive fires of 2020. It ventures into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love, vital to providing a refuge for plants, animals, and people in a time of climate change. With conservation efforts accelerating, this part of the inland Coast Range is fast becoming California's next big conservation story.
Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
MORGAN TERRITORY, where the SCU fire hit home.
The second in a series of films about the mysterious, little-known 200-mile long Diablo Range. The films take viewers into places off the beaten track for most Bay Area residents, yet deeply connected to places they already love, vital to providing a refuge for plants, animals, and people in a time of climate change. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
As you wind your way through the lovely hills of Lime Ridge, keep an eye out for wildlife. In this episode Seth Adams and Scott Hein discuss 1) one that's still common all over the area 2) an introduced species whose numbers have exploded and 3) a native species that's making a heartening comeback.
Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. First published in 2012. Photos by Scott Hein. Music by Phil Heywood.
We regret an error in this version: what is labeled "mule deer" is actually a Columbian black-tailed deer.
Learn about a rare plant that waits until summer to grace the hills of Lime Ridge Open Space on the eastern edge of Walnut Creek, California.
Featuring Heath Bartosh. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Photos courtesy of Scott Hein and Heath Bartosh. First published in 2012.
Can you name three pine species that grow in Mount Diablo State Park? Learn to ID them by their pinecones (2 supersized, 1 clingy). Hear about how they're adapted to fire and drought. Meet the gun-toting botanists who collected their cones in the 1830s.
A Mount Diablo Interpretive Association video featuring Ken Lavin and Seth Adams. Production by Joan Hamilton. Music by Music Revolution. Photos by Joan Hamilton, Neal Kramer, Kendall Oei, and courtesy of Strybing Arboretum. Adapted from Audible Mount Diablo's Curry Point, Mitchell Canyon, and Falls Trail guides sponsored by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and Save Mount Diablo. Special thanks to Wild Mount Diablo team members Wally De Young, Anastasia Hobbet, and Kendall Oei.
Pine Canyon's peregrine falcons had a difficult season in 2021, when all four chicks were killed by a great-horned owl in a territorial dispute. Follow a team of California naturalists, stewards, and detectives as they tell the story of how the fastest animal on the planet fared last season.
A Mount Diablo Interpretive Association video, produced by Wally De Young.
From the top of Lime Ridge, you can see Mount Diablo—and a surprisingly vast expanse of GRASSLAND in between. Learn about who owns these lands and some of the wild treasures they contain, including relicts of a drier climate such as desert olives and sagebrush lizards.
From a tour of Lime Ridge featuring Seth Adams and Scott Hein, originally published by Save Mount Diablo in 2012. See Save Mount Diablo's website for information about current activities at MANGINI RANCH.
In recent wintery months, our early-blooming flowers have brought beauty to the forested understory of Mount Diablo State Park. Here are a few that pop up January through March.
A Mount Diablo Interpretive Association film, produced in partnership with Save Mount Diablo, by Kendall Oei. Part of the Wild Mount Diablo series.
How a colorful reptile may help lower the incidence of Lyme disease in California.
Episode 6.1 in Save Mount Diablo's guide to Lime Ridge, featuring Scott Hein and Seth Adams.
In episode 6 of our Lime Ridge Tour, we take an inside look at Bay Area shrublands, also known as CHAPARRAL. They may look lifeless at times, but they nurture a rich assemblage of plants and animals, including Alameda whipsnakes, hummingbirds, and blue-gray gnatcatchers.
Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Seth Adams and Scott Hein. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton. First published in 2012.
After a winter of abundant rain and even snow, WILDFLOWERS are waking up in the East Bay. As you get out to enjoy them, keep in mind that there are still discoveries to be made. In 2008, for example, Carpenter David Gowen found two phlox species new to science in LIME RIDGE OPEN SPACE, nearly surrounded by Walnut Creek and Concord. It's one more example of how important it is to protect and respect our open spaces!
From a 2012 Audible Mount Diablo guide to Lime Ridge sponsored by Save Mount Diablo and Thomas J. Long Foundation. Featuring SMD's Land Conservation Director, Seth Adams.
Mount Diablo hosts large congregations of ladybugs in winter. Perhaps you've seen them? Masses of writhing, reddish-orange beetles in a shady canyon? It can be an arresting, even creepy, sight. Which is all part of their clever survival plan. A Mount Diablo Interpretive Association video featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Images by Arnold Joe, Scott Hein, and Kendall Oei. Music by Daniel Kaede. Produced by Joan Hamilton. Adapted from "Mitchell Canyon" Audible Mount Diablo, 2017.
Here are a few of the sights we savored on Mount Diablo in 2022. May your 2023 be filled with new delights! Happy New Year from the Wild Mount Diablo team.
In the late 1700s, when the Spanish came north along the coast of California, they brought food with them in the shape of CATTLE. That was the beginning of a slow, but revolutionary change in the state's ecology. This is EPISODE 2 in an 8-part "Brief History of Mount Diablo State Park," featuring Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally de Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
It's wet out there! And a good time to ponder the importance of our favorite mountain.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
LIME RIDGE is a biologically rich shoulder of Mount Diablo that reaches down into Concord and Walnut Creek. It brings nature close to home for thousands of people. Learn about the hard work that has kept it wild.
Featuring Seth Adams. Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Part four of a 2012 Audible Mount Diablo series exploring the plants, animals, and history of Lime Ridge Open Space.
Deer lend such sweetness, grace and majesty to any landscape. Come take a peek into the lives of Mount Diablo's local Columbian black-tailed deer.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Production, writing, and narration by Kendall Oei. Videos and pictures by Kendall Oei and Wally De Young. Music by Tommy Jervidal. Special thanks to Wild Mount Diablo Team members Joan Hamilton, Staci Hobbet, and Wally De Young.
Head out of the grassland and into a shady forest on the Paradise Valley Trail, where there's lots to learn about oaks, buckeye, hop tree, purple needle grass, and datura.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, 2012. Featuring Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh. Photos by Scott Hein and Joan Hamilton. Music by Phil Heywood.
More than a century ago, miners gnawed away at a northern shoulder of the East Bay's iconic mountain. Today, thanks to conservation efforts, it's an inviting open space with rare plants and big vistas.
Featuring Seth Adams. Presented by SAVE MOUNT DIABLO in partnership with the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association as part of the Audible Mount Diablo series. Photos courtesy of Contra Costa Historical Sociey. Production by Joan Hamilton.
From Sentinel Rock, you can look deep down into DAN COOK CANYON. But who was Dan Cook? And how did he wrest this side of Mount Diablo from California's railroad barons? Stories galore from master naturalist Ken Lavin.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Episode 6 of their Audible Mount Diablo tour of Rock City. Production by Joan Hamilton.
From Sentinel Rock, you can look deep down into DAN COOK CANYON. But who was Dan Cook? And how did he wrest this side of Mount Diablo from California's railroad barons? Stories galore from master naturalist Ken Lavin.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Episode 6 of their Audible Mount Diablo tour of Rock City. Production by Joan Hamilton.
On the edge of neighborhoods in Walnut Creek and Concord, California, LIME RIDGE OPEN SPACE trails quickly lead to big oaks, sweeping vistas, interesting wildlife, and rare plants. A place for short hikes and big discoveries.
Featuring Seth Adams and Heath Bartosh. Part of a podcast series produced in 2012 by SAVE MOUNT DIABLO. Photos by Scott Hein. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
On the edge of neighborhoods in Walnut Creek and Concord, California, LIME RIDGE OPEN SPACE trails quickly lead to big oaks, sweeping vistas, interesting wildlife, and rare plants. A place for short hikes and big discoveries.
Featuring Seth Adams and Heath Bartosh. Part of a podcast series produced in 2012 by SAVE MOUNT DIABLO. Photos by Scott Hein. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
After a long absence due to COVID, Cafe Ohlone has re-opened, this time on the Cal campus in Berkeley. Learn about its founders and the plants, animals, and people of Tuushtak (aka Mount Diablo).
Featuring Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
After a long absence due to COVID, Cafe Ohlone has re-opened, this time on the Cal campus in Berkeley. Learn about its founders and the plants, animals, and people of Tuushtak (aka Mount Diablo).
Featuring Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
It's tarantula season around Mount Diablo, and naturalist Ken Lavin has tales to tell and myths to bust. If you should be lucky enough to encounter one of these hairy beasts on the mountain, enjoy the thrill. But please don't touch!
This podcast is part of the Audible Mount Diablo series, sponsored by Save Mount Diablo and the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
It's tarantula season around Mount Diablo, and naturalist Ken Lavin has tales to tell and myths to bust. If you should be lucky enough to encounter one of these hairy beasts on the mountain, enjoy the thrill. But please don't touch!
This podcast is part of the Audible Mount Diablo series, sponsored by Save Mount Diablo and the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
One of the tallest mountains in the Bay Area—MOUNT DIABLO—is still growing! Learn how and when the mountain emerged and when the Mount Diablo Thrust Fault is due for a quake.
Featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Part of the Audible Mount Diablo series.
Dancing with OTTERS! A new film by Wally De Young that will help you spot this adorable mammal on your next East Bay hike.
WILD RIDE Take a 6-minute breeze through Bay Area geologic history, from the Age of Dinosaurs to the Age of Mammals.
Featuring Ken Lavin. Adapted from Audible Mount Diablo's "Mary Bowerman Geology Tour." Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Need to cool off? Enjoy a 360-degree vista from the top of Mount Diablo while watching its resident TURKEY VULTURES soar. The species has some fascinating (creepy?) habits as well as a superpower revealed almost a century ago by a team of geologists.
From a A Geology Tour on the Mary Bowerman Trail. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Photos by Scott Hein and Derek Love. Music by Phil Heywood. Production and narration by Joan Hamilton.
Everyone loves our state flower, the California poppy. But few know the story about its scientific name. It starts with a Russian ship sailing into San Francisco Bay with a German poet on board . . . and the rest is (strange) history.
Featuring Ken Lavin. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton. Photos and video by Kendall Oei and Joan Hamilton. With help from other members of the Wild Mount Diablo team, Wally De Young and Staci Hobbet.
Beautiful and fascinating, BOBCATS put the wild in a new nature series called Wild Mount Diablo.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Kendall Paul Oei, with help from team members Wally De Young, Joan Hamilton, and Staci Hobbet.
Learn about wood, polypody, goldenback, and maidenhair FERNS. In springtime you might also see two impressive early-blooming flowers: warrior's plume and mission bells. Each has an interesting story.
This tour of Mount Diablo's ROCK CITY is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. First published in 2015, updated in 2018. Featuring Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, David Mackesey, and Mike Woodring; Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Seth Adams, Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton, Moose Henderson, Ken Lavin, Conrad Lowry, Mark Sinclair; Special thanks to Anastasia Hobbet, Conrad Lowry, Jennifer Roe, Jerry Schweickert, Mark Sinclair, Stephen Smith.
This episode of Wild Mount Diablo features America's smallest falcon and efforts to help them thrive, which may be having a positive effect on local populations.
SUMMIT STORIES Spring is a great time to visit Mount Diablo State Park. If you go to the top, have a look at the rocks used to build the summit visitor center. You can easily see fossils of oysters and clams—and, in the sand in between, clues to geologic history of the entire Bay Area.
From a tour of the Mary Bowerman Loop presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
MERCURY MINING A mine near Clayton opened in 1875 and was long gone a century later. But it and subsequent mines nearby are still causing problems.
CANYON CLOWN Continuing our tour of the east side of Mount Diablo State Park, we hear tales of William Ryder "Doc" Powell, a circus clown/mercury miner who hoped to hit it rich in these hills.
From a tour of Perkins Canyon presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Jean Hetherington, and Ken Lavin. Music by Phil Heywood. Photographs by Scott Hein and others. Production by Joan Hamilton.
READING THE ROCKS Crossing Perkins Creek, we see a colorful combination of rocks—green serpentine, red chert, and gray dacite—that offer clues to the mountain's tumultuous past.
From a tour of Perkins Canyon presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Jean Hetherington, and Ken Lavin. Music by Phil Heywood. Photographs by Scott Hein and others. Production by Joan Hamilton.
Mount Diablo is not a volcano, but has volcanic "domes." Geologist Jean Hetherington helps us see those mushroom-shaped hills as clues to our landscape's dynamic history.
From a tour of Perkins Canyon presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Jean Hetherington, and Ken Lavin. Music by Phil Heywood. Photographs by Scott Hein and others. Production by Joan Hamilton.
NORTH PEAK Learn about the lofty backdrop to this quiet entrance to Mount Diablo State Park: 3,557-foot North Peak. You can scramble up the peak from here—with difficulty!—or just gaze in admiration.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Jean Hetherington, and Ken Lavin. Music by Phil Heywood. Photographs by Scott Hein and others. Production by Joan Hamilton.
Experience the first signs of spring at Perkins Canyon, on the quiet eastern side of Mount Diablo State Park.
Biologist Malcolm Sproul explains how rare amphibians like the TIGER SALAMANDER and the RED-LEGGED FROG can survive on the dry east side of the Diablo Range.
EUROPEAN SETTLERS Rough and tough Basque settlers came here to raise cattle and sheep in the 1850s, but soon moved on to Nevada. A few decades later, more family-oriented immigrants from France and the Portuguese Azores raised sheep here, too. From a series featuring Seth Adams, Mike Moran, Marguerite Patil, Adrian Praetzellis, Malcolm Sproul. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo, Thomas J. Long Foundation, and Contra Costa Water District. Photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton, Audible Mount Diablo.
ORDWAY BARN The valley in this part of Los Vaqueros is not only rich in plants and animals; it contains reminders of the humans who once lived here, including (going backwards in history) a rich, brash"cowgirl" from San Francisco named Edith Ordway, the three Mexican cowboys for whom the watershed is named, and many, many generations of Indigenous people.
GRASSLAND Seth Adams and Malcolm Sproul suggest what to look for in Los Vaqueros Watershed's sprawling grasslands. Golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, Say's phoebes, grasshopper sparrows, ferruginous hawks—it's got them all.
From a series featuring Seth Adams, Mike Moran, Marguerite Patil, Adrian Praetzellis, Malcolm Sproul. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo, Thomas J. Long Foundation, and Contra Costa Water District. Photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton, Audible Mount Diablo.
OAKS Valley, coast, and blue—learn all about them! And discover what sort of oak was most beloved by wildlife expert Gary Bogue.
From a series featuring Seth Adams, Mike Moran, Marguerite Patil, Adrian Praetzellis, Malcolm Sproul. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo, Thomas J. Long Foundation, and Contra Costa Water District. Photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton, Audible Mount Diablo.
WILDLIFE We've lost a lot. The region no longer hosts what was possibly the densest population of grizzlies in North America. But places like Los Vaqueros are still big and well-connected enough to host a rich array of wildlife, including eagles, pelicans, and osprey.
From a series featuring Seth Adams, Mike Moran, Marguerite Patil, Adrian Praetzellis, Malcolm Sproul. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo, Thomas J. Long Foundation, and Contra Costa Water District. Photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton, Audible Mount Diablo.
BEFORE THE DAM A new story of the region's history emerged when archaeologists found human artifacts that were almost 10,000 years old.
Featuring Seth Adams, Mike Moran, Marguerite Patil, Adrian Praetzellis, Malcolm Sproul. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo, Thomas J. Long Foundation, and Contra Costa Water District. Photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton, Audible Mount Diablo.
Tired of hiking the same old places? Head out to the rugged hills and glorious views of Los Vaqueros Watershed—where the Central Valley, the Delta, and the Coast Range come together. It's a reservoir of plants, animals, and history (as well as a source of water for Contra Costa County).
Featuring Seth Adams, Mike Moran, Marguerite Patil, Adrian Praetzellis, Malcolm Sproul. Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo, Thomas J. Long Foundation, and Contra Costa Water District. Photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton, Audible Mount Diablo.
TESLA PARK A new law protecting a wildlife corridor near Livermore represents a BIG WIN for wildlife and climate. Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Photos by Al Johnson, Scott Hein, Joseph Belli, and Connolly Ranch. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton. Special thanks to Connolly Ranch and Rodrigue Molyneaux Estate Vineyard and Winery.
THE PARK TODAY In our final episode celebrating Mount Diablo State Park's 100th year, we chat with supervising ranger Cameron Morrison about how the park has changed—and different ways people can enjoy it today.
This series features Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally De Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Writing, production, and narration by Joan Hamilton.
The BEACON on top of Mount Diablo began in the 1920s as part of a system of "lighthouses for aircraft." Charles Lindbergh was involved in turning them on for the first time. Diablo's beacon was turned off during World War II, and rendered obsolete by radar. But it was later re-ignited by Pacific Fleet Commander Chester Nimitz for ceremonial purposes and still burns brightly every year on December 7.
This episode is part of a series featuring Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally de Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
Our centennial celebration continues, with the story of one of Mount Diablo's most eminent advocates. After earning a Ph.D. in botany at UC Berkeley in 1936, MARY BOWERMAN wrote the The Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo, a book that's still the bible for East Bay botanists. Decades later, she co-founded an organization called Save Mount Diablo. The rest is conservation history!
This 8-part series features Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally de Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS
Mount Diablo State Park's centennial celebration continues, with an episode about the government program that gave men jobs during the Depression and made park improvements that we still enjoy today.
This 8-part series features Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally de Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
A PARK IS BORN Mount Diablo State Park's centennial celebration continues, with an episode about the park's two dedication ceremonies: the first with well-behaved officials in 1921, and the second with an inebriated governor in 1931, when "the mountain lived up to its name."
This 8-part series features Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally de Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
Mount Diablo State Park's 100th birthday celebration continues, with an episode about EARLY TOURISM.
In the late 1700s, when the Spanish came north along the coast of California, they brought food with them in the shape of CATTLE. That was the beginning of a slow, but revolutionary change in the mountain’s ecology. This is EPISODE 2 in an 8-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison. We'll air one episode each Thursday, leading up to a grand gathering (details to come!) on October 16. Join us on this inspiring journey back in time.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally de Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
Hey, it's Mount Diablo State Park's 100th birthday! To celebrate, we've put together a series of eight videos about the mountain's natural heritage and human history, featuring Ken Lavin, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Michael Marchiano, Vincent Medina, and Cameron Morrison. We'll air one episode each Thursday, leading up to a grand gathering (details to come!) on October 16. Join us on this inspiring journey through the lands that sustain us close to home.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. Photography and video by Kendall Oei, Scott Hein, and Wally de Young, among others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
Geological puzzlements: If rocks usually pile up, layer by layer, over time, why are MOUNT DIABLO's oldest layers on top?
A geological tour of the Mary Bowerman Loop presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Ken Lavin. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton.
On a hot summer day, minimize your mileage by hiking this gentle but spectacular loop around Mount Diablo's summit.
A geology tour presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Ken Lavin. Music by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein and others. Production by Joan Hamilton.
Hear the story of MOUNT DIABLO STATE PARK’s devilish dedication ceremony in 1931.
This tour of ROCK CITY is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Ken Lavin. Music: Phil Heywood. Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Seth Adams, Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton.
Who was DAN COOK? A successful miner from Bodie who owned a big chunk of Mount Diablo in the late 1870s and early 1880s. His history connects with that of California’s Big Four Railroad Barons and Robert Noble Burgess, who, much later, built North and South Gate roads.
This tour of Mount Diablo's ROCK CITY is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, and Mike Woodring; Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton. Photos: Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton.
Starting at "ELEPHANT ROCK," learn the history of tourism in MOUNT DIABLO STATE PARK. In the rock itself, find evidence of a story many millions of years older.
This tour of Mount Diablo's ROCK CITY is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, and Mike Woodring; Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton.
Stoves built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s proved so popular they were used throughout the state and national park system. Today volunteers are restoring them for another century of outdoor grilling.
This episode of Mount Diablo's ROCK CITY tour is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Ken Lavin. Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Joan Hamilton, Conrad Lowry, Mark Sinclair; Special thanks to Anastasia Hobbet, Conrad Lowry, Jennifer Roe, Jerry Schweickert, Mark Sinclair, Stephen Smith.
The sandstone In Rock City is made from weathered bits of Sierra Nevada granite. Ken Lavin explains how those mountains moved—and helps us recognize the constituent parts, including quartz, feldspar, biotite and hornblende.
This tour of Mount Diablo's ROCK CITY is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, and Mike Woodring; Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Seth Adams, Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton, Moose Henderson, Ken Lavin, Conrad Lowry, Mark Sinclair; Special thanks to Anastasia Hobbet, Conrad Lowry, Jennifer Roe, Jerry Schweickert, Mark Sinclair, Stephen Smith.
Mount Diablo's beloved WIND CAVES were actually carved by rain. Exploring them is fun; understanding them is a fascinating lesson in how the world works.
This tour of Mount Diablo's ROCK CITY is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, and Mike Woodring; Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Seth Adams, Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton, Moose Henderson, Ken Lavin, Conrad Lowry, Mark Sinclair; Special thanks to Anastasia Hobbet, Conrad Lowry, Jennifer Roe, Jerry Schweickert, Mark Sinclair, Stephen Smith.
MADRONE A cooling tip for summer hiking: Hug the red-barked tree named after the surgeon on George Vancouver’s Voyage of Discovery.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Featuring Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, and Mike Woodring; Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Seth Adams, Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton, Moose Henderson, Ken Lavin, Conrad Lowry, Mark Sinclair
Enjoy a 1.6-mile walk exploring the history, geology, and plants of one of the most popular places in Mount Diablo State Park. Featuring Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, and Mike Woodring; Music: Phil Heywood; Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton; Photos: Seth Adams, Contra Costa Historical Society, Joan Hamilton, Moose Henderson, Ken Lavin, Conrad Lowry, Mark Sinclair; Special thanks to Anastasia Hobbet, Conrad Lowry, Jennifer Roe, Jerry Schweickert, Mark Sinclair, Stephen Smith.
A GPS-enabled map for this tour is available for $1.99 through Avenza Maps at https://www.avenzamaps.com/maps/search.html In the search box write Rock City Audio Guide.
CONNOLLY RANCH We came to this 9,000-acre ranch to report on the effects of the 400,000-acre SCU Lightning Complex Fire. But as we toured the blackened hillsides, an even more dramatic story emerged: about the remarkable family that’s been tending and defending this land for five generations.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, 2021.
Featuring Mark Connolly, Celeste Garamendi, Ted Clement. Photos by Scott Hein, Connolly Ranch. Video: Connolly Ranch, Cooper Ogden. Music: Phil Heywood. Narration, Production: Joan Hamilton. Maps: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Sahoko Yui. Special thanks to Bay Nature Institute, Connolly Ranch, Friends of Tesla Park, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
We're re-publishing this episode of our "Plants of Twin Peaks" series in honor of Frank Valle-Riestra, who passed away in April at age 95. Frank loved Mount Diablo State Park and helped found the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. In this 2013 recording, he discusses Eagle Peak, Aeolian harps, and the charm of chaparral.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Learn about two MOUNT DIABLO PINES—and the men who studied them by shooting down their cones with rifles. It's the last installment of our guide to MITCHELL CANYON, presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
THE GREAT FIRE OF 1977 After the flames died down, people took up a collection to replant the blackened slopes with Monterey pines. Only one problem: Monterey pines don't grow on Mount Diablo! Learn about the fight that ensued, in the 12th segment of our guide to Mitchell Canyon, presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
TWO TREES AND AN INSECT
Quiz time: 1. Can you name a common California tree that has a huge, poisonous seed that looks like a deer's eye? 2. How about a tree that contains a painkilling chemical and attracts North America's longest-lived butterfly? The answers lie in the 11th installment of our MITCHELL CANYON guide, presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
PRIZED PLANTS It's time to search for a nodding yellow MOUNT DIABLO FAIRY LANTERN, as well as the wavy-leaved SOAP PLANT, with so many uses it's called "the grocery store plant." It's the next segment in our MITCHELL CANYON guide, presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
SCENTED SHRUBS Ah the smells of spring! Learn to enjoy them in shrubs like PITCHER SAGE and CALIFORNIA SAGEBRUSH. It's part of our MITCHELL CANYON guide, presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
WHEN GRIZZLIES RULED Amid today's cool breezes, think about the harsh winter of 1826–27, when a mountain man named JEDEDIAH SMITH stopped off at Mount Diablo's Mitchell Canyon.
This MITCHELL CANYON guide is presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
MINING In the 1860s, men who had been "bit by the mining tarantula" searched for copper on the north side of MOUNT DIABLO. Learn what they took and what they left behind in this installment of our MITCHELL CANYON guide, presented by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Meet a COAST LIVE OAK that sprouted around the time the U.S. constitution was signed in 1787. Then learn about the park's kissing MISTLETOE and nuisance TURKEYS.
It's the latest installment of the MITCHELL CANYON tour, presented by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
TWO "OAKS" 1) Blue oaks are clever trees, uniquely adapted to California's dry summers. 2) Poison oak (not an oak at all) is the state's most common shrub. We all get one free exposure, and then the trouble begins . . .
Part of a series about an easy stroll along a creek on Mount Diablo’s lush north side, led by Sue Donecker, Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, Jim Mitchell, and Yulan Tong. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
Meet Mary Leolin Bowerman, whose love of plants changed the course of history in the East Bay.
GROUND SQUIRRELS Did you know that ranchers once raised ground squirrels for their pelts? Did you know that ground squirrels have a sneaky strategy for eluding rattlesnakes? All that and more lies inside episode 3 of our Mitchell Canyon guide, featuring Sue Donecker, Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, Jim Mitchell, and Yulan Tong. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017 Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
Our two-mile hike gets off to a strong start with ACORN WOODPECKERS and a NATIVE PLANT GARDEN. The second episode in a series featuring Sue Donecker, Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, Jim Mitchell, and Yulan Tong. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton.
INTRODUCTION As nature wakes up after the first rains, learn more about nearby nature and history on this two-mile-long stroll on Mount Diablo’s lush north side. The ten-part tutorial is led by park docents Sue Donecker, Ken Lavin, Rich McDrew, Jim Mitchell, and Yulan Tong. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
First published in 2012, revised in 2017. Music from Banks of the River by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein (and others mentioned in closing credits) Narration and production by Joan Hamilton, Audio Guides to the Outdoors
INSIGHTS FROM THE FIRE ZONE With the help of ranchers, naturalists, scientists, and land managers, this new series explores life in California’s inland Coast Range after 2020’s huge SCU fires. From Morgan Territory to Pacheco Pass, we'll visit places off the beaten track for most Bay Area people, yet deeply connected to places they already love.
Want to learn where to find the region’s most spectacular post-fire wildflower displays? Wonder about the effects of climate change on the region’s plants and animals? Want to know how Californians can live sustainably in a fire-prone future?
Join us in the fire zone, for Diablo Range Revealed. Presented by Save Mount Diablo with special thanks to Margaret Kruse, Connolly Ranch, Bay Nature magazine, East Bay Regional Park District, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, California State Parks, and Pine Ridge Association.
Photos by Scott Hein and Cooper Ogden. Interviews with Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Margaret Kruse, and Celeste Garamendi. Production by Joan Hamilton.
The secluded meadows of ROUND VALLEY REGIONAL PRESERVE lie just a few miles south of Brentwood, California. The park has just re-opened following a 3,000-acre fire in August, so it's a great time to take a wildlife-rich walk out there! Want to learn more? Listen up . . .
Sponsored by Save Mount Diablo & Thomas J. Long Foundation, 2012. Featuring Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, and Brian Kruse. Music from Local Joe by Phil Heywood.
BUILDING THE TRAIL In this tour, we've visited every stop on Mount Diablo's Trail Through Time. Here, finally, is the story of how the trail was built.
The TRAIL THROUGH TIME is a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Andrew Lawson was first to map the San Andreas Fault. But the cantankerous UC Berkeley geologist had more than a few blind spots.
It's episode 22 of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
A curious crew from the California Geological Survey combed California in the 1860s. They were led by scientists Josiah Whitney, William Brewer, and Clarence King. Hear their stories in episode 21 of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, featuring naturalist Ken Lavin.
Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
We travel back to a time when short-faced bears and dire wolves roamed the place we now call home. It's the conclusion of our walk on Mount Diablo's TRAIL THROUGH TIME.
The series features naturalist Ken Lavin and is sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
A red pebble in this sandstone tells geologists that Bay Area rivers were flowing backwards (from west to east) when the rock was formed. How can that be?
Learn the history of your homeland while walking along the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
In this episode, we find that rocks that should have been deposited over a span of 35 million years are missing on Mount Diablo. Why?
Find out on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
On a walk through 190 million years of geologic history, we take a break to admire a tree: the colorful, clever madrone.
It's part of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
The secluded meadows of Round Valley Regional Preserve lie just a few miles south of Brentwood, California. In this hour-long audio tour, you’ll learn about the grassland’s colorful history and the rich habitat it provides for golden eagles, kit foxes, and red-legged frogs.
If you are safe from the fires and curious to learn about another force that has shaped the Bay Area landscape, take a virtual walk on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME. It's a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
SENTINEL ROCK Mount Diablo's Half Dome? Geologically, it's not as silly as it sounds.
Take a virtual walk on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
SNAIL STORIES Need proof that the Bay Area was once under water? Have a look at marine turritellas preserved in rocks on Mount Diablo.
It's episode 14 of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
SANDSTONE FROM THE SIERRA Mighty rivers washed granitic rock from the Sierra Nevada westward into deep basins. You can see the evidence in the caves and castles at Mount Diablo's Rock City.
The TRAIL THROUGH TIME series features naturalist Ken Lavin and is sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Leap to the TERTIARY on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Explore the rippling landscape of the Bay Area's GREAT VALLEY SEQUENCE on the Trail Through Time, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
What Made the Mountain?
Learn about the forces that pushed Mount Diablo skyward in the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Need a good, rocky hike right now? Learn about schist and greenstone on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Meet radiolarian chert, a distinctive Franciscan rock made from "the long snowfall of the sea."
It's episode eight of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
GEO-QUIZ Do you know the name of the rock that forms the peaks of Telegraph Hill, Mount Tamalpais, Mount San Bruno, and Mount Diablo?
It's episode seven of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Meet the rocky-road ice cream of California rock formations: FRANCISCAN MELANGE.
It's episode six of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Join us on the fifth episode of the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
SAND DOLLAR SECRETS The Pacific Ocean once lapped against the Sierra Nevada foothills. Here's the story of how the Bay Area eventually became dry land with two bedrocks.
Join us on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
CLASHING PLATES The story of the Bay Area landscape begins 190 million years ago, 3,000 miles out in the Pacific Ocean under 10,000 feet of water.
Join us on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
FRANCISCAN ROCKS The first person to study Mount Diablo geology in depth was a quirky UC Berkeley professor named Andrew Lawson. He found rocks that had emerged from volcanoes in the mid-Pacific. But how did they get on top of a 3,849-foot mountain?
Join us on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos presented by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
TRAIL THROUGH TIME A 6.3-mile hike from the top to the bottom of Mount Diablo takes you through the Bay Area’s entire geologic history. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, featuring Ken Lavin. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Audible Mount Diablo is a joint project of the MOUNT DIABLO INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION and SAVE MOUNT DIABLO.
SENTINEL ROCK is Mount Diablo's answer to Half Dome in Yosemite. You may laugh, but geologically it is not as silly as it sounds. Take a virtual walk on the TRAIL THROUGH TIME, a series of geology videos featuring naturalist Ken Lavin. Sponsored by the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Videography by Macha Rose. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara. Music by Phil Heywood. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
THE DIABLO TRAIL Winding through six parks from Walnut Creek to Brentwood, the 32-mile long Diablo Trail leads deep into the East Bay's spectacular network of protected lands.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Take in the sweeping vistas of Highland Ridge on a 6-mile virtual walk through one of the East Bay's wildest parks. Keep an eye out for golden eagles!
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
7 ROGER EPPERSON If you’re a connoisseur of spectacular Bay Area backcountry, you should know Roger Epperson Ridge—as well as the story of the Renaissance man behind the name.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
BOB WALKER'S FAVORITE HIKE A six-mile loop on the preserve’s eastern side takes in a wide array of wonders, including frogs, ferns, falcons, and fairy lanterns. Have a look while you're sheltering in place!
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
While looking for a place to walk his dog, BOB WALKER fell in love with Morgan Territory. Ten years later, he was an award-winning photographer and conservation hero.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
THE PARK IDEA A man with only five years to live saw the future clearly enough to buy the first parkland here for $400 an acre.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
FIRST PEOPLE Just a few hundred years ago, the Volvon people lived along the headwaters of Marsh Creek. Learn about the plants they used for food and how they took care of the land.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
Save Mount Diablo presents The Morning Side of the Mountain: a guide to Morgan Territory Regional Preserve. This 9-part series celebrates the history of one of the wildest parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and showcases the plants, animals and sights you can see on some of its most rewarding walks.
Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
Learn about Mount Diablo's Wasserman Trail and some of the wild and not-so-wild life you might see along the way.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
HOW THE PARK GREW In the early 1980s, public funding for East Bay parks was dwindling—until Bay Area taxpayers came to the rescue.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo. Featuring Seth Adams, Carol Alderdice, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, and Manfred Lindner. Including photos by Scott Hein and Bob Walker. Videography Nick Jones. Music Phil Heywood and Steve Arnold. Narration and Production Joan Hamilton.
Check out a Mount Diablo rock formed from what Rachel Carson called "the long snowfall of the sea."
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
About halfway into this classic Mount Diablo hike, we get our first good look at the waterfalls of Wild Oat Canyon and the well-traveled rock that hosts the show: pillow basalt.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
High in heavy metals and low in nutrients, serpentine soil is difficult for most plants. But it's rich in unusual species—like scrawny Quercus durata: leather oak.
Meet Mount Diablo's rarest oak, and the feminist who first named it for science: Albert Kellogg.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Soon they'll be popping up—the stunning red flowers that get part of their nourishment from chaparral shrubs. So what's their story?
"Falls Trail" is a 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Do you think shrubs are boring? Then it's high time to learn the inside story about chaparral.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
History sleuths: Wander around an old cabin site in Mount Diablo State Park to find clues about how people used and misused this land in the 20th century.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Happy Thanksgiving! Now that the rains have come, it may be easier to think about fire in our wildlands. Here's a first-person account of the Great Fire of 1977 from former Mount Diablo State Park ranger Burt Bogardus.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Meet "the grandfather of national trails," an enterprising equestrian who built more than 200 miles of trails in the East Bay area.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
To start our hike, we head up Donner Canyon, named for the family that lived here in the late 1800s. Learn about a sad incident that touched their lives as we stroll streamside among blue, valley, and coast live oaks.
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Awaiting the rainy season? A good time to ponder the history, geology, plants, and animals to be found along one of Mount Diablo's classic hikes, the FALLS TRAIL.
Join us for episode one of this new 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by MOUNT DIABLO INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
Photos by Scott Hein, Bill Karieva, and others. Video by Kendall Paul Oei. Animations by Tanya Atwater, UC Santa Barbara.
Reap the rewards of climbing this lesser-known peak in Mount Diablo State Park.
Stop 5 of a hiking guide to Twin Peaks, presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
We were sorry to hear that wildlife columnist Gary Bogue passed away last week at age 81. In remembrance of him, we're publishing a series of 2010 interviews. In this one, he describes the habits and horrors of Mount Diablo's apex pest.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
We were sorry to hear that wildlife columnist Gary Bogue passed away last week at age 81. In remembrance of him, we're publishing a series of 2010 interviews. This one offers reassuring advice about Mount Diablo's only poisonous snake.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
We were sorry to hear that wildlife columnist Gary Bogue passed away last week at age 81. In remembrance of him, we hope you enjoy this interview about mountain lions from 2010.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Ferns evolved during the age of fish: 360 million years ago. They have endured climate changes and other cataclysmic events. They have watched a parade of other species evolve and become extinct. What makes them so durable?
"Falls Trail" is 13-part series featuring Ken Lavin, Burt Bogardus, Paul Cardinet, and Jenn Roe. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
MOUNT DIABLO HIKERS: Where did names like Mount Olympia, Donner Canyon, Back Canyon, and Ransom Point come from? And what's with the roasted rock on top of Lower Twin Peak? All-knowing and clever Ken Lavin explains.
QUIZ TIME: Climbing up the north slopes of Mount Diablo, you can see a place famous for its grizzly bears that was once called The Deadfall. What's the name of the town today?
MITCHELL ROCK On the way to Twin Peaks, we discuss three layers of rock that used to be part of the ocean floor. A quiet little topic? Not so much. The deepest layer, SERPENTINE, has been a subject of passionate debate.
It's time for a hike! Let's head up to the top of Twin Peaks on Mount Diablo, a moderate, half-day jaunt with lots to see and learn. Part one: INTRODUCTION
YARROW A handsome plant with a history that leads all the way back to the Battle of Troy.
Featuring Ken Lavin. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
THREE SAGES Can you name three botanical "sages" that grow in the East Bay? Hint: one is known as "the plant that hums" and "the characteristic smell of Mount Diablo." All three could be used (sparingly) on your Thanksgiving turkey.
Featuring Ken Lavin and Sue Donecker. Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
FLOWERS NAMED FOR ANIMALS How many can you name? Let's start with coyote mint, larkspur, and lupine (from the Latin lupus for wolf) and hear about their stories.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Featuring naturalist Ken Lavin.
As we celebrate our nation's birthday, meet the Scotsman who celebrated and disseminated our plants: DAVID DOUGLAS.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Featuring naturalist Ken Lavin.
PAINTBRUSH & WARRIOR: early blooming, bright red, and crafty!
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Featuring naturalist Ken Lavin.
SOAP ROOT & STAR LILY Two look-alike plants circuitously lead to a Wild West tale of John C. Fremont and Kit Carson—and how a glimpse of Mount Diablo may have saved their lives.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo. Featuring naturalist Ken Lavin.
POPPY LOVE How our state flower got its scientific name: an international saga involving a French writer, an Estonian surgeon, and a Russian ship in San Francisco Bay.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
The Doctrine of Signatures: How wrapping a leaf around your shoe can ward off wild dogs, and other funny folklore.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, featuring Ken Lavin.
Some trees are just landscaping. Others, such as Mount Diablo's gray and Coulter pines, are deeply rooted in our culture. Master naturalist Ken Lavin tells the story.
Presented by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
A hike up Twin Peaks in Mount Diablo State Park takes you past many of the mountain's most storied plants. Learn about them in our next video podcast series, sponsored by MOUNT DIABLO INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION in partnership with Save Mount Diablo.
First up: MISTLETOE
Featuring Sue Donecker, Ken Lavin, Jim Mitchell, and Frank Valle-Riestra, with Carl Magruder as John Muir. Map by Mike Woodring. Music by Phil Heywood. Production by Joan Hamilton. The series was first published in 2013, revised in 2018.
It's been a colorful spring, and the fun's not over. As Heath Bartosh explains in this final episode of "A Hiker's Guide to Mount Diablo Plants," you can keep making discoveries all year long.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association
Featuring Heath Bartosh
with Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks-Franco, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer
Music Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear
Fire Recovery Illustration Laura Cunningham
Production and Narration Joan Hamilton
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Special Thanks Bay Nature Institute
LAND OF DISCOVERY Mount Diablo has attracted some famous botanists over the years, including David Douglas, Alice Eastwood, and John Howell. Learn their stories—and those of the modern-day explorers following in their footsteps.
Presented by SAVE MOUNT DIABLO in partnership with the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Podington Bear
Fire Recovery Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine
Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton
MARY BOWERMAN She wrote the book on Mount Diablo plants. She co-founded an organization to defend the mountain from subdivisions. The rest is Save Mount Diablo history . . .
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, and Robert Doyle
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Troy Montemayor, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Podington Bear
SHRUBS Dive into the mysteries of chaparral, a plant community that covers 3 percent of Earth's surface and nurtures 20 percent of its biodiversity.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Troy Montemayor, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear
Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine
Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton
WILDFLOWERS To find rare plants and remarkable beauty, take your springtime hike in an area has recently burned.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Troy Montemayor, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear
Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine
Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton
TREES Lessons learned from Mount Diablo's oaks, pines, bays, and buckeyes.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear
Illustration: Laura Cunningham
Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton
Special thanks to Bay Nature magazine
The 2013 Morgan Fire swept across 3,000 acres and yielded new knowledge about life on the East Bay's highest peak.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor.
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear
Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine
Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton
A HIKER'S GUIDE TO MOUNT DIABLO PLANTS Why is this 3,849-foot peak so central to California's cultural and natural history? Find out on a hike near the summit.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer.
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Troy Montemayor, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear
Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine
Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton
A HIKER'S GUIDE TO MOUNT DIABLO PLANTS Enjoy five fascinating hikes led by rare-plant expert Heath Bartosh. Gain an appreciation for the long-hidden flora revealed by recent fires. Nod to the work of the scientists who've worked these storied slopes. And get ready to make your own discoveries!
A nine-part series presented by Save Mount Diablo, in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
Featuring Heath Bartosh, Seth Adams, Robert Doyle, Lindsey Hendricks, Brian Peterson, Cyndy Shafer
Photographs: Scott Hein, Stephen Joseph, Troy Montemayor
and Seth Adams, Heath Bartosh, Steve Edwards, Brad Heckman, Helovi/istock, Joan Hamilton, Shawn Hanrahan/Texas A&M, Jepson Herbarium, Al Johnson, Neal Kramer/Strybing Arboretum, SWKrullImaging/iStock, Kit Leong/iStock, Marshman, Carl Osborn, Bill Sattler, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Arturo Reina Sanchez, Spyglass Hill, Terry Tomkins/USDA, Charles Webber/Cal Academy of Sciences, Westphalia/iStock
Music: Phil Heywood, Steve Arnold, Podington Bear
Fire Recovery Illustration: Laura Cunningham, Bay Nature Magazine
Production, Narration: Joan Hamilton
CONCLUSION Learn how to tell a hawk from a vulture in this final episode of our Black Diamond Mines guide.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, with help from Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and East Bay Regional Park District. Photos by Scott Hein. Featuring Seth M. Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
STEWARTVILLE SADDLE Dream of future hikes at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve with tips from the experts.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, with help from Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and East Bay Regional Park District. Photos by Scott Hein. Featuring Seth M. Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
OVERLOOK Big swaths of land around Mount Diablo State Park are protected. But there are still development threats.
Learn about successful efforts to curb sprawl in this episode of our guide to Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, presented by Save Mount Diablo, with help from Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and East Bay Regional Park District. Photos by Scott Hein. Featuring Seth M. Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Production by Joan Hamilton.
JUNCTION Here's where Coulter pines make their famous last stand at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, with help from Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and East Bay Regional Park District. Photos by Scott Hein. Featuring Seth M. Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
BRIDGE California's shrub lands may seem boring, but they shelter plenty of flowers and birds. Learn to spot bush poppies and orange-crowned warblers in this episode.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, with help from Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and East Bay Regional Park District. Photos by Scott Hein. Featuring Seth M. Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Production by Joan Hamilton.
MANHATTAN TRAIL How grazing—done right—can benefit park wildlife, including tiger salamanders and burrowing owls.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, with help from Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and East Bay Regional Park District. Photos by Scott Hein. Featuring Seth M. Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
STEWARTVILLE VIEW Globalization transformed Contra Costa County almost a century ago. Learn how it happened as we look out over one of the park's most beautiful valleys.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo, with help from Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and East Bay Regional Park District. Photos by Scott Hein. Featuring Seth M. Adams, Heath Bartosh, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan.
PIONEER POND Epizoochory? What the heck is that? And what's it got to do with Velcro? Find out in this episode of our tour of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
KREIGER PEAK Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve has been growing recently, and new trails will be open soon.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
CUMBERLAND TRIAL Parks are great. But connected wildlands are even better, for wildlife and people. In this episode of our Black Diamond Mines guide, learn about how you can make the wide open spaces of eastern Contra Costa County part of an epic Bay Area trek.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
COAL CANYON In this shady canyon, we learn about the botanical riches of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. It's a place where East meets West, where plants from the Central Valley and the coast all thrive and where botanists made a remarkable discovery in 2016.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
NORTONVILLE Sarah Norton was the beloved midwife who delivered Nortonville's babies. She planted a cottonwood to celebrate each new life. Childhood was short for the boys, who were useful in narrow mine shafts. They started their perilous work at age 8.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
ROSE HILL CEMETERY Find out why daffodils are the flower of choice in the Rose Hill Cemetery—and all about the history of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
POND LIFE A soggy day in March is the perfect time to check out the park's ponds.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
SOMERSVILLE TOWNSITE Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is a stunning park today, but in the 1860s its coal fueled California's early industrial development. Watch segment 1 of our 16-part series about "the rocks, the mines, and nature's remarkable recovery." Follow us to enjoy a new Bay Area adventure every week.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
INTRODUCTION Prepare for a hike at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve—a paradise in the springtime, rich with history any time of year.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Produced by Joan Hamilton.
Featuring Seth Adams, Kevin Dixon, Robert Doyle, Scott Hein, Heath Bartosh, Ken Lavin, and Ray Sullivan. Special thanks to East Bay Regional Park District.
ENJOYING THE PARK Mount Diablo State Park is a great place to walk, run, hike, camp, climb, picnic, paraglide, stargaze, and ride bicycles or horses. But what's most popular? Heading to the top for a glimpse of wild California.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
PRESERVATION You've read plenty of stories about losing America's wild places. Here' a story about winning.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
EARLY TOURISM Starting in the 1870s, people with dollar signs in their eyes began selling Mount Diablo to tourists and investors. Fortunately, they were not successful, and today we have 110,000 acres of wildlands within an hour’s drive of a major metro area.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
COAL MINING Just northeast of Mount Diablo, thin layers of “black diamonds” in the sandstone paved the way for California’s industrial development at the end of the 19th century. East Bay Regional Parks naturalist Mike Moran tells the story.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
WHITNEY SURVEY Imagine it’s 1860. In 14,000 miles of exploration up and down California, a survey led by Josiah Whitney decides that Mount Diablo is key to understanding the geology of the entire Coast Range.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
THE MOUNTAIN'S NAME How did Mount Diablo get its name? And why do people keep trying to change it? Anthropologist Beverly Ortiz tells the linguistically mixed-up story behind the name we use today.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
NATIVE PEOPLES “Mount Diablo was our sacred mountain at one time, and still is in my heart,” says Dry Creek Pomo Lucy Smith.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
WILD PIGS Wildlife columnist Gary Bogue explains how wild pigs first came to California and what’s being done to reduce the numbers of these hairy rototillers on Mount Diablo.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
POISON OAK In the 1820s a botanist innocently sent some poison oak seeds back to London to be planted in Victorian gardens. Oops! In this segment, Save Mount Diablo’s Seth Adams explains what hikers need to know to avoid—and appreciate—this problematic plant.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
TARANTULAS “We never think of pulling on our boots in the morning without first shaking them, for fear of tarantulas.” While exploring Mount Diablo, 19th-century scientist William Brewer picked the one thing to be frightened of that couldn’t hurt him. Learn the truth about tarantulas from MDIA naturalist and master storyteller Ken Lavin.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
RATTLESNAKES “People are terrified of rattlesnakes,” says wildlife columnist Gary Bogue. “But they can only strike at 3 miles an hour, which is a walk for a human.” Learn how to safely observe these fascinating but poisonous reptiles.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
MOUNTAIN LIONS Think you saw a mountain lion? Well, maybe. But most people who report a Bay Area sighting have actually seen a golden retriever or a domestic house cat. Gary Bogue describes how to identify this elusive predator—and what to do in the unlikely event of a too-close-for-comfort encounter.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
WILDLIFE Standing between the foggy Pacific Coast and the Central Valley, Mount Diablo has shady forest habitat and hot, dry chaparral. That makes it ideal habitat for wildlife, including coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, foxes, and skunks, as well as the densest population of golden eagles on the planet. Wildlife columnist Gary Bogue offers a brief introduction to the Mount Diablo menagerie.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
MOUNT DIABLO 101 Take a hike with Seth Adams, who’s been roaming Mount Diablo on behalf of the conservation organization Save Mount Diablo since 1988. As Seth explains, the mountain was sacred to Native Americans, they saw it as the place where the world was created. For the Europeans who came later, it was a navigational landmark and place to map the Bay Area. Late in the 19th century, its coal fueled California’s industrial development. Today, it’s a real wilderness within an hour’s drive of millions of people.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.
INTRODUCTION Why is this 3,849-foot mountain so central to California's natural and cultural history? In this 15-part series, discover the lore and legends of Mount Diablo State Park and surrounding wildlands.
Presented by Save Mount Diablo in partnership with Mount Diablo Interpretive Association.