The Umbrella Dance: Mt. Diablo and the Sea of Clouds

I wanted to post some photos from the trip Irwin and I took up Mt. Diablo, but having neither time nor a computer I haven't done so till now.
It was a really wonderful trip. One of the last days of freedom that we had before Spring Sem hit us full in the face on monday. So all the following took place on the 11th.
It's very hard not to get up easily when you're excited about a day. So we woke up and bounded out of bed to drive Irwin's dad to the Raider's building in Alameda to pick something up from his work before dropping him off at the Oakland Coliseum BART station and turning the car around.
At first we weren't sure where we were headed, Berkeley or Mt. Diablo. But we decided on Mt. Diablo as we flew past exits for Rockridge. We'll visit Narnia another day. We had big plans for the tallest spot this half of the bay area. The lone inland peak in the line of the coastal mountain ranges. This mountain has been associated with creation myths and religious ceremonies for all of the Native American tribes as far inland as the Sierra Nevadas for centuries. Perhaps longer. And honestly it's not hard to see why.

We had to go through the thick cloud layer to reach the summit. The clouds were dense and shrouded the world so well you could hardly see ten feet in front of you. A dangerous driving condition on thin steep roads full of hair pin turns and side slanting dips. Irwin laughed at me hanging tightly onto the handle on the passenger side, half amused half exasperated with me as I assured him that I was confident in his driving ability but not so much in the car (despite his attempts to reassure me that the SUV wouldn't roll down the mountain) or the condition of the road (even though no one had blocked it off so we should presumably not have to worry about it)... I held tight and tried to keep my flinching and nervous jumping as discrete as possible and trying to pass it off as the bumpy road jolting me up and down. I don't think he was fooled. It didn't help much that when I reach certain elevations I lose hearing abilities in my left ear... the ear that happens to be closest to him when he's driving and I'm in the passenger seat.

Luckily we were able to vent the tension a bit with many stops on the way up so that we could get out and take pictures and watch a very bold coyote follow us along the road and then run down the hill to a ravine.

When we finally broke through the cloud layer the scene nearly took my breath away quite literally as we came around another super sharp turn and I

had to suppress a cry of amazement as I didn't want Irwin to get distracted from the road and my vertigo hit me something awful. It didn't lessen until we got out and I was able to put both feet on the ground and feel it not moving or falling away beneath me.

Above the clouds it was sunny and clear. Practically warm. Perfect summer weather with just a hint of winter breeze.

Looking down you could see the sea of clouds stretching out to the coastal mountain range to the west and as far into the valley as we physically visible. We were surrounded. Here and there tall foothills and minor peaks made it above the clouds as well, emerging like islands to keep us company in the blindingly bright world of 3000-something feet. I kept imagining zeppelins or air ships. Flying boats to be ferrying between the peaks.