Bay Area Drive - March 3, 2012

[thegunguy]

This may be too little notice, but I wanted to see about doing a drive next Saturday morning from Fremont to Livermore via Calaveras and Mt. Hamilton. The forecast shows it should be sunny and warm, and based on this year's trend, I wouldn't bet too hard against it.

My thought would be to meet at the Peet's Coffee at Mowry & Paseo Padre in Fremont at say 7:30 and leave by 8. Make our way up Niles Canyon to Sunol and over to Calaveras. We'd follow Calaveras up and around back toward the valley and skirt over to Mt. Hamilton RD (I'm not confident of any roads connecting the two without heading back down for just few miles). Mt. Hamilton will connect us to San Antonio Valley and up Mines to Livermore.

With a few stops along the way for photos and maybe check out the observatory, it figures out to about 4.5 hours (3.5 driving) according to Google. I'll see about sorting a lunch spot in Livermore.

If we want to get on the road earlier, we can do that too. I'll have my son with me for his first group drive.

Anyone interested?

[thegunguy]

A quick feed of the GPS data from the photos. Great drive this morning. Photos and thoughts soon.

[thegunguy]

The drive, while solo, was great. Jack and I had a lot of fun. We took our time, stopping for photos and to look around, and the loop (minus the Sunol to Fremont portion) took us a lazy 3.5. Since we were leaving Livermore, we opted for the reverse of the originally suggested route, heading south on Mines RD. In hindsight, this is actually the way to do it in the morning so that you can have the sun at your back for most of the drive.

Mines to San Antonio Valley (wide open) to the Mt. Hamilton Observatory is definitely the jewel of the loop. It's less tight and more varied, and there is absolutely no traffic - we met only three cars. Descending from the observatory to San Jose is more technical. It's still good, but it's better suited for a bike or lighter, nimbler car. Also, this is where the cyclists start to show up. Thankfully they were climbing on the other side, and they weren't much of an issue. Calaveras was thick with cyclists, and while most are considerate, many seem to think "share the road" only goes one way. I'm pretty easy going, especially with my son riding shotgun, so we just followed behind a few guys going three wide for a half a mile or so. I guess I'd be stingy too if I had to pump up and down those hills instead of dancing along in Bavaria's finest.

We got on the road a little later than I might have on my own, leaving the Livermore Peet's at 7:45, but with the cyclists, it might do to try an hour earlier, which is better for light anyway. Calaveras isn't so great that it's a must anyway, but wow, the east side of Mt. Hamilton is something special.

The shots are in order and a mix of RAW and JPG for those following along with interest in the S100. It's a fun little guy to travel with, but there are few things that didn't work as expected. I need to read up on some functions. The JPGs are direct from the camera (well on this site they're all JPGs - the RAWs were cropped and processed).

Oh, the stunner spot of the day was about a mile before the observatory where you cross this saddle that opens up to the Bay in the west and the Sierras in the east. I could make out a few of the taller buildings in the city with Mt. Tam in Marin behind. Looking to the east you could see clear across the Central Valley to the snow dusted (what's up this year?) Sierras. What a spot. You can see a few shots from this point before and after the Jack's thumbs-up shots.

Bonus if you can spot my self-portrait.

[macfly]

Wow, great pix and that really looks like an awesome drive, thanks for sharing!!

[redz8]

Love the pics. So nice to have empty roads to enjoy. On our last drive, we hit a lot of traffic, mostly NSXs.

[thegunguy]

Thanks guys.

Scanning these on the site, I really appreciate painting the grills last year. The face on the black car is just lost without the contrast. With it, it's perfect.

[Norcal]

Awesome stuff (and your "portrait") reflected in the side of the car. Just got home from my joy-jaunt... got up at 4am yesterday (24hrs!! haven't done that in a while)... must get sleep... new thread in the am...

[thegunguy]

Awesome stuff (and your "portrait") reflected in the side of the car. Just got home from my joy-jaunt... got up at 4am yesterday (24hrs!! haven't done that in a while)... must get sleep... new thread in the am...

I'm glad you guys made it...can't wait for details.

The side of the reflection was unintentional. I'd normally work around that or crop. Look for the repeated hoops.

[Norcal]

You're in the mirrors and the hoop rings in a few shots. Forgot to mention I only had 3 hrs sleep before the trip. I actually got pulled over 2 mi before home for weaving! No ticket, he was probably looking for Drunk drivers at that hour. I had noticed a car moving up on me, so I had slowed down to 67mph.... sure enough! But, got home safe by 3:45am.

[Z8Mania]

Great pictures!!!!!!!!