Gates of Hell or a Walk in an Oak Woodland

This last weekend we traveled down to Antioch, CA to visit out friend Nick and his family. We had a great time playing basketball, eating and talking. On Sunday I arose with the sun and I could tell that it was going to be a fantastic sunrise. I could also see that I wasn't going to make it to a location where I could see it in time. Oh well, no rush just enjoy what you can see I thought to myself as I drove to the trailhead of the Empire Mine Road. The road is locally famous among young people because it is supposedly haunted. There is an old abandoned ranch house, feed lot and possible slaughterhouse along with the "gates of hell" that lead to an old insane asylum.It is rumored that if you step through the gates you will die within a year. I only spotted the abandoned ranch house. Maybe the other things have been torn down. In any case the city of Antioch closed off vehicular access to the road in 2005 and it has become a really nice hiking trail through some beautiful rolling hills covered in oaks and grassland. There were ground squirrels in abundance that gave me plenty of warning when a scrawny coyote ran by in the distance. A beautiful rainbow and some cool cell towers disguised as trees! A few cows and steers and one pretty hefty Angus bull that I was glad to have a fence line between me and it. It was well worth the walk and I'd like to do it again when when we visit Nick next time. God's precious light and love to all, chris Images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens or a Canon 10-22 wide angle lens.