I awoke at 7 am and threw on some warm clothes, grabbed a small water bottle and my camera and hopped in the car for a short 1 1/2 mile drive to the Donlon Point trail head of Dublin Hills Regional Park. Knowing that the sun would rise at around 7:30, I felt some urgency as I huffed and puffed up the trail.
When I rounded a bend, I got my first glimpse of the sun lighting up Mount Diablo and turning it red although the upper part of the mountain was shrouded in cloud cover.
Then I saw it. The sun was just cresting over the hill. I wasn't quite to the top yet to be able to look east over the valley.
Looking to my left, I could see that the sun was now casting its golden glow on the grassy hills around me.
Nearby was a coil of rusted old barbed wire, remnants of the portion of Schaefer Ranch that is now parkland. 
There was also a pile of old fence posts from the old ranch.
Then there was the view overlooking the tri-valley area.
And below me the campus of Valley Christian Hill School. What a wonderful location for a school! No wonder they named the road "Inspiration Drive".
What an amazing, spectacular show I got to witness this morning. Millions of people in the Bay Area and yet this was a private showing; not a soul in sight. The price of admission? Simply to rise a half hour before sunrise, drive a short distance, and enjoy a 15 minute hike.
I felt myself feeling so thankful and praised God for the beauty of His creation.
I wondered to myself how someone could have the same experience and not believe in God; not be thankful to the Creator. I just don't have enough faith to believe that all of this beauty came about randomly.
