Hazel Atlas Portal (Part 1) - Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve - Antioch, CA

On March 30th, 2019, I took a trip to Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch, CA. The photos I took there are split into 2 blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos.

Full Resolution Photos: If you want to see full resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve photos, use this link. To see all of my photos from this trip, use this link.

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In this blog post, I have part 1 of my photos from Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch, CA. I have photos from Somersville Staging Area, Nortonville Road, and Hazel Atlas Portal.

Message From The Photographer: If you've been following me on social media, you'd know I've been dealing with vision impairment and gradual vision loss since August 2018. The conditions are neurological, so my vision isn't impaired the same amount on a daily basis, but overall it seems to be going down hill. It has slowed down and made taking photos, processing photos, using computers, etc... very challenging and somewhat depressing. Some days it is impossible for me to take photos or process them. I know these photos are from a very long time ago, but I'm only just starting to get around in processing them as I'm only able to work on them at a very slow pace. I hope you can understand, and I hope you enjoy viewing these photos.

Scenery with Rose Hill Cemetery (top left) shot at Somersville Staging Area.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 31" N 121° 51' 48" W

Scenery of windmills in Solano County, CA shot from Somersville Staging Area.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 34" N 121° 51' 48" W

Scenery of Rose Hill Cemetery shot from Nortonville Road.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 21" N 121° 51' 54" W

Tunnel for one of the mines near Greathouse Visitor Center.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 17" N 121° 51' 56" W

Scenery of Antioch, CA, delta, and windmills in Solano County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 17" N 121° 51' 57" W

I arrive at Hazel Atlas Portal where the Hazel Atlas Mine is. This mine supplied sand used for glass making in the 1920s through the 1949s.

This is rail tracks for transporting sand from the mine.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 16" N 121° 51' 49" W

Black and white process of the photo above.

Rail tracks for transporting sand from the mine. Photo from Hazel Atlas Portal.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 15" N 121° 51' 49" W

Black and white process of the photo above.

Rail tracks for transporting sand from the mine. Photo from Hazel Atlas Portal. Photo shot near the same spot as above.

Black and white process of the photo above.

Entrance to the Hazel Atlas Mine at Hazel Atlas Portal. Photos shot near the same spot as above. 

The inside of Hazel Atlas Mine shot near the entrance to the mine at Hazel Atlas Portal. Photo shot near the same spot as above.

Black and white process of the photo above.

The entrance to Hazel Atlas Mine and rail tracks for transporting sand from the mine. Photo shot at Hazel Atlas Portal.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 57' 16" N 121° 51' 50" W

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Next time I have photos from Nortonville Road and Rose Hill Cemetery. Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

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Twenty Mule Team Canyon - Death Valley National Park (Part 29)

At the end of November last year (2012), I took a trip to Death Valley National Park. This is the second trip there in my life. The 1st time I went, I was still a little kid, and I didn't start taking photos yet. This time, I have a pro camera and I am ready to shoot the scenery. Death Valley National Park is known for its "out of this world" scenery, UFO sightings, and many other things. The desert is a very mysterious and beautiful place. In this chain of blog posts, I will be showing you mainly photos of Death Valley National Park, but also photos from surrounding areas like The Mojave Desert, Alabama Hills, and Rhyolite Ghost Town. I have picked out over 400 photos from my trip to show you guys and I will be dividing them into many blog posts. Unlike blog  post chains before, I obviously can't put a link of ever blog post on every single blog post, so instead, I will do the same thing I did for my Yellowstone National Park photos before, by sticking a link of the Next and Previous post on each blog post instead.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To see my best work from Death Valley National Park, use this link. To see all of the photos from my Death Valley National Park trip use this link.

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Today I will have a few photos from my drive down from Dante's View and photos from Twenty Mule Team Canyon. If you want an introduction and tips for Dante's View, please read about it on my previous post. Today I want to tell you about Twenty Mule Team Canyon. Before, when the mine was active, the borax was mined in Twenty Mule Team Canyon and was then processed at Harmony Borax Works (photos here). To view the canyon down below in detail, there is a one way unpaved road that you have to drive on (4WD Recommended). The road was fairly flat with the exception there was 1 down incline that you have to drive on. It is about 100 feet long and a 60° incline (not as scary as it sounds actually). The view was spectacular through the canyon! Also, there are signs that tell you not to go off the road (hiking included), but I've seen photos online where people actually went into the mine, but do know it is illegal and dangerous not to mention you can get lost easily... Anyways here are the photos I took, will be splitting them into 2 parts so I will finish next time.

Driving down from Dante's View. 

Entering Twenty Mule Team Canyon.

Car ahead of me kicked up a lot of dust. 

These are the unpaved roads in Twenty Mule Team Canyon. It is pretty easy to drive on but still recommend 4WD car. 

More landscapes

Unpaved road.

Another shot of the unpaved road. 

Panorama in the canyon.

These are all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Next time I will continue with the photos from Twenty Mule Team Canyon and some photos from the beginning of the road into Hole in the Wall. I didn't head into Hole in the Wall because the road was too bumpy for my car and I was afraid I was going to get a flat tire. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

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