SF, Wine Country..Diamonds?

I woke early and scrambled out of the state beach campground before any light was in the sky. Sunrise did nothing.. completely boring compared to last night's sunset. I was excited to see what San Francisco had to offer, but I did not plan to see anything but the bridge. ...And the bridge was very cool! I don't think that I have held so much fascination with anything that had not grown from the earth!
I arrived just as the sun began casting its daytime light and warmth on the city. The clouds came over quick. A thick grey ceiling, though not any kind of a threatening one. I had to turn around for a rock-shop sign "Open".
I followed the sign that led me east of hwy 101. The rock shop, though it looked like a good one, was not open. the neighbors' dog barked and another came out to investigate. I snapped a photo and fled. I had read of gems in the area... Small crystals of pure silica known as Lake County Diamonds. I found a nice article on another blog, Eclectic Arcania, and followed the directions given there to collect the diamonds.
It was a pleasant drive through beautiful wine-country. Vineyards and woodland were all that covered the land after I passed through Kelseyville, CA. The grape plants are still green, and fruit remains on some plants, but they all look to have seen a warmer season. Leaves are beginning to turn that sickly light yellow-green color as all leaves do just before they retire.
The sky was still that miserable grey and the road on which I was to collect the stones was marked with all sorts of NO TRESPASSING signs. I trespassed for about two hours; I walked the red-dirt roads until I held and healthy handful of the 'diamonds.'
On my way out I saw another car pulled over within the vineyard. A man was knelt on the side of the road with a small paper bowl and latex gloves. "...looking for the un-faceted crystals here.." he told me. I asked about the legalities of our activities; "..been comin' down here for three years now, and nobody has seemed to mind." He asked to see what I had found and I showed him my little plastic bag. There looked to be over a hundred dirty chunks of the unique volcanic glass in the bag. They were from only a few mm to almost a half-inch in length. "Wow," he said,"you got some nice ones; I haven't found one that big in a long while!" The man pointed to the largest rock and smiled. He asked me about where and when I found the gem and I told him. A small, round, pinkish crystal was the highlight of his day's collection. I found only one crystal that had any kind of colour- a long, skinny stone of deep gold.
The precious stones, which are found nowhere else in the world, have a harness of 7.5-8.0 (Mohs). They are about as hard as topaz and are capable of cutting glass. The gems, also known as Moon Tears, are greatly valued and are faceted and polished on many occasions to use in jewelry. Cut, (and raw, in my opinion) their brilliance can rival that of a diamond. Cant wait to have them faceted !
I was done with this area- I had my treasure, but the next place that I had planned to go was Yosemite. It is more than five hours from Kelseyville.
I knew of nothing closer that I wanted to do.
I called my mom while I drove through Sacramento- the traffic was unexpected and unpleasant. She gave me a number to call to check up on the road conditions of Yosemite national park. I would get in just before sunset.
A woman's recorded voice answered the phone when I called the park. She reported that The two highways, including the one I planned to drive over, were clear and open to visitors. I hit Highway Fifty and headed East. The sky was even darker than it had been all day. I entered the mountains and the snow. The signs all suggest that I install tire chains and warned that it was the law that they are carried by every vehicle. It got slick at the pass- just before I stopped in South Lake Tahoe. The sky was too grey to make a decent photo, but the snow WAS beautiful.
I drove up the west side of the lake for a few miles- that campground was closed, too.
A quick glance at the state map helped to identify a near state park.
I pulled into the HotSprings state park well after-dark. Sunset was surprisingly nice- the clouds were obviously clearing. I was a bit confused when I found this public area to be closed, too. The trees were HUGE.
I set up camp in the picnic area and paid the office my money.