Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mt Diablo State Park Visitors Center
TOURIST INFORMATION
( 10am-4pm)
The park office is at the junction of the two entry roads.
John Muir National Historic Site
John Muir Residence
HISTORIC SITE
( 925-228-8860;
www.nps.gov/jomu
; 4202 Alhambra Ave, Martinez; 10am-5pm Wed-Sun)
Just 15 miles north of Walnut Creek, the John Muir residence sits in a pastoral patch of
farmland in bustling, modern Martinez. Though Muir wrote of sauntering the High Sierra
with a sack of tea and bread, it may be a shock for those familiar with the iconic Sierra
Club founder's ascetic weather-beaten appearance that the house (built by his father-in-
law) is a model of Victorian Italianate refinement, with a tower cupola, a daintily up-
holstered parlor and splashes of white lace.
Muir's 'scribble den' has been left as it was during his life, with crumpled papers over-
flowing from wire wastebaskets and dried bread balls - his preferred snack - resting on the
mantelpiece.
Acres of his fruit orchard still stand, and visitors can enjoy seasonal samples. The
grounds include the 1849
Martinez Adobe
, part of the rancho on which the house was
built, and the oak-speckled hiking trails on nearby
Mt Wanda
.
Getting There & Away
buses from Amtrak and BART.
Vallejo
For one week in 1852 Vallejo was officially the California state capital - but the fickle le-
gislature changed its mind. It tried Vallejo a second time in 1853, but after a month moved
on again (to Benicia). That same year, Vallejo became the site of the first US naval install-
ation on the West Coast (Mare Island Naval Shipyard, now closed).
