Mt. Hamilton is home to the famous Keck and Lick Observatories, both part of the Univerity of California system. On a whim, I decided to drive up Mt. Hamilton Road to the observatories and watch the sunset from there. The start of the drive isn't too bad but the road gets ludicoursly twisty after a bit. Persevere, though, and you will, after about 25 miles or so, come to the top of Mt. Hamilton and arrive at the Lick Observatory.

The 36 foot refelector telescope is big. Not of epic portions but big enough for some oohs and ahhs. Tours happen once every half hour but it's only open between 12:30pm and 5:00pm on the weekdays (and 10AM-5PM on the weekend). No tour for me. Still, I walked around the facility and looked at the dorms and domes from the outside and got an off-center pic of the dome as the sun was setting. The view is absolutely gorgeous on all side of the observatory, and since it's pretty much at the summit, there is nothing obstructing the beauty of the Californian hills.

The plan was to get a sunset shot but of course, my camera isn't quite up to the task. There's no substitute for the experience of actually seeing the sunset from atop Mt. Hamilton but my pictures are very far from even a reasonable facsimile. But you get the idea at least.

Allow, even with aggressive driving, at least 45 minutes up and 45 minutes down as well (from the alum rock ave. side in San Jose). In broad daylight, some spirited driving can be fun, but quickly gets tiring. The number of extraordinarily tight turns transform any racing aspirations into a blur of constant braking and downshifting just when you think you can get some speed. Even though there's very little room for it, apex every corner as much as you can: following the center of the road will create far too much lateral G to be comfortable. Every little bit of apexing helps here. Just make sure you can see the road in front of you. Down the mountain, it was much easier to throw the car into third and drive without clutch: let up gas for engine braking on steep hills, and use brakes lightly otherwise. I went into fourth once and had to use second a few times, but rest was all third smoothly down.

Another gorgeous drive, and fun for those who live for the turns rather than the speed. I'll have to come back up one of these days when the Observatory is open. A good camera, a tripod, and some filters is a must next time too.