Among "The Dead" and The Living at Olompali

Dick Jordan was on a Southwest Airlines jet headed back to the Bay Area from Phoenix when we took this hike, but by looking at Wendy's hike description (below) and the Martin's book Hiking Marin, he's pretty sure that we went on the trail that he and his wife have hiked in Olompali State Historic Park in the past. Here's how Wendy described the park and the hike plan:

"This site was a Miwok settlement inhabited from about 500 A.D., a ranch given to Mary Black when she married James Burdell, a home for 'The Grateful Dead' and a gathering place for rock musicians, and finally a State Historic Park. We'll take a loop trail for the natural history and then check out the historical buildings.' (Click here for a May 2006 Marin I-J article on the history of the piece of land that ultimately became the park. Wikipedia also has a entry on the history of the area and the Burdell family).

Here's a satellite view of Olompali . (Click on "View Larger Map" just below this map to access and zoom in and out, left and right, on the on-line Google map. Better yet, download a free copy of the "Google Earth" software which will let you "tilt" and rotate the area around the park and view it from all angles).


View Larger Map