The Journey – No. 4

This past Sunday afternoon turned out to be a beautiful day to take the PT Cruiser out for a drive. I ended up on Morgan Territory Road which connects the Livermore Valley to the north side of Mount Diablo. Morgan Territory Road is from a bygone era.

A one lane road carved into the hills making up the eastern side of the Mount Diablo range. The oldest sections of the road date to 1886 and served as a wagon trail when horse power was determined by the number of horses pulling your farm wagon. The complete 14.5 miles (23.3 km) was not officially designated a road until 1892. Eventually Morgan Territory Road was given a gravel surface and it remained that way until 1950 when it was first paved with asphalt concrete. Besides the many switch backs, the shoulder of the road is no more than the width of a tire in places and there are no guard rails. A hill on one side and a steep drop off to Marsh Creek or the valley below on the opposite side. Morgan Territory Road is a driver’s road and is not for the faint of heart riding shotgun nor someone who is prone to motion sickness.

The hills this time of year are still green and covered with wildflowers. At this point along the drive, the hills are guarded by concrete fence posts who have long ago lost their barbed wire.

A trip along Morgan Territory Road is one where you should not be in a rush for the maximum safe speed is 20 mph (32 kph) with many stretches much slower due to blind curves or poor road conditions. There are many spots along this one lane road where one can pull off to allow another car to pass by or to enjoy the beauty of this unspoiled contry road.

While most of the land is private, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve bisects the road and connects Mount Diablo State Park to the Los Vaqueros Reservoir and Watershed. Morgan Territory Road is definitely one of the roads less traveled. I have to say that at the end of the day I was torn between making this post part of “The Journey” or “Choosing To Be Happy” series.