Hercules Contra Cost Doctor

This Summer Take a Hike

Throughout June and July your local Patch will feature hikes in Benicia, Concord, Hercules, Martinez and Pinole. Check back weekly for a tour of hiking trails close to home.

Hiking offers benefits for both the mind and body.  There's a feeling of relaxation and enhanced well-being that comes from a hike in the woods.  Hiking can be as moderate as a walk around your block or as strenuous as a mountain climb. It’s a weight-bearing exercise that can help you to manage your weight, improve stamina and muscle strength, and is joint-friendly. Being outside in the sunshine provides the body with vitamin D, another bone-healthy reason for putting one foot in front of the other. 

Almost anyone can hike at some level.  If you have any type of hypertension or heart disease, you should check with your doctor before starting. Even if you are healthy, don't rush right off to the nearest mountainside. Train first by taking long walks on a flat surface, and also walking up and down steps or using an inclined treadmill in the gym to get in shape. Don't push yourself, and use common sense as you build up your endurance

Begin your journey with some flat scenic trails:

Point Pinole offers sandy shores, marshland, eucalyptus groves, meadows, a freshwater pond and 12 miles of trails.  You may want to plan more than one trip to this park to experience all the trails. Martinez Shoreline has nearly three miles of trails; enjoy peaceful walks through the marsh and along the shoreline. Waterbird Regional Preserve provides hiking opportunities in the several miles of trails in the uplands area. Take the trail out of the parking area to reach the Meadowlark Ridge Loop for good views of the marsh. Walk to the northern end of the park toward the pepperwood trees to see signs of the old housing from the early 1900s. Contra Costa Canal Trail provides spectacular views, community access, and a challenging and rewarding experience to trail users of various abilities. It connects from Martinez to Concord. Plan to complete different sections of the trail. Biking is another great way to explore this local trail system. Benicia State Recreation Area offers beautiful views of the Carquinez Straits, hills in bloom with green grasses and trees, marshy wetlands and rocky beaches. 

Get your hiking shoes on and go explore the neighborhood.

Delta science center taking shape at Big Break Regional Shoreline ...

Artist Cyrus Tilton gets more supplies as Maya Miel applies protective tape to the edges of metal labels before they use a silicone gel around the edges on a 30-foot by 50 foot Delta model at the Delta Science Center at Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley, Calif., on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. The model, a creation from Scientific Art Studio in Richmond, is made out of a special concrete on a scale of 8 inches equal to one mile and includes tiles made from aerial photos of communities around the Delta. (Susan Tripp Pollard/Staff)

OAKLEY -- A long-planned Delta science and natural education center is taking shape along the shoreline here to show and tell the public about the maze of rivers and islands in the heart of California's water delivery system.

The East Bay Regional Park District board is reaching two milestones this month in developing the $11 million center on 42 acres in the Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley, east of the Antioch Bridge.

On Wednesday, the regional park board is scheduled to award a $3.5 million contract for a combined visitor center, meeting hall and science lab for young students to examine water, muck and aquatic bugs. The vote comes 15 years after the center was first proposed.

Due to open next year, the 5,500-square-foot, prefabricated building will feature tall windows overlooking a lake formed by a flooded island that gave "Big Break" its name.

Another milestone occurred last week. The park district opened a 30-by-50-foot outdoor model showing major waterways, islands and cities in the area at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

Visitors can walk on the miniature landscape -- built to scale, including a Mount Diablo just a few inches tall -- and pour water into the rivers to watch it flow through the Delta and into Suisun Bay. Big Break Regional Shoreline will hold an open house from 9 a.m. to noon July 9 to introduce the public to the recreation area with a new scale model of the Delta, a kayak launch ramp and other elements of an emerging Delta science center. Park employees will be on hand to discuss the Delta and lead games for children.

"The center is a great place to see and experience the Delta, and see how this complex environment comes together," said Nancy Kaiser, the park district's manager of interpretive services. "There are few places in the Delta with public shoreline. Unless you have access to a boat, it can be very difficult to see the Delta up close.

The history of Contra Costa County. California

IRVING R. BAILEY, DDS— Prominent among the representatives of the dental profession in Contra Costa County is Doctor Irving R. Bailey, of Brentwood. ...

The Life of Lotus Flower

I worked in Hercules from April 8th to May 27th. ... The doctor checked me and after some tests, I was free to go back to work. ...

Horseless Age, the automobile trade magazine

Samson, Hercules, Sandow, Doctor Winship, Lugger, Tugger, The Clinder, ... Snow Lakes, Tamelpais, Diablo, Bay Country, Contra Costa, Ignacio Valley, Aloha. ...

Nation's health

Cost of Diphtheria Prevention The towns of Hercules and Pinole, in Contra Costa County, Calif., with approximately 350 children between the ages of 3 and 18 ...

Weekly bulletin

DANGEROUS CONNECTIONS BETWEEN REFRIGERATORS AND SEWERS Doctor JM Furstman, ... Colusa 1, Contra Costa County 12, Antioch 0, Hercules 2, Martinez 3, ...