Yesterday, the Temescal Regional Rec Area was a place of dappled-light beauty.  Your faithful blogger decided to take a quick walk around our old-time swimming and picnicking area,  and tried to capture some magic with her trusty camera-phone in hand.

Lake Temescal started out as an engineering marvel, when Anthony Chabot constructed the earthen dam and water supply back in 1868.  The oasis became a popular recreation spot, baptized into the East Bay Regional Park District family by 1936.

It’s pretty easy to forget about Lake Temescal because its right here.  The 48 acres may be accessed through Broadway or Broadway Terrace entrances which are well-signed.  In this classic view shot, taken yesterday, you can almost pick out the Highway 24 and 13 arteries.

Still there are plenty of peaceful spots within the park.  With Saturday picnics underway by the lake, I decided to check out the more remote hillside area.  Earlier this year, the Oak Bay Trail played host to the Oakland Marathon runners – but it was empty yesterday afternoon.

You know when the light seems absolutely perfect?  Yesterday, I wandered through the spectrum of nearly pitch black, greens of all shades, and blinding sunlight.  It was just one of those beautiful sites to behold, right in our Montclair backyard.