VISITING THE SACRAMENTO RIVER DELTA

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

We squared up all the paperwork and insurance with Henderson's Line-up this morning.  Finally, we're able to move on.  We drove a few hundred miles crossing into California.  Driving along Interstate 5 from Oregon to California through the Shasta Mountains was not exactly relaxing.  Lots of semi-tractor trucks and when you're not climbing hills, you're going down 6% long grades.  We were happy to pull into a Walmart around 5:30 PM for the night.

Drove through hail and sleet - glad to be heading south

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

We drove 150 miles to Isleton, California (the Sacramento River Delta) and pulled into a nice sunny campground. It's wonderful to see palm trees, grassy sites and full hookups. We've never been to this area and we're pleasantly surprised.  Within walking distance we discovered lots of marinas, restaurants, pubs with local entertainment and beautiful views of the water.  The Sacramento River originates high in the Klamath Mountains and flows 400 miles to San Francisco Bay.  It drains about one-third of the state's annual water runoff, about 22,390,000 acre feet of water a year.

Lovely campground

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

We're seeing lawn signs asking the residents of the Delta to vote against the tunnels.  We asked a local about the tunnels and learned that Governor Brown wants to divert water from the Delta to Southern California.  The residents are not in favor of this because they believe it was wreck havoc with the ecological system, agriculture and tourism.  

Work is done and it's time to relax in the sunshine

SEPTEMBER 28-29-30

We visited the Chinese Labor Memorial Pavilion in downtown Isleton.  The Pavilion was built in memory of the Chinese immigrants that worked for a dollar a day. After the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1968, thousands of unemployed Chinese were hired to build the levees and reclaim the Delta country for agriculture.  The museum across the street provided us with information about the history of Isleton which was known as the Asparagus Capital of the World in the early 1900's.  The historic Chinese and Japanese Commercial Districts are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Chinese Labor Memorial Pavilion

The town is trying to raise funds for renovations

OCTOBER 1-2

We spent the afternoon driving from one end of the Delta to the other.  It's a beautiful route through small historic communities, farmland and vineyards. Starting in Isleton, we drove through Walnut Grove which is the only Delta town on both sides of the river, to Locke, which is the only village in the USA originally built and inhabited exclusively by Chinese immigrants, all the way to Clarksburg.

The Districts are extremely rundown and in need to renovations

Drawbridges are a common sight

Kiddie size is just enough for me - Denis opted for the next size up

Funny eh? - Locke was the most impressive - historically speaking

Just a small section of the vineyards

In the 1870's the Portuguese farmers settled in this area - in the 1880's immigrants arrived from the Netherlands

This building is in better condition than most

You may have noticed that I've been lazy about posting a daily blog and this post is a bit unusual for me, did you notice?  That's because days have gone by without much activity on our part and I don't want to bore you with our mundane daily routines (actually, I find it rather boring to write about it). We're enjoying the peace, quiet and solitude of this area without the pressure of having to do something.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.