Delta discoveries: enjoy
a houseboat hideaway among
the many inviting waterways of California's Central Valley - Travel |
The whistle of a red-winged blackbird awoke my
husband and me on our final morning on the California Delta. Golden light
slanted through the tule reeds and into our houseboat cabin, and the sky
was a cusp blue. The evening before, we'd tucked into a cove west of Stockton
as the sun dropped behind the horizon. Our reed-shrouded hideaway was
delightfully remote.
It was so peaceful, we could hear the gentle lapping of the San Joaquin
River at the boat's stern, but only at the boat's stern. We walked out
to discover the bow banked in mud.
That weekend, the delta taught us that even every beautiful moment
has its lesson.
From Sacramento to Manteca, the. delta's 1,000-mile network of navigable
water ways carries nearly half the state's runoff to San Francisco Bay--water
from the American, Merced, Mokelumne, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus
Rivers, plus countless creeks.
Dozens of levees--constructed both by Chinese laborers in the late
19th century and later by mechanical clamshell dredgers--give order
to this watery confusion, carving out 738,000 acres of islands, winding
river roads, and dreamy fishing holes. Tucked into the bends, the small
towns here are stocked with bait shops and diners specializing in catfish
baskets. Glamorous it's not. But it's the perfect place for a relaxing,
water-based getaway.
From pears and peat to peaceful retreats
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