Sacramento and that Sacramento Delta:

I've only been in the Delta area a few times, but have liked it whenever I've been there.  The way the river and humidity dominate the overall mood of the area makes it feel entirely different from the rest of California -- reminiscent of the American South.  And, what we've done to convert it from marshes to farmland and navigable waterways makes it an interesting exploration of very high levees, large fields and orchards, historic river towns, lots of old bridges, and seemingly impromptu ferries. (Provides a short history of the Delta).

To get to the Delta from San Francisco, take CA 4 from Concord out past Antioch, and then go north on CA 160, from there.  (Pictures are from a couple of trips)

Along the way, you pass an old San Diego ferry that seems to be just abandoned.

Further north, the biggest bridge in the delta area is to Rio Vista.

North of Rio Vista, the way to get around between various islands is by car ferry. This ferry was one of the larger ones used in the Delta, able to hold 6 to 10 vehicles, depending on vehicle size.  There was a ferry pilot and an attendant to direct cars, and it seemed to be fairly constantly busy.  (Note that ferries shut down for lunch and dinner, and are not 24 hour operations).

Rio Vista bridge in the background.  My apologies for the scratches on some of these pictures -- somehow I got a lot of dust on the lens on one trip.

Even FedEx uses the ferry....

This ferry is less busy than some of the others -- there was only one person operating it, and there were apparently long breaks of no traffic.  The reason boats can't pass when this ferry is crossing is because a winch on the ferry pulls it across using a cable.

More Delta ->