art crawl, be ready to
party. Otherwise, the
cool marble corridors
of the California State
Capitol is a mandatory
and impressive stop as
is the 40-acre garden
surrounding the dome,
Capitol Park. There are
exotic trees from around
the world, stern-looking
statues of missionaries
and a powerful Vietnam
Memorial. A quieter
war commemoration is
the Civil War Memorial
Grove, which was planted
in 1897 with saplings
from famous battlefields.
54 p259
The Drive » Point the car
west from the state capital
at the golden Tower Bridge,
a landmark crossing of the
Sacramento River. Cross it and
then head south on Hwy 84,
following Gregory Ave until it
connects with S River Rd.2 Clarksburg
The fields and arid
heat surrounding West
Sacramento offer little
clue that the ‘Thousand
Miles of Waterways’ is
near. But as you enter
Clarksburg the delta
breeze begins to blow
and travelers can’t miss
the Old Sugar Mill (www.
oldsugarmill.com; 35265
Willow Ave, Clarksburg;
admission free; h11am-5pm
Wed-Sun; c), the hub of a
thriving community of
local winemakers. A jazz
combo echoes through
space to complement
wines of the Carvalho
family, who own this
custom crushing facility.
The wines of the region
have developed a lot
over the last decade,
benefitting from the
blazing sun and cool
breeze. You can cruise
past the vines on the seat
of a bicycle, with the fun
and informative tour
from Fast Eddy Bicycle
Tours (%916-812-2712;
http://www.fasteddiebiketours.com).
His Upper Delta Rd tour
makes an in-depth trip
along the Delta towns
and wine region and
the more casual Delta
Leisure Tour is a flat
10-mile trip that is easy
for kids.5 p259
The Drive » Just south of
the ferry stop, turn east on Hwy
220 to return to S River Rd,
which has now joined Hwy 160
at the edge of a wide stretch
of the Sacramento River. After
five minutes south on Hwy 160,
you’ll pass Walnut Grove on the
way to its sister city, Locke.3 Locke
Declared a National
Historic Landmark, Locke
was founded by Chinese
laborers, who built the
levies that line nearly
every inch of this trip.
In its heyday, Locke had
a fairly wild reputation;
during Prohibition
(1920–33) the town’s
lack of a police force and
quiet nearby waterways
made it a hotbed of
boozing and gambling.
As you drop down off
the main road to the
shadowy main street that
parallels the river, the
sight is unlike anywhere
else in America:
tightly packed rows of
wooden structures with
creaking balconies and
architecture that blends
Western and Asian
details. Locke’s wild
days are evident in the
Dai Loy Museum (5 Main
St, Locke; admission $1.75;
hnoon-3pm Sat & Sun; c),
a former gambling house
with exhibits on regional
history. Its humble
exhibits are worth a peek,
but the best part is the
atmospheric building
itself.5 p259
TRIP HIGHLIGHTp
Highway
99 Through
Central Valley
Gassed up and ready
for more unexpected
regions of California?
Link this trip to Hwy 99
just south of Sacramento
and make the long
ramble down south
through the valley.
5
Napa Valley
For an elegant
counterweight to
the Delta’s scrappy
charm, tour Northern
California’s celebrated
wine circuit, just next
door via Hwy 12, which
runs west from Rio Vista.
LINK
YOUR
TRIPCENTRAL.CALIFORNIA.24
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