Spring in the Great Valley

March is a beautiful month in California. The rainy season is still on, but the sun is warm and strong in between storms. If it's not a drought year, plants blossom, green up, and grow like mad. In the Central Valley, fruit orchards burst into bloom. This orchard is near Interstate 5 north of Los Banos...with the California Aqueduct in the background, carrying irrigation water from north to south through the valley.

Like Portland and Edmonton, Sacramento is a fine river city. It actually has two running through town, the Sacramento and American, with parkways and promenades along both. Here we're on the American River, with the snowy Sierra Nevada sharp in the background. Blow the pic up for a better view. The path on the American runs for dozens of miles; you can hike, bike, rollerblade or jog; or you can take a canoe or kayak down the river. It might appear in this picture that I'm out in the country, but I'm actually right in the middle of the Sac metro area.