swimmin\’ holes

Hello world!  I have an exciting trip to share with you today, and the rest of the week,  Cache Creek. I will be exploring a facet of the Creek each day this week.  Lucky you, it took me two weeks to explore the entire creek. Two weeks of mosquito bites, sun burns and skinned knees. You get to skip to the good parts without the inconvenience.  I found not only the best swimmin’ holes on the Creek, but two urban camping sites as well.  First off, make sure you have your life vest and a friend with you.  This is not tame little creek, this is a raging water way with several class two rapids to explore. Also, have a set of regular “city” type clothing available, Cache Creek Casino is on the banks of Cache Creek itself and a really awesome place. Cache Creek Casino offers fine dining, full casino which includes slots machines, roulette, black jack, and a bunch of games I couldn’t identify. To get to the Cache Creek area from Sacramento you have a number of options.  My personal favorite is Old Highway 16 which is accessible from West Sacramento at Reed Avenue.  At any rate no matter which freeway you choose, Highway 16, I-80 West to 505 North, which ever way you choose to travel, you will find yourself at the lovely little four block wide town of Madison, CA.  A truly memorable burg for no other reason than the fact the city is literally four blocks wide. Continue West on Highway 16 and follow the signs to Cache Creek Casino.  Keep your eyes open for the first stop on the Cache Creek urban camping tour, County Road 87.  County Road 87 is on your right side as you travel down Highway 16 and is the home of a County “Open Space Park” that provides access to a pretty neat little rafting spot on Cache Creek.  There are willows near the banks and the river moves fast enough to provide an excellent spot for teaching a neophyte how to control a raft or kayak.  Swimming is a bit sketchy at this particular access spot and I cannot encourage the use of life jackets enough for this particular creek.  It looks benign but I found some pretty strong currents and quite a bit of underwater roots and trees. This is a great spot for picnicking if you have no real aversion to the sun.  Trees in this particular part of California are in short supply, so bring the big bottle of sun screen.  Parking is ample and even on the weekend there were no crowds so if you were careful you could manage a bit of nude sunbathing. You can’t see the park from the highway and County Road 87 is travelled very little.  Another interesting fact, Cache Creek does not have the alcohol restrictions that the American and Sacramento Rivers are now subjected to.  I am not an advocate of drunken swimming or rafting but a nice cold beer on a hot summer day always hits the spot and it seems kind if unfair that a bunch of what I like to refer to as the idiota caused the Powers That Be (PTB) to take away our right to a cold beer. It was a great spot that I will definitely revisit time and time again. Tune in tomorrow for a full review of the Casino which is the next stop on our Cache Creek exploration vacation.

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