Posts Tagged With: Old Sacramento

Sacramento CA May 27

Our plans for Sacramento are to visit a few locations downtown. As in Denver, we have no car. We took an Uber to our Residence Inn seemingly near the State Capitol, one of our sites to visit. In retrospect, after walking to Old Sacramento and to the Capitol, other hotels may have involved less walking. Luckily, the temperature will not reach over 100 until Saturday, two days after we leave, so our walking has not been overly strenuous.

One note about Sunday. The train stopped a ways outside of the Roseville, CA station. The conductor announced we were stopped due to freight traffic ahead. Once we were moving and reached the Roseville Amtrak station, the train was met by three Roseville police cars and several police officers. They were concentrated around the coach cars. I believe they took a person off the train, if not into custody. I have observed this before, that Amtrak conductors will brook no misconduct and have no hesitancy in kicking people off the train and calling police if the conductor believes the actions of the passenger warrant it. It is my belief, with no specific knowledge, that the stopping of the train before Roseville was to allow time for the police to arrive.

We arrived at our hotel around 4 PM and took care of details. Chris did the wash, I worked on the blog, we ate at a Mediterranean restaurant around the corner from the hotel.

Monday, Memorial Day, our main activity was a boat ride on the Sacramento River. Both the Sacramento and the American River flow through Sacramento. Old Sacramento is the area along the river where the town began. We walked past the State Capitol to reach the river and discovered construction of a new Capitol Annex building had closed numerous walkways, making our journey a tad more complicated.

Old Sacramento’s historical significance derives from its geographical location. It was the western terminus of the Pony Express, the first transcontinental railroad, and the transcontinental telegraph. Old Sacramento covers almost 300 acres. It has over 50 historical buildings, more than any other area of similar size in the West.

We walked around the area and at the Visitor Center met the docent whose family goes back six generations here in Sacramento. He convinced us to try the Sacramento Underground tour which we were not going to take. Evidently the town buildings were raised about 15 feet to protect them from flooding. We will find out more on the Wednesday tour-which we booked after we returned to the hotel Monday afternoon.

Our river cruise lasted for an hour. We were surprised by several items. First, large numbers of people were fishing from boats and the riverbanks. Evidently, now is time stripers migrate up river to spawn. Second, there is a marker along the river indicating the height of the most notable floods. That marker gave me a better feel why the buildings in Old Sacramento were raised. Third, the water clarity where the American River joins Sacramento River clearly demarked cleaner water from the American. The water in the American generally comes from the mountains while the Sacramento picks up mud and contaminants from the valley.

Fourth, we saw sea lions by the port. Sea lions are not new to us, we just were not expecting to see them this far up the river. Fifth, an interesting sight was the original drinking water intake station just slightly upriver from the new, modern intake system. The juxtaposition made for a chance to reflect on the growth in population and in drinking water treatment over the years.

The river view was not that scenic. The breeze and the awning made the ride pleasant although I could have done without the background music that frequently blocked us from being able to clearly hear the captain’s presentation.

After walking to and around Old Sacramento, I had to wonder how St. Paul would have fared if I-94 had not cut off the State Capitol from downtown. In Sacramento, the state government complex blends into the city, the freeway separates this from Old Sacramento, but that area is more a touristy area than a living and working area. The California Capitol greenway and downtown make a favorable impression, although the Capitol is not a particularly attractive building in our opinion (more on that for Tuesday).As in Denver, neither downtown had many people out and about.

Sacramento’s population is over 500,000 with the metropolitan area around 2.6 million.

Monday the hotel pool called to us. We spent more time in the hot tub and resting our weary bones than in the pool. The hot tub’s rejuvenation was not long lasting. Tuesday we walked to the State Capitol for a one hour tour. This tour guide rarely commented on the architecture or building materials. Our guess-they were not that notable. I take that back, the Capitol is one of the oldest in the West, the guide mentioned the architect, and the same red and green motif in the two legislative chambers was covered. But our distinct impression was blah.

The one big deal was a series of murals depicting four periods of California history. What I thought was dark and foreboding, or simply a dirty canvas, was a result of “tonality”, an artistic method that is meant to contrast light and dark. This one came across as all dark.

Ceiling mural in California Museum

Just a few blocks away is the California Museum. This museum focuses on commonly overlooked stories, reflecting the state’s diverse population and the cultural contributions of all Californians. It took me a little while to get used to its format, generally briefly highlighting people around specific topics. For instance, the second floor, the first section we visited, highlighted activism; people who made a difference in art, politics, sports, culture, etc.

The first floor focused on stories and people around four themes that particularly interested me: incarceration of Japanese Americans in WWII, California Indians, California missions, history and contributions of Chinese Americans. While many stories were uplifting, others honestly portrayed negative actions by government and people. I had to compare these displays to the anti-honesty of the Trump administration and its Interior Secretary mandating that historical information be presented in a positive light. “Negative” facts about our past are to be buried; with visitors to national parks and monuments actively encouraged to report on negative facts presented by Department of the Interior employees. Both Colorado and California are to be commended for accurate portrayals of their state’s history.

Tower Bridge along Sacramento River

Ed and Chris Sacramento CA May 28, 2025