tales from the river city

Summer is a mixed blessing in Sacramento. For some, the oftentimes triple-digit temperatures are just too much, sapping their energies and causing a dependence on the kind of air-conditioned relief that just isn’t cool anymore in these days of rolling blackouts.

Yet for most of us, a little summer sweltering is a small price to pay for the rich rewards that our favorite season brings: long days and warm nights, abundant recreational opportunities, a minimum of clothing covering tanned skin, an infectious spirit of fun and adventure, and the magnetic draw of our rivers.

If you’re one of those people who have a hard time seeing the fun through the heat, hopefully the following section will improve your mindset and perspective, whether you’re reading R.V. Scheide’s hilarious look at local nude beaches, Becca Costello’s call to embrace the summer sizzle with dance, or Jackson Griffith’s tale of his meandering journey down the river.

In addition to singing the praises of summer, the river is a common theme that runs throughout our 2001 Summer Guide. Why? Because, to us, summer in the River City is inseparable from our fluid, cooling, life-affirming nickname-sake.

Summers here are spent in, on or around the rivers. And the significance of rivers to the Sacramento summer experience is … well, perhaps we should just let the stories speak for themselves. So dive on in and enjoy your summer.