Rancho Seco Proves a Dead Nuke is a Good Nuke

I have always wanted to explore some undeveloped land in the southern end of Sacramento County, near the Consumnes River . So, we decided to go out yesterday on a walk sponsored by the Sacramento Walking Sticks. They sponsored a roughly 10K self-paced hike through both the Rancho Seco Recreational Area, which is owned by the SMUD, the local public power utility, and the Nature Conservancy's adjacent Howard Ranch property. It was beautiful, and we are still in our short wildflower season, before everything turns brown in May. The walk started near the man made lake, and went on for most of its duration through beautiful rolling prairie that formed a beautiful Monetesque foreground for Rancho Seco's long idle cooling towers. This picture doesn't do justice to the true of this prarie, but it can give you an idea.


The wildflowers were beautiful!



It was strange that this land was completely free of California poppy (Eschscholzia californica).

And, as an extra attraction the ranch had several. . . Vernal Pools!!!.


Lots of people were fishing in the lake,which I found interesting because the lake's original purpose was to be part of a Nuclear power plant's cooling system. I wonder if anyone caught anything like Blinky, the three - eyed fish. Actually, this nuclear power plant's story is pretty interesting. The power plant was decommissioned because it rarely worked well enough to produce electricity, and suffered one major screw up that came close to creating a meltdown, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I did a little investigation, and I think I found the cause of the mishap. . .


The guys in the black suits claimed the other guy was filling in for Homer Simpson that day.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.