The state of California dodged a bullet this winter with rains that managed to erase three years of drought.
If these rains hadn't arrived this year, California would be looking at even more insurmountable problems than it already faces from its mushrooming population.
What surprised me most was the whining, from people who should know better, about how miserable they were from all the rain throughout the winter when in truth we should all have been bowing down and performing ritualistic dances for the rain gods who were blessing us with their bounty.
The train ride through the Salinas Valley, which usually looks brown and parched, was one of the most extraordinarily beautiful landscape vistas I've ever witnessed.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any more psychedelically green...
...the train traversed the Cuesta Grade between Atascadero and San Luis Obispo...
...where the state flower had run amok on the hillsides.
Even better, my mother was recovering beautifully from surgery and the world felt renewed.
I've only ever taken the Coast Starlight north, and yeah, it ended up 12 hours late in Seattle. I shall cast every vote they give me for high-speed rail from Sacramento to San Diego.
ReplyDeleteBut jaysus, those explosions of California Poppies are magnificent. Nice reminder that we do, indeed, live in the promised land.
Welcome back to the promised land, Jackson. I had read that you'd recently become the new god of valleywag. Congrats and I'm glad you're back for a while. And yes, the California poppies were fucking amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear your mother is doing better.
ReplyDeleteWow, those California poppies look pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteGlad your mom is feeling better, Mike.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my mom said she really likes your blog.
Still waiting on the guest passes at the Oakland Museum. I'm going to visit this afternoon.