Delta Breeze

We first learned of “The Delta Breeze” when we were looking at California property in June. We were exploring 55+ communities near San Francisco. The communities were all inland from the Bay and we were told the climate was much warmer, well, to be honest, they were much hotter. But… the Trilogy community in Rio Vista assured us that despite the high temperatures, “The Delta Breeze” tempers the heat and makes life in the town much more comfortable. While visiting the community and standing on an empty lot, dreaming of the home we could build there, we Dreamers noticed the trees on the verge of the golf course. The trees that were all leaning 30° to the left. The trees that were shaped by the “breeze”.  

This tree at the campground is similar to those we saw on the golf course.

To understand the “breeze” one needs to know a bit about the topography of this area in California. To the west we have the huge bay in San Francisco, with the cold, Pacific Ocean feeding into it. Then we have a large delta area surrounding the Sacramento River and other tributaries on the east side of the bay, all surrounded by hills. As the sun beats down on the inland hills it warms the land, and the air. The hot air rises. As the hot air rises, it leaves a vacuum and pulls surrounding air into the area. The air along the river delta funnels into the void, creating a breeze. The breeze made up of cooler air from the bay funnels through the hills along the delta…. thus the name. 

From the Internet

We have been hop-scotching from campground to campground in the bay area. I originally made reservations at three of the campgrounds just north of San Francisco figuring we would use the campgrounds as a “jumping off” points for exploring communities in the area. Recently we stayed at a beautiful park on Sherman Island, just north of Antioch and a good bit south of Sacramento. The reviews for the park were all positive… with the exception of comments about the wind:

• If you like the wind this is the place for you
• It can get very windy here
• For starters, yes, it is very windy here

There are wind farms across the river, and watching the blades slowly turn is relaxing. 

The park is remote, and yes, the road to the park is very narrow and bumpy, but it is also rarely traveled. We love the park, which has roomy sites and roads covered in pavers. It is quiet… well, except for the wind and the flapping of the toppers over our slide-outs! 

Mr. Dreamy has an anemometer for his phone. This is the screen shot from one reading he took. Gusts up to 30 mph! Generally the wind was anywhere from 10-20 mph. We measured one gust at 41 mph! Wow! After walking dogs in the winds it makes me appreciate just how strong the winds were for Hurricane Irma.