Where to Wednesday: Nuclear Power Plant
I have begun organizing fieldtrips on Wednesday afternoons since that is the day that all of the kindergarteners (i.e. my son’s classmates) get out of school before noon. For my first trip I suggested a playdate on the beach, as the weather here has remained rather warm. Since we don’t actually live near the ocean, the closest beach I could come up with was at Rancho Seco Park - home of Sacramento’s former nuclear power plant.
Rancho Seco was operational from 1975 – 1989. It offered quite a bit of controversy for Sacramentans, and its constant shutdowns became the source of severe ridicule. In 1984 Rancho Seco was on the NRC’s list of the ten worst nuclear plants in the U.S. in overall assessment of management performance. In 1989 a measure was put on the ballot to close Rancho Seco, which was approved by the voters.
Despite its failure at achieving the promised energy cost savings for Sacramentans, it has succeeded at becoming a very nice park. Now managed by SMUD and the Department of Water Resources, a 160-acre lake within the park is a popular weekend destination among locals. A roped-off swimming section offers plenty of shallow water to play in, not to mention pleasantly warm water. The lake is also big enough to do some kayaking and winds kick up in the afternoon, making it an ideal spot for small sailboats and windsurfers. I have previously gone on the weekend, which was pretty busy with families using the picnic tables and BBQ pits to compliment a day of swimming. Today, however, there was hardly anyone else around. This was ideal for us to appreciate how truly clear the water is. Clear enough to see small fish swimming around our feet, and we even had one crawdad sighting. The iconic (now empty) twin towers may turn off Sacramentans who are embarrassed at how poorly Rancho Seco operated back in the day. For me, it offers an interesting tale of local history to recount once we’ve enjoyed the Rancho Seco Park of today.
Picture above was originally printed by the Sacramento Bee.
I’ll tell ya…that’s something I’ll miss about Minneapolis – all the lakes and activities that surround them. And we live 5 minutes from a beach. Walking distance.
Lora, only you can make a park/lake, next to a nuclear power plant, sound appealing!