Tipsy from a Trip to the Sanger Countryside

Not very far from the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley and a little more than a stone’s throw from the Sierra Nevada Mountains that line the eastern parts of the state is a paradisiacal piece of land. Even in the middle of CA’s hot, dry summers, when the landscape turns tan from the aridity, this place retains its greenery. Here you’ll see some farmland, a walnut orchard, a vineyard, and large ponds adorned with lotuses and water lilies. You’ll hear a cluck-cluck here and a moo-moo there and you’ll hear them goats too — all these creatures coexisting in this bucolic land, oblivious of the many fishes that call those ponds home. And we got to spend some time in idyllic Sanger countryside for a few days and weren’t they rejuvenating!

They were the most refreshing few days in a long, long time. The year and a half that led up to these few August days (pun intended) were totally under the control of covid19 and not only had we been living a life different from what we thought normal, but we hadn’t been able to travel *properly.

Our most welcome break began when we drove off the asphalt and onto some unpaved, bumpy roads that ran through a rustic landscape that was bathed in soft, evening light.

We watched the twilight skies and said hello to a gecko on the porch of the little farmhouse that would be our home for the next few days. Even the mosquitos came out to say they hellos and give us a few pecks. Ah! Country life, how I’ve missed you!

We don’t even live in the city anymore. The suburban area we call home is also surrounded by some farms and rolling hills but in the summer and fall, you miss the greenery (and every now and then, there’s the smell of the smoke from the fires that have sadly become a part of Californian Summers. I love my fairly close-knit community with friendly faces and houses that obey a grey-brown-beige color palette for my normal, everyday life. But I love my breaks in the mountains, seaside, and countryside, too)

There’s nothing like waking up in the countryside, looking out the window and seeing vast stretches of rich green. There’s nothing like poultry ‘good morning greetings,’ and morning tea on a porch overlooking rustic landscapes kissed in a sunshiny glow.

There’s nothing like a few slow, almost lazy days, walking through orchards, getting your feet all muddy, picking some grapes, kids getting to pet some goats’ kids, trying to learn how to fish and then letting your catch go, and all of that.

Thank you Sanger countryside for recharging us just before the start of the school year/a new year of my life. (It was our sole trip of the summer/my birthday trip. 😉 )

This was one of the most refreshing trips we’d gone on for a long time, now. (During our stay we also got to visit Kings Canyon National Park. And as usual, I got my high from the drive and the sights but I feel we should spend some time in the countryside a little more often.) What’s your story? Did you get to take a break from the stay-at-home year-and-a-half that taught us so much? What’s your kind of vacation? Do you like your breaks in the countryside? Any rustic destinations you would highly recommend?

Places to visit near here

Sequoia National Park, California
Kings Canyon National Park, CA
Yosemite

Linking to —
Our World
&
My Corner of the World

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Come, Trip with us.  😉 😉