Sycamore Island

The Perfect Day!

Last weekend, Linda and I had an amazing adventure at Sycamore Island in Madera, California. With the weather near perfect and close to 70 degrees, we loaded up our 6-month-old Sheprador, Kobe, in our Jeep and made our there. The prime shedding season had Kobe's hair swirling all around as the wind buffeted us from the open windows; just another large dog thing we're adjusting to. The day was beautiful, with big fluffy white clouds against a crystal-clear blue sky. The recent rains have made this area even more striking, with more water throughout Sycamore Island than either of us had ever seen before. It was the perfect day to go on a hike and explore nature.

Sycamore Island is located along the San Joaquin River just South of Valley Children's Hospital 

Sycamore Island is located along the San Joaquin River just South of Valley Children's Hospital and we walked in just under Freeway 41 close to Cobb Ranch. We chose to hike, as we wanted to take in the beauty of the area and explore its many trails. Our hike was a total of 5.33 miles and we had such an amazing time.

As we started out, we were surrounded by lush green trees and plants. There are many trails to choose from and are all well established, and we could hear loud hum of the river flowing nearby. Kobe was thrilled to be out in nature and ran around us, exploring his surroundings. We couldn't help but smile at his excitement and enthusiasm. It was contagious!

We made our way to the river, where we stopped to take in the breathtaking scenery. The river was flowing rapidly, the current faster than anything I’d ever seen before in my many times out there. Kobe was having the time of his life, playing in the water, and chasing after sticks. It was wonderful to see him enjoying himself so much.

I took several short cell phone videos to send to my good friend Josh whom we helped him and his family move to Arizona around this time last year. Josh and I had a 20-mile mountain bike loop throughout Sycamore Island. We rode this route every Monday and have recorded hundreds of miles out there. I knew he’d get a kick out of seeing just how much water was out there as well as how many of our many trails were currently underwater right now.

"Many of our many trails are underwater right now.

Kobe was having a blast, and we were all feeling happy and carefree. It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful day.

Once we had finished our hike, we decided to head over to Papi's Mexican Restaurant, adjacent to Riverstone in Madera, and as luck would have it, we were able to meet up with our good friends, Glenn and Lorraine Jones. We had a great dinner, laughing and catching up with each other while Kobe sat peacefully under the table, content from his long day of play.

We already can’t wait to go back

After dinner, Lorraine took an incredible picture of Linda and me standing under a huge, billowy white cloud with a rainbow coming out. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

As we drove back home, we couldn't help but feel grateful for the beautiful day we had just experienced. Sycamore Island had once again exceeded all of our expectations, and we already can’t wait to go back.

All said and done, the day was perfect, the scenery was breathtaking, and we got to spend time with good friends.