Things to Do in Rio Linda

Air rushes past you at 120 miles per hour while the California countryside unfolds thousands of feet below. Blue sky and empty space surround you, and the voice of your U.S. Parachute Association–rated instructor is the only sound you can hear above the wind. At 4,500 feet, the instructor pulls the parachute cord, and the two of you gently drift down to land in 32 acres of open, unobstructed grass. This is what divers experience during tandem skydives or jumps as a part of the Accelerated Freefall program at Skydive Sacramento.

Pilots at the helm of a 15-passenger King Air twin turbine, a four-passenger Cessna 182, or a five-passenger Cessna 206 take students to altitudes of up to 13,000 in as few as 15 minutes. Fitted securely with harnesses and chutes, participants can ask their diving instructor questions about the sport before plunging from the plane in a hands-on free fall and canopy flight, during which they learn steering and hot-air-balloon-avoidance tactics. Though the instructors cater to first-time divers, they also coach more experienced students toward their skydiving license. Instructors, many with 2,000 dives under their belt, also teach students to land in a main grass landing area or a high-performance area with swoop pond.

At various points throughout its history, the cavernous interior of Hermann Sons' Hall has served as a schoolhouse, a roller rink, and a music hall. Today, the echoes of those past incarnations can hardly be heard over the whizzing of paintballs as players take cover from multicolored crossfire behind manmade barriers. Shooters All-Season Paintball’s owners have certainly put their mark on the building, which now joins five outdoor battlefields as part of their sprawling paintball complex.

When they aren’t crouching behind the indoor field’s obstacles, players test their luck against the trees and thickets outside on more than 23 acres, enlisting woodland creatures as scouts and greeting opponents with a barrage of paintballs as they emerge from their leafy hiding places. Shooters is also redesigning their attach & defend field to go along with the newly redesigned and enlarged hyperball field. Showing respect and gratitude to Mother Nature for allowing them to play in her backyard, the company equips players with eco-friendly, nontoxic paintballs and biodegradable BBs. Shaded picnic areas allow visitors a chance to rest and relax after working up an appetite on the fields.

Since breaking ground for Viña Castellano in 1999, the Mendez family has built an empire of Spanish wines complete with a treasure trove of gold and silver medals. Along with winery foreman Derek Irwin, the family specializes in the complex flavors of Tempranillo, Syrah, and Verdejo grapes. In the tasting room, visitors can sip new pressings and old favorites, and pick up a fine cigar to hilariously slip into a packet of exploding cigars.

Art teacher Kimberly Godinho sees her studio as a haven for students who might be otherwise afraid of exploring their artistic sides. Her background includes earning her bachelor degree in fine arts, and her current work as a professional artist underscores her expertise. Heartened by friends and wine, visitors of all experience levels follow Kimberly’s instructions to brush up the chosen project, which may include wine glass tableaus, pastoral landscapes, and the inky insides of a camera’s lens cap. All materials are included with each class, including canvas, paints, and smocks.

Bicycle Plus’s staff, a group of avid cyclists, brings an acute awareness to bike sales and tune-ups, garnering the store a series of awards for excellent bicycle retailing. Veteran mechanics work their magic on ailing frames throughout basic tune-ups and complete overhauls in the service department while finding time to teach curious DIYers how to fix a flat tire with peanut butter during free weekly bike-maintenance classes. The sales team pairs up shoppers with glossy rides from Trek, Specialized, and Colnago using the doctor-devised Body Geometry bike-fitting system to ensure maximum riding comfort.

This is not a 'mainstream' zoo," notes Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary on their website. "People who 'don't like zoos' are generally comfortable here." Perhaps that's because the center is more animal sanctuary than public zoo. Since 1963, it has taken in wild animals that have been injured in the wild, orphaned at an early age, or rejected as exotic pets by their owners. The sanctuary's staff provides lifelong homes for these animals, not only keeping them fed and cared for, but also engaging their mental and physical abilities through creative enrichment activities. Of course, education is a major focus, as well, which is why they invite visitors in to meet their boarders. The black bear exhibit showcases a few of these rescued creatures. Its glass viewing panels look into the habits of bears such as Sequoia, who was dropped off anonymously at a wildlife facility, and Marty, who was shot in the hip. Elsewhere, rescued red-tailed hawks perch inside an aviary, and a canine area showcases wolves, dogs, and everything in between.

North American species such as these occupy most of the habitats, but zookeepers also rescue the occasional exotic animal. They saved Orinoco, a squirrel monkey that came from a research facility, and Misty and Pouncer, a pair of mixed species tigers rescued from an illegal breeding facility. By telling these stories, the zookeepers hope to discourage the public from keeping wild animals as pets. Instead, they invite visitors to take active roles through volunteer initiatives and a junior zookeeper program.