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The 53 Town Pledge:
CDPs
Norris Canyon - Rollingwood
Last update: February 18, 2021
Norris Canyon 5/17/19 (pop 957) This CDP is at the very southern end of Contra Costa County. Norris Canyon Road runs through it but nowhere does it say one is entering or leaving it. This, however, looked promising. It's a gated community and the lady at the entrance verified that this place is actually in Norris Canyon. By the way, the Realtor.com website said the median list price of a home here is nearly $2,500,000. I'll write a check.
North Gate 2/18/21 (pop 679) First of all, there seems to be two things wrong with this sign denoting the entry to the small CDP of North Gate. First, why does the "N" look so funky? More importantly, North Gate is two words. Go figure. Anyway, this CDP is a little south of Concord, a little east of Walnut Creek, and a little west of Clayton. Lotsa horses in this upscale place, maybe more than people.
Pacheco 10/20/20 (pop 3,685) About 150 years ago, Pacheco was a pretty big deal, the big commercial center of Contra Costa. Then the shipping channel was destroyed by fires, floods, and an earthquake, and that was that. I used my GPS to find the place. Although I found nothing of interest, it's nice to know you can get there by bus if you want to.
North Richmond 8/29/19 (pop 3,717) I was disappointed to find that I couldn't take my old paint cans to my local recycling center. That and two long fluorescent bulbs. And what WAS the third thing I had to take? Such a long way for such an essential service. I made my drop-off, took in four other cities and CDPs, came home and saw the bag full of pills past their expiration date. Dang.
Rodeo 8/31/20 (pop 8,679) The northwestern shore of Contra Costa County has some small towns with some big-ass industry. This is the San Francisco Refinery, currently operated by Phillips 66. It's HUGE! There are other equally intimidating oil refineries in the area.
Rollingwood 2/3/21 (pop 2,969) Yet another CDP with (to my knowledge) nothing to offer visitors who have no one there to visit. In the flatlands near Richmond, just of I-80, this intersection is (according to my GPS) the center. I'm here. I'm done.
Reliez Valley 05/18/20 (pop 3,101) Are you confused? So was I. This sign is located at what my GPS defined as the center of Reliez Valley. Either it's a very skinny CDP or my GPS is wrong, or perhaps Lafayette is trying to gain squatter's rights by putting its sign here. Whatever. If Lafayette is on the other side of the sign, then I'm standing in Reliez Valley.
Port Costa 8/31/20 (pop 190) I didn't expect this place to be a small hippie town, but so it is. The downtown sits on a dead-end street, Canyon Lake Dr. This is a sample of local politics. The current mayor seems to be under attack. The writing in the lower right corner reads "Paid for any the Committee to Finally Elect a Legitimate Scapegoat." What a town!
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