July 4th in Plymouth, CA at the Trucks, Tractors and Trikes parade. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)
Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday in Small Town Style
Independence Day in Plymouth, CA at the Trucks, Tractors and Trikes parade
By Katy Grimes, July 6, 2026 8:00 am
As California Governor Gavin Newsom was no-doubt sipping on a PlumpJack Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and trashing the President, California normies took a day off from the vitriol of living in Newsom’s failing state and enjoyed family and friends while celebrating the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, 250 years ago.
In Plymouth, CA, we normals had backyard BBQs, and gathered with family and friends. We weren’t sipping Plumpjack wines and eating crudités. No. We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, smoked tri-tip, and red, white and blue trifle, while drinking incredible Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Viognier from Amador County.
As I have reported before, living in downtown Sacramento for more than 30 years hasn’t always been a picnic. I frequently write about crime, encounters with homeless vagrants in downtown, in my neighborhood, as well as in the park near my house, and oppressive state and local government, all run by Democrats for decades.
A day of celebration was in store on July 4th in Plymouth at the Trucks, Tractors and Trikes parade, as well as a moment of relief.
The streets of cities and towns in Amador County are not lined with squalid homeless tent camps. No one is pooping on the sidewalks in Amador City or Jackson the way they do in San Francisco (home of the public defecation map), Los Angeles and Sacramento.
There are no organized smash-and-grab retail thefts in Sutter Creek or Ione, as Newport Beach experienced Saturday, with over 400 arrests. “Fourth of July celebrations on the Newport Beach Peninsula devolved into chaos, with illegal fireworks, street fights, looting and more than 400 mostly young people arrested within 36 hours,” the LA Times reported.
People are not pushed into oncoming trains the way they are in San Francisco.
Plymouth has no homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny-theft, arson, or even shoplifting to speak of.
Plymouth was decorated patriotically. The July 4th parade opened with the National Anthem, a recitation of the Declaration of Independence by local school kids, and singing Happy Birthday to America!
As this gigantic combine was approaching, the parade MCs asked parents to get their kids out of the street!
Plymouth is at the mouth of the Shenandoah Valley, the wine country of Amador County. There are forty-two wineries located in the heart of the celebrated Sierra foothill Gold Country. And the small towns, Plymouth, Amador City, Drytown, Fiddletown, Pinegrove, Pioneer, Volcano… are nestled into the hills, mountains, near rivers and lakes. And wineries… the fabulous wineries.
There were decorated horses, decorated farm equipment and tractors, big trucks, little trucks, the random decorated car, scooters, golf carts, kiddie cars, and lots of decorated pets… like this darling Miniature Mediterranean Donkey.
When you enter the region on Highway 16, it’s as if you’ve stepped into a portal back to the old west and historic gold country. And the people are genuine and the nicest.
Passengers in the trucks tossed candy to the little ones.
There were some beautifully decorated horses on display.
This little cutie was throwing candy to the kids while trying to drive straight.
This old Jeep had Louis Vuitton seats!
Parade goers placed chairs along the parade route the day before to save their spots. If this was Sacramento, the chairs would have been gone in an hour.
D’Agostini Winery, now Sobon Estate, started in 1856, is the oldest winery in California that still operates today.
No parade is complete without a John Deere tractor.
While everyone was enjoying the parade festivities, a fire broke out nearby. Within minutes, the fire engines left the parade and headed to the fire.
The Landrum Fire, grew quickly, and CalFire arrived to lend assistance.
The parade was swiftly ended, as the parade MC announced that the neighborhood nearest the fire was being evacuated.
Within a couple of hours, we heard the fire was 98% contained and the evacuated neighbors could go back home.
What is normal in California? When kids could walk or ride bikes to school unescorted by parents. When we didn’t lock our doors. When kids could stay outside until dark and play. When a single income was enough for a family. When most families had one car. When we started every day in school with the Pledge of Allegiance and sang America the Beautiful, with our hands over our hearts. When the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were for boys and girls. When anyone who wanted to work could because college wasn’t a prerequisite. When politicians supported business, agriculture and the oil and gas industry in California. When a classical Liberal Arts education was made up of rigorous disciplines from the natural sciences to the fine arts, and teachers taught these disciplines enthusiastically.
And normal in California was when most people did not have to think about politics because elected leaders actually represented constituents, rather than despising them – and when Gavin Newsom was just a privileged punk in San Francisco that most people hadn’t heard of.
It’s always good to get out of the cities and be a part of normal California.
Happy 250th America.
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
- Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday in Small Town Style - July 6, 2026
- President Trump Celebrates America’s 250th While Gavin Newsom Whines - July 5, 2026
- The Declaration of Independence - July 4, 2026
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My small town in California was the same way. It began with the American Legion. The veterans carried the flags and then it was followed with the singing of the National Anthem to open the parade. Next up, the fire trucks, the sheriff, the police, city council, grand marshal, tractors, logging trucks, classic cars, Harley bikes, kids on minibikes, golf carts, local businesses floats, the rodeo queen and princesses, a lot of horses, horseback search and rescue. All the floats are decorated with red white and blue, American flags and some had quotes from the Declaration of Independence. American flags were handed out to everyone lining the street and candy, Otter Pops and toys were tossed to the kids. It was a fun time.