Awesome Autumn

Leaf-peeper Reports 2009

Please scroll down the page for previous reports from this week

 
 

 

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October 10, 2009

Botanists , water experts weigh in

 Here’s some varying opinions on what’s happening with fall foliage from three guys, all named Jim!

 (Accompanied by photos of Indian Valley and Quincy taken Thursday by Joe Willis.)

 Botanists Jim Battagin and Jim Belsher-Howe have been watching for color and both are hoping the upcoming rain we are expecting next week on Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct. 13-14), along with the cold weather we have had in the mornings will help get things going. But their opinions vary on how much moisture impacts the color change.

 Battagin  believes many trees have leaves that are somewhat fragile due to the dry climate and a strong wind just may blow them all off the trees!   But Belsher-Howe doesn’t think that will happen, and says the precipitation has been on the “normal” side and won’t greatly affect the color change.

 Belsher-Howe reports that warmer weather (except for the past week) has perhaps slowed down the changing foliage.  He also reports that “maple leaf scorch” in the Big Leaf maple species – spread by insects, is creating some problem for those plants.

 Meanwhile Jim Wilcox, who is a watershed resource specialist working out of the eastern side of Plumas County, has been scouting aspens this week. He reports the trees closest to water are turning brighter, while those in dryer areas are not looking as good. He sent this shot of aspen (at left) off the Genesee-Antelope Road, two miles west of Antelope Lake. Wilcox urges leaf-peepers to head to the wettest areas of the forest , as well as along creekbeds and lakes.

October 9, 2009

Creekside color on the way to Bucks Lake

Mike Nellor of Ada's Place cottages in Quincy has been scouting color on  the way to Bucks Lake west of Quincy. "The Indian Rhubarb is starting to show red, and the alders as usual are very beautiful. Rosehips and Mountain Dogwoods are also turning around Deer, Slate and Rock Creek."

Nellor sent these images around his favorite spots, showing beautiful transition stages in Big Leaf Maple (above left),  creekside Indian Rhubarb (right) and Mountain Dogwood (below.)

Nellor also reports that he's had foliage watchers staying with him that heard about Plumas County on KGO Radio. The Visitors Bureau will appear once again for the third consecutive time on the San Francisco radio travel show, "On the Go with KGO" in the 7 am hour this Saturday to let listeners know what's happening with fall color! 

October 8, 2009

The fall colors are sneaking up around every corner

We are getting pretty excited here at the Visitors Bureau because we know the peak of fall color is coming up in just a couple weeks. There is evidence of mother nature beginning to dress up the trees in oranges, yellows and reds. The weather is getting cooler in the evenings, so we are warming ourselves by our fireplaces and waking up to frost on the grass and on the cars in the morning. Here are a few snapshots of "celebrity trees" around the Quincy area that are just getting started.

These Silver Maples are near the Plumas District Hospital, on Bucks Lake Road. They are a bright red now, but the show isn't over, in another week or so, these trees will be a brilliant orangey-red.

From the top of "Cemetery Hill" overlooking downtown Quincy, you can see how all of the Oaks and Maples are just starting to turn color at the tips of the branches, soon these trees are really going to POP!

If you have a favorite fall spot that you like to hike, bike, or fish in Plumas County, please send us your photos- we would love to share them with all of our 'leaf-peeping" friends!

October 7, 2009

What do fall foliage, beer and and belly dancing have in common?

They're all part  of Mountain Harvest Festival, a fun day of music, and microbrews happening this Saturday (Oct. 10) at the Plumas-Sierra Fairgrounds in Quincy! The event from noon to 6 pm features performances by two local belly dance troupes (cabaret and tribal)

Headlining the musical entertainment is folk roots band Marley's Ghost, and the Bourgeois Gypsies also will be onstage.

It does seem like the foliage is getting a late start,  but with all the great weather, what's to keep you indoors? While we're waiting for the leaves to turn, there's plenty of things to enjoy throughout the county, such as golf (with late season specials), canoeing, hiking or biking.

If you're still wondering what to do, get ready for Halloween at the Graeagle Pumpkin Patch at Graeagle Park on Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, with lots of activities for the kiddos. Also, down in Sierra City, it's the annual Octoberfest, complete with "oompah" band, arts and crafts booths, and plenty of food.

While you're out there, be sure to report back here your fall foliage sightings so we can keep everyone informed!

October  5, 2009

Quincy maples are starting... 

Joe Willis of Quincy sent in these photos and his report around Quincy over the weekend:

In early October around Quincy, the anticipation is just as exciting as the real thing.  While the great maples of Quincy won't peak for another couple of weeks, many of the trees are now sporting o v0214

0ne bright red leaf, or one bright red branch, which stands out against the remaining green.  Also, while the appearance of our evergreen forests won't change much, the various plants in the undergrowth can be quite 0.

Quincy High School as seen from the Safeway parking lot, the prettiest little maple in front of Moon's restaurant, the sweet gum in front of the courthouse.

Check out Joe's closeups of maple-- the red veins in a lime green leaf, a fully turned maple and the 50-50 look of an Oregon Grape!

Joe reports that ground cover is also showing some beautiful changes, notably the dogbane (below) and the bracken ferns which are turning a deep yellow. Says Joe, "They literally shine against the brown beds of pine needles and are quite visible from most highways at this elevation, 3000-4000'."

October  2, 2009

Some trees are starting to get into the fall spirit -- such as these non-native ornamentals near the Beckwourth Ranger Station in Graeagle. But most of Plumas County is still at 15-30 percent. We're getting calls from leaf-peepers heading to the Eastern Sierra (which should be at peak this weekend.)

Check out our partner site: www.californiafallcolor.com, which is doing a great job of tracking fall color throughout the entire state!

Lassen Volcanic National Park is starting to see some changes.  Shanda, from the visitors center at the park, tells us that the willows, serviceberry and currant are beginning to show in the Hat Creek area.  She also said that the shrubs and grasses are turning in the park, but not so much with the aspens yet.  Some of them have red on them where the rest of the tree is still green, so overall they're at about 25 percent.

Mother Nature is nudging the color change along in most areas of the county.  Annette from Gray Eagle Lodge in the Lakes Basin area thinks "the leaves are confused right now",  but that they will be showing their glorious fall colors soon.

We have cold weather predicted for the next couple of weeks, and even have a forecast of possible snow showers at around 4,500 feet this weekend.  The cold nights will really get the color process going.  We recommend that you layer your clothing if you happen to be up in our neck of the woods.  It's been pretty chilly in the mornings!  Keep checking our blog, we'll keep you posted for the most up to date fall color reports.

October 1, 2009

This IS the month for fall foliage, but we're still in the lime green and pinkish mode of color throughout most of Plumas County, as evidenced by these photos from Spanish Creek just outside the Visitors Center in Quincy. The Indian Rhubarb along the creekbed is sporting various shades as it makes its way through the seasonal change. There's a bit of red showing in the chokecherry (with red berries), but the majority of plants are still green, including the oaks and Big Leaf maple shown below along the Cascades trail. But no worries, the weather has definitely changed to fall -- most locals are now making fires at night -- and in a few weeks the county will be ablaze with color. Meanwhile, we'll share a Robert Frost poem sent to us by Rex Burress of Oroville, who is among leaf-peepers awaiting the color! Don't forget to call or email for your free leaf-peeper car sign, and stop in for a leaf-peeper kit!

September 30, 2009

Here's a couple of Mark Twain quotes to start off our leaf-peeping day:

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Innocents Abroad

And in a letter to the San Francisco Alta California, published June 23, 1867, Twain writes:

"...nothing so liberalizes a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel and contact with many kinds of people..” And leaves!

Well, okay we added that last line, but we hope Twain’s prose is good incentive to get folks out of the house and onto the open road to witness nature’s seasonal wonders up here in Plumas County!

If you’re a Mark Twain aficionado, you’ll not want to miss internationally renowned actor and speaker, McAvoy Layne as he “ghosts” Mark Twain onstage this Saturday at the 6^th annual Plumas National Forest Fall Fest in Quincy.

Layne will be onstage at 1:30 pm to spin tales both tall and short on the historical culture and humor of the mountain towns across the west. There also will be musical performances and all sorts of hands-on educationally fun activities for kids and adults.

September 29, 2009

Whoa- it is WINDY today!! We sure hope the leaves hang on so they have a chance to change color! Don't worry, they will!!! Joe Willis and his family took a drive around the Indian Valley and La Porte this weekend and he writes to us of his adventure:

The serviceberry is turning bright red along Highway 89 either side of the Taylorsville turnoff (Arlington Road), and is mingled with the bitter cherry (pictured here last week). 

There are a few California Black Oaks turning red like this one, but most are still green or yellow.  These are along Highway 89 also, but are all over the county between 3,000 and 5,000 feet elevation. 

The young willows turning yellow are alongside the Middle Fork of the Feather on the La Porte Road.

The highlight of our Sunday drive was up the canyon of Big Thompson Creek which is on a forest service road off the La Porte Road to the right about 4 miles from Hwy 70 just east of Quincy.  A week ago we saw only one dogwood with red leaves.  This time there were many in all stages from green to yellow to bright red, and some were also adorned with clusters of red berries. 

We then continued along the La Porte Road and stopped by the Middle Fork of the Feather where we saw lots of riverside wildflowers as well as willows turning yellow.  Then, a mile further, by the Nelson Creek Bridge we saw lots of Big Leaf Maple that had turned yellow.  Actually, there were maples, here and there, along the entire trip, but the biggest leaves and the brightest yellow were by Nelson Creek.

There are also ripe blue elderberries all around the area.  I would think most of the same colors can be seen now along the lower Bucks Lake Road and by Keddie Cascades.

September 28, 2009

We're off to a good start with leaf-peeping! It's always exciting to see the first bits of color -- kind of like seeing the first stars in the sky at night.

Sam Lawson of Graeagle checked out the Middle Fork Feather River near the Mohawk Bridge over the weekend with his mom. Willows are turning lime green as they slowly shift into yellow mode (photo shows the old Mohawk Hotel in the background, next to the Mohawk Tavern.)

The cottonwoods along the river have a few branches turning yellow (as Sam is pointing out.) Looking into the river, Sam found a few colored leaves floating by (Cottonwood and aspen) and then ran into a patch of chokecherry turning nicely red on Little Bear Road between the Beckwourth Ranger Station and Hwy. 89 at Blairsden. He also was excited to see lots of deer tracks!

GET YOUR FREEBIES! Leaf-peepers should get armed with a copy of the Plumas County Fall Color Guide and map, which describes best fall color best fall color routes.  Order one here.

Keep your windshield free of dirt and splattered bugs with a free Awesome Autumn Leaf-Peeper kit, which includes a travel-sized spritzer of windshield cleaner and sturdy towels in a Smokey Bear  trash bag. Keep it in your car for cleaning windows between service station visits. You can pick up the kits at visitors centers and chamber of commerce offices in Chester, Quincy, Greenville, Graeagle and Portola.

Be safe and humorous on the roadways with a free sign for car rear windows that reads: “Plumas County Leaf-Peeper: Makes Frequent Stops.”  These signs are proven to alert other drivers and keep them smiling as you slow for stunning foliage! Stop into our Visitors Center at the airport in Quincy, or email us with your address and we’ll mail one out to you.

September 22, 2009

Today’s the autumnal equinox – making it officially fall!  And today we welcome back leaf-peepers to “Awesome Autumn”  -- the official fall-foliage tracking blog for the Northern Sierra forests of Plumas County – now in its 12th year.

Beginning today, we’ll be collecting  reports from local and visiting leaf-peepers on where color is happening, from creekbeds to mountaintops, along highways and off-road. There will be photos and posts on a variety of species at elevations ranging from 2,000 to 6,000 feet.

Shades of red, orange, yellow and brown already have begun to appear, and eventually will “pop” out against a canvas of dark evergreen, granite and blue sky. But don't worry -- there's plenty of time to get up here to see Mother Nature's dazzling show -- peak week doesn't occur until the third or fourth week in October.

Amateur botanist and teacher Joe Willis of Quincy is the first leaf-peeper to out and about in the forest, and sends this report:

The bitter cherry (at left and above) is turning red all along 89 from Keddie to Greenville.  I got one shot overlooking Spanish Creek near the end of Quarry Road, and the one with berries near the Taylorsville T. 

The scarlet honeysuckle is a nice splash of late blooming bush near Plumas Charter School.  There are several great displays of Virginia Creeper turning red around Quincy.  My photo is from the fence by the fairgrounds. 

Then there're several nice maples turning red across the street from Moon's.  Some of the best color right now is the berries of mountain ash and blue elderberry.  Most of the Big Leaf maple I've seen seems to be turning brown, but some will probably still turn bright yellow. 

The black oaks are looking like they're going to have a lot of red, orange and yellow soon.  The service berry alongside the railroad tracks near Crescent Mills is just beginning to turn.  In another week or so it should be bright red.  In the lower canyon by Cherokee Saturday there are impressive displays of bright red poison oak, but the larger broadleaf trees are still green.

Happy Peeping!

Check back on this web site each day for new updates -- fall foliage leaf-peeping season has begun!