Giving Thanks and Looking Back at 2023

On this Thanksgiving Day, californiafallcolor.com is thankful for this year’s color spotters who are the heart and soul of making this website happen. In a year of transition to new ownership, we appreciate your patience, understanding and encouragement as we navigated the busy world of fall color in California.

For 2023 they are as follows:

Philip Reedy, Samantha Lindberg, Angie Plaisted, Michael Beatley, Jeff Simpson, Betsy Forsyth, Peter Asco, John Poimiroo, Dakota Snider, Liz Grans, Alicia Vennos, Lucas Yan, Amanda Carlson, Robin Roberts, Jim Adams, Jennifer Natale, Michelle Pontoni, Michelle English, Jeff Titcomb, Jake Edwards, Rodgersl Duncan, Gary Hromada, Peter Robbins, Clayton Peoples, Shanda Ochs, Dave Pabinquit, Hanna Summers, Risa Wyatt, Brandon Downey, Gary Skipper II, Ruth Hartman, Bob Blesse, Christopher Adkins, Gary Young, Lance Pifer, Vishal Mishra, Tom Pitts, Tim Vandehey, Zhibin Guan, Betty Bishop, Karen Kleven, Beth Reid, Jim Van Matre, Ellie Hinrichs, Matt Snoozle, Sharon Jiang.

If somehow we missed you, please know it wasn’t intentional. We are truly indebted to every contributor.

As the new Publisher and Editor of the site, I did not fully understand the full breadth of what the site’s Founder, John Poimiroo, had created until I dove in this year. The level of passion and excitement for fall color in the Golden State is extreme and beautiful. It was more than I could have ever imagined, which just goes to show we have something pretty special here.

The amount of content we received this year was astounding and I often had difficulties keeping up with postings. However, just as I would be on the brink of frustration that I wasn’t doing the site justice, one of you would send an encouraging word or comment and I’d be off and running again.

Again, I appreciate everyone’s patience as I learned the ropes and found my groove. I’ll only get better from here!

Special thanks are expressed to Inyo County Tourism, Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, Mono County Tourism, Destination Plumas County and Roadsurfer for underwriting California Fall Color, and to the many reporters and media who carried our reports and gave attention to what we have shown about California’s fall color.

Our deepest thanks go to the more than 68,000 readers who read, followed, reacted to and commented here and on our social media pages. You are still, after all, the reason we do this.

Special thanks to my newborn son, Will. Your entrance into this world gave me the time and the opportunity to work on this site, and the adventure became a bonding experience for us. And to my husband and daughter for putting up with me as I took on a new endeavor that took time away from them.

The photographs selected for this year’s video represent the Best of the Week photos from this year’s weekly reports. They demonstrate some of the finest photography of 2023. To be considered for the video, photos must be high resolution (300 dpi), not watermarked, and submitted within one week of capturing them.

A special thanks to my good friend, Dakota Snider, for putting together this year’s video. You are an all-around good human and I thank you for your friendship.

And of course, I would be remiss not to thank the man who created this site and has mentored me through this first season. I will forever be indebted to the talented Mr. John Poimiroo for passing on his passion project to me.

While autumn doesn’t end today, we begin to dial back reports and will post less frequently. We’ve also stopped sending weekly updates to meteorologists, travel and outdoor writers.

So, enjoy your Thanksgiving Day and plan an Orange Friday of fall color spotting, tomorrow.

California – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – In our hearts, California is always at its best. We’ll see you next autumn, dude.