Black oak, Grass Valley (11/8/17) Robert Kermen
Bigleaf maple, Grass Valley (11/8/17) Robert Kermen
Red maple, Grass Valley (11/8/17) Robert Kermen
Black oak, bigleaf maple, red maple and gingko biloba were at peak today in Grass Valley, color spotter Robert Kermen reports, a sure sign that the Gold Country is a Peak of the Week destination for this weekend.
Grass Valley (2,411′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Gingko biloba, Grass Valley (11/8/17) Robert Kermen
Redwood Empire Fair, Ukiah, Mendocino County (11/7/17) Walt Gabler
These colors don’t run, Mendocino County (11/7/17) Walt Gabler
Compared to Napa and Sonoma counties, very few #MendoStrong signs can be seen, now that it has been weeks since the wine country fires occurred, reports Mendocino County color spotter Walt Gabler.
Walt was a first responder on the fire team; he found the small American flag (at left) in the area devastated by fire. It was surrounded by ash and discolored, but unburned.
Similar to Napa and Sonoma counties, fall color is now emerging in Mendocino County’s vineyards.
Finding it requires driving slowly along country roads near vineyards and looking for vines that are turning color. Some are Patchy, some Near Peak, some Peaking and some Past Peak.
Mendocino County (11/7/17) Walt Gabler
Do not enter vineyards without permission. They’re all private property, even if not posted (which they rarely are). Though, it is not necessary to enter a vineyard to see or photograph fall color, as it is readily seen along their edges.
And, if you don’t find fall color in the vineyards, then go wine tasting or go mushroom foraging in the woods (just know what mushrooms are safe to pick).
Either way, you return with an enjoyable day in Mendocino County.
Mendocino County – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Chinese Temple, Oroville (11/6/17) Cindy Lee Hoover
Biggs (11/6/17) Cindy Lee Hoover
Midway, Durham (11/6/17) Cindy Lee Hoover
Shasta Cascade color spotters Danie Schwartz and Cindy Lee Hoover are reporting signs of peak approaching throughout Butte County.
Oroville and Biggs (to Oroville’s west) are near peak with Chinese pistache throwing off increasingly iridescent color around the ancient burgundy walls of Oroville’s Chinese temple.
Maple, Sank Park, Oroville (11/6/17) Cindy Lee Hoover
Dogwood, Sank Park, Oroville (11/6/17) Cindy Lee Hoover
At Sank Park in downtown Oroville, maple, dogwood and more Chinese pistache are peaking.
West of Oroville, Biggs Pond is ringed with yellow, chartreuse and lime-colored brush. The Valley oak are carrying the first signs of orange and yellow color.
Traveling north from Oroville, the Midway between Durham and Chico continues to transition with some orange appearing among yellow and lime oak and pistache, though many leaves along this boulevard have dropped. Walnut orchards up and down CA-99 are coloring up.
Esplanade, Chico (11/6/17) Cindy Lee Hoover
Paradise Lake, Paradise (11/6/17) Cindy Lee Hoover
In Chico, the Esplanade, its famous boulevard, is overhanging with patchy Valley oak and Chinese pistache, though near peak color should arrive this weekend and peak continue to Thanksgiving Day.
Further north in Paradise, color has peaked. The last remaining black oak leaves hang proudly from trees around Paradise Lake.
Oroville – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Biggs – – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Chico – Patchy (10-50%)
Paradise – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Sonoma Town Square (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Responding to a call for reports from the wine country, color spotter Darrell Sano left before 7 a.m. on Saturday to get to Sonoma early. As, he’d planned a long day in the wine country.
He walked Sonoma’s Town Square past Mission Sonoma to Buena Vista Winery, the oldest premium winery in California. Darrell recalled having watched helicopter footage of firefighters saving this historic building.
Sherrif Fred, Buena Vista (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
“That’s where I met Fred the “Sheriff of Buena Vista, who, in addition to telling stories of the winery’s history, told me that all of the fire companies surrounding Sonoma’s central square are Volunteer Fire Departments. Those volunteers joined thousands of other firefighters to battle the blaze. Click images to enlarge.
Buena Vista Winery (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
To Darrell’s amazement, “the hill behind BV was black, charred.” Yet, “Fred who has worked at Buena Vista for 17 years seemed unfazed by it all.”
Bartholomew Park Winery (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Darrell continued along Castle Road to the Bartholomew Foundation Park and Winery. Its vines stood unscathed before “blackened, charred hillsides.”
Sonoma – Near Peak (50-75%) – GO NOW!
#SonomaStrong (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Fire-scorched hills, Sonoma (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Bartholomew Park Winery (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Buena Vista Winery (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Old Winery Rd., Sonoma (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Barrow Lane, Napa Napa Valley (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Blackened hills singe the edges of Napa’s vineyards, east of the Silverado Trail, though the vineyards themselves remain green and gold.
That’s the story of this past month’s wine country fires. Though devastating (41 dead, 220,000 acres and 2,800 homes destroyed), the fires have not broken Napa, Sonoma or Mendocino counties.
Their spirits are strong and ebullient, their wineries largely untouched, their towns as enticing, and their landscapes as beautiful as ever. In two words, “GO NOW!”
Elizabeth Vianna, winemaker at Chimney Rock (untouched by fire that licked at its property line) said, “Vineyards have so much water in them, that they’re almost like a fire break.” That quality protected the vines, though a few wineries, particularly in eastern Napa Valley received significant damage.
Most visitors to the Napa Valley would never notice it, however. Even the blackened hills (seen above) are not that different to the eye than the normally dark foliage of oaks and brush.
#NapaStrong (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
What is evident throughout the wine country are the number of signs thanking first responders for saving homes and neighborhoods. Heroic stands occurred that spared many neighborhoods, businesses and wineries. Click images to enlarge.
Acacia Rd., Oakville (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Today, Canada geese flew low over Napa vineyards, calling to one another. Brightly colored hot air balloons floated slowly in the crisp morning air and people returned to the wine country’s great art galleries, restaurants and tasting rooms.
Acacia Rd., Far Niente (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Fall color has returned to the Napa Valley, as well. Car enthusiasts took pictures of their classic rides on narrow boulevards lined with peaking gingko biloba and vines were showing bright red, yellow and lime, though the vineyards remain mostly patchy. Peak color will continue to appear through Thanksgiving Day in the wine country.
Napa Valley – Near Peak (50-75%) – GO NOW!
Acacia Rd., Oakville (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Calistoga, Napa Valley (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Calistoga, Napa Valley (11/4/17) Darrell Sano
Acacia Rd., Oakville (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Acacia Rd., Oakville (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Acacia Rd., Oakville (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Paradigm Winery, Acacia Rd., Oakville (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Hawthorne, Acacia Rd., Oakville, Napa Valley (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Far Niente, Oakville Grade (11/5/17) John Poimiroo
Bigleaf maple and ferns, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (10/29/17) Max Forster
Mill Creek, Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP (10/29/17) Max Forster
James Irvine Trail, Prairie Creek Redwoods SP (10/29/17) Max Forster
North Coast color spotter Max Forster sends glimpses of brilliance from his most recent tour along the Redwood Highway.
He reports that despite recent rain (perhaps until this weekend), stormy weather has not “truly returned to the North Coast, extending fall color into November.”
As Max predicted in his previous report, peak color has continued and the Roosevelt elk “are still very active” from
Howland Hill Rd., Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP (10/29/17) Max Forster
Beneath Mill Creek Bridge, Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP (10/29/17) Max Forster
Big Lagoon to Prairie Creek State Park.
Redwood National Park and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park – Peak (75-100%) – Bigleaf maple along Drury Parkway near the Big Tree are the finest Max recalls having seen in years. “Almost all of the trees are peaking together.” GO NOW!
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park – Peak (75-100%) – “The drive through the park
Mill Creek, Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP (10/29/17) Max Forster
along Howland Hill Road will be very colorful this week, with the forest carpeted in golden vine maple,” Max reported. He hiked the entirety of Mill Creek through the park over this past weekend and found bigleaf maple in top form. GO NOW!
Bull elk defends his harem, Elk Meadow (10/29/17) Max Forster
Gingko biloba, San Rafael (10/29/17) Anson Davalos
Each autumn, maidenhair coifs the streets of San Rafael with bright yellow.
The maidenhair of which we speak are the gingko biloba trees, a good choice to be planted along city streets, not just for their dazzling autumn color, but also because the trees don’t uproot sidewalks and roadways.
Gingko biloba is called a “living fossil,” as it is one of the world’s oldest living species, dating back 270 million years.
Extracts from the gingko are often associated with curing memory loss and sorts of ailments from dementia to Alzheimer’s disease to altitude sickness. Though, it’s never been established, scientifically, that they can do any of this.
And, while gingko seeds are sometimes found in Asian cooking, eaten in large quantities they can be hazardous.
Perhaps someday we will find beneficial uses for the gingko biloba beyond their beauty, though in the first two weeks of November they provide lovely color and form along the streets of San Rafael.
San Rafael – Near Peak (50-75%) – Maidenhair have coiffed the streets of San Rafael. GO NOW!
Vineyard, Old River Rd., Ukiah (10/31/17) Walt Gabler
Peak fall color has descended to elevations below 2,000’. That means the best fall color can now be seen in the Sierra foothills, Gold Country and, increasingly, in the Central Valley.
Red maple and quaking aspen leaves, Agate Bay, Lake Tahoe (11/1/17) John Poimiroo
Splashes of peak color can still be seen at higher elevations, though they are not sufficiently widespread to paint an entire region as peaking. For example, areas of North Lake Tahoe have cottonwood and aspen still full of bright yellow and gold leaves, but travel a mile or so and the trees have been stripped of their leaves.
In the Northern Sierra, Plumas County was in the final stages of peak color this past week, though again, the color is at risk of being stripped. The same is true of other areas above 3,000’ in the Shasta Cascade that had peak color.
The Eastern Sierra, with the exception of Bishop and the Owens Valley are now Past Peak.
The Central Sierra (Yosemite and Kings Canyon Sequoia) are nearing Past Peak. Black oak continue to show bright color in Yosemite Valley, but almost all the dogwood, bigleaf maple and cottonwood are past peak. The Wawona Road in Yosemite is still speckled with bright red, yellow and orange color, though it is falling, increasingly.
In Southern California, all mountain communities above 2,000′ are Past Peak.
With an early winter storm predicted for the weekend, fully peaked color will likely be stripped from mountainous areas.
Peak Fall Color has now descended to from 500 to 2,000’ in elevation. This includes California’s vineyards which filling the vineyards with burgundy, red, orange, yellow and lime grape leaves, by type of grape variety. From now to Thanksgiving Day, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties and northern San Diego County vineyards should have successive shows of bright color by grape variety.
Old River Rd., Ukiah (10/31/17) Walt Gabler
Old River Rd., Ukiah (10/31/17) Walt Gabler
Now that the fires in Mendocino County are out, color spotters have returned to photographing fall color.
Walt Gabler found Mendocino County’s vineyards to be full of color and Near Peak. As is typical of vineyards, some vines are past peak, others patchy and still others near or at peak.
Walt visited the Nelson Family Vineyards and Saracina Vineyards between Hopland and Ukiah along Highway 101, then traveled the Old River Road along the Russian River between Hopland and Ukiah and near Talmadge along Old River Road, just outside Ukiah.
Hopland/Ukiah – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Nelson Family Vineyards, Mendocino County (10/31/17) Walt Gabler
Monument RV Park, South Shore, Lake Camanche (10/31/17) Terry Willard
When the Central Valley begins to perc, Terry Willard at Lake Camanche is one of the first to report.
Lake Camanche is a popular destination east of Lodi, known for camping, fishing and just getting away. In autumn, the lake’s shimmering waters are lit with the reflections of autumn colors from exotic tree of heaven, Chinese pistache, flowering pear and plums.
South Shore, Lake Camanche (10/31/17) Terry Willard
Tree of Heaven, South Shore, Lake Camanche (10/31/17) Terry Willard
Native cottonwood are now crested with bright yellow and Valley oaks have not yet turned.
Lake Camanche, Ione – Patchy