Autumn is Gone But Some Colors Hang On
Paco Passes
Over the years, of the many color spotters who have contributed to this site, Southern California’s Paco had the best nose for fall color.
He was often seen exploring the Eastern Sierra and San Bernardino Mountains with his companion and best friend, Soyoung Kim.
On those scouting trips, he’d often take in the beauty of the scene surrounding him, then finish his sojourn with a taste of Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Buzz, Buzz, Buzz.
We learned today that Paco passed away this autumn on Oct. 7.
While we mourn his passing, we note that he chose the season he loved best to retire from fall color spotting.
See you next autumn, dude.
Meteorological Fall, Plus Why Leaves Change
Color spotter, Samantha Lindberg recently used the phrase “meteorological fall” and it peaked my interest. After doing a little research it seems the term refers to a season created by scientists (meteorologists). It begins September 1 and ends November 30, according to wane.com, because this is the time period that the general public associates with “fall.”
While the date of the actual autumn equinox changes every year, meteorological fall stays the same. The equinox arrives on September 22 in 2023 in California, but with cooler temperatures in the state this Labor Day Weekend, perhaps the scientists behind meteorological fall are on to something.
Either way, the reason leaves change color throughout the season stays the same. Blake Engelhardt with the US Forest Service explains.
“During the summer growing season the leaves are constantly producing chlorophyll, which gives them their green color,” she says. “In the fall, longer nights trigger the formation of the abscission layer.”
According to Engelhardt, this is basically a thickened layer of cells at the base of the leaf where it attaches to the stem that blocks the transport of water and sugar into the leaf.
“Thin, deciduous leaves won’t survive the freezing temperatures of winter, so there’s no reason to keep feeding them,” she adds. “Once chlorophyll synthesis stops, the green quickly disappears and other more persistent pigments become visible yellows, reds, purples.”
Yellow comes from Xanthophylls (compounds) and Flavonols (proteins) that reflect yellow light.
Orange is found in leaves with lots of beta-carotene, a compound that absorbs blue and green light and reflects yellow and red light, giving the leaves their orange color.
Red comes from the Anthocyanin compound.
The best fall color occurs when days are warm and nights are clear and cold. California’s cloudless skies and extreme range of elevations (sea level to 14,000′) provide ideal conditions for the development of consistently vivid fall color, as seen in these reports.
Peak fall color will begin appearing in the Eastern Sierra above 9,000 feet (you can drive right to it) during the last two weeks of September.
Upcoming Fall Events
In addition to fabulous fall colors, the season also offers up great events.
In Inyo County, the Blake Jones Trout Derby was rescheduled for Sept. 16 and the Millpond Music Festival is that same weekend: Sept. 15-17.
Lakewood Lights Up
Lakewood, Washington is lighting up along its city streets and in its gardens. This suburban community near Tacoma has one of the most colorful urban forests in Washington.
True to its name, Lakewood is a city of lakes, with enticing lake homes and lots of fall color ringing them, lining its many boulevards and in its parks. Bigleaf maple, paper birch, Pacific dogwood and Oregon grape provide the native color, supplemented with exotic sugar maple, tulip trees and others.
Near Puget Sound and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Lakewood has only been a city since 1996, but has since made a big impact in Pierce County, where it is the third-largest municipality, behind Tacoma and Auburn.
Ellie Wilson, a native Californian, retired teacher and longtime resident of Lakewood, shares her love for her beautiful town and its stunning location with her fellow Californians.
- Lakewood, WA (262′) – Near Peak to PEAK (50-100%) GO NOW!
Great Smokies
Following fall color as it dips south, California Fall Color’s expat spotter Alena Nicholas left the upper midwest (Minnesota) to explore the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.
Autumn is Near Peak in Gatlinburg where Hazel alder, Sugar maple, Striped maple, Black oak, Sweetgum, Black maple, Scarlet oak, Red maple, Birch, Dogwood, Sourwood, Tulip poplar and hickories are decorating the forest.
- Great Smoky Mountains NP, Gatlinburg, TN (1,289′) – Near Peak (50-75%) Go Now.
A Stroll Through Boise
Ryan Boyd is one of our expat color spotters. He’d reported from the East Bay for years, but then moved to Idaho. So, when he and his son toured their Boise neighborhood, I just had to share the peak urban color he’s seeing in “The City for Everyone.”
Once a California color spotter, always a California color spotter.
- Boise, ID (2,730′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
Tall Tales
Paul Bunyan may have gotten his start in the northwoods of Minnesota, but it was in California where the folkloric character became famous.
Just as cowboys had Pecos Bill – a fictional, bigger-than-life, character around whom campfire tales were told at day’s end – so too lumberjacks had Paul Bunyan – a tongue-in-cheek, giant-sized figure said have cut millions of trees and created Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes with his footprints.
So, when Alena Nicholas visited Bermidji, MN, the first town to erect a gigantic statue of Paul Bunyan, she had to send back these images of the trees Bunyan missed felling.
In 1913, when the Walker family, which owned the Red River Mill, moved its operations from Minnesota to Westwood, CA, they brought with them the north woods character as the brand for their new company, Paul Bunyan Pine Products.
Prior to then, the Paul Bunyan legend was little-known outside of the north woods. It had, until its use in advertising, been more or less a type of outlandish inside-joke shared in logging towns.
Red River’s advertising man and a logger, William B. Laughead created “Tales of Paul Bunyan” an advertising campaign designed to engage buyers and create awareness of Red River’s forest products. Thus, the obscure logging camp character, his blue Ox (which Laughead named “Babe”) and Bunyan’s fictional friends became set in American folklore.
Several pairs of larger-than-life Bunyan and Babe statues stand as so-called tourist attractions throughout the country, among them: one in Westwood, CA, another in Bemidji, MN. All point back to a simpler time when we were more easily amused and tall tales were a means of poking fun at one another and lessening the weight of work.
Just like Bunyan and his blue ox, Alena Nicholas found Bemidji’s forest to be enchanted. Presently, its maple, ash, beech, butternut and elder are peaking.
- Bemidji, MN (1,365′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
Grand Teton National Park
Steve noted that Wyoming State Route 89, which leaves the south end of the national park, was flanked with gloriuos Peak color for much of its 80 miles and is worth including when planning a late September visit to Wyoming.
- Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (6,574′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
Million Dollar Views
There is disagreement as to why U.S. 550 in Colorado was named the Million Dollar Highway. Some say it cost a million dollars a mile when it was constructed. Others claim a million dollars in gold was taken from its construction tailings. However, we believe the road deserves its nickname because there are countless million dollar views along its 25-mile length.
Traveling between Ouray and Silverton, US 550 is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway. The road is known to be notoriously difficult to drive with hairpin turns, altitude gain and extreme weather (summer and winter).
Napa Valley color spotter David Sharp traveled there recently and sent these priceless images. Plus, we’ve added a bonus video.
- Million Dollar Highway, CO (7,792′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!