Road to Round Valley

“Road to Round Valley,” sounds like it should be a country song, doesn’t it?

In my mind, I hear the “Yodeling Blonde Bombshell” Carolina Cotton, singing about losing her first love along that road “when a black oak stole his blackened heart.”

The pain of her loss just makes me saddle sore, though having seen these oaks at peak, I understand how her cowboy’s affections could be stolen so easily.

So, when Jeff Luke Titcomb sent images taken along the “Road to Round Valley” in Plumas County, the black oak, bigleaf maple, California ash and Pacific dogwood he’d photographed had me humming a cowboy melody as Carolina might sing, complete with mournful yodel.

Jeff writes, “The road to round valley is still waiting for the oaks to change and they still have some time to go. Dogwoods started early but slowed down when the rain came, but now the leaves are just dropping in some places most likely due to months of dry weather.”

The action appears to be among the bigleaf maple, “which are in full color.”

Perhaps in my reverie, Carolina wins her cowboy’s heart again “beneath the spreading branches of granny’s golden maple tree.” Brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it? 

• Round Valley (4,692′) – Patchy (10-50%) – Bigleaf maple are Near Peak, though dogwood have slowed and black oak are weeks from peak.