Going to Church
Color spotters Robert Kermen and Laura Jean found inspiration and saw the light as they traveled through Nevada City and Ft. Jones this week.
Kermen was driving along CA-20 when he began to notice quite a bit of color mostly from alder, bigleaf maple and dogwood.
He wrote, “The stretch between Grass Valley and I-80 has always fascinated me with its mix of hardwood and deciduous trees.“
Tar spot, bigleaf maple (10/10/19) Robert Kermen 
CA-20 (10/10/19) Robert Kermen 
Maple, CA-20 (10/10/19) Robert Kermen
Exiting I-80 at Bowman Lake, he visited the headwaters of Bear River and one of his favorite falls to find that bigleaf maple leaves had littered the area.
“At an elevation of approximately 5000 feet, it appeared the big leaf maple were peaking while the dogwood was just starting. While hiking the Sierra Discovery Trail, which follows Bear River, he noticed that most of the big leaf maple were infected with “fungal tar spot disease.”
Upon reaching Grass Valley, he was struck by the beauty of St Canice Catholic Church and maples that surround it.
Exotic color, Ft. Jones (10/9/19) Laura Jean 
Exotic color, Ft. Jones (10/9/19) Laura Jean
Laura Jean was similarly inspired, driving CA-3 through Siskiyou County. The towns of Ft. Jones and Etna and environs are at peak and “vivid.”
- CA-20, Bowman Lake to Nevada City – Near Peak (50-75% GO NOW!
- CA-3, Scott Valley, Ft. Jones to Etna – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
