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IRONMAN California

William Land Park, Sacramento (10/23/21) Steve Arita

IRONMAN came to Sacramento, today. Thousands of elite athletes planned to swim 2.4 miles down the American and Sacramento Rivers, bicycle 112 miles and run 26.2 miles through Sacramento and along the American River Parkway.

The route was to pass much of the most beautiful landscape in California, but due to a torrential storm called a bomb cyclone, the race was cancelled and the elite athletes missed seeing these beautiful places.

Local color spotter Steve Arita shares some of what they missed.

At Sacramento’s great Land Park, Steve was surprised to find how far along the fall colors were around the park’s pond. Its gracious trees were beautiful, which combined with interesting cloud formations for fun picture taking.

Guy West Bridge at California State University Sacramento (Sac State to locals) is a mini version of the Golden Gate Bridge, but without the International Orange paint scheme. Trees along the banks of the American River are just starting (about 40%). However, on campus the trees are moving quickly to peak. 

American River Parkway (10/23/21) Steve Arita

Steve recommends including the American River Parkway next week as a place to see cottonwood and maple Near Peak.

Egret, Hagen Park, American River Parkway (10/23/21) Steve Arita

At Hagen Park, a large neighborhood park in Rancho Cordova beside the American River Parkway, sections upriver were beautiful with red, gold and yellow along the banks. Steve even managed to capture an egret sunbathing with what little sunlight poked through the clouds.

All this changed as the bomb cyclone exploded over Northern California. In Sacramento, the city’s record for rainfall that had stood since 1880 (5.28 inches), fell as 5.44 inches of rain also fell.

The storm was so extreme that it likely stripped fall color from areas at Peak, but these scenes in Sacramento will endure, just like IRONMAN California’s athletes.

  • American River Parkway (30′) – Patchy to Near Peak (10 – 75%) Go Now.
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North Gold Country Highway

Locust, Downieville (10/18/21) Jason Branz

California State Route 49 is one of the less-traveled byways for fall color. Why remains a mystery.

There’s plenty of autumn’s gold to be discovered along the North Gold Country Highway. Roseville color spotter Jason Branz was out prospecting for it this past Monday; he found these nuggets:

Below Downieville, it was Patchy, but Jason noted “nice pockets around the Indian Valley campground.  The town of Downieville is probably near peak and has lots of nice color.

“Between Downieville and Sierra City, there are several nice roadside pullout spots with colorful trees right along the river.

Near Waterfall, Sierra City (10/18/21) Jason Branz

“Just above Sierra City, there is a large roadside are with a small waterfall.  There is a nice stand of yellow trees on the far side of the road with lots of nice close-up possibilities in the parking area.

CA-49, Sierra City (10/18/21) Jason Branz

“The Gold Lake Highway, above Bassetts, has some nice aspen color in Salmon Creek campground and is probably peak or close to it.” he reported.

No one knows for sure how the torrential storm predicted to arrive Sunday will affect the color Jason found. The storm is expected to be what’s being termed “a cyclone bomb.” Considering its intensity, CaliforniaFallColor recommends staying at home on Sunday and feed your passion for fall color spotting on screen. Just go to CaliforniaFallColor.com … Oh, wait. You’re there already.

  • Downieville (2,966′) – Near Peak (50 – 75%), Go Now.
  • CA-49N – Near Peak to Peak (50 – 100%), GO NOW!
  • Sierra City (4,147′) – Peak (75 – 100%), GO NOW!
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Early Dormancy

Blue Oak are peaking early in the Sierra Foothills (7/18/21) John Poimiroo

Blue oak (Quercus douglassii) are native to the hot, dry slopes of California’s interior valleys. They survive drought through a series of mechanisms, including the blue, waxy layer atop their leaves which helps reduce water loss in summer.

They need very little water. Blue oak will survive on 15 – 30″ of rain a year. Too much water is what kills them. Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories lists excessive watering as the leading killer of established Blue oak in the landscape.

In a normal year, Blue oak leaves turn golden yellow and pastel pink and orange during fall. However, in hot, dry years like this one, leaves achieve early dormancy, turn color suddenly and drop. That’s happening this week in the Sierra foothills where suddenly Blue oak are near peak.

  • Blue Oak, Sierra Foothills (Near Peak – 50-7%) GO NOW!
Early Dormancy, Blue Oak, El Dorado HIlls (7/18/21) John Poimiroo
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Last Drips of Color

Wisteria, El Dorado Hills (12/14/20) John Poimiroo

Despite the occasional last drips of fall color, California is now largely past peak.

These images were taken on a foggy, wet morning, the kind that quickly transforms warm cotton blue jeans into sponges when bush whacking through foliage.

Most of the native color throughout the state has fallen, been blown away or is now rain-damaged by the storm that passed over the state this past weekend. Exotic, ornamental plants are providing the encore.

Wisteria are among the last climbing exotics to turn. They’ve dropped their seed pods which explode loudly upon hitting the ground, ejecting their seeds as much as 20 feet away upon impact.

Bright, red Hawthorne tree berries hang from bare branches in clusters of Christmas ornaments. The leaves long since fell and carpet the earth as they decay.

It’s now time for other ornaments to attract our attention, though Toyon and Pyracantha join Hawthorne in one last flush of seasonal color as winter approaches. There’s only a week to go until autumn is just a memory.

  • El Dorado Hills (768′) – Past Peak, You Missed It.
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Just Keeps Rollin’

American River, Rancho Cordova (12/5/20) Steve Arita

Fall color just keeps rollin’ along the American River.

Yesterday morning, Sacramento color spotter Steve Arita visited Hagan Community Park in Rancho Cordova expecting to find nothing along the American River. Instead, rich orange, gold and red lined its banks.

Peak color speckles the Sacramento area, though most urban forest color has now fallen.

  • American River, Sacramento (30′) – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, You Almost Missed It.
  • Hagan Community Park, Rancho Cordova (72′) – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, You Almost Missed It.
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Empire Strikes Back

Maple Lane, Empire Mine SHP, Grass Valley (11/28/20) Steve Arita

As he vowed this week, color spotter Steve Arita returned to Empire Mine State Historic Park, to see if Maple Lane (his name for the path of maples leading to Empire Cottage) was finally at full peak.

For padawans who haven’t had the chance to visit this extra-beautiful terrestrial location, Steve wrote, “Maple Lane is still only half its length at peak, the other half is oddly still green to lime green.” State Park rangers told Steve that “this has been an odd year, usually all the colors go off at the same time,” sorta like a Death Star blowing up.

  • Empire Mine SHP, Grass Valley (2,411′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

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Seagulls Overhead, Look Up!

California gulls, valley oak, Nimbus Flat (11/28/20) John Poimiroo

It’s not usually a good idea to look up when seagulls are overhead, but I did that at Nimbus Flat (Folsom Lake SRA) and caught them swirling and singing above peak valley oak.

Several thousand seagulls have been spending late autumn on Lake Natomas (formed by Nimbus Dam on the American River in Folsom) on their way to the coast. California gulls breed during summer on isolated islands at inland lakes such as Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra. They migrate to spend winter along the coast.

For the past few weeks, a mile-long colony of California gulls has been floating in the middle of Lake Natomas, occasionally lifting off in huge swirling cyclones of squawking seabirds.

  • American River (150′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Seeing is Believing

State capitol, Sacramento (11/27/20) Vishal Mishra

After reading reports of Sacramento’s lush color, Silicon Valley color spotters Vishal Mishra and Seema Baht drove up to the state capital to see for themselves. They’re now believers.

Sacramento truly is a City of Trees. Vishal was so inspired, he wrote, “It’s so gorgeous … so many trees everywhere. Every street feels like walking in a park.”

Vishal was impressed by the diversity of trees, including: black oak, autumn blaze maple, Chinese elm, hickory and plane trees.

The park directly behind the state capitol building is said to have growing in it every type of California native tree. There’s even a Capital Park Tree Guide that provides directions to them, including 14 of the largest trees of their type in California, including the state’s biggest Chinese pistache.

  • Sacramento (30′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Orange Friday

It’s Orange Friday, the day following Thanksgiving Day when California overcomes tryptophan-induced lethargy and goes outdoors to enjoy fall color before it’s gone.

On the San Francisco Peninsula, tall gingko biloba are littering city streets with gold.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, American beautyberries (Callicarpa americana) provide holiday ornamentation at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden and fallen leaves are now strewn across Berkeley.

Down south, the place for peak color is the LA County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens in Arcadia. Orange-toned crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia) now dominate and more color is revealed each day to mid December.

Along the American River, cyclists, skaters and walkers on the 32-mile American River Parkway are enjoying one of the most colorful autumns in memory.

In the Gold Country, “Maple Lane,” a boulevard of maples leading to the Empire Cottage at Empire Mine SHP is at peak and will remain good through this weekend. So, spend your Orange Friday weekend being filled with the beauty of this lovely and historic place.

Maple Lane, Empire Mine SHP (11/25/20) Steve Arita

Or at old Monterey where gingko biloba, Asian maple and sycamore dress city streets with gold, yellow and chartreuse-colored leaves.

But, don’t plan to go swimming in Davis where backyard pools are covered with leaves.

Backyard pool, Davis (11/26/20) Philip Reedy

Unless you’re a duck. This pintail drake just enjoyed his morning bath at the Colusa NWR.

Morning bath, Pintail duck drake, Colusa NWR (11/25/20) Philip Reedy

Today is just another Orange Friday. It’s a day best spent outdoors enjoying fleeting moments of California Fall Color.

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Finding Gold in Your Backyard

Southside Park, Sacramento (11/22/20) Steve Arita

In the previous post, Steve Arita traveled to Grass Valley to find gold at Empire Mine. Turns out, he didn’t need to go that far. It was near his Elk Grove home at Sacramento’s Southside Park.

Steve rightly bemoans that Sacramento has adopted the sobriquet as “America’s farm to fork capital,” when it traditionally described itself as “The city of trees.” He’s not alone. Numerous locals have complained about the identity change, from one that was focused on beauty to one that takes a bit of digesting.

  • Sacramento (30′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!