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Close to the Heart in Sonoma County

Downtown Petaluma (file photo) Deborah Garber

Sonoma County vineyard (10/22/17) Karin Davalos

Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties have one of the latest and longest-lasting peaks in California with peak color appearing from mid October to Thanksgiving Day.

In Sonoma County, fall color can be found in the vineyards, in wine country cities like Petaluma where native and exotic trees line downtown streets and in state parks where lovely color is found in the woods.

Anson and Karin Davalos visited Sonoma County this past week to report that despite the devastation left behind by wildfires in some of the wine country, “much of the area and the vineyards are as beautiful as ever.”

Petaluma Historical Museum (file photo) Deborah Garber

Karin should know, as she’s a local girl who grew up there. So, we know how anxious she was to return and see the places closest to her heart.

Presently, there are a lot of as-yet-unturned green vines to be seen, but also certain varieties are peaking with deep red, orange, yellow and lime to be seen. Vineyards peak by individual grape variety, so while one vineyard may be green, another nearby may be brilliant burgundy or past peak.

More than anything else, what Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties need – following this past month’s fires – is for normalcy to return. That can only happen once travelers return to visiting normally.

For fall color spotters that means including Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties in your fall travel plans, and visiting now.

Liquidambar and vines, Sonoma County (10/22/17) Karin Davalos

So, I’m putting out the challenge to all color spotters – particularly those great photographers who’ve shown the best of the wine country in the past – let’s show everyone how beautiful these areas are and what great fall color can be found there now, through Thanksgiving Day.

Email current photographs of fall color in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties to editor@CaliforniaFallColor.com and we’ll post them because, like Karin, the wine country is close to all of California’s hearts, right now.

Sonoma County – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!

 

 

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Mushroom Madness in Mendocino

Fly Amanita (poisonous) mushroom, Mendocino Mushroom, Wine and Beer Festival, Nov 3 – 12

Chanterelle growing on a Mendocino forest floor

Mushrooms, 3,000 varieties of them, will be hunted, discussed, tasted and feted at Mendocino County’s 19th Annual Mushroom Wine and Beer Festival, Nov. 3 – 12. It is the world’s largest mushroom festival.

What makes Mendocino County such a great mushroom foraging area? “It’s the trees,” says Eric Schramm who will be leading a hike from Jughandle Creek Farm on Nov. 12, one of many walks, talks, cooking classes, concerts, rides and hunts focused on learning more about Mendocino mushrooms.

Mendocino’s forests are populated with many evergreen and deciduous trees whose fallen leaves and needles cultivate a broad variety of spores.

For the fall color spotter, Mendocino County’s forest are speckled with autumn color from: (orange) black oak, (yellow) bigleaf maple, (orange-yellow) valley oak, (yellow) white alder, (red-purple) creek dogwood, (gold-orange) various willows, (yellow) California buckeye, (burgundy) choke cherry, (yellow) Oregon ash, (chartreuse) vine maple, (gold) black cottonwood, (red) Klamath plum and all those mushrooms.

Schramm notes that the detritus deposited on the forest floor by certain trees, combined  with Mendocino’s moist coastal climate, nourishes the abundant growth of fungi. It is tree species that leads foragers to prized mushrooms. Chanterelle grow beneath Douglas fir, black trumpet below tan oak and porcini underneath shore pine.

“The annual haul is nothing short of historic,” writes Visit Mendocino, and the response is that mushrooms make just about every great Mendocino menu. Mendocino’s wine makers and brewers find inventive ways to pair their makings with nature’s bounty in endlessly tantalizing ways, making Mendocino the go-to destination for mushroom lovers.

3,000 mushroom varieties grow in Mendocino County. 500 are edible.

Mushrooms are not just good to eat (that is, the 500 edible varieties growing in Mendocino County), but they’re also wonderful to photograph, as seen in the slider across the top of our site.

Schramm says not only is it just plain fun to go mushroom hunting, but festival goers learn a lot about the medicinal, spiritual, culinary, scientific and emotional benefits of mushrooms, stating, “Mushrooms are the wave of the future. We’re just starting to understand their many uses as tools in bioremediation to naturally clean the Earth.”

So, here’s a rundown of some of the fungi fest’s favorites. CLICK HERE for links to them:

  • Daily – Mushroom Hunt Ride, Ricochet Ridge Ranch, Ft. Bragg.
  • Daily – Live Mushroom Exhibit, Ford House Museum, Mendocino.
  • Nov. 3 – Wild Mushroom and Winemaker Dinner, MacCallum House Inn and Graziano.
  • Nov. 3 – 5 – Mushroom Exploration Tours, Stanford Inn, Mendocino.
  • Nov. 4 – Mushroom Foraging at UC Hopland Research and Extension Center.
  • Nov. 4 – Guitarist Alex de Grassi, UC Hopland Research and Extension Center.
  • Nov. 3 – Coro Winemaker Dinner at the Golden Pig.
  • Nov. 4 – Afternoon Tea at Glendeven Inn with mushroom tea sandwiches.
  • Nov. 4 – Mad Fritz Brewing Co. at the Bewildered Pig.
  • Nov. 5 – Bars, Bordellos and Mushrooms, Kelley House, Mendocino.
  • Nov. 5 – Mycellium in Art & History, Mendocino Art Center.
  • Nov. 5 – Ravens Restaurant medicinal mushroom breakfast.
  • Nov. 5 – Pennyroyal Farm mushroom brunch.
  • Nov. 5 – Foray with Mario Abreu (for beginning foragers), Ft. Bragg.
  • Nov. 7 – Blue Collar Winemaker Dinner at Cucina Verona.
  • Nov. 8 – Barra of Mendocino Winemaker Dinner at Crush.
  • Nov. 8 – Wild Fish Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 10 – Little River Inn Mushroom and Belgian Beer Dinner.
  • Nov. 11 – Mushrooms at the Mendocino Coast Bontanical Gardens, Ft. Bragg.
  • Nov. 11 – Mushroom Foray and Cooking Class at Jade Court, Ft. Bragg.
  • Nov. 11 – Maple Creek Winery/Artevino Mushroom Hike & Forage.
  • Nov. 11 – Saracina Mushroom Foraging and Gourmet Luncheon.
  • Nov. 11 – Jaxon Keys Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 11 – Yamakiri Winery and Ravens Restaurant Mushroom and Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 11 – Campovida Winemaker Dinner.
  • Nov. 12 – Fungi Finale – A Walk on the Wild Side with Eric Schramm, Caspar.
  • Ongoing Excursions/Tours as Posted – Skunk Train, Point Arena Lighthouse, B. Bryan Preserve (endangered African hoof stock).

During November, 25 hotel properties in Mendocino County are offering special packages. Follow the above link to them.

 

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Two Weeks Left on the Redwood Highway

S. Fork Eel River, Redwood Highway (10/24/17) Max Forster

Bigleaf maple, Prairie Creek Redwoods SP (10/24/17) Max Forster

Bigleaf maple, Mill Creek, Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP (10/24/17) Max Forster

North Coast color spotter Max Forster estimates the Redwood Highway has another couple of weeks of peak color.

There’s a good reason there are so many state parks and a national park in the North Coast region, as it is full of wonderful foliage to see.

Here’s what Max found:

Humboldt Redwoods State Park – Peak (75-100%) – Avenue of The Giants will be seeing peak conditions throughout this week as bigleaf maple and creeping poison oak put on their display.  The drive along US 101 in Mendocino County from just north of Willits into southern Humboldt County is also looking spectacular. GO NOW!

Redwood National Park & Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park – Peak (75-100%) – Bigleaf maple are at peak while most of the vine maple are just starting to turn.  Best places to see color will be along Drury Parkway near the Big Tree parking area, Prairie Creek Trail from the visitor center to the Zig Zag #2 Trail and the road to Lost Man Creek.  Roosevelt elk are still very active, at the tail end of the seasonal rut.  Outside of the bulls protecting their herds of females, you can find groups of rejected bachelors, nursing battle wounds and damaged egos. GO NOW!

El Viejo, Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP (10/24/17) Max Forster

Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park – Peak (75-100%) – Bigleaf maple along Mill Creek are at peak.  The forest understory of vine maple, salmonberry, thimbleberry and cascara along Howland Hill Road will be peaking this week, making the drive through the heart of the park even more spectacular than usual. GO NOW!

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Violent Sex Returns to the Redwoods

Bull Elk in Rut, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (10/1/17) Max Forster

Roosevelt Elk are in rut at Redwood National & State Parks (Orick) where deciduous leaves began changing fast last week, North Coast color spotter Max Forster reports.

The annual elk rut is one of California’s colorful displays in autumn, as massive bull elks challenge one another for the right to mate with herds of female elk cows. Young suitors playfight one another while bloody battles occur between the existing bull of a herd and his rivals.

It’s elk-styled Match.com, but with bugling, violent challenges and fights to exhaustion, as the ladies watch indifferently from afar.

Corkscrew Leaning Maple, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (10/1/17) Max Forster

Elsewhere in the redwood forest of northwestern California, bigleaf maple that have received full sun began transitioning last week, while the vines and maple that haven’t gotten direct sun have not yet begun to change.

Don’t expect a big showy splash of color, but for the true fan of autumn color, it is gorgeous, as the vines, maple and poison oak show chartreuse, yellow and crimson in rolling displays as sunlight hits them through the tall trees.

Max writes that “Notable sections for big leaf maple over the next week include Lost Man Creek in Redwood National Park and between the Corkscrew Tree and Zig Zag #1 Trail in Prairie Creek State Park.”

Redwood National & State Parks (Sea level to 500′) – Patchy (10-50%)

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Here’s What’s Happening Around California

Quaking aspen, Hope Valley (9/15/17) Phillip Reedy

With just four days to go before the Autumnal Equinox, anxious readers have been asking, “What’s happening!?” So, we reached out to our network of color spotters and received these reports.

Bishop Creek Canyon – Just Starting to Patchy – Jared Smith of the Parcher’s Resort says it’s been “very odd weather wise” all summer. He said unseasonably warm August temperatures have delayed the emergence of fall color high up in Bishop Creek Canyon, west of Bishop (Inyo County). However, Jared says, “there’s been a marked difference in the past four days, since we began waking up to frost on the ground.” Still, the aspen are “super spotty,” though changing rapidly. Jared plans to provide a more extended report this week. So, stay tuned.

For those of you who’ve never had the delight of staying at Parcher’s, it’s at 9,200′ in elevation and surrounded by great fly fishing and aspen forests. The resort has so few cabins that it’s often difficult getting one, but here’s an insider tip… reserve a cabin there anytime after Mule Days (a Bishop tradition over the Memorial Day Weekend) during the first two weeks of June and you’ll be treated to a beautiful, uncrowded time of year. The fishing is out of this world, as is the welcome by Parcher’s knowledgeable staff. And, you’ll be able to see the aspen dressed in their freshest green.

Quaking Aspen, Hope Valley (9/15/17) Phillip Reedy

Hope Valley – Just Starting – Phillip Reedy found these jewels carried downstream in the Hope Valley. Phil cautions that it’s still to early to see much color, but if you’ll be there, look down to find colorful harbingers of what’s coming.

North Coast – Just Starting – Max Forster reports that bigleaf maple are beginning their show of gold and bright yellow along spots along the Redwood Highway (US 101).

Mendocino County – Just Starting – Koleen Hamblin reports that autumn marks the arrival of Mendocino County’s coveted candy cap, chanterelle, porcini and hedgehog mushrooms. Mendocino County is a hotspot of mushroom hunting with 3,000 varieties sprouting there, 500 of which are edible. CLICK HERE for a link to fungi foraging sites, tours, walks, rides, botanical gardens and cooking classes… all happening in Mendocino County during autumn. This is such a fun fall outing, that we plan a followup report on it.

Colorado – Patchy – North Coast color spotter Walt Gabler said a mid September drive through Colorado found lots of patchy yellow in the aspen. What’s happening in the Rockies is what should be happening in the Sierra, were it not for the hot August we experienced.

Lassen Volcanic National Park – Just Starting – Darrell Sano found lots of still-green aspen along the road to Butte Lake inside Lassen Volcanic National Park. The same was happening in Chico and along state highways 36, 44, 89, 128, 299, as he criss-crossed northern California.

Weaverville – Just Starting – Darrell reports that this scenic and historic town survived this past summer’s wildfires, though stretches of twisted metal and the burnt out remains of homes and cars left by the fire provide a surrealistic landscape through which to pass. Weaverville’s bigleaf maple and black oak are still standing by the Trinity River, so the color should be dramatic against the ashen landscape.

Lake/Napa/Sonoma Vineyards – Just Starting – Darrell tasted a little wine country, returning via Clear Lake to Pope Valley, seeing the lushly green vines along highway 29 and the Silverado Trail loaded with fruit.

Berkeley Hills – Just Starting to Patchy – The exotics are speckled with saturated eye candy in the Berkeley Hills says SF Bay Area color spotter Darrell Sano. He sends these shots taken while wandering the Berkeley Hills, yesterday.  Now, that’s a happy wanderer.

Berkeley Hills (9/17/17) Darrell Sano

Berkeley Hills (9/17/17) Darrell Sano

Sunflower Helianthus SP, Berkeley Hills (9/17/17) Darrell Sano

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luculia Gratissima, Berkeley Hills (9/17/17) Darrell Sano

Dogwood, Berkeley Hills (9/17/17) Darrell Sano

Japanese Maple, UC Berkeley campus (9/17/17) Darrell Sano

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Avenue of the Giants – Still Giant

Avenue of the Giants (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Avenue of the Giants (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Avenue of the Giants, US 101 (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Avenue of the Giants, US 101 (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Bigleaf maple, Avenue of the Giants (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Bigleaf maple, Avenue of the Giants (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Eel River, US 101 (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Eel River, US 101 (11/26/16) Son H Nguyen

Can you believe it?

We couldn’t until we saw these pictures sent by Son H Nguyen.

He spent the Thanksgiving Day weekend along the North Coast and returned with these shots of lingering color beside US 101, the Avenue of the Giants.

There’s even some lime among the coastal redwoods.

And, bigleaf maple are showing atypical color… not just yellow, but rust, lime and gold.

Nguyen’s photos show riparian color beside an Eel River that is swollen with muddy water from recent storms.

In a word, “Gigantic.”

Avenue of the Giants – Peak to Past Peak – YOU ALMOST MISSED IT!

 

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Fall Color in the Fog

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Napa Valley (11/19/16) Darrell Sano

Fall color intensifies in flat, overcast light, created by a foggy or rainy sky.

Oakland color spotter Darrell Sano was up in the Napa Valley yesterday, as rain swept across Northern California.

He returned with these bright images of fresh green grass and fully turned grape leaves, scenes similar to what Tracy Zhou captured during the previous week’s storm.

Darrell found the “intense, lush green that now blankets the vineyard floor” to be “striking” and contrasting “with what’s left of the reds and yellows on the vines.”

High winds lashed parts of the north state, though wind only strips what was ready to fall.

Leaves in the process of ascission often remain hanging.

Clouds and fog that “hung low among the trees… never did provide definition beyond a gray “softbox” of a sky. Nevertheless, the scenery was beautiful, subdued, and introspective.”

Darrell found beauty by searching “the many dead-end lanes that are perpendicular to the highly trafficked route 29 and Silverado Trail.”

Napa Valley – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

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Napa Valley: A Blend of Spring and Fall

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Napa Valley (11/12/16) Tracy Zhou

Peak continues in the vineyards, reports color spotter Tracy Zhou, with a blend of spring and fall.

Recent rains have encouraged grasses to sprout between the vines, creating a scene that is unusual… the combination of spring green and fall foliage.

Napa Valley – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

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California’s Longest Peak

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

California’s longest lasting peak occurs in its vineyards.

Fall color begins peaking by grape variety in October and continues through November.

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Napa Valley (11/5/16) Gene Miller

Gene Miller visited the Napa Valley yesterday and captured these images along CA-29 and the Silverado Trail.

He reported, “the whole area is alive with color,” admitting, “I passed up a lot of shots as my wine tasting took priority.”

Napa Valley – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

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First Report: Sugarloaf Ridge SP

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park (10/31/16) Susan Taylor

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park (10/30/16) Susan Taylor

Black oak, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

Black oak, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

Black oak, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

Black oak, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

Bigleaf maple, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

Bigleaf maple, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

Bigleaf maple, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

Bigleaf maple, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

California toyon, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

California toyon, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

California toyon, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

California toyon, Sugarloaf Ridge SP, Kenwood (10/29/16) John Natelli

John Natelli and Susan Taylor visited Sugarloaf Ridge State Park near Kenwood this past weekend and found bigleaf maple, black oak and California toyon peaking.

No doubt this past weekend’s storm knocked some leaves from trees, though our experience is that most leaves – particularly those just beginning to turn – will remain.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park (600′ – 2,729′), Kenwood – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!