October 17, 2009
Rita and Danetta
from Oakland stopped in to say
goodbye on their way back to the Bay area
this morning, and wanted to let all of you
leaf-peepers coming up to visit Plumas
County know that they saw Maple and
willow trees along Indian Creek
off of State Hwy. 89 near Taylorsville in
Indian Valley that were absolutely
gorgeous in yellows and reds. Dannetta
strongly recommends: "Stop and take some
time to take a walk, breathe in all of
that wonderful fresh fall air and soak up
all the color."
 Joe Willis of
Quincy checked in again with photos he
took Thursday on that same route, between
Quincy and Greenville (above left.). Says
Joe; "The colors were great. The Big leaf
maple in most places is an even, deep
yellow, but one in my back yard (below) was
bright orange and red. Must be where the
bear poops each night after eating my
plums." He continues:
Most of the California black oak are an intense orange, but the
prettiest ones, when viewed up close, have
splashes of green, red, orange, yellow, and
purple. This one by the Dawn
Institute (above right) near
Indian Falls was one of the prettiest I've
seen.
A
very pretty little nook on a sharp curve
just north of the Keddie Y is
a scene with one prominent big leaf maple
surrounded by bright red dogwoods,
and the whole colorful scene surrou nded
by healthy evergreens. Among
the
shrubs and other short plants along the
way are my
favorite, the service berry, showy milkweed
which is interesting throughout the year,
and Sierra wild rose. All of these can be
seen in the short stretch from the
Greenville Y to the Taylorsville T.
October 16, 2009
With the town of
Quincy absolutely brilliant with peak color,
we decided to solicit some input from local
youngsters. The second-graders (mostly aged
7) in Mrs. Cullen’s class at Pioneer
Elementary School in Quincy were asked
to write leaf-peeping reports Friday as a
writing assignment. Here’s a few of their
reports (corrected for
spelling/punctuation):
“I saw dee r
eating my leaves off my pear tree. It was
cool. And it was at night and the leaves
were beautiful. And I saw red and yellow,
even magenta. I couldn’t believe it. It was
amazing, it was cool! I can’t wait until
they all fall. I get to rake and jump in
them. It will be fun. And my brother gets to
do it too. I can’t wait. I love Halloween
and fall. They are very fun.” -- Chyanne
 “I
think I have seen fall color before. I was
sitting and then a leaf fell on my nose and
I sniffed it off. It was red.” – Wesley
“I found a tree with
leaves that were lots of different colors at
the high school (corner of Hwy. 70 and
Quincy Junction Road, in photo at top). The
colors were yellow, orange and red. It was a
miracle to see something like I have never
seen before. I loved it. I had a lot of fun.
I was with my dad and my dad laughed at me.
I love my dad.” – Jordan
 “I
saw some yellow leaves on the tree in my
front yard (in downtown Quincy). They were
helicopter leaves ‘cause they float down
like helicopters.” -- Emma
I saw a tree with a
whole bunch, like 100 leaves. They were red,
green, yellow ones. They made me so happy,
like “YEA!” I was at the park. I played a
lot, it was hot and sunny.” -- Leo
“I saw red leaves and
yellow tree leaves. I saw it in Blairsden
and Plumas Pines, driving in my car and
walking by the river. It made me feel very
happy. The road from my home to my school is
very colorful.” – Sam (commutes from
Graeagle to Quincy)
“I was watching TV
and I saw a beautiful leaf.” – Ethan
“I saw fall colors at
my house (off Chandler Road.) There were
deer eating off the tree at my house and
they were getting ready to hibernate. It
rained a lot. The rain was cool.” –
Alicia
" I saw fall colors at
Wilburn Construction (near Lee Road and
Quincy Junction Road.) Trees of yellow and
red too. Because I was driving.” --
Parker
 “I
saw a maple tree. Some maple trees fell
while I was riding my bike on my road (in
East Quincy). Red leaves.” -- Johnny
Thanks kids! And
keep checking back because the
leaf-peeping reports are finally pouring in
from around the county, which means it must
be close to peak!
October 15, 2009
 Leaf-peeper
Richard McCutcheon of Indian Valley has
finally captured some great fall foliage
while he was out deer hunting and ATVing!
This shot is along Road 49 on the way to
Claremont Peak. From Quincy, take the road
across from Fairgrounds Road (passing the
Valley View Apartments) and continue about 8
miles or so. He says: "Just remember
to tell the peepers that the rain has washed
off the leaves and now they are much more
vivid." Good thing Richard shot this photo
as he didn't shoot any deer!
Rita and Danetta of Oakland took a
trip up the Feather River Canyon
along Hwy. 70 yesterday and stopped in the
Visitors Center. They report the colors are
getting good in the higher elevation past
Belden, with shades of mostly yellow and a
bit of red. Said Rita: "The colors are just
beautiful against those dark conifers!
Especially fresh-washed and reflecting the
sun."
It's still a bit damp and cloudy out
there, but blue skies and warm sun are soon
to come! It should be an excellent weekend
for leaf-peeping, with lots of color
happening in certain locations -- and peak
still to come!
If you're heading to see the excellent
foliage at Bucks Lake, stop in at the
Bucks Lake Wilderness Celebration and
Ceremony, at 11 am, Saturday, October 17 at the Silver Lake
Campground. Bucks Lake Wilderness is
25 years old! Afterwards, it's a BYOL (bring
your own lunch) affair, with hiking and
kayaking starting at 1 pm. The fall color
viewing by kayak should be phenomenal!
October 14, 2009
And the sun slowly returns....
 There's
nothing like sun and a rainbow to brighten
up the grey skies! This was the scene
heading northwest from Quincy this
morning along Hwy. 70 -- right by the
Visitor Center. In this muted light, the
turning maples and oaks on the hillside are
brightening up and illustrate that we're
about on track with color.
Throughout the county, we're around 50-75
percent, with aspens and dogwood showing
well along the road to Antelope Lake. The
drives now to Indian Valley and Bucks
Lake are showy, though not yet at peak.
There's been two reports of improved color
between the Greenville "Y" (intersection of
Hwy. 70 and 89) and the Taylorsville "T"
(where 89 intersects with the road to
Taylorsville. The ever-peeping Joe Willis
of Quincy advises visitors to look for red
bushes (service berry), along with deep
yellow Big Leaf maple and black oak, which
averages orange but is highlighted with
patches of yellow, green, red and purple.
 Meanwhile,
it's "just bada boom!" in the
neighborhoods of downtown Quincy and out
at the fairgrounds, according to John
Sheehan. (Photo at right shows the Mt.
Harvest Festival event last Saturday at the
fairgrounds.) The non-native maples, sweet
gums, sumac, plums/cherries and birches are
flaming with red, orange, yellow and purple.
The famous Theiler tree (shown in
last post) at the corner of Lee Way and High
Street is garnering lots of "oohs and aahs"
as it makes its seasonal debut.
Peep ers
can count on this wet weather leaving soon
and peak expected to arrive about a week
from now, or possibly later.
Elsewhere around the region, spotters are
reporting that color is just getting
started. Mike from Bassett's Station
says the aspens along the Yuba River on the
way to Sierra City are at about 20 percent
colored.
And over in Eastern Plumas County, the
gorgeous drive from Chilcoot to Frenchman
Lake through Frenchman Canyon is around
15 percent, according to Wiggin's Trading
Post. Photos to come!
October 13, 2009
And the rain begins...
But don't fret- the rain is going to make
our fall color that much more spectacular in
the next week. Mother Nature is giving the
scenery a nice shower so that the color can
be shown off at its dazzling best.
 J an
Dawson of Quincy, sends us some photos of
her neighborhood on High Street in Quincy.
As you can see, the colors are really
getting vibrant. A local Quincy kitty cat is
basking in the autumn sunshine, pictured
left. A famous downtown Quincy maple is
pictured at the right.
Linda Johnson of Eastern Plumas Chamber
of Commerce sends us her leaf peeper report:
"On October 10,
2009 I took a drive to Greenville and
while passing through Quincy the Fall
Colors were beautiful. The trees by the
High School were getting the colors that
I remember seeing in the past years. The
trees all along the street were showing
the colors. I noticed that the trees in
the canyon were getting their yellows
and at some places reds. Once I turned
onto Highway 89 going toward
Taylorsville and Greenville you could
see the oak on the hills turning and
getting the yellows, golds and reds.
Some of the bushes
along the road on the right were red
(sorry I don't know what type of bush
they were). I think I saw some of the
Indian Rhubarb that had turned red along
the river. All along the road on both
sides there were yellows, golds and reds
in some places.
In Greenville on
First St. there is a big oak and it was
gold, yellows and red."
October 12, 2009
A wonderful burst of color
 John
Sheehan, of Quincy, reports that while he
was up in the Bucks Lake area, he was
pleasantly surprised by the magnificent
color that is going on up at Big Creek Rd,
just off the Bucks Lake HWY. Big Leaf Maples
and California Dogwood show off their
spectacular autumn color. Also, the famous
Quaking Aspen Grove, pictured right,
on the Oroville Bucks Lake Hwy is
becoming quite vibrant. Lower Bucks Lake
Road is also a must see route as well.
 If
you are heading up to Bucks Lake from
Quincy, a quick stop at Snake Lake
may be in order. This Black Cottonwood
, pictured left, near the turn off to Snake
Lake is taking on a brilliant yellow hue.
Don't forget to stop in at the Meadow Valley
Store if you are in need of refreshments for
your journey up to the lake. If you miss the
stop in Meadow Valley, don't panic- the
store at Bucks Lake Lodge is open and ready
to accomodate you.
(Photos of Aspen and Black Cottonwood
taken by Joe Willis.)
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