Fall in the Great Valley: A Colorful Treat

I admit that California's Great Valley is sometimes a drab place. In the late summer, the almonds are being harvested, and the process involves the production of vast amounts of dust. The air is stagnant, trapped between the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada, with few winds to clear the skies. For weeks at a time, I won't be able to see either mountain range. And the sunsets are generally unremarkable affairs that are totally easy to ignore.

As the fall season approaches, things start to change a bit. For months we have been trapped beneath the subtropical belt of high pressure, a global circulation pattern that blocks rainstorms from reaching California. Little or no rain will fall from May to October. But when we reach September, the first tentative low pressure systems start to rotate out of the northwest, bringing no precipitation but the breezes start to clear out the dust and smoke. And the first cloud banks start to appear.

The sky was a real treat tonight. For the last few days we've had some high puffy cumulus clouds in the upper atmosphere, and on Thursday morning I spied the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada as I climbed the outdoor stairs to my office. And tonight the clouds blazed forth in full glory as the sun sank deeper below the horizon. The white light was refracted through air layers on the horizon and broke up into shades of yellow, pink and red.

I know there are lots of places where spectacular sunsets are a way of life. The Oregon coast, Tucson, and Maui come to mind out of my own experiences. But there is something a little special about seeing a spectacular sunset like this in a place where they are precious and few.

Autumn, Western Style

Sycamore at the Pinnacles National Park Visitor Center

I can't help but notice that winter has set in around much of the country, but my calendar says it's still autumn for another few weeks. I don't know why so many of you are so anxious to jump right into winter, but I'm not. As I've traveled around these last two weeks, I've seen some beautiful sights that I'm sharing as part of a feeling of thanksgiving.

Sycamore tree and Saguaro Cactus in Burro Canyon, Arizona

The western United States has some of the best geology to be found anywhere in the world, but the eastern U.S. can certainly boast a wonderful show when autumn rolls around. I'd never say we can compete for color, because our trees are usually few and far between, or hidden in conifer forests. Still there is great beauty in individual trees, like the Sycamore I saw last week at Burro Canyon in Arizona, or two weeks ago at Pinnacles National Park.

A street in Modesto CA

My home base of Modesto is no slouch in the color department. We may be the officially the #2 or #3 worst place to live, but for a few weeks in November, our streets come alive with color. One of our most colorful ornamentals is the Modesto Ash, a tree of western origin that is good in drought conditions.

In the Klamath Mountains near Dunsmuir

The mountains aren't done yet, either. As we drove north towards Oregon yesterday, the hills around Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta were alive with color as well.

Our winter will come soon enough. I'm glad to see fall colors lasting for weeks after the leaves have all fallen elsewhere!