Things to See and Do

Wildflower/Waterfall Hotline

"The Bloom Blog"

July 16, 2008

If you go up high enough you'll still find wildflowers

We're getting to the end of the Bloom Blog but as long as we still have wildflower photos coming in we'll post them.

Suzi Brakken took a photography trip with some friends to the Lakes Basin area last Monday in order to show photographer Tony Mindling good spots for shooting wildflowers.  Tony took a lot of great photographs last fall in the Indian Valley area - one ended up as the cover shot on our Visitors Guide for this year.  We're hoping for a wildflower photo on the cover next year so we invited him to shoot some wildflowers in the Lakes Basin area. They took the Long Lake Trail behind Grey Eagle Lodge.  The wildflowers at the beginning of the trail are waning but as you get closer to Long Lake they are superb. Suzi got some shots of the Leopard Lilies (above) which you'll find near the creek beds along the trail and the top section of Fern Falls (right).

Joe Willis also took a trip to Lakes Basin area last Friday hiking between Lily Lake (off the Gold Lake Highway) and Halsey Falls. He took the trail called the Fern Falls Loop which is on the right side of the Gold Lake Highway just 1.1 miles past the Grey Eagle Lodge.   For more details on this and other Lakes Basin hikes check out the newly revised, Feather River Country Adventure Trails (4th edition), by Tom DeMund.

 Mountain spiraea (above left)  and monk's hood, (above right) a member of the same family as buttercups,  larkspur, and columbine.

 Pennyroyal (above right), a wild mint helps to ward off mosquitoes and the scarlet gilia (above right) is a member of the phlox family and don't forget the fireweed (below).

Joe also got a good shot of Halsey Falls where he and his family sat for an hour watching dippers, dragonflies and water striders. 

 

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July 11, 2008

The wildflowers are still blooming in the higher elevations

Thanks to Carl Raymond for the great photos.

Bucks Lakes Area has some nice displays of flowers off of the Quincy-Oroville Highway near Grizzly Campground.  There's probably some good patches of flowers on the Pacific Crest Trail but unfortunately it's closed presently because of fire risk.

 

Here are some more shots of the Lakes Basin area.  Isn't that a great shot of the bear? How cute can you get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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July 2, 2008

Lakes Basin is happening with waterfalls and wildflowers !

Fern Falls in Lake Basin		Lakes Basin wildflowers

The Lakes Basin area near Graeagle is looking quite refreshing with waterfalls and wildflowers.  Fern Falls (off the Grey Eagle/Long Lake trail) is the photo above.  You can't see the whole cascading falls, but the top photo of the falls  flows into the bottom refreshing pool. There are other great waterfalls in the area including:  Jamison Falls (near Johnsville), Frazier Falls (up the Gold Lake Road), and Halsey Falls (near Grey Eagle Lodge on the Long Lake trail).  Fern Falls is little tricky to find if you haven't been there because there doesn't appear to be a sign.  You can hear the falls at the intersection of the Long Lake trail where it  turns left to the Lake Basin Campground.  Do a little scampering on the rocks and there it is.  If you'd like to do some interesting climbing you can reach the pool at the bottom which is great for swimming.

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6/28/2008

 

Jim Wilcox (Feather River Coordinated Resource Management) gave us this photo of aquatic polygonum, a native plant that only recently reappeared after successful watershed restoration in area of Red Clover Valley. 

 

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6/27/2008

More than fires, some great wildflowers

The Lakes Basin area near Graeagle should be bursting with with wildflowers.  Try the Long Lake trail taking off from Grey Eagle Lodge. You'll also pass a few waterfalls.  That trail was a recommendation from Tom DeMund, author of Feather River Country Adventure Trails, who just popped in before a book signing at Epilog Book store. 

Joe Willis found a few  summer flowers (Farewell to Spring-top right, Leopard Lily-top left) on the new Community Trail near Feather River College and some Columbine (left) on Claremont near Quincy. You should also be able to find the Leopard Lily and  Columbine in the Lakes Basin area.

 

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6/13/2008

The wildflowers are starting in the Lakes Basin area. (Map: go a little southwest from Graeagle finding the Gold Lake Road which takes you to the Lakes Basin area)

View Larger Map

Joe Willis had this to say about wildflowers in the Lakes Basin:

One could say that we're past the height of spring in American Valley.  The Lakes Basin above 6000' is in early spring. The following were seen yesterday (Thursday, June 12) There are  Goldenrods (to the left) of which there are many species, Solidago. There are hundreds of fawn lilies  along the trail to Spirit Rock. Spreading phlox (lower right) may be seen  along the Gold Lake Road near the summit and there are many species of Penstemon (left)  in the Lakes Basin area. 

 

Spring may be over around Quincy but it's just getting started above 5000'. And it looks like a good one for flowers in the Lakes Basin and high elevations generally.

 

There's even a book on wildflowers in the Lakes Basin:  Wildflower Walking in Lakes Basin of the Northern Sierra by Toni Fauver.

Indian Valley also has wildflowers: Cynthia Lusk reports:

"There are colorful flowers growing along Hosselkus Trail (starting near Taylorsville) including  Scarlet Gilia (left) and Arrowhead Balsamroot. 

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6/1/2008  Genesee-Beckwourth route is splendid!

Jim Wilcox, from Genesee Valley, spends most of his time working on stream restoration projects on the Genesee-Beckwourth route #7.

Just this morning he said,

"You can find every wildflower in the world on this route.  I wrote down a half page of  different wildflowers (lupine, mules ear, larkspur, wild onions, paint brush, buttercups, etc) on my notebook.  The whole route is covered with wildflowers."
 

The Genesee-Beckwourth route takes about four hours, approximately 75 miles one way, 3,500 to 7,000 feet elevation.  You can start from Beckwourth on Highway 70 or Taylorsville near Greenville off of Highway 89.  It's a road less traveled, a local favorite for quietude and remote, stunning scenery.

 

 

Jim also sent a photo from Humbug Valley,  another favorite backcountry route, near Chester. The meadow is full of larkspur.

 

Mike Nellor, co-owner of Ada's Place in Quincy,  sent some photos after a little prodding.   He said he would send them if he didn't have to identify the flowers.  Many of his photos are from the Rock Creek area near Quincy plus some dogwood just outside of Quincy on Highway 70.  The azaleas, rhubarb, iris, and pink shown below are found in a variety of places other than Rock Creek so look around - it's a big county.

Western Azalea		Indian Rhubarb	Indian Pink
Wild Iris		Dogwood

Cynthia Lusk, Forest Service,  has a new report with some photos:

"Pretty yellow flowers along the road to Antelope Lake are Arrowleaf
Balsamroot (Balsamarhiza sagitaria)

"The Dogwood trees are in full bloom!

Good places to view the dogwoods in bloom are the Bucks Lake area, Big Creek Road, Deanes Valley, Schneider Creek, and La Porte Road."

 

Joe Willis, naturalist and teacher, gets the prize for the most "petal peeper".   His latest report:

 "The Interior rose, Rosa woodsii, now blooming everywhere in the 3000 - 4000 range. This one on the north slope of Claremont overlooking Quincy. Likes shade.

Yesterday I found a crop of "showy milkweed" at a safe turnout about 1/4 mile north of the Greenville Y. I've included a view of the whole plant as well as a closeup of the spectacular flower."

 

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5/22/2008

So many flowers so little time!

Richard McCutcheon just spent a few days in Squaw Valley.  This Squaw Valley is not a ski resort but a valley in Plumas County between Antelope Lake and Beckwourth taking roads 177 and 176. (map)  The map is pointing to Antelope Lake showing the southern road (176)  which flows into 177 ending up at Beckwourth.  Squaw Valley is between the lake and Beckwourth (near Portola).  Check out a detailed map if you're coming and/or ask for the brochure Plumas County Backcountry Drives (Beckwourth-Antelope Lake-Indian Valley Route)

Richard had this to say:  "Squaw Valley is so pretty now. Picture of the valley with Squaw Peak in the background (above left).   Then in and around the valley are more Desert Dandelions then I have seen in ages and some pretty sunflowers all over the hills.  Not sure what this pretty little plant (left) was that was growing right in the middle of the road." 




 

Richard also sent a photo of the famous snake tree in Squaw Valley. 
 

 

 

 

Quincy is starting to bloom!

Joe Willis reports in on the Quincy area: "Our beautiful flowers within a hundred yards of my house at the base of Claremont. A scarlet fritillary, Fritillaria recurva, which I've sent before. But, this was a particularly nice shot and there are hundreds of them blooming now in shady areas on the north facing slopes of Claremont.  An orchid (right) that is often mistaken for pine drops, or not seen at all. on close inspection, this spotted coral root, Corallorhize maculata, is a spectacular plant, and is a parasite.   Sierra mariposa lily, (left) Calochortus minimus, is plentiful and mixed with the scarlet fritillary. Some specimens are almost pure white, but most are baby blue. Very nice-looking flower. "

"The photo to the right is one of perhaps 20 genera of the sunflower family that look more or less alike except to experts. This one caught my eye because of the bug. They're along the roadsides everywhere in the county now.  A Brodiaea, probably one called "blue dicks." It's a lily, and there are a dozen or so species of it in the county. Some blue, some yellow, some white. More recent field guides have brodiaea separated into three diffeent genera. I can't keep up!  The lilac is  from my front yard. Surprisingly, they are in the olive family. When the flowers wilt and the seed pods develop, it's not so hard to see the connection with the olive family."

 

Don't forget the Snow Plant!

 

 

Cynthia Lusk said she's seen a lot of snow plants  in areas where the snow is just leaving.  This one was found on the Antelope Taylor Trail. 

 

 

 

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5/16/2008

Feather River Canyon, the Cascades, and Indian Creek

View  Map
Karen Kleven went down the canyon last Sunday:  "The monkey flowers are fantastic from Belden south past the  tunnels for a few miles.  How can such lovely flowers grow out of those rocks?  If you're coming from the south you'll start seeing the monkey flowers a few miles past Pulga.  There still should be lots of lupine and  great displays of those white deer brush flowers. "

"On my way down the canyon I stopped at Belden Town to see if they were open for business.  Good news:  the bar and restaurant are open plus they're renting several cabins and RV spaces.  The outdoor patio for the restaurant sits right above the river offering a lovely view.  "

Keddie Cascades: Call 530-283-6345 for directions

Joe Willis:  We took a family hike along the Keddie Cascades Trail and the flowers were impressive. Lots and lots of red larkspur.  A pair of geese with five goslings swimming alongside were a special added treat. We also met several groups of friends along the trail.

Photo to the left is a catchfly, sometimes called a pink, a same family as carnations.  Indian rhubarb (to the right), or umbrella plant, Darmera peltata, these were plentiful in the river which means we'll have lots of great color when the leaves turn red in the fall.   There were also lots of lupine, buttercup, miner's lettuce, ferns and mosses, and the trees are more gorgeous every day. Oh, and the poison oak was actually quite pretty, if you're not paranoid.
Cascade falls are on upper right. 

Indian Creek: Take Highway 89 off of Highway 70 towards Greenville and Lake Almanor.  Lots of dogwood on the far side of Indian Creek.  Need to go slow or stop your car to get the full effect. 
 

Chester area:  Some of the meadows have a nice display of yellow flowers and some lupine as you're  going north on Highway 89 and on Highway 36 towards Lassen Park ( now open all the way through).
 

 

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5/9/2008

Hurray! The monkey flowers are out in the Feather River Canyon!

Richard from Taylorsville spent last Wednesday in the Feather River Canyon checking out the wildflowers. 

Richard: "I took the photo of the poppies at Jarbo, and the lupine just above Rock Creek Dam and the orange flowers (monkey flowers) at Pulga and the geese in the water behind Rock Creek Dam."

 

"Always be on the look out for little goslings, they have hatched now and are a pretty sight to see in the feather river."

" Drive slowly by the dams here there are many geese. Momma goose has a habit to get her little ones toooo close to the road, so be careful."

 

Jim Wilcox is our "petal peeper" on the east side in the Little Last Chance area where he's been doing stream restoration work.  To get there you can go to Antelope Lake and take 176 south towards Beckwourth.  He says  the soil in this area doesn't hold moisture well therefore because of the light spring rains the flowers aren't as plentiful as in other years but they're still there.  A few are shown below: 
 

5/5/2008

Spring seems to finally be here!!

Wildflowers and waterfalls in Northern California - Feather River Canyon and Beyond

Report from Cynthia Lusk, Forest Service: "Lots of flowers are in full bloom, in the Feather River Canyon right now!"
"Purple Lupine is very colorful, right along Hwy 70."

 "These photos were taken along the Chamber Creek Trail (which has 7-8 logs across the trail right now, but we will be cleared soon...".   (The trail is 
6 1/2 miles south of Belden or 35 1/2 miles from Quincy in the Feather River Canyon).

"Many wildflowers along Chamber Creek Trail:
Sticky Monkey Flower, Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, Larkspur, dogwood (left), and another 4-5 I don't know the names of" (ground iris-below left)  

"Chambers Creek waterfall, 3 miles up Chambers Creek Trail, Mt. Hough Ranger District."
 

 

 

Joe Willis, teacher and naturalist:  "Things are happening along Indian Creek next to Hwy 89 and on the Mt. Hough Road. I drove up to around 5000' and got a few good flower shots. "

Indian Creek:

"Arrowleaf balsamroot (left), often mistaken for mule ears, Balsamorhiza sagittata, flowering along Hwy 89, midway between Greenville Y and Crescent Mills.

Showy phlox, Phlox speciosa (right), hard to spot unless you get out and walk. These were near the aforementioned balsamroot."

Other wildflower spots in Plumas County

Indian paintbrush at around 5000' on Mt. Hough, Castilleja sp., there are many species. 027, buck brush, Ceanothus cuneatus, blooming well at 4000-5000', and already going to seed in lower canyon.

Horsetails (right), sterile fronds, not a flowering plant, a fern ally, relic of the dinosaur age, and beautiful, AKA scouring rush, Equisetum sp., these are coming up alongside the path from parking lot to upper campus at FRC.

Gooseberry (left), taken on the FRC nature trail and a dandelion (upper left), justifying its existence by supporting a lustrous copper butterfly, taken in American Valley.
Spring seems to finally be here. Joe

 

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5/2/2008

Wildflowers in the Feather River Canyon:  Visitors coming up the canyon say it looks lovely right now.  They especially like the lupine that are everywhere.

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4/27/2008

Wildflowers in the Feather River Canyon: "I can't give you names but things are finally popping out. The Lupine are everywhere, all the way up to Twain. The rest are coming up the canyon slowly, " says Pete Dryer of Northwest Management.

Lupine and poppies (upper left)
Lupine and paintbrush (upper right)
Milkweed? (below)
Rock Penstemon (right)

 

 

 

 

I went hiking by Keddie Cascade with my dad, Joe Willis, and he let me use his camera for the attached photos. The tiny blue and white one is some kind of monkey flower or relative, the yellow one with a fly on it is buttercup. The reddish ones with spurs are larkspur which dad says is in the same family as buttercups. The purplish one is shooting star. I am in 8th grade at Plumas Charter School. Sincerely, Ryan Willis

Call the Visitors Bureau (800-326-2247) for directions to the Keddie Cascades.

 Waterfall near Greenville: Not many wildflowers in this area yet but the waterfall is quite nice. Karen Kleven actually saw a kayak go over the falls and come out the other end. It's a leisurely walk down a well marked trail.  To get there take Highway 70 towards Quincy and turn off on Highway 89 (about 10 miles from Quincy) towards Greenville for about 2 miles.  Look out for the turn-off to Indian Falls on the river side where you will see a good size turn out.  Drive a few minutes down to a parking lot.  The trail is right there with some nice signage.

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4/24/2008

Falls and flowers galore!

The Feather River Canyon has some great treats between Pulga and Belden.

Karen Kleven, a Quincy resident, had this to say about her trip last weekend through the canyon: "It definitely felt like spring unfolding.  There were so many shades of green from the dark green conifers to the chartreuse foliage just appearing on the maples.  My favorite flower was the gigantic lupine (photo by Martin Oberg) amidst the smaller lupine.  Near Cresta Dam on the river side a large dogwood was in bloom." 

Cynthia Lusk, another outstanding "petal peeper" who works for the Forest Service,  is actually paid to cruise around the forest.  We're glad she likes to take photos while she's out and about.  She sent us a nice photo of scarlet fritillary (left) embedded in rocks in the canyon plus a purple flower (right) which we need help identifying.  But best of all we have a new waterfall (right) to share with you off the Tobin Trail (the trail is on the same side of road as the Tobin Resort).

Martin Oberg, from Fernley, spent two days checking out the flowers in the canyon with his wife. They stayed in Quincy taking day trips down the canyon.  When asked what he thought he said:

 "It was definitely worth the trip because there was plenty to see.  Lots of pull outs and some waterfalls were visible from the road. But don't go to Table Mountain because it's over. I didn't get any photos of paintbrush."  He took over 50 photos kindly stopping by the Visitors Bureau on his way home to share them with us.  Three of his photos are below. 

 

 

The higher elevations in the Lakes Basin area are still snowed in but Cynthia Lusk got this beautiful photo of Frazier Falls.  To get there presently you'll need skis or a snowmobile but it will be open soon for hiking and biking.

 

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4/15/2008

The Feather River Canyon is starting to blossom

Pete Dryer, who manages  the public campgrounds in the canyon, sent us some new photos of the lower canyon.  Before we had poppies in buds and now we have full blossoms (right) plus some lupine (left). 


Also let's not forget the redbud (right) which was the first to bloom and is still holding strong plus the first signs of dogwood (left)  blossoms.

 

Joe Willis spent last weekend exploring Table Mountain and the Feather River Canyon for new signs of wildflowers. His report is below:

"Although Table Mountain is starting to get brown, some late bloomers are just now emerging.  Many folks seem attached to trying to catch the mountain at its peak which is understandable, but there is much to be gained by continuing to return...taking a closer look. " 
The buttercup (left) and the  bitterroot  (right) from the forget-me-not family were blooming at Table Mountain. 

Going up the Feather River Canyon out of Oroville Joe says, "You won't see many flowers besides lupine and redbud while going 55 mph, but if you stop by any tributary and walk around you will discover many flowers, ferns, and small creatures."

One of these tributaries is Rush Creek (which was described in the waterfall section as Rock Creek) but Joe insists that it's not Rock but Rush.  But anyway it's just beyond the tunnels (left) - look for the railroad trestle on the left and park there.  While walking up the cascades Joe found some bush monkey flowers (below) and wall flowers (right).

 

 

"They're (monkey flower and wall flower) just starting to bloom in the lower canyon.  In a few more weeks, watch for them along the cliffs coming toward Quincy from the Greenville "Y".

 

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4/11/2008

A few flowers around Quincy

Joe Willis, naturalist and teacher, and a prolific "petal peeper" has some flower updates around the Quincy area. Joe is very much into the whole process not just the bloom.

"Here are a few oddball signs of spring around Quincy. Mostly along the Keddie Cascades Trail "about 5 miles northwest of Quincy.

New lupine leaves catching dew drops (left).   Big Leaf Maple bud (right)  
Sierra violet (but it's yellow!) being pollinated by hover fly (below right).  
Sierra violet (below left)

There were many red larkspur plants in foliage but no buds yet. In another couple of weeks they should be great along the trail.

Currently, on Claremont all around the Boyle Ravine there are clusters of fawn lily.

 Also, manzanita are blooming on the mountains all around Quincy.

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4/9/2008

Latest on the Feather River Canyon from Feather Publishing

The local newspaper just printed an article entitled: "Wet and Wild: Tour features waterfalls and wildflowers" by Delaine Fragnoli who spent the day with her family exploring the canyon and Table Mountain last weekend.   Here are a few excerpts:

"We began spotting wildflowers as we neared Pulga: a bunch of poppies here, some bush lupine there, and a profusion of western redbud. ..We arrived at Table Mountain, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch...The hike to the Table Mountain waterfall proved pleasant , but the waterfall itself was a bit disappointing (not much more than a trickle).  We headed back to the canyon along Cherokee Road.  By the time we reached Rock Creek Cascades, we had counted almost two-dozen different kinds of flowers or blooming plants and nearly as many trickles, cascades and waterfalls."
 

Tomorrow we'll have some more photos of the Quincy area where a few flowers are starting to unfold.

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4/7/2008

Waterfalls and redbud in the canyon - still snow on the peaks

Yesterday a man from San Francisco dropped into  the Visitors Bureau  asking for information about the best places to check out wildflowers in  the Feather River Canyon.  We told him that about 50 miles down the canyon the redbud was quite nice but no big displays closer to Quincy as of yet.  It won't be long until the monkey flowers start hanging from the rocks, but not yet.

He was also interested in finding some new waterfalls so we sent him to the one up the dirt road across from Shady Rest stop in the canyon.  On this trip he had tried to go to Frazier Falls near Graeagle but found the road blocked by snow.  Just a reminder that the higher elevations in our area are still covered with snow so if you're coming up you can find spring and winter activities -  hiking in the Feather River Canyon and skiing in the Bucks Lake, Lakes Basin, and Chester area.

On his way up he had stopped at Table Mountain but wasn't that impressed.  He said, " I'm used to tall flowers.  They were all so tiny."  I guess the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

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4/1/2008

Pete Dryer: "The Redbud were West of Pulga, just below Canyon View a week ago. Now they are all the way down to the Canyon floor and go East of the Cal Trans station. The Redbud  (attached) is, again, just below Canyon View.
You will excuse my plant identity. I am guessing at some of the species."  Pete thinks the photo on the right is sandwort.

Richard McCutcheon, a tireless petal peeper had this to say about the Feather River Canyon:  "Flowers (below)  and the redbud (right) along the highway was just over the Pulga Bridge at Four Tree Rd. The pretty fall (below) and mossy rock are right at the entrance to Four Tree Rd. The larger fall (below) is at Tobin. "

Last Chance Creek outside of Taylorsville toward Antelope Lake is starting to show a little color.  Jim Wilcox, director for a stream restoration program in Plumas County, got these photos last week near Last Chance Creek.  He kindly keyed them out to be Fern Leaf Lomatum.

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3/31/2008

From Karen Rodriguez who spent some time at Table Mountain last week:  "Table Mountain was wonderful and we can tell its going to get better soon. Here are some pictures of the area. The first 3 white small white flowers we haven't been able to id. And the calochortus lily we
don't know which one it is. Maybe you could help us with that. I think we counted around 42 species we saw. The shooting stars are from
the Cherokee Cemetery. CSU Chico has a book of table mt. flowers but its limited and found a site with pictures but its also limited.

http://www.butte.edu/instruction/biol/Butte_flowers/main.html

If you know those flowers, let me know.

 

Try and get there soon, you'll love it."

 

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3/27/2008

Signs of spring from Joe Willis, naturalist and science teacher, and a dedicated petal peeper.  Photographs were taken near the Greenville "Y" or at the Highway 89/70 intersection about 10 miles from Quincy.

"Here are four signs of spring, although not strictly confined to "petals." The tree frogs are out in force and cannot be ignored when looking for wildflowers. They are the Pacific Tree Frog, AKA Hyla regilla, although some herpetologists now call it Pseudacris regilla, believing it more closely related to the "chorus" frogs back east than to the true tree frogs.

 Then there's the beautiful big millipede, Spirobolus sp., which one can smell, like a sweet cyanide, among the aromas of many new flowers and cherry bark, and a more advanced stage of "pussy willows", Salix sp., in which you can plainly see these "buds" have turned into flowers. This is the same willow I photographed back on Feb. 18 at the beginning of the blog.

The little white flower, only 1/4" across, is the beautiful, but hard to spot, spring whitlow grass, Draba verna. It has four petals (like all members of the mustard family, Cruciferae (crucifix), but the petals are deeply cleft so it appears to have eight. These were photographed by the Greenville "Y".

Others to be watching for in the canyon would include fawn lily and other lilies, various brodiaeas, also lilies, watercress (a mustard), and of course the many ferns. I'd recommend getting a pocket guide to the ferns at B&N before heading up the canyon. If you explore stream sides and shady sides of cliffs, you can find at least a dozen species now very lush. Various hardwoods are budding - oaks, maple, alder, willow, cottonwoods, and many of them fully flower before the leaves turn large and green so it's a great time to examine these flowers, most ot the trees having separate male (catkins) flowers and female ("cones") flowers. Those on the black oak, big leaf maple and alder being particularly prominent."

Table Mountain: Pam Beck and her family (from Greenville) spent Easter Sunday at Table Mountain walking in the fields of flowers and finding their favorite spot near the waterfall to have lunch.  She said it was like a painting but did notice less purple flowers and no sign of the white flowers by the creek.  Maybe they'll still appear.  Usually her kids can go wading in the creek but this year it was freezing.  Her daughter may send some photos. 

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3/21/2008

Feather River Canyon: Redbud

Pete Dryer, from Northwest Park Management, promised us some photos on his trips through the Feather River Canyon so here we go.  The first sign of spring is the Western Redbud near the beginning of the canyon about one mile after the Grandview Restaurant (closed for business).   The pinkish -red flowers are set off by the green of the evergreens. 

Even though we're not located in the valley this spring photo, taken near Marysville, was too nice to pass up. 

Pussy willows are popping out all over the county.  Richard McCutcheon, from Taylorsville, sent this photo from around Taylorsville. 
 

 

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3/14/2008

Last Monday Karen Kleven from Quincy traveled home via Table Mountain and the Feather River Canyon checking out wildflower and waterfalls.  Try the self-guided tour page for more details about Table Mountain  and the Feather River Canyon.

"Table Mountain isn't at its peak (which is usually the first and second week of April) but it's still pretty nice.  Lots of frying pan poppies, buttercups and lupine and some cute red flowers by the creek bed.  I walked up the creek from the big oak tree and found the waterfall after an easy hike of about twenty minutes.  I really like this place."

Frying pans and lupine	Waterfall at Table Mountain	Creek leading to waterfall

"After leaving Table Mountain I headed up the Feather River Canyon carefully watching for wildflowers and waterfalls.  These are the best falls (below) I found but I know there are more.  Each one was so different and spectacular in its own way.  The Redbud was just starting to bloom between Pulga and Grandview but the latest  report (today ) from Richard McCutcheon was that it was looking very good. Hopefully we'll have some photos for next week."
 

	Shady Rest Falls		Rock Creek Cascades		Jackass Falls

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2/19/2008

Photos from Joe Willis taken last weekend at Table Mountain off of Highway 70 near Oroville.  How to get there: From Oroville going north take Table Mountain Blvd. or if you're going south take Cherokee Road.  Check out the Oroville Chamber of Commerce for more detailed information under What's New Table Mountain Wildflower Information.