I just love Autumn! While it's not true that the seasons never change in California, and also not true that we don't get a lot of Fall color, it can be a blink and you miss it moment some years.
This year we had an Indian Summer that was hotter than most of the regular Summer. So Autumn came and went pretty fast at the higher elevations. There is still some gorgeous foliage here in Sacramento, but who wants photos of gorgeous trees with urban sprawl? Not me!
So last weekend I headed up Highway 50 to Apple Hill. I went on the spur of the moment, just before sunset and basically just drove around until I spotted red or yellow. I got really lucky because it was mostly brown and green!
It was kind of chilly and a lot of folks had burn piles going. Which made for some beautiful sun rays peaking through the evergreens.
But luckily, I found a few spots where color was lingering. Including one farm that had this cool, old truck!
This place was really beautiful. There were several bright spots of color along with some very cool stuff to take pictures of.
Obviously I just loved this huge waterwheel!
I found some more color at a farm down the road.
I'm not really sure what these reddish bushes were, but it was obviously a crop of some kind as it was planted in rows and covered a huge field.
This is a close up of the leaves with the sun just about setting in the background.
Across from the field was a lovely picnic area shared by some couples and a few kids running around.
And beside the field, there were trees with apples!
This is a shot of the neighboring farm which had one absolutely brilliant red tree.
The sun went behind the pines, so I got back in my car and headed down the road.
I actually turned the wrong way and was just about thinking that I wouldn't see any more color when I rounded a corner and, voila! The sun was perfectly highlighting a red tree through the dark forest!
Luckily there was a perfect spot on the shoulder to pull safely off the road to get this picture.
And then I hit the jackpot!!
There was a lovely road with white fences and fir trees, when suddenly I came upon a beautiful field with lavender bushes, red trees, and a cool red barn! It was surrounded on three sides with bursts of bright color - all highlighted by the sunset!
And it had a big gravel area in front where I could pull of the road and walk around, so it was just perfect.
I couldn't have been there at a better time if I had actually planned it! The sun was casting an orange glow and perfectly highlighting the foliage.
The lavender smelled scrumptious with nary a bee so close to sunset!
It was the perfect ending to my drive!
I worked my way back to Highway 50, past the hordes leaving the most popular farms. And just as I made it through the heavy Placerville traffic, the sun set into total darkness.
I need to go back to pick some chestnuts for my Thanksgiving dressing and get some photos of some adorable sheep and burros I saw! Hmmm...guess I'm heading back this weekend! lol
xoxo
