New England is where most Americans might say you'd find the best fall color in the USA, but not John Poimiroo.  Ask him and he'll say, "California."

Poimiroo edits California Fall Color, a blog that provides weekly (often daily) reports on where to find autumn color in California.  The blog starts reporting even before the first day of autumn to past Thanksgiving Day, though reports are often posted as late as December.

California Fall Color got started in 2005 when Poimiroo was assigned to publicize Mono County in eastern California.  "I soon found that autumn - which as someone from the San Francisco Bay Area experienced mostly in November - occurred across September and October and into November on the eastern side of the state.  I then became aware of reports from other parts of California which established for me how widespread and long lasting our autumn is."

"That isn't what most Californians or its visitors think," Poimiroo says.  "They see California as without seasons, as along the coasts and throughout the vast central valley, there isn't much color, but California is huge (780 miles long and 350 miles wide) and within it are large pockets of fall color that are truly breathtaking to behold.  You just have to know where to see it and when to go.  That's why we created California Fall Color."

The Eastern Sierra, Northern Sierra, Shasta Cascade, North Coast, Wine Country, Gold Country, Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks, the San Gabriel and San Jacinto Mountains and Los Angeles County all show a variety of color over the longest fall show in the nation.

What makes autumn so long-lasting in California is the state's topography, which varies from foliage at 10,000 ft. in elevation down to sea level.  "In New England, the color shows by latitude, descending from Canada through the northeast.  Whereas in California, it drops by elevation." Poimiroo explains.

The first signs of autumn are seen along the eastern slope of the High Sierra.  Ground cover turns crimson in early September, while wildflowers are still blooming, providing a colorful show of orange-red Indian Paintbrush, purple fireweed and lupine, lavender columbine, swaying over a bed of tiny yellow wildflowers. Then, above 9,000 ft in elevation, quaking aspen begin to show color, turning from green to lime to yellow to orange and firey red along the grey, granitic slopes of the eastern Sierra.  This quivering, flaming show begins near the first day of autumn, as autumn colors are reflected in the opalescent blue waters of North, South and Sabrina Lakes west of Bishop, providing what some have rated as the most dramatic show of fall color in the nation.

Indeed, California's Inyo National Forest in the Eastern Sierra beat out national forests in New England, the Allegheny and Green Mountains in a listing of the top ten fall forests evaluated for The Weather Channel, by GORP.com, a national outdoor recreation website.  What they saw is what Poimiroo and his legion of California color spotters report each autumn... the state's combination of stunning vistas and delicate color that continues for weeks on end.

"Yosemite Valley is one of those places that shows from mid October to November.  Orange leaves and black branches of the valley's black oak contrast against deep blue skies and the its dramatic granite walls, monoliths and waterfalls," says Poimiroo.  "That's the kind of scene travelers and outdoor don't want to miss.  And, that's why they turn to California Fall Color for accurate reports and photos showing where the color is to be seen and at what stage it is."

To see these reports, visit www.californiafallcolor.com.

(30)

Media Contact:

John Poimiroo, 916-933-8860, john@poimiroo.com