Today is Oct. 11 and with our year well into the fall season, this is the time of the year for a number of fun-filled outdoor activities.
If you're new to this area or if you are a "recovering" NFL pro football couch potato, here are some choices as selected by Little Donnie Q.
Any one of them can lead to memorable enjoyment of the Great Outdoors during the remainder of October.
Pick one or more and enjoy:
- Apple Hill, Calif.
Fall season fruit and vegetables.
Drive west on U.S. 50 toward Sacramento until you reach the Carson Exit, just before Placerville. An easy way to get there is to remember to drive on U.S. 50 from "Carson to Carson."
Apple Hill is the name for a geographic area of some 40 different farms.
Apple Hill's main attraction is apples, apples and more apples.
You can buy them by the individual apple, the bag, the box or you can even pick your own, right off the trees.
Those many farms have green, yellow, red or black-colored apples.
You can select from a wide variety of different types including Rome beauty, Arkansas black, Braeburn, golden delicious, red delicious, Fuji, gala, Rhode Island greening, Jonagold, Jonathan, pippin, Paula red, Granny Smith, winesaps and Stayman winesap.
In addition, you can also purchase all kinds of tasty apple products such as cake, cider, doughnuts, fritters, juice, muffins, baked pies, unbaked pies, strudel, turnovers, etc.
If you are interested in buying other fall season fruits or vegetables, you can pick and choose from blackberries, blueberries, Indian corn, dried fruit, grapes, honey, jams, jellies, assorted nuts, peaches, pears, persimmons, plums, pumpkins, raspberries, etc.
And while at Apple Hill, you will find many different arts and crafts shops, cider mills, a rainbow trout fishing pond, a winery, Christmas tree farms, picnic areas, pumpkin patches, etc.
Call the Apple Hill Growers' Association in Camino, Calif.
- Hope Valley, Calif.
Fall colors of the Quaking Aspen.
Take a combination of U.S. 395, Nevada S.R. 88 and California S.R. 88 and 89 south from Carson City to the Hope Valley Area, a distance of 35 miles.
The three best locations are:
1. In Woodfords Canyon from Woodfords to Sorensen's Resort.
Some truly spectacular colors can be seen along the West Carson River.
2. The area from Sorensen's Resort to the junction of S.R. 89 to Lake Tahoe (Pickett's Junction).
The "quakies" in this area are particularly gorgeous in the early morning or late afternoon light.
You can park anywhere along the highway, but be extremely careful of the high-speed traffic, whizzing past.
3. Where the dirt road to Crater Lake intersects S.R. 88.
This road is exactly 2.0 miles past the Blue Lake Turnoff, as you drive toward Kit Carson Pass.
Look for a small, paved road on your right that curves up a steep bank. Take that road. Travel about 50 yards. You'll cross a cattleguard and the paved road will become a dirt road.
Park anywhere you desire and then wander through the "quakie" patches.
Call the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce at (530) 694-2475.
- Kirman Lake, Calif.
Hike-in fishing for Eastern brook trout, up to five pounds or larger!
Drive south from Carson City on U.S. 395 for 66 miles to its junction with the Sonora Pass Highway. Turn onto the Sonora Pass Highway (S.R. 108) and drive about a mile to where you will see vehicles parked on both sides of the highway. From this parking area, you need to take a very easy, three-mile hike on a dirt road to reach the lake. No motorized vehicles are permitted on that private, dirt road.
Special fishing restrictions: Minimum size of 16 inches. Only artificial lures or flies with barbless hooks may be used. The limit is two trout.
Call Ken's Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport, Calif. at (760) 932-7707.
- Pyramid Lake, Nev.
Excellent trout fishing, either from shore on with chest waders, for Lahontan cutthroat trout.
Take U.S. 395 north from Carson City to I-80 in Reno. Then, take I-80 east to the Pyramid Way Exit in Sparks. Take Pyramid Way and the Pyramid Lake Highway north for about 30 miles.
Try Monument Rocks, Warrior Point, Spider Point or Pelican Point, all on the northwest side, plus "The Nets."
You can catch Lahontan cutthroat trout, up to about 15 pounds.
However, the majority of the trout will be under 16 inches in length or between 19 and 24 inches in length. These trout are known as "Shakers," and must be release unharmed.
You can keep two trout 16-19 inches in length or you can keep one trout 16-19 inches plus one trout over 24 inches. These trout are known as "Keepers."
You must fish with artificial flies or lures only, and there is a two-trout possession limit.
Call the Gilly Sporting Goods Store in Sparks at 358-6113, Pyramid-Tahoe Fishing Charters at 852-FISH or the Pyramid Fisheries Office at (775) 574-1000.
- The State of Nevada
Chukar hunting.
This upland game bird hunting season opened on Oct. 7 and closes on Jan. 31.
The season is open in all 17 counties with a bag limit of six daily, and 12 in possession.
Chukar are an "exotic" bird to Nevada. They were first introduced to this state many years ago from their native habitat of the Himalaya Mountains of Asia.
They are larger in size than a quail and smaller than a pheasant.
It is a very wily bird that is equally adapt at flying or running.
The chukar has white-colored flesh and has provided many enjoyable gourmet dinners for bird hunters lucky enough to have bagged some of them.
Call the Nevada Division of Wildlife at 688-1500.
- Walker Lake, Nev.
Excellent trout fishing from a boat for Lahontan cutthroat trout.
Take U.S. 50 east to Silver Springs. At Silver Springs, take Alt. U.S. 95 south to Schurz, via Yerington. At Schurz, take U.S. 95 south to the lake. This is about a 2 hour drive, one-way, from Carson City.
Fish from your boat in the area between Sand Point and The Cliffs or in front of Barlow Beach.
Troll at a depth of about 25-35 feet. Use Chartreuse/black dot, yellow/black dot or rainbow-colored, No. 2 TOR-P-DO lures or small, pearl-colored, Apex lures.
The cutthroat trout average well over three pounds, with a good number of them weighing 5-7 pounds.
The limit is five trout.
Call the Gun and Tackle Store in Hawthorne at (775) 945-3266.
- Winnemucca Lake, Calif.
Hike-in fishing for Eastern brook and Kamloop trout.
Take a combination of U.S. 395 and Nevada S.R. 88 and California S.R. 88 south from Carson City for about 41 miles to Kit Carson Pass.
From the paved, U.S. Forest Service parking area at the pass, take the well-marked hiking trail for about two miles to the lake.
Winnemucca contains Eastern brook trout, up to about 13-14 inches and Kamloop trout, up to about 17-18 inches.
From shore, use artificial flies, small red/white lures or Power Bait.
From a float tube, fly fish with various artificial flies.
From a small, inflatable raft, fish along the deep drop-off between the islands and the shoreline. Troll with small, silver flasher blades and nightcrawlers or troll with small lures such as black/gold or black/silver, No. 5, floating Rapalas or silver or gold, F-4 Flatfish.
Call the U.S Forest Service, Amador Ranger District, at (209) 295-4251.
-There you have it.
Everything from apples to fall colors to chukar to Kamloop trout.
Pick one or more and enjoy the rest of the month of October.
- Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon which of the choices, listed above, is my favorite.
If he gets a big grin on his face and states, "Heck, Little Donnie Q enjoys all of them, every fall, with the exception of chukar hunting and fishing at Kirman Lake," he knows me, you lose the bet and you need a new pigeon.
