October offers a number of great outdoor opportunities

Pick one or more and enjoy:

Apple Hill, Calif. A great location for buying Fall season fruit and vegetables.

Drive west on U.S. 50 for about two hours toward Sacramento until you reach the Carson Exit, just before Placerville. An easy way to get there is to remember to just drive on U.S. 50 from Carson to Carson.

Apple Hill is actually the name of a geographic area of many different farms.

That area's main attraction is apples, apples, apples, and lots of them!

You can buy them by the individual apple, the bag, the box or you can even pick your own, right off the trees.

Those 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.

Hope Valley, Calif. A great location for seeing the Fall colors of 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.

Each year, I believe that the three best viewing locations are:

1. In Woodfords Canyon, from Woodfords to Sorensen's Resort.

Some truly spectacular colors can be seen along the banks of the West Carson River in this area.

2. The short distance 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. 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. This is my favorite location.

For information, call the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce at (530) 694-2475.

Kirman (Carmen) Lake, Calif. A great location for hike-in fishing for Eastern brook trout, which can run 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 half mile to where you can park on both sides of the highway.

From this parking area, it is an 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.

The season is open until Nov. 15. The lake's tributaries are closed all year.

For information, call Ken's Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport, Calif. at (760) 932-7707.

Pyramid Lake, Nev. Excellent fishing, either from shore, with chest waders or a boat, 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 10-15 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.

For information, call the Pyramid Lake Fisheries Office at (775) 476-0489 or (775) 476-0500 or (775) 476-0489, the Pyramid Lake Store at (775) 476-0555 or the Gilly Sporting Goods Store in Sparks at 358-6113.

The State of Nevada. For great upland game hunting for Chukar and Hungarian Partridge.

This upland game bird hunting season opens on Oct. 12 in all counties except Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln and Nye Counties, which opened on Oct. 5. The season will close on Jan. 31 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 those bird hunters lucky enough to have bagged some of them.

Call the Nevada Division of Wildlife at 688-1500.

Winnemucca Lake, Calif. A great location for Fall season, 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 he can't tell you if I hunt Chukar.

If he grins and says, "Heck no! Don does not hunt anything that can run and fly and is smarter than him," you lost this bet.