*****
Back when I was in California and doing research on old abandoned mining camps and homesteads, trees were almost always my first clue that I was on the right track.
In the eastern part of the San Joaquin Valley and lower Mother Lode, it was usually tall trees planted for shade and the remains of the homestead would be located in the immediate area. Once you got further up into the Sierras, it was almost always fruit trees and you'd find the foundation stones of buildings within a hundred yards. I don't recall the fruit as being all that great though - the cherries and apples were puny and usually pretty bitter.
Up in the redwoods of Mendocino County though, it was roses that usually showed where old homes once stood. Seriously. My buddy David took me to a spot up near where the old logging town of Irmulco once stood and there was several stands of old rose thickets spread out over an area of maybe a couple square miles. Scattered among those thickets were the remains of several old cabins.
