Day 4, September 13 - Drive Around Lake Tahoe

At 8:30 on the dot, the car caravan left the campground to begin our 72 mile drive around Lake Tahoe.

A brief History of the area: Washoe Indians inhabited the area for 10,000 years. They mainly camped on the shores of the lake in the summer while hunting, fishing, feasting, trading, socializing and preparing food for the winter. They took what they gathered and went down to the warm valley for the winter. On February 14, 1844, John C. Fremont with scout Kit Carson arrived while searching for a route across the Sierra Nevadas. For many years people just passed through the area until the 1849 discovery of gold and then the silver discovery in the 1850's. Timber was necessary for the shoring of the silver mines. The loggers clear cut the area around the lake. The beautiful pine forests we now see is a second growth with many of the trees over 100 years old. By the early 1900's the rich began coming to Lake Tahoe for summer retreats, hotels and homes were built. The west side of the lake is more inhabited and privately owned because before the roads were built the railroad brought people and supplies to Truckee, wagons went from Truckee to Tahoe City. From there steam ships carried them to stops along the shore. Roads were paved in the 1920's and 30's, more people arrived and now tourism is the main industry. The east side of the lake is most public land consisting of State Parks and National Forests. In the winter the entire landscape is is covered by snow. An average of 125 inches covers the shore and as much as 300 to 500 inches in the mountains, thus the great downhill and Nordic skiing. The lake never freezes due to the constant exchange of water from the bottom to the surface.

Driving along scenic Highway 89 we passed the entrance to Squaw Valley Ski Area, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. There are many things to do n the lake area which boasts 22 ski resort areas, 23 golf clubs and 11 marinas not to mention all the biking and hiking trails, fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, boating, sailing, water skiing, horseback riding and swimming.

Turning south on 89 along the shoreline at Tahoe City was a dam which controls outflow at Tahoe City, we passed through many small communities dotted with summer home and cottages, shops and restaurants. Evidently there was a bicycle race today around the lake. Thank goodness the hundreds of bikers were going the other way and were on the other side of the road. The estate of Henry J. Kaiser was built in 1935 on the lakeside of the road and served as the site of the Mafia family's home in the movie "Godfather II".



Our first tour was at Sugar Pine Point State Park where Pine Lodge, the 11,000 square foot Hellman-Ehrman Mansion stands. The 3 story Queen Anne style home designed by architect Walter Danforth Bliss was built by Isaias Hellman, a west coast banker. It was completed in 1902 and has 11 bedrooms. In 1920 daughter

Florence Ehrman inherited it. In 1965 it was sold to the State of California and became a state park. The tour guide was excellent and told us numerous stories about the history of the home and the families who occupied it. Besides the main house the 1016 acre estate encompasses a caretakers cottage, carriage house, 2 boat houses, ice house, butler's house, maid's quarters and children's house. Also on the property is the Phipps Cabin which was homesteaded in 1860 by a Kentucky frontiersman who called himself a General even though he wasn't one. The Visitor and Nature Center has displays of many of the plants and animals of the area and lake facts. The dense forest consists of white and red firs, cedars, jeffrey pines, sugar pine, ponderosa lodgepole pine, quaking aspen and black cottonwood.

Our official Photographer, George Cederholm The whole gang:
Front row: Linda Barron, Joann Bush, Rita Ham, John Ham, Susie Walsh, Barb McCray, Dee Irwin, Barbara Jones, Geri Cederholm.
Back Row: Gene Barron, Bill Beckley, Bud Walsh, Wayne McCray, Clare Law, Jim Law, Tom Irwin, Stan Jones, George Cederholm.

Following our tour, we posed for group picture in our MIM shirts on the shores of the lake under the towering pines. By then it was lunch time and we gathered in the picnic area to enjoy our box lunches. The restroom in the area had six doors but only two were unlocked due to budget constraints. George and Gene waiting for restroom

Continuing our tour we passed Meeks Bay which was a fishing camp for the Washoe Indians. Then D. L. Bliss State Park where where the Old Lighthouse, Rubicon Point, one of the best beaches and one of the deepest point along the shoreline (1400') are located.

A stop at Emerald Bay was important so we could go to the overlook where we could again see the only island on the lake with its tea house and a glimpse of the Vikingsholm.



The scenic byway rose high above the lake and then we drove down to Taylor Creek Visitor Center operated by the US Forest Service and the headquarters for Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. A Ranger told us some facts about the low, marshy area along Taylor Creek. Following a 1/2 mile loop trail through the marsh and across the creek we observed the various foliage in this area that is quite different from the higher mountainside. An underground visitor center with a diversion of the creek that empties into Late Tahoe allowed us to watch the native fish.

Our last tour for the day was at the Tallac Historic Site where California's early days the rich and famous built elaborate summer retreats in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The area is in the largest grove of old-growth trees in the Lake Tahoe Basin (they really were huge and very very tall). This beautiful area consists retreats built by three prominent San Francisco families. The Baldwin Estate (1921) was once a hideaway for Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin (founder of Santa Anita racetrack among other things), the Pope Estate (1894) haven to Lloyd Tevis and George Pope families the Heller Estate - Valhalla (1923) and the archaeological remains of the Tallac Resort (1890-1916). After a movie at the visitors center we toured the grounds and the Pope House which has been restored. The buildings included many cottages for the family's guests, the children's house, a laundry, dairy, barn and boathouse. There was also a wonderful arboretum with non-native plants, a pond and waterfall and gazebo.

Tom in the boathouse

Following this tour we were all on our own to continue the rest of the road around the lake. Going south and then east we passed through South Lake Tahoe, crossed the border into Stateline,Nevada which is lined with casino's and hotels. Further along Highway 50 is the turn off for Heavenly Ski Area (the other very prominent ski area on the Lake). Going around the bend we could observe the contrast between the heavily populated west side (which is the protected side) and the open, less populated east side. At Cave Rock, a sacred site to the Washoe Indians, has a huge cave where ceremonies took place. There is a tunnel that has been built through the mountain. Sand Harbor State Park has an overlook where you can walk down to the waters edge for a different lake view. At the northeastern curve is Incline Village and Crystal Bay where the north end casinos and hotels are located. The Cal Neva Resort has the state line going right through it.

A tired but happy group of explorers returned to the campground at various times this time satiated with magnificent vistas of the mountains, the forests and the lake.