Lake Tahoe - Part II

Sonora, CA

    After spending the night at William Kent Campground just south of Tahoe City, I started the day with this photo from the W.Kent Vista Point looking NE; the trees at the left surround Lake Forest on Dollar Point while the mountains of Nevada are visible in the distance.

 

    Being too tight-fisted to pay for entrance to Sugar Pine Point Sate Park I continued south to D.L. Bliss State Park, where I was able to walk toward the somewhat steep shore and take the photo to the right. Most of the trees here are sugar pines because they lack the symmetry of ponderosa pines.

 

 

 

 

    One of the peaks along the eastern edge of Desolation Wilderness, which is located to the SW of Lake Tahoe.

 

 

 

 

    A look across the lake at Stateline, NV. [Click 1 or 2 times to enlarge.] You may be able to see the multi-story casino/hotels there.

 

 

 

 

 

    Since I was shooting these photos from Emerald Point you can make out part of Emerald Bay if you look closely.

 

 

 

    A look to the NW from Emerald Point; there has been considerably less development on the Nevada side of the lake, in part, because it is more mountainous. Since there was virtually no wind, no the wake where a boat had traveled previously.

 

 

 

    Am not sure of the name of the ski area on the Nevada side, but a schuss-boomer may well get a long run for his money.

 

 

 

 

 

    Emerald Bay. [Click once or twice to zoom in.] Note the fortress-like walls on the Fannette Island.

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning left one can see the mouth of Emerald Bay between Emerald and Eagle Points.

 

 

 

 

 

    A map of the Rubicon-Emerald Bay Area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    An explanation of Lora Knight's Vikingsholm, which means Vikings Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    An explanation of early-day touring at Lake Tahoe.

 

 

 

 

    From Inspiration Point, a view of a paddle-wheeler passing Fannette Island. If memory serves, one or more of the boats were originally from California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. [Check links below and the next photo.]

 

 

 

 

 

    A plaque explaining the "rich and colorful past" of Emerald Bay.

 

 

 

 

    A plaque describing Mrs. Lora Knight's Vikingsholm. [Incidentally, the building on Fannette Island was apparently a teahouse.]

 

 

 

 

    A plaque explaining the completion of a road around Lake Tahoe. One result was the scuttling of the Tahoe, often call the "Queen of the Lake," in 1940. And, if you think the roads are rough now, check the photo included of the days when touring was a real adventure.
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Links:

• Wikipedia article on the steamer Tahoe
• Nautical History of Lake Tahoe
• Wikipedia article on Vikingsholm
• California State Parks website on Vikingsholm

F 21 Oct Actual Route: East of Long Barn - Mi-Wuk Village - Sonora - 3Links CG

Sa 22 Actual Oct Route: 3Links CG - Sonora - Tuolumne - East of Long Barn

Su 23 Oct Actual Route: East of Long Barn - Mi-Wuk Village - Tuolumne - Sonora - East of Long Barn

M 24 Oct Actual Route: East of Long Barn - Tuolumne - East of Long Barn

T 25 Oct Route: East of Long Barn - Sonora - Tuolumne - East of Long Barn
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life or Woodalls for including links to their free campground lookups.

Lake Tahoe - Part I

Sonora, CA

    On 16 October I left the Martis Lake Campground SW of Truckee, in part because it was closing for the season later that day, but principally to spend two days in the Tahoe Basin. As I headed down CA267 I finally got the nerve to park and take the photo you see at the right. [Apparently there are no Vista Points since it would require cutting down more than a few trees.]

    After reaching the edge of Tahoe at Kings Beach, I decided I didn't want to pay $8 just to park briefly and take a few photos. I drove east on CA28, which became NV28 once I crossed the stateline. There were the usual ubiquitous casinos and, since the area just past the casinos was on a hill, I turned around and drove back into The Golden State [or Brass State, given its financial health]. Brockway has a golf course built c1925 which claims to be the home of the first Crosby [Golf Tournament; guess it became a Clambake when Bing moved it to Monterey County].
    The photo just above was taken looking NE from a subdivision on Dollar Point.

 

    Walked down Observation Point Road and took another shot of the Nevada shore across the blue lake, which is 1646' deep at an elevation of 6229'. [Crater Lake in Oregon, which is c1900' deep, seems much bluer -- perhaps because there has been no development along its shore.]

 

 

    Looking generally south from Dollar Point toward Sugar Pine Point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    From the Gatekeeper's Museum Beach shooting to the SE.

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning to the left from the beach at the south edge of the Truckee River outlet from Lake Tahoe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Panning further left....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Mouth of the Truckee River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Rubber dam and bridge across the Truckee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A plaque explaining The Outlet (aka, Outlet Point). [Click 1 or 2 times to enlarge.]

 

 

 

 

 

    Washoe Indians beliefs about Lake Da-ow 'ah-ga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The Eternal Battle over Water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    CA89 bridge over the Truckee.

 

 

 

 

 

    No game wardens around to stop Washoe Indians (and other Native Americans) from gill-netting fish.

 

 

 

 

 

    Do Sat La Lee, an outstanding basket-weaver, lived at the mouth of the Truckee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Wahoes went to the Lake for their summer vacations too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    [Click once or twice to zoom in.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Clarity tests of Tahoe's water using a technique developed by a priest named Pietro Secchi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Lake Tahoe map.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Plaque explaining Gatekeeper's Cabin & Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

    Gatekeepers and their cabins.
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Links:

• Wikipedia article on Lake Tahoe
• US Geological Survey website on Lake Tahoe
• North Lake Tahoe Historical Society Information on Museums & Exhibits

Th 20 Oct Actual Route: Pines CG - Greeley Hill - Coulterville - Sonora - East of Long Barn

F 21 Oct Actual Route: East of Long Barn - Mi-Wuk Village - Sonora - 3Links CG

Sa 22 Oct Route: 3Links CG - Sonora - Tuolumne - East of Long Barn
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life or Woodalls for including links to their free campground lookups.

Anderson Valley K-V Crew

Boon-Dock East of Long Barn, CA

    A view from the Vista Point a few miles east of the Groveland District Ranger Station on CA120. It overlooks the canyons not only of the Tuolumne River, the source of San Francisco's water through its Hetch Hetchy Project, but also several forks of Cherry Creek, which is also part of the Hetch Hetchy System.
    [Click 1 or 2 times to see more granitic mountains in the Emigrant Wilderness to the north.]

    I had intended to drive to Anderson Valley, which is where the Anderson Valley K-V Crew hung out at night and weekends during the late 50s, except for those of us who went fishing on weekends. But, as you can see from the plaque to the right, I ended up in Coulterville, a former gold-mining town.
    The K-V Crews got their name from the two congressmen who wrote the act creating them: Congressman Knutson, perhaps a Senator, and, more than likely, Sen. Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI). The 1930 Act provided for reforestation by the US Forest Service; during the 1930s 2.25 billion seedlings were planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Twenty years later the demand for knotless plywood caused the USFS to create K-V crews to prune certain pine trees. If ponderosa and sugar pines were pruned up 10, 14, or 16 feet, depending on the trees size, once the cambium had healed in 2 or 3 years much of the lumber peeled for plywood at a later date would be knotless. At that time knotless plywood brought 6 to 7 times more than knotty plywood.
    Our boss on the Anderson Valley K-V Crew on the Groveland District was Earl Wothe. It's not surprising that Earl died at a relatively early age (69) as he was overweight and, if memory serves, had asthma; because of the latter, he often worked as the timekeeper at fire-fighting camps.
    Here's his obituary.
....
Earl WOTHE
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Obituary
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Monday 2 December 1985 Sonora Union Democrat
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    Earl H. Wothe, 69, of Groveland died Saturday in a Martinez hospital after a long illness.
    Mr. Wothe, a native of Kentucky, had lived in California since 1936. He managed a chain store in Laguna Beach before moving to Tuolumne County in 1950.
    He was attracted to the Mother Lode, he once told a Uunion Democrat reporter, because he could buy 10 acres of land for $500.
    After settling on property on Smith Station Road, he began a 25-year career with the U.S. Forest Service's Groveland Ranger District. He started as the Smith Station lookout, a job his wife, Dorothy, took over until her retirement about two years ago.
    Mr. Wothe worked in reforestation projects and in 1958 started the Groveland district's small sales program. He administered sales of forest products ranging from Christmas trees and pine cones to manzanita stems.
    When he retired in 1975, he had the longest tenure of any forest service employee on the Groveland district.
    Mr. Wothe was an Army veteran of World War II. He belonged to the Odd Fellows Lodge in Big Oak Flat.
    He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, of Groveland; a son, J. Lee of Pollock Pines; a daughter, Judy Wight of Groveland; a sister, Mary Straus of Kentucky, and three grandchildren.
    A service is pending at the Heuton Memorial Chapel.
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Links:

• Wikipedia article on Coulterville, CA
• Wikipedia article on Hetch Hetchy

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W 19 Oct Actual Route: Sonora Junction - Bridgeport - Lee Vining - Yosemite - Pines CG (Groveland District of Stanislaus NF

Th 20 Oct Actual Route: Pines CG - Greeley Hill - Coulterville - Sonora - East of Long Barn

F 21 Oct Actual Route: East of Long Barn - Mi-Wuk Village - Sonora - 3Links CG

Sa 22 Oct Route: 3Links CG - Sonora - Tuolumne - East of Long Barn
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life or Woodalls for including links to their free campground lookups.

Davis Creek CG to Genoa to Sonora Junction

Bridgeport, CA

    It finally happened: I lost some photos. Had been using a couple of batteries in my digital camera which were marginal, but the problem was obscured because I often downloaded photos to my laptop as soon as the camera's memory was full.
    However, today I neglected to download the photos I took in Genoa, Nevada's oldest town yesterday after I took the last photo which would fit in memory.

 

    After leaving Genoa, I got gas in Minden and forwarded some things from their library, and drove south. All USFS campgrounds appear to be closed for the season; hence, I parked just past the access road to Sonora Bridge CG on a wide-out CalTrans had created on CA108.
    These two photos are what I saw this morning from my camper: the West Fork of the Walker River. Looked for rises, but did not see any even though the stream likely has some fish left in it. Did see one fisherman who must have been a newbie since he was carrying his aluminum rod case in a backpack.
    Note that the aspen and willows have turned yellow; hope to get some photos of such in Yosemite later today.

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Links:

• Genoa, Nevada homepage
• Wikipedia biography of "Snowshow" Thompson
• Three More Biographies of Snowshoe Thompson

T 18 Oct Actual Route: Davis Crk Pk - Carson City - Minden - Topaz Lake - Sonora Junction

W 19 Oct Actual Route: Sonora Junction - Bridgeport - Lee Vining - Yosemite - Pines CG (Groveland District of Stanislaus NF

W 20 Oct Actual Route: Pines CG - Greeley Hill - Coulterville - Sonora - East of Long Barn

Th 21 Oct Route: East of Long Barn - Mi-Wuk Village - Sonora - 3Links CG
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life or Woodalls for including links to their free campground lookups.

Oroville to East Quincy

Lower Little Truckee CG, Tahoe NF, CA

 

 

    The spillway at Oroville Dam, the largest (ie. tallest) earth-fill dam in the United States.

 

 

 

    Not quite sure why the automatic focus did perform better on this shot of a parking area c9 miles west of LaPorte; perhaps I was afraid of backing into the small tractor whose tracks you can make out amongst the gravel and rocks.

 

 

    Red fir and a small ponderosa pine [aka, yellow pine] along the left side of the road while the somewhat less symmetric, scraggily tree on the right side of the road is a sugar pine, even though there are no cones, big or little, at the ends of the branches. Elevation here is in the 4000-6000' zone where sugar pines thrive in the Sierra Nevada.

 

    As I got back into the pickup I noticed a mountain in the distance in the side-view mirror. Not sure what it is, but it is likely one of the higher mtns to the north of Oroville. Note, however, that there are a lot of sugar pines with cones on the left side of the road.

 

    A plaque on the western outskirts of LaPorte. Gold was discovered in the area in 1850, but the name was changed from Rabbit Creek to LaPorte in 1857. [Check the Links below for an explanation/history.]

 

 

    Just outside the eastern edge of LaPorte is a junction. The left road takes one to Little Grass Valley Reservoir while the road on the right had this plaque by it. The fact that bankers in LaPorte rather than Quincy handled the financing may mean that LaPorte was experiencing a boom at the time. [Again, check below for more on the history of the town.]

 

 

 

    Clearly, timber country! My cousin in Oroville, a timber faller, is well-located.

 

 

 

 

 

    Pilot Peak (elev: 7457'), which has a USFS lookout atop it. The Quincy-LaPorte Road crosses the ridge near the bare spot on this photo.

 

 

 

 

    A look down into the valleys of the Feather River and it tributaries. The deepest canyon is the one in the istance, the Middle Fork of the Feather River where there are numerous small towns along CA70 & CA89.

 

 

 

 

 

    Large burn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Two bridges over Nelson Crk, 1890 & ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

    A look from the other end of the older Nelson Crk bridge.

 

 

 

 

    Went back to P/U & got a can of white spray paint & left the following graffiti. [Actually, this is one name I do not consider graffiti.] Looking at the name again, it was probably done with a brush, perhaps before spray cans of paint became available.
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Links:

• Wikipedia article on Oroville Dam
• Tallest Dams in the U.S.
• Things to do and history of La Porte, CA

Su 16 Oct Actual Route: Martis Crk Reservoir - Kings Beach - Lake Forest - Tahoe City

M 17 Oct Actual Route: Tahoe City (Wm Kent CG) - Meeks Bay - Inspiration Point - South Lake Tahoe - Minden - Carson City - Washoe City (Davis Crk Pk)

T 18 Oct Actual Route: Davis Crk Pk - Carson City - Minden - Topaz Lake - Sonora Junction

W 19 Oct Route: Sonora Junction - Bridgeport - Lee Vining - Yosemite

 

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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life or Woodalls for including links to their free campground lookups.