Camping at Lake Tahoe, CA

During my vaction in June, the family went to Lake Tahoe.  We'd never been and I was very excited. We camped at DL Bliss State Park.  This park is on the CA side. There are several camp sites on the CA side.  There's another State Park, "Emerald Bay" and severl US Forest Service parks. DL Bliss was closer to the southern side of the lake.  

Here's a picture of our campsite. It was kind of "compact" but there were enough trees where we didn't need an EZ up.  

Also at our site, was a camp stove.  I'd never seen a camp stove like this.  Brent tried to use it but it didn't get hot off. 

I was really impressed with just how blue Lake Tahoe is.  The color was striking.  Our area was woody and green and smelled wonderful.  I was so impressed with the scenery I went ahead and ordered a CA Tahoe state license plate.

Here is a waterfall.  We were at elevation, between 6500 - 7000 feet. Several of the surrounding mountains still had snow on them and it was still melting.  The waterfalls in "emerald bay" were very active. 

Here's the entrance to the Vikingsholm State Park.  It's a steep mile decent to the Vikingshom estate.  It was commissioned in 1928 and built in 1929 by Mrs. Josephine Knight.  She and her husband came from Chicago. 

Here is a view of Vikingsholm.  Mrs. Knight architect traveled to Scandinavia and studied how buildings were made.  His travels inspired the "vikings" house that was built. Mrs. Knight and her husband were known as major backers for Charles Linbergh's solo flight in 1927.  Mrs. Knight used Vikingsholm as a summer home. 

Here my son, Joey, is collecting water from Lake Tahoe as a souvenior.  This is on the CA side.  Sadly, we never got a chance to visit the NV side for him to get his NV souvenior. 

Here's me and my buddy, Grumpy Cat, as we take a cruise on Lake Tahoe.  In the background are the snow covered mountains.  

Enjoy this 99 cent summer romance:  "Journey of the Heart." 

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California Tidbit Thursday - Lake Tahoe

Here's another California place I've never been, but would like to go to - Lake Tahoe. The opening shot is Lake Tahoe from Space. Pretty, cool, huh? Now just imagine a line right down the middle. To the east is Nevada, to the west is California. The big California cities near the lake are: Tahoe City and King's Beach, both are on the northern side.

Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake. It is 1,645 feet deep, making it America's second-deepest freshwater lake, (Crater Lake, in Oregon, being the deepest at 1,945 feet deep.

The lake was formed about 2 million years ago and is a part of the Lake Tahoe Basin with the modern lake being shaped during the Ice Ages. It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. On the Nevada side of the lake you'll find plenty of Casinos. Tahoe is known for winter sports including Skiing and snowboarding.





THE COMSTOCK LODE

The Comstock Lode, a silver deposit just 15 miles (24 km) to the east in Virginia City, Nevada was discovered in 1858. From 1858 until about 1890, logging in the basin supplied large timbers to shore up the underground workings of the Comstock mines. The logging was so extensive that loggers cut down almost all of the native forest. In 1864, Tahoe City was founded as a resort community for Virginia City, the first recognition of the basin’s potential as a destination resort area.

No wonder why Nevada is the Silver State.

MANSIONS ON THE LAKE:

Lake Tahoe is also the location of several 19th and 20th century homes of historical significance. Vikingsholm was the original settlement on Emerald Bay and included an island teahouse and a 38 room home.



The foundation was laid in 1928, but the building was constructed in 1929 by 200 workers. Vikingsholm was built by Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight as a summer home. Some parts of the structure contain no nails or spikes, as a result of old-fashioned construction methods. Most of the building was made from materials found at Lake Tahoe.

Mrs. Knight is primarily known for building Vikingsholm, but she and her husband were primary backers of Charles Lindbergh's non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. Tours are given of the home for a nominal fee.

Vikingsholm, along with the "Tea House" on Fannette Island and Emerald Bay, is a part of Emerald Bay State Park. Emerald Bay has also been declared a National Natural Landmark.

INTERESTING NOTE: Squaw Valley, near Tahoe City, was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics.

Heck, I wouldn't mind going to check out this gem - in the summertime. hehe
Smiles
Steph


Info for this article was taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tahoe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikingsholm