The Lake of the Sky Part 25

I use the word propelled to suggest the interesting method used in these chutes. Sometimes ten or a dozen logs will be placed, following each other, a few feet apart, on the trough (the chute). A chain is fastened to the rear end of the hindermost log. This chain is attached to a single-tree fastened to a horse's harness. The horse is started.

This makes the hinder log strike the next one, this b.u.mps into the third and gives it a start, in its turn it b.u.mps the fourth, the fourth the fifth, and so on, until the whole dozen are in motion. Had the string of logs been fastened together, the horse would have found it impossible to move them, but "propelling" them in this fas.h.i.+on they are all set in motion, and their inertia once overcome there is no difficulty experienced in keeping them going.

The views from Fallen Leaf Lodge are varied and beautiful, one in particular being especially enchanting. Over the Terminal moraine, across the hidden face of Lake Tahoe, the eye falls upon the mountains in Nevada, on the far-away eastern side. In the soft light of evening they look like fairy mountains, not real rocky ma.s.ses of gigantic, rugged substance, but something painted upon the horizon with delicate fingers, and in tints and shades to correspond, for they look tenderer and sweeter, gentler and lovelier than anything man could conceive or execute.

The owner of Fallen Leaf Lodge is Professor William W. Price, a graduate of Stanford University, who first came into this region to study and catch special Sierran birds and other fauna for the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution, the American Museum of Natural History, and the British Museum. Later, when he founded the Aga.s.siz school for boys, at Auburn, California, he established Camp Aga.s.siz near Fallen Leaf Lake, in a grove of pines, firs, and cedars. a.s.sisted by other university men he made of this an ideal open-air school and camp for boys. They were taught such practical things as to take care of themselves in the mountains, find a trail, or go to a given spot without a trail, fish, hunt, make camp, build fires in a rain-storm, find proper shelter during a lightning-storm, carry a pack, pack a mule or burro, even to the throwing of the "diamond hitch," the "squaw hitch," and the "square" or other packer's especial "knots" and "ties". They were induced to climb mountains, row, swim, "ski", and snow-slide, and all were taught to recognize at sight the common birds, smaller wild animals, trees, and flowers. Frequent camping-out trips were arranged for, and the youngsters thus gained health, vigor and permanent strength while doing what they all enjoyed doing.

In due time the parents wished to share the fun, joy, and out-of-door experiences of their youngsters; then the friends, and those who heard about them, and out of the numerous requests for accommodations Fallen Leaf Lodge was born. For a time Mr. Price tried an ordinary hotel manager, but the peculiar and individualistic needs of his peculiar and individualistic camp at length led Mrs. Price and himself to take the complete control. From that time its success has been continuous.

Mr. Price is a scientific expert upon the flora (especially the trees), the birds and the four-footed fauna of the whole region, and his readiness and willingness to communicate his knowledge to his guests is a great advantage to the studious and inquiring.

Owing to the demands made upon his time by the management of Fallen Leaf Lodge Mr. Price has transferred his school into other hands, and has given up the Boys' Camp, though the lads are still welcome, with their parents, as regular guests at the Lodge.

It should be noted that Fallen Leaf Lodge is but two miles from Glen Alpine Springs and that all that is said of the close proximity of the most interesting features of the southern end of the Lake Tahoe region to Glen Alpine, applies with equal force (plus the two miles) to Fallen Leaf Lodge.

CATHEDRAL PARK ON FALLEN LEAF LAKE

One of the newest of the Tahoe region resorts is that of Cathedral Park, located on the western side of Fallen Leaf Lake. It was opened in the latter part of the season of 1912 by Carl Fluegge. Everything about it is new, from the flooring of the tents to the fine dining-room, cottages and stables. A special road has been constructed on the west side of the lake, over which Cathedral Park stages run daily the three and a half miles, to meet every steamer during the season at Tallac.

Rising directly from the edge of the lake, surrounded by majestic trees, protected by the gigantic height of Mt. Tallac (9785 feet) from the western winds, a clear open view of Fallen Leaf Lake and the thousand-feet high lateral moraine on the eastern side is obtained; there could be no better location for such a resort.

The distinctive features of Cathedral Park are simplicity and home-comforts, with special advantages for hunting, fis.h.i.+ng and camping out. For ten years Mr. Fluegge has taken out some of the most distinguished patrons of the Tahoe region in his capacity as expert guide and huntsman. He knows every trail thoroughly and has scaled every mountain of the surrounding country. He knows the habits and haunts of bear, deer, and other game, and is a successful hunter of them, as well as of grouse and quail. His office and social-hall bear practical evidence of his prowess and skill in the mounted heads of deer, and the dressed skins of bear that he has shot. He is also an expert angler, and well acquainted with the best fis.h.i.+ng in Granite, Eagle, the Rock-Bound, Gilmore and other lakes, as well as those closer at hand. There are twelve such lakes within easy reach of Cathedral Park. Fis.h.i.+ng and hunting are his hobbies and delights, hence he makes a thoroughly competent, because interested, and interesting guide. Nothing pleases him more than to get out with his guests and a.s.sist them in their angling and hunting. To aid in this he has established his own permanent camp at the beautiful Angora Lakes, four miles from Cathedral Park, which is placed freely at the disposal of his guests.

Especial arrangements are made for the perfect and satisfactory accommodation of guests who desire to sleep out of doors. Tents, sleeping porches and platforms are arranged with a view to the strictest privacy, and those who desire this healthful open-air mode of life can nowhere be better accommodated than here. As Mark Twain has said, it is the "open air" sleeping in the Lake Tahoe region that is so beneficial. Again to quote him: "The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be?--it is the same the angels breathe. I think that hardly any amount of fatigue can be gathered together that a man cannot sleep off in one night here. _Not under a roof, but under the sky_." Therefore Cathedral Park says to those who wish to breathe the same air as the angels while they are yet on the earth: Come to us and we will meet your reasonable wishes in every possible way.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Picturesque Palo Alto Lodge, at Lakeside Park, Lake Tahoe]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Long Wharf at Lakeside Park, Lake Tahoe]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Automobile Road Around Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe]

The presence of Mrs. Fluegge, who is a.s.sociated with her husband in the management, guarantees to ladies, whether unaccompanied, or with their families, the best of care, and the former are especially invited to come and test the homelike qualities of the place.

The water supply of Cathedral Park is gained from its own springs, on the mountain side above the resort. It is piped down to every tent or cottage and the supply is superabundant. Fish are caught almost daily on the landing in front of the hotel. Fallen Leaf is an ideal spot for rowing, canoeing, and launch rides, and the hotel owns its own launch in which parties are regularly taken around the lake. During the summer season bathing is as delightful here as in any of the seaside resorts of the Atlantic and Pacific, and almost every one takes a plunge daily.

A camp-fire is built every night, where singing, storytelling, and open air amus.e.m.e.nts of an impromptu nature are indulged in to one's heart's content, though visitors are all expected to remember the rights of others and not keep too late hours.

Informal dances are indulged in occasionally and everything is done to promote the comfort, pleasure and enjoyment of the guests that earnest desire, constant watchfulness and long experience can suggest.

The table is simple and homelike, but abundant, well-served and satisfactory. This department is entirely under the control of Mrs.

Fluegge, who never employs any other than white help in the kitchen.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, lake trout and game in season, fresh milk and cream, with everything of the best that the markets afford, are none too good for the guests at Cathedral Park.

Unlike most of the Lake Tahoe resorts, it keeps open throughout the whole year, and is managed with but one idea, viz., to give absolute and complete satisfaction to all its guests.

Its rates are reasonable, and especial prices are given to children under ten years of age and to families who wish to stay for any length of time.

The short trail to Mount Tallac rises directly from Cathedral Park, and all that has been said of the close proximity of Glen Alpine and Fallen Leaf Lodge to the most interesting peaks, lakes, etc., of the Tahoe region applies with equal force to Cathedral Park, plus the short additional distance, which is something less than a mile.

Mr. Fluegge will be glad to correspond with those contemplating a visit to Cathedral Park, especially should they desire his services for hunting, fis.h.i.+ng, or camping-out trips of a few days or a month's duration. The address is Cathedral Park, Tallac P.O., Lake Tahoe, California.

CHAPTER XXV

LAKESIDE PARK

Situated on the sh.o.r.e of Lake Tahoe and at the same time on the great Lincoln Highway stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific,--a division of the State Automobile Highway reaching from Sacramento, California, to Carson City, Nevada, via Placerville, Lakeside Park is readily reached by travelers from every direction, whether they come by steamer, buggy, or automobile. The Lakeside Park hotel was established in 1892 and has an enviable reputation. It consists of hotel, with adjacent cottages and tents, comfortably furnished and equipped with every healthful necessity. Here surrounded by beautiful trees, that sing sweet songs to the touch of the winds, drinking in health and vigor from their balsamic odors, enjoying the invigorating suns.h.i.+ne and the purifying breezes coming from mountain, forest and Lake, swimming in the Lake, rowing, canoeing, climbing mountain trails, exploring rocky and wooded canyons, fis.h.i.+ng, hunting, botanizing, studying geology in one of the most wonderful volumes Nature has ever written, sleeping out-of-doors under the trees and the glowing stars after being lulled to rest by the soothing lappings of the gentle waves upon the beach--who can conceive a more ideal vacation-time than this.

Unlike many parts of Lake Tahoe, Lakeside Park possesses a fine stretch of beautiful, clean, sandy beach. There are no rocks, deep holes, tide or undertow. Children can wade, bathe or swim in perfect safety as the sh.o.r.e gradually slopes into deeper water.

The whole settlement is abundantly supplied with purest spring water which is piped down from its source high on the mountain slopes to the south. The hotel is fully equipped with hot and cold water for baths and all other needed purposes, and there is a good store, well stocked livery stable, row-boats, steam laundry and home dairy.

The store carries a very complete line of provisions and supplies, fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy-produce, ice, hay, grain, lumber, s.h.i.+ngles, stove-wood, paints, gasoline--in fact, everything that is likely to be in demand in such a community. Camp-fire wood is abundant and free to patrons. This is particularly advantageous for those who wish to tent and "board themselves." Housekeeping tents are provided, on platforms in the grove, at reasonable rates, and the hotel owns its pasture in which the horses of patrons are cared for free of charge.

The location of Lakeside Park in relation to Lake Tahoe is peculiarly advantageous in that it affords daily opportunity for driving, horseback-riding or walking directly along the sh.o.r.e for miles. Indeed the twelve mile drive to Glenbrook is one of the noted drives of the world, taking in the celebrated Cave Rock, and giving the widest possible outlooks of the whole expanse of the Lake.

Patrons of the hotel or camps are a.s.sured that there are no rattlesnakes, fleas, malaria, fogs, or poison oak. The character and tone of the place will also be recognized when it is known that saloons and gambling resorts are absolutely prohibited in the residential tract.

The most majestic of all the mountains of Lake Tahoe are closely adjacent to Lakeside Park. Mt. Sinclair, 9500 feet, rises immediately from the eastern boundary, whilst Monument Peak, Mounts Freel, Job, and Job's Sister, ranging from 10,000 to 11,200 feet above sea level are close by. Such near proximity to these mountains gives unequalled opportunities for tramping, riding and driving through and over marvelous diversity of hill, valley, woodland, canyon and mountain.

Scores of miles of mountain trails remain to be thoroughly explored and to the hunter these highest mountains are the most alluring spots of the whole Tahoe Region.

Yet while these mountains are close by Lakeside Park is near enough to Fallen Leaf Lake, Glen Alpine Springs and Desolation Valley to give fullest opportunity for trips to these noted spots and their adjacent attractions.

In addition it allows ready incursions into Nevada, where the prehistoric footprints at Carson City, the marvelous Steamboat Springs, and the world-famed mines and Sutro Tunnel of Virginia City have been a lure for many thousands during the past decades. It is also near to Hope Valley and the peak on which Fremont climbed when, in 1844, he discovered and first described Lake Tahoe, and is the natural stopping-place for those who wish to go over the road the Pathfinder made, accompanied by Kit Carson, his guide and scout, whose name is retained in Carson City, Carson Tree, Carson Valley and Carson Canyon, all of which are within a day's easy ride.

PRIVATE RESIDENCES AT LAKESIDE PARK

To meet the ever-increasing demand for lots on which to build summer homes on Lake Tahoe the Lakeside Park Company has set aside a limited and desirable portion of its large property on the southeasterly sh.o.r.e of Lake Tahoe for cottages and log cabins, bungalows and lodges, or acre tracts for chalets and villas. Already quite a number have availed themselves of this privilege and a colony of beautiful homes is being established. Mr. and Mrs. Hill, with a keen eye for the appropriate, and at the same time wishful to show how a most perfect bungalow can be constructed at a remarkably low price, have planned and erected several most attractive "specimens" or "models," at prices ranging from $450 to $1000 and over. The fact that the tract is so located in an _actual_, not merely a nominal, wooded park, where pines, firs, tamaracks and other Sierran trees abound, allow the proprietors to offer fine logs for cabins and rustic-work in almost unlimited quant.i.ties, and in the granite-ribbed mountains close by is a quarry from which rock for foundations, chimneys and open fireplaces may be taken without stint. These are great advantages not to be ignored by those who desire to build, and those who are first on the scene naturally will be accorded the first choice both of lots and material.

There is but one Lake Tahoe in America, and as the men of California and Nevada cities find more time for leisure it will not be many years before every available spot will be purchased and summer residences abound, just as is the case in the noted eastern lakes, or those near to such cities as Minneapolis, etc., in the middle west.

In setting aside this residential section at Lakeside Park the owners have planned with far-sighted and generous liberality. The Lake frontage is reserved for general use of the hotel guests and cottage community, so there will be no conflict regarding privileges of boating, bathing, fis.h.i.+ng, and "rest cure" on the beach. Another wise provision is that a generous portion of the amounts received from early sales of lots is being devoted to general improvements that are for mutual benefit; such as the extension of roads, paths, trails and water-pipes, a substantial breakwater for better protection of launches and boats, larger dancing-pavilion or platform, automobile garage, more dressing rooms for bathers, etc.

CHAPTER XXVI

GLENBROOK AND MARLETTE LAKE

In Chapter XVI the history of Glenbrook is given in some detail. It is now, however, converted into a pleasure resort especially popular with residents of Nevada, and largely used by automobiles crossing the Sierras and pa.s.sing around Lake Tahoe.

The Inn, and its veranda overlooking the Lake, is built with an eye to comfort and convenience. Every need for pleasure and recreation is arranged for. For those who enjoy privacy, cozy cottages are provided, around which beautiful wild flowers grow in wonderful profusion. The guests here are especially favored in that the Inn has its own ranch, dairy, poultry farm, fruit orchard and vegetable garden. The table, therefore, is abundantly provided, and everything is of known quality and brought in fresh daily.