HAERR TRIPPIN': June 2023

Hiking Above Tahoe

Steve's favorite Tahoe hike is the Van Sickle Bi-State Park. Sadly, due to my fractured foot he was on his on this trip but his images made me feel there.

"Hiking is not escapism; it’s realism.

The people who choose to spend time outdoors

are not running away from anything;

we are returning to where we belong."

- Jennifer Pharr Davis

“As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains

brilliantly photographed upon its still surface,

I thought it must surely be the fairest picture

the whole earth affords.”

-Mark Twain, describing Lake Tahoe

“We don't stop hiking because we grow old

— we grow old because we stop hiking.”

- Finis Mitchell

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Carson City for Trains

With our grandson, who loves all things transportation, we spent a delightful morning at the exceptional Nevada State Railroad Museum.

This museum is a cultural resource dedicated to educating visitors and the community about Nevada railroad history. Its mission is accomplished through the collection, preservation and interpretation on significant locomotives, rolling stock, artifacts, photographs and memorabilia directly related to railroads and railroading in the Silver State.

In addition to static exhibits, select pieces of equipment in the collection are restored and operated throughout the year to demonstrate steam and early gasoline technology and provide visitors with a first-hand experience with railroad history through the sights, sounds and sensations of a train ride. Unfortunately, we didn't see any machines in motion, but we gathered the running schedule and vowed to return.

The varied exhibits had something for everyone.

We all agreed that the 1910 McKeen Motor Car was our favorite.

One of Nevada’s most significant historic treasures is now the nation’s newest historic landmark. This McKeen motor car is the nation’s only survivor of its kind that is able to move under its own power. Approximately 160 McKeen motor cars were built from 1905 to 1920. Nevada’s example of the McKeen motor car served on the famed Virginia and Truckee Railway after the turn of the 20th century. Once retired in 1945, the vehicle was converted into restaurant and then retail space in Carson City. In 1995, it was donated to the museum, where staff spent 14 years restoring the vehicle. This is the one in which we want to ride!

Okay, this steam locomotive Glenbrook was gorgeous. It is a narrow gauge 2-6-0 freight locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia in 1875. It is one of the few surviving relics of the extensive lumbering activity around Lake Tahoe that supported the Comstock from the 1870s through the end of the 19th Century. For nearly 25 years it pulled trainloads of cut timbers and cordwood from Glenbrook sawmills to Spooner Summit, from which point a flume carried the wood products down to the Virginia & Truckee Railroad at Carson City. So dang cool.

One of the most intriguing items was the Virginia & Truckee Railroad's Track Bicycle.

This four-wheel track bicycle, or pedicycle, was manufactured by the Light Inspection Car Company of Hagerstown, Indiana. It was used for many years by V&T employee Enrico Guiffra and is typical of the light track vehicles used by railroad maintenance workers and officials in the early part of the 20th century.

In addition to its regular use on the V&T, Clara Guiffra (Mrs. Enrico Guiffra) also used it. When the family lived at Scales (near American Flat) Mrs. Guiffra and baby Albert, safely sitting in the track bike's wire basket, pedaled up the long grade to Gold Hill for groceries and to pick up mail and packages.

All the other rail items just added to the allure of the railroad's romance.

And the projects left to be finished have left us with high anticipation of more wonderful things to come.

I loved this day.

"Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death.

The landscape changes, the people change,

our needs change,

but the train keeps moving.

Life is the train, not the station."

-Paulo Coelho

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Glenbrook Pioneer Cemetery

While on the Chase Estate Tour, Bob, Jenny, Steve, and I stopped for a history lesson at the cemetery in Glenbrook, Nevada.

This gated community is steeped in history and we used this opportunity, once inside, to visit this scenic resting place for the who's who of early Tahoe.

Meet Capt. Augustus W. Pray (1820-1892) who arrived here in the spring of 1860. Captain Pray and his associates gave the location its name, Glenbrook, due to a stream that ran through the meadow. They built a log cabin, harvested the wild hay, and planted grain and vegetables. It was a very successful endeavor.

The following summer (1861) Pray erected a sawmill. Seeing potential in the nearby timber, Pray bought out his partners in 1862 and began buying up timber land to supply his mill, quickly assembling holdings of 700 acres around Glenbrook.

Thanks to the expansion of Comstock mining, lumber became increasingly necessary — and valuable. In 1873, Pray sold his mill and the land that it stood on to entrepreneur Duane L. Bliss (1833-1907). Bliss launched a massive lumbering operation throughout Tahoe Basin, assembling mills, railroads, and flumes into a complex network carrying timber over Spooner Summit to serve the mines. By the end of the 1890s some 750 million board-feet of Tahoe Basin lumber had been shipped eastward to support mining operations on the Comstock — leaving 47,000 acres stripped of their timber. Bliss then turned to tourism. His gravestone reads, "A pioneer of the West in 1850. Identified with Lake Tahoe since 1871."

I couldn't find information on Ann Elizabeth, daughter of Frank O'Brien, though her brief life ended here in 1885.

Frank S. Jellerson (1839-1897) had to be part of the hotelier family who in 1882 built the Jellerson Hotel. I guess business was so good that in 1890, the family constructed the Dirego Hotel near their existing Jellerson Hotel. Wow.

What I could find about Jackson Moffett (1914-1978) came from the obituary of his son, Frank Short Moffett (1953-2006). Frank's true love was everything about Lake Tahoe. He spent much of his time at his family's home in Glenbrook which was built in 1864. He was extremely proud of his family's long standing history with Tahoe. The Moffett family had to be important pioneers if they've had a home here since 1864. And what a unique grave marker.

Cemeteries answer so many questions and help to pose new ones, as well. I loved this particular history lesson, in a breathtaking setting, with equally inquisitive friends.

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A Slow Stroll at Taylor Creek

The best place in South Lake Tahoe to get the most nature, in a localized spot, is Taylor Creek.

I mean, how gorgeous is this?!

I came to see how roaring the creek is. I was not disappointed!

With wildflowers and birdsong, I was very content.

One new change that made me very sad was the loss of this amazing tree. According to USFS facebook page, "Friday, April 14, 2023, was a sad day at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center. The Old Veteran Tree was removed due to safety concerns. The Forest Service has been monitoring significant defects in this tree for over a decade and even installed a bracing system of cables and straps to provide additional support. Unfortunately, this winter caused further damage and the difficult decision was made to remove the tree."

"The Old Veteran. This his giant Jeffrey pine, the Old Veteran, is 350 to 400 years old. Although this tree still stands, most of the pines of the same age fell to loggers in the late 1800s. This tree is the only one of its kind near the visitor center. Notice that the Old Veteran's trunk branches into two. This unique shape is what probably saved it from the logger's axe. This growth was caused by damage early in its life by storms, winds or animals."

"It is not so much for its beauty

that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts,

as for that subtle something,

that quality of air that emanation from old trees,

that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit."

—Robert Louis Stevenson

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Private Tour of Tahoe's New Event Center

When I read the article South Shore Events Center Could Be A Game Changer by my friend, Kae Reed, I knew good things were coming to Tahoe. When she invited me along for a come see all the awesomeness before anyone else tour, I knew I was in for something special (that usually happens when I'm with Kae).

According to the Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority, "The Tahoe Blue Event Center represents a new and unparalleled venue for conventions, special events, and entertainment on Lake Tahoe’s south shore. The new Events Center will complement local resort services by leveraging the existing hotel bed base, utilizing available parking, and concentrating activity near restaurants, retail, and recreation areas."

We were guided through this amazing building by the GM Kevin Boryczki. He thoroughly shared the vision for the finished 'destination'. It is going to be far more than just a stadium (hosting anything from local fundraising galas to hockey tournaments, to Comic Con), it also has numerous, and varied meeting rooms and public spaces for conferences, weddings, and gatherings of all kinds. This photo shows the Tahoe Blue Vodka Lounge. This local distillery bought the naming rights for the next ten years. I like it!

It is not meant to take away business from the neighboring casino concert venues, but supplement programming when outdoor venues just don't work (shoulder season). With seating for 5,200 spectators, I can just picture attending an event here. Even incomplete, there is an excitement in the air.

The ceiling is special. For large meetings on the first floor, a curtain that can be moved at 10-foot increments, can divide those in the general session from trade show/exhibitors. How very cool.

How many conferences have you been to where there were no windows? Check out these facilities! I kept saying, "With views like that, I don't know how well I'd focus on the presenter!" There is definitely a huge WOW FACTOR.