Nut Tree 100 Year Exhibit...

For the last decade we have seen signs on 50 telling us to visit Historic Vacaville. On this westward migration, we decided to stop. We only had a brief amount of time so we chose a visit to the Vacaville Museum.

We were excited to see the exhibit on the Nut Tree as it is a place we never got to experience in its heyday, sadly. It screams, "DENISE"!
The Vacaville Museum’s Nut Tree Centennial exhibit tells the story of the Nut Tree and the local family who, through a commitment to quality and innovation, created a world renowned “oasis of good taste” that was fit to serve the Queen, and did. The exhibit features all things original Nut Tree, including displays of the restaurant, retail shops and the Post Office. 
In 1921, when the Power Family set up a modest fruit stand along I-80 in Vacaville, who would have imagined they were starting a business that would become a driving force in retail for most of the 20th century? But so it was.
The Nut Tree simply took off. In no time it was the state's first major road stop, drawing Californians in droves with its eclectic mix of western California cuisine (which some say it originated), packaged dried fruits, miniature railroad, fly-in airport, and retail offerings. It set retail trends across the nation and became an icon as it hosted events for everyone from stars and sports celebrities to dignitaries and even royalty. And its success was no accident. Beyond the Powers' uncanny business sense, the Nut Tree had something very special going for it: the perfect location.

Conveniently located along the heavily traveled corridor of Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento, the Nut Tree was literally right off the highway (according to Helen Power, "you still left two wheels on the road when you pulled up"). You simply couldn't miss it. If you were one of the millions of drivers passing by, you didn't.

Since I knew nothing about this cool place, I had to learn more. What intrigues me the most is the fact that the Nut Tree was a good example of mid-century modernism in a public commercial plaza (mid-century modern is my thing right now). The period of significance for this modernist plaza dates from its design and construction beginning in 1953 to 1996 when it ceased operations.
It was designed by the California landscape architect Robert Deering and Sacramento, architecture firm Dreyfuss & Blackford. The restaurant and site-wide graphic design was supervised by graphic designer Don R. Birrell, who was associated with the Nut Tree for 40 years.
These were pretty famous dudes. Robert Deering was known for being the inaugural chair of the landscape architecture program at University of California at Davis, beginning in 1950, and as a pioneer in site cooling and heating through design. Don Birrell was the Director of the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento from 1951- 1953, prior to joining the Nut Tree staff. Nut Tree mixed outdoor living concepts with restaurant and retail services and amusement park-style entertainment.
The spatial organization of Nut Tree was based upon an outdoor plaza flanked by shed-like pavilions housing restaurant and retail spaces. The design was “all about using concrete and glass, steel and clean lines, indoors and out–buildings, graphics and landscape were supported as Design by a great family client…Ornament, color and plants played big roles.”. Designed by Robert Deering, the parking lot was one of the first in California to incorporate trees as a shading device to moderate the heat.
I loved what the museum choose to showcase including the souvenirs you could buy there. I would have literally been a kid in a candy store with all the treats they had for sale. Wow.

The year 1962 was not only big for me (my birth), but the Nut Tree saw some of its more amazing additions arrive, including the railroad.

And it had its own Post Office. So dang cool.
Celebrities arrived by airplane at the Nut Tree Airstrip or by automobile. Visitors of note included Ronald Reagan (pictured on the train), Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, Will Rogers and Bing Crosby, to name a few.



The plaza featured a striking sales booth with a Googie feel to the scalloped roofline. It was well-suited to the amusement park feel of the place. An outdoor fireplace crafted of steel was another feature of the original Nut Tree landscape.
I always lament that I was born in the wrong decade. I would have loved being the mom in this photo, rocking my son on a giant giraffe. Oh well. At least I had the Nut Tree Centennial: 100 Years of Food, Family and Fun exhibit to experience the magic and fun for an afternoon.

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Driving West on 50...

The Highway 50 corridor linking Sacramento and the valley to Lake Tahoe and the Sierra fully reopened to the public Tuesday for the first time since the Caldor Fire forced its closure back on Aug. 20. One month and three days after the fire roared through, we drove 50 to see our family in the Bay Area.


The Caldor Fire, which continues to burn in remote areas, has damaged or destroyed more than 1,000 structures since it began on Aug. 14. The highway closure was first due to the fire and then because of damage left behind that posed hazards.
We really had no idea what to expect. Emotions were running high.
Smoke visible made us realize this fire was far from over.


Signs posted asked us not to stop. This was one of many, many, fireplaces we saw, all that remains of the Forest Service cabins which families have owned for generations. In Eldorado National Forest, 'recreation residences' began before the turn of the 20th century to encourage public use of the forest. In 1968, the Forest Service decided against permitting any more new tracts (that gives you an idea of how old these cabins are).
Most of the cabins were nestled in the pines, making them incredibly idyllic and yet very vulnerable to the devastation a wildfire brings. So very, very sad.

While a great deal of our drive revealed the damage the Caldor Fire inflicted, much of it still showcased the beauty of the Sierras. We are so grateful for all the efforts to save that beauty.

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My Posting on Facebook...

I was very reluctant to join Facebook until I realized there was a lot of information I could only get by connecting there. My mindset was with Betty White who, on her first and only hosting gig for SNL (2010), famously said, "Needless to say, we didn't have Facebook when I was growing up. We had Phonebook, but… you wouldn't waste an afternoon on it."

One of the groups I belong to, which has been a wealth of information, is I Love Lake Tahoe. A great deal of fire facts was posted there during the chaos of the active Caldor Fire. Over the last few days, the emphasis seems to have shifted. People started sharing their memories with recollections and vintage photos of Tahoe over the years. I promptly joined in the fun. My post reads, "This Emerald Bay photo, circa 1964, started my husband's love of Tahoe which was passed on to me and our two sons. When he retired and realized we could live anywhere, South Lake Tahoe was our only choice! I 💓SLT."

I had no idea that little Stevie would evoke such appreciation. Within 24 hours, 330 people 'liked or loved' it, 20 commented and 2 shared. The shift to good memories has been heartwarming and needed. Facebook has united us. Don't get me wrong, I'm still with Betty on its time demands, however!

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Dairy History in Our Neighborhood

It always surprises me where cool history can be found. I have birded on the Dunlap Ranch property and never knew of its 100 year old history! Thanks, Jan, for sharing this Tahoe treasure.

Along the Bonanza Road (the first East-West road to carve directly across the mountains, built after the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City), hostelries, way stations, and inns sprang up to provide the services required by travelers. Small-scale ranching and farming endeavors developed around these hostels in support of the local economy. Hay and grain were raised in the meadows. The Johnsons, Bartons, Taylors, Sibecks, and Dunlaps were among several ranchers who established farms, ranches, or dairies here in the early days of what became South Lake Tahoe.
John E. Dunlap had been a brakeman for the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company's Lake Valley Railroad in 1891. Arriving from Illinois, he started in 1881 on the south shore, moved to north shore 1898, and in 1920 purchased property from Bliss on the south shore. In 1928, Dunlap finally returned to the south shore permanently to live on his ranch and work his flourishing dairy known as Tamarack. The Dunlap Ranch was 1,600 acres of meadow and forestland that is now known as Gardner Mountain, Tahoe Island Park, Tahoe Keys and Tamarack Subdivision.
According to this article from the Nevada State Journal, dated 14 July 1935, "Lake Tahoe has extensive business dealings during the vacation seasons... J E Dunlap operates the Tamarack dairy and features daily service."






Among the ruins were several repurposed pieces of railroad. This one is dated 1919. I love the treasure hunt that is a bygone era's remains.

Before the City of South Lake Tahoe was incorporated in 1965, there were several other towns with one of them being Bijou. It was there that John Dunlap was living when he was "called by death". It happens to be the section of town in which we live.

South Lake Tahoe's history continues to surprise and delight.

“History is the interpretation of the significance
that the past has for us.”
– Johan Huizinga

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A License Plate the DMV Approved?

I love personalized license plates and have shared many I have seen. When we first moved to Tahoe, I was excited to share my love of my new hometown and tried to find the perfect letters to express it.

This was my proposed, and quickly rejected, choice: LOVESLT. I saw it as Love South Lake Tahoe. The DMV and others saw it as LOVE SLUT.  "Per California Vehicle Code, Section 5105, the department may refuse any combination of letters that may be considered offensive or misleading!" Needless-to-say, I had to come up with something different, settling on LT💓ERS which no one really understood and has since been surrendered for just a standard plate.

How this plate was allowed through the censorship at the DMV I will never know. My only guess is back in 1982, when California plates were made white with blue lettering, no one thought this was offensive or they weren't checking that thoroughly or the person approving the plate really, really, really loved snow, too. Wild stuff.

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Scenes of Our Tahoe Day

Yesterday we hiked our favorite trail up Van Sickle. Here are just a few photos of Tahoe's beauty. It's good to be back.


“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

There is something beautiful in this sap droplet glistening in the sunshine!

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Me & My Big Brother Chuck...

My oldest brother and I have been trying to connect for the last two years and something has always gotten in the way. The first was my neck fracture, followed by COVID, with the last interruption being the recent fire evacuations.

Today, Chuck was supposed to end his fun at the Reno Air Races and come to Tahoe for some quality sibling time. His deadline to cancel his ticket extension was right when all the uncertainty of even knowing we would have a cabin to host him in was at its zenith, so we sadly canceled it all. He called this morning and asked if we could meet up for breakfast at least, so off we went to Carson for some quality family time, if only briefly!

The timing of our connecting is pretty special. It was 34 years and eight days ago that Chuck gave me away at my wedding to Steve. Pretty special indeed! Timing really is everything.

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