Archive for October 2015
By Michelle Portesi
Situated off the main road at the south end of Fallen Leaf Lake is the trail to the old Glen Alpine Springs Resort. A vacation destination of a bygone era, still standing today are several buildings designed by the famous San Francisco Architect Bernard Maybeck (1862-1957) designer of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Art. While some buildings are already boarded up for the winter and therefor more difficult to appreciate their beauty, what is unusual about these buildings is their great expanses of glass windows supported by metal frames and stone buttresses.
One of the buildings at Glen Alpine Springs. This one is boarded up for winter, but you can still take a peak inside.
Building without the snow covers.
I was hoping to get some shots of fantastic fall color as the drive in has massive stands of aspen, but as our drought has taken its toll on our fall color display this year, I’m hoping for that massive El Nino to show up to remedy the situation for next year. Still, the drive in was lovely as the one lane road meandered past gorgeous high country horse pastures and the shores of Fallen Leaf Lake. This is a seasonal lake, as the road isn’t plowed once the snow flies, and the intimate, limited development of the area reminded my friend and me of the movie ‘On Golden Pond’. In fact, so much so, we both said it simultaneously!
Boat docks at Fallen Leaf Lake
Once you near the south end of the lake, the road splits, and the sign to Glen Alpine Springs is clearly marked. A ways up you will find a parking lot and the beginning of the trail head. While not a long trail, much of it is on an incline and the ‘road’ such as it is, is very rocky. Be warned. This is no trail for flip-flops. Hiking boots are strongly suggested.
The trail does flatten out in areas through heavily forested glens, passing streams, and even a waterfall that still has water this late in the season, and it’s all worth it. Once you stumble onto the remains of Glen Alpine Springs Resort, you’ll have plenty to explore. The resort, once the site of supposedly health inducing natural soda springs, the gazebo still houses the terminus of the small, brackish, iron filled bubbly water. No, I don’t recommend drinking it!
Trail to Glen Alpine Springs
Dining Hall at Glen Alpine Springs.
Interior of the Dining Hall
From there, you can continue along the trail to many back country lakes. We didn’t realize it at the time, but there is another falls to the left of the parking area. Next time…
Hike it now, as the road around Fallen Leaf supposedly closes at the end of October.
If you are driving to your destination along the west shore, be sure to stop at PDQ Market in Tahoma along the way for some awesome sandwiches to take on your hike. My favorite is the pesto bread with roast beef and pepperchinis.
For more information and history about Glen Alpine Springs, go here:
www.sierranevadageotourism.org/content/glen-alpine-fallssprings-trail
laketahoe.com/content/glen-alpine-springs-resort
Dining Hall at Glen Alpine Springs
Fall colors at Glen Alpine Springs
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THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
By Michelle Portesi
Your headquarters for your Fall Harvest Table decor.
So you’ve bought your new home at Lake Tahoe, Truckee or Soda Springs and your furnishings just don’t fit the style of your new digs, or worse still, you’ve got no furniture at all. Or maybe with fall, the nesting bug has hit you hard and you’re feeling the need to update and refeather your nest. What to do….what to do…
Located in the Boatworks Mall in Tahoe City is the marvelous, long time local home furnishings store of Hemmings and Jarrett. Touting ‘From the Rug to the Chandelier…and Everything in Between!’, this store has something for everyone. From furniture to sumptuous linens, lighting. accessories and dish ware to unique and seasonal gifts, you’ll need to take at least 3 turns around the store to see it all. Don’t see what you had in mind? No worries, they can special order furnishings as well, featuring manufacturers such as Stone County Ironworks, Wesley Hall, Renaissance Iron, American Leather, Lee Industries and more.
What I myself as a designer really appreciate is that their offerings aren’t the same old, same old, ‘Pinecones and squirrels and bears, Oh My!’ While they do have a lovely selection of those as well, it’s nice to see more elegant and diverse styles of mountain furnishings. Do you prefer a Country French twist with a Tahoe vibe? Or how about what we designers at Tahoe jokingly call ‘Tuscahoe’ (Tuscan Villa meets Old Tahoe). Lakefront Beach Style? Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Craftman? Whatever your tastes are, they’ve got you covered. (And Realtors may be interested in a few purchases for staging those especially nice prime pieces of real estate or for gifts for clients as well.)
Beds, linens, artwork and more!
Centerpieces, table linens, florals, elegant plates and glasses…
Hemmings and Jarret also has fun and eclectic gifts for every occasion. While I was there, they were all decked out for Fall and Halloween. Fun! Fun! Fun! The displays are always gorgeous and inspiring. Or make your own with their generous supply of high end silk floral offerings, candles and ribbon. I have a lovely centerpiece of fall colored nasturtiums that I still love many years later.
Halloween decor galore!
Owned by Terry and Chris Beye, they are also very active in support of local charitable events. When I was there, they were closing early for the local event ‘Girls on the Run’. They are also contributers to The Boys and Girls Club, North Tahoe Boosters and The Hook Golf Tournament.
Stop in today to get inspired for your new indoor decor.
Hours:
Winter – Open daily from 10 am -5 pm
Summer – Open Daily from 10 am – 6 pm.
530. 583.0408
760 North Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, CA 96145
hemmingsandjarret.com
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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By Tim Hauserman
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It happens every year. We merrily skip along enjoying the joys of a warm October: Swimming in the brisk but still bearable crystal clear lakes. Bike riding across warm meadows needing just a pair of shorts and a jersey. Hiking into Desolation Wilderness at a time when the place really lives up to it’s name, and then: Boom, baby. The cold wind’s blow out of the east, the temperatures drop, and fall raises its chilly and wet head.
I was reminded of this quick change recently when I walked briskly from my house in Tahoe Park to the beach next to Sunnyside. There on the shore of the beach was a dejected family pondering what to do about their sunken boat which was being pounded by the fierce winds into the bottom of the lake. And of course, this being Tahoe, the boat owners were friends of mine and I helped them drag up the last load of their soggy possessions to the car.
Lesson learned. While we still have some wonderful warm days to experience the fun stuff we love to do in the summer, the heavy snows of winter are on their way, which means it’s about time to at least start thinking about getting ready:
If you haven’t already done so, it’s officially time to get your boat out of the water.
Service the heater.
Start organizing your yard to bring inside what you don’t want buried in the snow.
Plan for the potential of freezing temps. Watch the forecasts, shut the windows when you leave town for a few days, and think about preparing your plumbing for winter if you leave for several weeks.
Put up snow stakes along the driveway, so when it does snow you will actually have a clue where the edge of your driveway is.
Get your skis tuned and ready to go. Because we are surely due for a big winter.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 