Archive for the ‘Lake Tahoe’ Tag
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Spring has sprung in the Tahoe basin…or what passes for it in the High Sierra. We’ve been unseasonably warm for this time of year, which gets many of us itching to be out in our yards and dreaming of seed packets and gardening. Those of us who have lived here for any length of time know better. It’s not uncommon to have a substantial snowstorm in May, thus destroying all our best laid plans for flower beds.
That being said, it’s never too early to start picking up winter’s debris in anticipation. Raking up the deep carpet of pine needles, miscellaneous trash that mysteriously seems to appear once the snow drift dissipates (now how did THAT get here?) and the ever copious pine cones is never a bad idea. Nor is amending the soil to make ready for a bountiful harvest of blooms.
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The Villager Nursery, Truckee, CA
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Towards those ends, the local nurseries have opened early to take advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures. For Truckee residences, there is the Villager Nursery, where in addition to plants, you can also find hydroponic and composting supplies. Visit their website for many informative articles on High Sierra Gardening and events happening at the Villager Nursery in Truckee.
http://www.villagernursery.com/
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In Tahoe City, there is The Tahoe Tree Company dba McBrides Nursery. The large log building has a gift shop in addition to garden supplies and seeds. Set on 10 acres, they also grow many native plants on site in addition to their property in Loomis.
Follow them on Facebook for all the upcoming events they have planned for this summer.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tahoe-Tree-Company-dba-Mcbrides-Nursery/119035988121811
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Memorial Day Weekend, (Friday through Monday) they will be having John’s Truckload Sale. 25% off selected shrubs!
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Tahoe Tree Company, Tahoe City, CA
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Did you know that The Tahoe Tree Company also has a secret garden that they host weddings and parties at, in addition to a special events coordinator? Check out their website for more information on this wonderful venue for your Garden Tahoe Wedding.
http://tahoetreecompanyweddings.com/.
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The building is also home to Mountain Magic Catering to feed all your hungry party guests. Now that is one stop shopping!
http://www.mountainmagiccatering.com/tahoe-tree-company-gallery.htm
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Also, Dave’s Garden Website is a great resource if you need help looking up plant information or need advice on gardening tips.
http://davesgarden.com/
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
Castle Peak at Donner Summit
The history of Donner Summit is about much more than the horrible struggle of one party of California bound travelers that gave the area it’s name. Donner Summit is a center of California history because unbelievably it was one of the easiest ways to get over the Sierra, but as we all know, it can be an incredibly challenging passage, especially if you try to do it in a snowstorm.
The first wagon train to reach California was the Stephens Murphy Townshend Party in 1844, which traveled over Donner Pass two years before the ill-fated Donner Party. They stopped on their journey at Big Bend long enough for the first European baby to be born in California, Elizabeth Yuba Murphy. One member of the party was Moses Schallenberger who spent the winter at Donner Lake, and later had the ridge above the lake named after him. Other party members went on to start the cities of Sunnyvale, Murphy’s and Stockton.
The Railroad was completed in 1869, but to get over Donner Summit required fifteen massive tunnels, including Tunnel 6, which was over 1500 feet long and blasted through solid granite by crews of Chinese workers. Some of the rock removed from the tunnels was used to construct the still visible China wall, which was built without the use of mortar.
Serene Lakes
Without refrigeration, ice was a necessary commodity in the west in the mid 1800s, but it was transported all the way from Boston or Alaska at great expense. So when the railroad opened, entrepreneurs saw opportunity in our cold climes. The Summit Ice Company began operation in 1868 at what were then known as the Ice Lakes, later the Serene Lakes. But the operation only lasted four years before Donner Summit’s heavy snows made nearby Prosser Lake, which had even colder temperatures, but little snow, a more attractive alternative.
The three Serene Lakes, were turned into present day Serena and Dulzura with the raising of the water behind a dam in 1941. The construction of a new road into the lakes in 1959, issued a development opportunity, leading to the creation of eight separate subdivisions at the lakes, and over 600 homes as well as Royal Gorge Cross-Country, and the Ice Lakes Lodge.
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
The community of Tahoe Donner is located on over 7000 acres of land, with 6500 homes and 25,000 members. It has a downhill and cross-country ski area, golf course, several restaurants, fitness center, swimming pool, tennis courts, sledding hill, and thousands of acres of open space for hiking and mountain biking, including a connection to the Donner Lake Rim Trail. How did this immense development, one of the largest in the country, come to be just a few miles outside of little old Truckee, California? It all started with Jack Kirby.
In his 2006 book, “Jack Kirby: Autobiography of a California entrepreneur,” Kirby talks about selling newspapers as a kid before becoming a pilot for the Navy during World War II. After the war he became a football star for USC before going on to play in the National Football League. After his career in the NFL, Kirby purchased 4000 acres of land north of Truckee in 1968.
Although the land which would become Tahoe Donner had recently been the victim of a major forest fire, Kirby was impressed by it’s potential for development. He thought it was rare to find this large a parcel of land in the middle of the beauty of the Sierra that had gentle enough contours to create a development. Kirby also purchased a five acre parcel on the shore of Donner Lake, which could be used to provide access to the lake for Tahoe Donner homeowners. He hired a ski development expert to determine if a ski area could be built on the burned out slopes of the current ski hill, and by 1971 people began buying Tahoe Donner lots for $8000. Kirby said, “I figured if I could develop a resort that was completely different-that offered something to homebuyers, second homeowners and retired people-it would be saleable.”
Looking towards Tahoe Donner ski hill
After developing Tahoe Donner, Kirby went on to develop the Alta Sierra community near Grass Valley, before turning his entrepreneurial mind to the manufacture of golf clubs. In 2006, he told the Sierra Sun about Tahoe Donner that he was “very proud of what we’ve done here. I think it’s turned out to be a great community development.”
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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