By Shelton A. Gunaratne ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚© 2010

We left the Lodgepole Campground of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park Tuesday (19 July 1983) morning at 6.30 through the northern gate heading west to Fresno. Our destination was D. L. Bliss State Park in Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, on the Great Basin east of the SierraƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚some 342 miles from Lodgepole.

This trip enabled us to get acquainted with the eastern bounds of CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Central Valley, which roughly stretches some 500 miles from Bakersfield in the south to Redding in the north. The lower half is better known as the St. Joaquin Valley and the upper half the Sacramento Valley. The two halves meet at the shared Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a large expanse of interconnected canals, marshes, peat islands, sloughs and streambeds.

From Fresno, we drove north on SR41 to Oakhurst, close to the South Entrance to Yosemite; then northwest on SR49 (ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Golden HighwayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚) to Mariposa, the middle (Arch Rock) entrance to Yosemite; and further on SR49 to Moccasin, the northwest (Big Oak Flat) entrance to Yosemite. (We entered Yosemite National Park on 12 Aug. through the northwest entrance on our second tour.)

At Mariposa, we visited CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s oldest courthouse. Between Bear Valley and Coulterville is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Hells Hollow,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ the Merced River canyon, near Ragby. It gave me a thrill to drive on this stretch of the highway, which twisted its way from the ridge to the bottom by many loops and sharp, frightful turns.

Our next two stops were Chinese Camp and Jamestown, which lie parallel to Stockton in the Central Valley. Our leisurely driving delayed us from reaching Placerville, the terminus of SR49 northeast of Sacramento, until dinnertime.

From Placerville, we drove northeast on US50 (Lincoln Highway) to cross the Eldorado National Forest of the Sierra through the 7,382ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ft (2,250ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ m) Echo Summit mountain pass between Twin Bridges and Meyers, south of Lake Tahoe. Echo Summit is the seventh highest of the 12 main mountain passes in the Sierra.

We reached D. L. Bliss State Park Campground, located north of Emerald Bay on the southwestern edge of Lake Tahoe, at 8.30 p.m. We set up our tent in the Lester Beach Road camp area for a two-night stay. It was pleasing to find hot water for a bath after the cold-water spell at Sequoia.

Lake Tahoe Experience

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ California and Nevada share Lake Tahoe, a large freshwater lake (in the Great Basin) with a length of 22 miles (35 km), a surface area of 191 square miles (490 square km), and a shoreline of 72 miles (116 km). It is the second deepest lake in the United States, after Crater Lake in Oregon. California has the lionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s share of the lake arrogating the west and the south.

The lakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s largest city is South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (population 23,600), adjoining Stateline, Nev. (population 1,215). Tahoe City, Calif. (population 1,800) is located in the lakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s northwest.

We spent Wednesday (20 July) exploring the perimeter of Lake Tahoe. In the morning, weƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚son Junius, wife Yoke-Sim and IƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚walked from our campsite to Lester Beach. Then, we walked on the Rubicon Trail to Rubicon Point and the lighthouse.

To get things rolling, we drove seven miles north on the west beach to a Laundromat in Tahoma to clean up the clothes we soiled over a week of camping. Eleven miles further north, we stopped for lunch at Tahoe City, where we also visited the Gatekeepers Cabin and Watson CabinƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚the oldest house built on-site in this area. We also looked at the population of trout under Fanny Bridge.

Reaching the northern part of the lake, we drove another 13 miles northeast along the beach highway past Carnelian Bay, Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach and Brockway to cross the state border to Crystal Bay in Nevada. There, Yoke-Sim and Junius got excited about playing the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-one-armed banditsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ at the nearest casino in Incline/Tyrolian Village. I went through a brief shock when the casino folks warned us that Junius shouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t be even close to a slot machine. We agreed.

We left the north shore of the lake and drove 22 miles south on the east shore, past Glenbrook and Oakridge, to Zephyr Cove-Round Hill Village, lying almost parallel to our campsite on the western shore. We tarried here to observe the boat ramp. Next, we drove another seven miles to Stateline, a hive of activity with famous casinos on the Nevada side.

Back in California, we stopped in South Lake Tahoe to eat dinner and visit the boat harbor. Later, we visited the Tallac Historic SiteƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚the grounds of the Baldwin-McGonagle, Pope and Valhalla summer homes, near Kiva Beach. The trail leading to the site rambles under aspen past the remains of Lucky Baldwin’s Tallac House, gambling casino, and Tallac Hotel. At the Valhalla home, we attended a slide presentation by two rangers of the U.S. Forest Service.

Our campground was only 14 miles away. Thus, we took the entire day to immerse ourselves in Lake Tahoe over a driving distance of 75 miles, which should have taken no more than two hours had we not dilly-dallied to satisfy our touristic instincts.

On the Way to Reno

Nevada became our focus for the next two days. I first visited Las Vegas, Nevada, early January 1967 during my West Coast tour as a World Press Institute fellow. Again, in late August 1969, I crossed Nevada (Wells, Elko, Reno) with three fellow graduate students of the University of Minnesota (Jim Bowers, Dennis Davis and Kurt Kent) on the way to attend the Association for Education in Journalism Convention in Berkeley. I remembered eating breakfast in Reno on that Sunday morning and visiting several casinos. But for both Yoke-Sim and Junius, Nevada was new and utterly exciting.

On Thursday (21 July), we travelled only 84 miles, but the quality of what we absorbed was exemplary. After leaving our campground in the morning, we drove three miles south to visit Vikingsholm, a 38-room mansion on the shore of Emerald Bay built by Lora Josephine Knight in 1929 to create a replica of an 11th-century Viking castle [see photo]. Behind the castle, we walked further to see Eagle Falls. The castle provided a good view of Fannette Island in the Emerald Bay.

Our second stop was South Lake Tahoe, where we saw the Stream Profile Chamber, the primary attraction at the Forest Service Visitor Center complex at Taylor Creek since it was constructed in 1968.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The chamber provides a view of the stream environment allowing visitors to study a diverted section of Taylor Creek through a panel of aquarium-like windows. These windows enabled us to watch the Kokanee silver trout in their natural habitat.

Crossing back to Nevada at Stateline, we drove east on the hilly Kingsbury Grade, and then north on Foothill Road to Genoa, the first permanent settlement in Nevada. We ate lunch at the Mormon Station Historic State Monument, and then visited the Genoa Court Museum opposite.

Sixteen miles north of Geneva, we reached Carson City (population 53,000), the capital of Nevada. We improved our knowledge about how the state governs by visiting the state Legislative Building and the state Capitol (built c. 1871).

For more than 50 years, the Capitol housed all three branches of the state government. The Supreme Court met here until 1937, when it moved into an adjacent building; and the Nevada Legislature met here until 1971, when it moved to its new quarters just south of the Capitol. However, every Nevada governor except the first has had his office in the Capitol. Today, the Capitol continues to serve the governor, and contains historical exhibits on the second floor (Wikipedia).

Although Nevada is the seventh largest U.S. state in area (with Mojave Desert to the south and Great Basin to the north), it has a (current) population of only 2.6 million. About 86 percent of its land area belongs to the federal government. Also, about 85 percent of the population of Nevada lives in the metropolitan areas surrounding the Las Vegas-Paradise-Henderson area and the Reno-Sparks area. ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s called the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Silver StateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ because of its numerous silver deposits.

We also visited the cityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s diamond attractionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚the Nevada State Museum in the Old Mint Building. The basement had been converted into a silver mine at the time of our visit. Before we left for Reno, NevadaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s fourth largest city, we drove around to see the governorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mansion and other Victorian buildings.

We arrived in Reno (population 218,000), 33 miles north of Carson City, in the evening. After stopping at Liberty Bell to see the antique slot machines, we checked in at Motel 6 (South) for the night.

Reno, the birthplace of the gaming corporation Harrah’s Entertainment, is best known for its casinos and as the western portal to legalized debauchery at the Mustang Ranch in Sparks and various other communities. Visiting such places was not an objective of our family camping adventure, which focused on enjoying the remarkable geological features of the Sierra: its mountain passes, glacier-cut canyons, freshwater lakes, endless trails and forests.

The next morning (22 July), we toured the University of Nevada-Reno campus, including the mining museum, the planetarium, the library, and, of course, the journalism department.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Thereafter, we treated ourselves to a 36-mile scenic tour of Reno starting at North Sierra Street, at the southern end of the campus; stopping at Idlewild Park by the Truckee River, where Junius exercised in the playground; moving on to Virginia Lake Park, where we ate lunch with countless ducks roaming around us; driving past the southwestern residential district along the posh Skyline Boulevard to Windy Mill; and ending up at Virginia City in the southeast.

Virginia City [see photo] was a mining metropolis in the 1870s. At the time of our visit, the city had been restored to its original boomtown appearance with several small museums on C Street. We enjoyed ambling on the boardwalks looking at quaint things and readily accepted the offer of two free beers. We enjoyed watching a documentary on the city at the visitorsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ center. Then, we drove to Dayton State Park via Gold Hill and Silver City to set up tent for our second overnight stay in the Reno area.

Crossing Beckwourth Pass

Saturday (23 July) morning, we left the Dayton campground back to Reno after a short stop at Washoe Lake, just to the northeast of Lake Tahoe. In the city, we visited several casinos, including Circus Circus and HarrahƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s, and bought a Lake Tahoe T-shirt for Junius.

We left Reno at 11 a.m. on our return trip to CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Central Valley across the Sierra on SR70 through the Beckwourth Pass, lying at an elevation of 5,221 ft. (1,591 m). It is the second northernmost pass in the Sierra, after Fredonyer Pass. However, it ranks as the second lowest pass in terms of elevation, next to Tehachapi. Our destination was the Loafer Creek Campground of the Oroville State Recreation Area, about 160 miles west. We reached the pass, immediately to the west of Hallelujah Junction, just 30 miles northwest of Reno.

I cannot recall the reason for choosing the Beckwourth Pass over the more pragmatic 7,085 ft (2,160 m) Donner Pass on Interstate 80 for re-crossing the Sierra to the Central Valley. On I-80, the distance between Reno and Sacramento is 132 miles. Perhaps the booking of Oroville for camping overnight determined the route. Oroville is almost 70 miles north of Sacramento.

Following the overnight stay in Oroville, we headed south on the Central Valley to Sacramento, the state capital, where we embarked on a rushed tour of the Capitol, SutterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Fort (1839) and Old Sacramento. We were the overnight guests of a friend of ours in Stockton (Jan Mullen of1250 Elmwood Ave.) that evening. On Sunday (25 July), we returned to Fullerton, 363 miles further to the south.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Next: Exploring Yosemite and the Foothills of Mt. Whitney

(The writer is a professor of mass communications emeritus at Minnesota State University Moorhead.)

Figure 1: Crossing the Sierra from CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Central Valley to Lake Tahoe/Reno via B=Echo Summit Pass and re-crossing the Sierra via J=Beckwourth Pass. Other letter signs: A=Placerville, Calif.; C=South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; D=Crystal Bay, Nev.; E=Emerald Bay, Calif.; F=Kingsbury Grade, Nev.; G=Genoa, Nev.; H=Carson City, Nev.; I=Reno, Nev.; K=Oroville, Calif.; L=Sacramento, Calif.

Picture 1: The author (with cap on) and his son Junius in front of Vikingsholm on Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe (21 July 1983).

Picture 2: The author in front of the reconstructed gold-rush town of Virginia City, southeast of Reno, Nev. (22 July 1983)