suitable villa and bungalow sites, and other lots, and readily
disposed of a number of them to those who were ready to build. To
further the colonizing plans of these chosen and selected purchasers
a fine, modern, well-equipped hotel was erected, replete with every
convenience and luxury that progressive Americans now expect and
demand in their chosen resorts. The result is quite a settlement
has grown up, and Al-Tahoe sees ahead an era of rapid growth and
prosperity. Its homes are substantial and beautiful and indicate that
John LeConte's prophecy, elsewhere quoted, is already coming to pass.
Pasadena capitalists are behind the hotel and town project.

Being advantageously located on the State and National automobile
boulevard, and near to all the choice mountain, lake and other resorts
of the southern end of Tahoe, it appeals to those who wish to combine
equally ready access to civilization with the wild ruggedness and
infinite variety of many-featured Nature.

It is situated on a high plateau, gently sloping from the bluff, with
a Lake-frontage of about three quarters of a mile. The land rises with
a gentle slope to the edge of the terrace facing the stream, meadow,
and mountains on the south.

With no stagnant water, there are practically no mosquitoes, and it is
confessedly one of the most healthful spots of all this health giving
region. Being on a lea shore, the cold air from the snowy summits of
the mountains tempered by the warm soil of the foothills and level
area, there is no place on the Lake better adapted for bathing and
boating, especially as the beach is sandy and shallow, sloping off for
some distance from the shore.

The accompanying photographs give some idea of the hotel and its
cottages, together with some Al-Tahoe homes. The water supply for the
town and hotel is gained from beautiful and pure Star Lake, 3000 feet
higher than Lake Tahoe, and where snow may be seen during the entire
year. The Al-Tahoe Company owns its own electric generating plant and
supplies all the cottages with electric light.

The hotel itself is conducted on the American plan, and in every
modern way meets the requirements of the most exacting patrons.
Amusements of every kind are provided, and there is a good livery
stable and automobile garage.

The town itself is being built up with a select class of summer
residents. No saloons are allowed. There are still desirable lots for
sale, and the Al-Tahoe Company, or L.H. Bannister, the Postmaster,
will be glad to correspond with any who contemplate purchasing or
building. Letters may be addressed to either at Al-Tahoe, Lake Tahoe,
Calif.




CHAPTER XXIII

GLEN ALPINE SPRINGS


The earliest of all the resorts of the Tahoe region away from the
shores of Tahoe itself, Glen Alpine Springs still retains its natural
supremacy. Located seven miles away from Tallac, reached by excellent
roads in automobile stages, sequestered and sheltered, yet absolutely
in the very heart of the most interesting part of the Tahoe region,
scenically and geologically, it continues to attract an increasing
number of the better class of guests that annually visit these
divinely-favored California Sierras. John Muir wrote truthfully when
he said:

The Glen Alpine Springs tourist resort seems to me one of the
most delightful places in all the famous Tahoe region. From
no other valley, as far as I know, may excursions be made in
a single day to so many peaks, wild gardens, glacier lakes,
glacier meadows, and Alpine groves, cascades, etc.

The drive from Tallac around Fallen Leaf Lake under trees whose
boles form arch or portal, framing pictures of the sunny lake, is a
memorable experience; then on past Glen Alpine Falls, Lily Lake, and
Modjeska Falls, up the deep mountain glen, where the road ends at the
hospitable cottages, log-houses and spacious tents of Glen Alpine.

[Illustration: Mount Tallac, Rubicon Peaks, etc., from Long Wharf
at Al Tahoe, Lake Tahoe]

[Illustration: Al Tahoe Inn and Cottages, on Lake Tahoe]

[Illustration: Murphey Cottage, Al Tahoe, on Lake Tahoe]

[Illustration: Porterfield Cottage, Al Tahoe, on Lake Tahoe]

Here is the world-famous spring, discovered in the 'fifties by
Nathan Gilmore (for whom Gilmore Lake is named). Mr. Gilmore
was born in Ohio, but, when a mere youth, instead of attending
college and graduating in law as his parents had arranged for
and expected, he yielded to the lure of the California gold
excitement, came West, and in 1850 found himself in Placerville.
In due time he married, and to the sickness of his daughter
Evelyn, now Mrs. John L. Ramsay, of Freewater, Ore., is owing
his discovery of Glen Alpine. The doctor ordered him to bring the
child up into the mountains. Accompanied by an old friend, Barton
Richardson, of the James Barton Key family of Philadelphia, he came
up to Tallac, with the ailing child and its mother. Being of active
temperament he and Mr. Richardson scaled Mt. Tallac, and in returning
were much entranced by Fallen Leaf Lake. Later Mr. Gilmore came to
Fallen Leaf alone, wandering over its moraines and lingering by its
shores to drink in its impressive and growingly-overpowering beauty.
In those days there was no road at the southern end of Fallen Leaf and
the interested explorer was perforce led to follow the trails of bear,
deer and other wild animals. Rambling through the woods, some two
miles above the lake he came to a willow-surrounded swampy place,
where the logs and fallen trees were clearly worn by the footprints
of many generations of wild animals. Prompted by curiosity he followed
the hidden trail, saw where a small stream of mineral-stained water
was flowing, observed where the deer, etc., had licked the stones, and
finally came to the source in what he afterwards called Glen Alpine
Springs. Scientific observation afterwards showed that the water had
an almost uniform temperature, even in the hottest days of summer, of
39.6 degrees Fahr., and that there was free carbonic acid gas to the
extent of 138.36 cubic inches. The analysis revealed that each U.S.
gallon contained grains as follows:

Sodium Chloride ............ 21.17
Sodium Carbonate ........... 32.75
Potassium Carbonate ........ Trace
Ferrous Carbonate...........   1.8
Alumnia ....................  1.43
Borates .................... Trace
Magnesium Carbonate .........  9.96
Calcium Carbonate ........... 45.09
Calcium Sulphate ............  4.10
Silica ......................  2.50
Organic Matter............... Trace
------
Total Solids................ 118.80

The water is pleasant to the taste, and, as has been shown, highly
charged with carbonic acid gas; its action is diuretic, laxative and
stimulative to the entire digestive tract. Eminent physicians claim
that it is beneficial in dyspepsia, torpid liver, kidney and bladder
irritation, and is also a tonic.

Whether this be true or not I cannot say, but I do know that every
time I go to Glen Alpine I drink freely and abundantly of the water,
to my great physical pleasure and satisfaction. It is one of the most
delicious sparkling waters I have ever tasted, as gratifying to the
palate and soothing to the fevered mucous membranes as Apollinaris or
Shasta Water, and I am not alone in the wish I often express, viz.,
that I might have such a spring in my backyard at home.

One result of this discovery was that Mr. Gilmore decided to locate
upon the land. As soon as the first claim was made secure a rude
one-roomed cabin was built and Mr. Richardson was the first guest.
Preparatory to bringing his family, Mr. Gilmore added two more rooms,
and to render ingress easier he built a road to intersect with the
Tallac road at the northern end of Fallen Leaf Lake. As this had to
be blasted out with black powder,--it was before the days of
dynamite,--Mr. Gilmore's devotion to the place can be well understood.

When his daughters grew up, they and their friends came here to spend
their summers, and by and by, almost unconsciously, but pleasantly and
agreeably, the place became a public resort. Though Mr. Gilmore has
long since passed on, having died in Placerville, Calif., in the year
1898, Glen Alpine Springs is still in the ownership of his family, and
its management and direction is entirely in their hands.

As in the beginning they have ever sought to preserve its character of
simplicity. It is their aim that everything should be as primitive as
possible, consonant with healthfulness, privacy and comfort. While
no sanitary precautions are neglected, and water, hot and cold, is
extravagantly provided, with free shower baths, there are none of
the frills and furbelows that generally convert these--what should
be--simple nature resorts into bad imitations of the luxurious hotels
of the city. There are positively no dress events. Men and women are
urged to bring their old clothes and wear them out here, or provide
only khaki or corduroy, with short skirts, bloomers and leggings for
the fair sex. Strong shoes are required; hob-nailed if one expects to
do any climbing. Wraps for evening, and heavy underwear for an unusual
day (storms sometimes come in Sierran regions unexpectedly), are
sensible precautions.

Sleeping out-of-doors is one of the features of the place, an
invigorating, rejuvenating joy, which Mark Twain affirmed was able
to destroy any amount of fatigue that a person's body could gather.
Visitors are given their choice of a comfortable bed in the open, in a
cottage, tent, or one of the main buildings. There are practically no
rules at Glen Alpine save those that would operate in any respectable
home. No liquors are sold, and visitors are frankly told that "If they
must have liquid stimulants they must bring them along." In order that
those who desire to sleep may not be disturbed by the thoughtlessness
of others, music is prohibited after ten o'clock. One of the delights
of the place is the nightly camp-fire. Here is a large open space,
close to the spring, surrounded by commodious and comfortable canvas
seats, that will easily hold eight or ten persons, the blazing fire
is started every evening. Those who have musical instruments--guitars,
banjos, mandolins, flutes, cornets, violins, and even the plebeian
accordion or the modest Jew's-harp--are requested to bring them.
Solos, choruses, hymns and college songs are indulged in to the
heart's content. Now and again dances are given, and when any speaker
arrives who is willing to entertain the guests, a talk, lecture or
sermon is arranged for.

Three things are never found at Glen Alpine. These are poison-oak,
rattlesnakes and poisonous insects. The rowdy, gambling and carousing
element are equally absent, for should they ever appear, they speedily
discover their lack of harmony and voluntarily retire.

While the Glen Alpine resort is not situated directly on one of the
lakes, it owns over twenty boats on eight of the nearby lakes, and
the use of these is freely accorded to its guests. That it is in close
proximity to lakes and peaks is evidenced by the following table,
which gives the distance in miles from the hotel:

_Miles_
2-1/2 Angora Lake
4     American Lake
6     Avalanche Lake
3-1/4 Alta Morris Lake
7     Azure Lake
5     Center Lake
5-1/2 Crystal Lake
5-3/4 Crater Lake
6     Cup Lake
4-3/4 Cathedral Lake
5-1/2 Echo Lake
2     Fallen Leaf Lake
5-1/4 Floating Island Lake
4-1/4 Forest Lake
6     Fontinalis Lake
1-1/4 Glen Alpine Falls
1-1/4 Grass Lake
4-3/4 Grouse Lake
3-1/2 Glmore Lake
3-1/4 Heather Lake
3-1/4 Half Moon Lake
5     Kalmia Lake
1     Lily Lake
2-1/4 Lucile Lake
3-3/4 LeConte Lake
2-1/2 Margery Lake
1/4  Modjeska Falls
3-1/2 Observation Point
4-1/4 Olney Lake
4-1/4 Pit Lake
6     Pyramid Lake
4-3/4 Rainbow Lake
2-3/4 Susie Lake
3-1/2 Susie Lake Falls
2-3/4 Summit Lake
6     Snow Lake

[Illustration: Cluster of Tents, Glen Alpine Springs]

[Illustration: Glen Alpine Falls, Near Glen Alpine Springs]

[Illustration: In the 'Good Old Days'. Glen Alpine Stage approaching
Office at Glen Alpine Springs]

_Miles_
4-1/4 Tamarack Lake
6     Tallac Lake
7     Tahoe Lake
6-1/2 Velma Lakes
3-1/4 Woods, Lake of the
3-1/2 Angora Peak
5-1/4 Dicks Peak
5-1/2 Jacks Peak
2-1/2 Keiths Dome
7     Pyramid Peak
6-1/2 Ralston Peak
3-3/4 Richardsons Peak
5     Upper Truckee River
4-3/4 Mt. Tallac
7     Mt. Agassiz
3     Cracked Crag

As the proprietors of Glen Alpine ask: "Where else outside of
Switzerland is there a like region of lakes (forty-odd) and world of
Sierran grandeur, such air with the tonic of altitude, mineral-spring
water, trout-fishing, and camaraderie of kindred spirits!"

While the foregoing list gives a comprehensive suggestion of the wide
reach of Glen Alpine's territory there are several especial peaks and
lakes that are peculiarly its own. These are Pyramid, Agassiz, Dicks,
Jacks, Richardsons, Ralston, and the Angora Peaks, Mount Tallac,
Mosquito Pass, and Lakes Olney, LeConte, Heather, Susie, Grass,
Lucile, Margery, and Summit with Lake of the Woods and others in
Desolation Valley, Gilmore, Half Moon, Alta, Morris, Lily, Tamarack,
Rainbow, Grouse, and the Upper and Lower Echo. Desolation Valley and
all its surroundings is also within close reach. This is some four
miles westward of Glen Alpine Springs, and is reached by way of easy
mountain trails under sweet-scented pines and gnarled old junipers;
besides singing streams; across crystal lakes, through a cliff-guarded
glade where snowbanks linger until midsummer, ever renewing the
carpet of green, decking it with heather and myriad exquisite mountain
blossoms. On, over a granite embankment, and lo! your feet are stayed
and your heart is stilled as your eyes behold marvelous Desolation
Valley. Greeting you on its southern boundary stands majestic Pyramid
Peak, with its eternal snows. Lofty companions circling to your very
feet make the walls forming the granite cradle of Olney, the Lake of
Mazes. The waters are blue as the skies above them, and pure as the
melting snows from Pyramid which form them. He who has not looked
upon this, the most remarkable of all the wonder pictures in the Tahoe
region, has missed that for which there is no substitute.

The whole Glen Alpine basin,--which practically extends from the
Tallac range on the north, from Heather Lake Pass (the outlet from
Desolation Valley) and Cracked Crag on the west and southwest, Ralston
Peak and range to the south and the Angora Peaks on the east,--is one
mass of glacial scoriations. Within a few stone-throws of the spring,
on a little-used trail to Grass Lake, there are several beautiful
and interesting markings. One of these is a finely defined curve or
groove, extending for 100 feet or more, above which, about 1½ feet, is
another groove, some two to four feet wide. These run rudely parallel
for some distance, then unite and continue as one. Coming back to the
trail--a hundred or so feet away,--on the left hand side returning to
the spring, is a gigantic sloping granite block, perfectly polished
with glacial action, and black as though its surface had been coated
in the process. Near here the trail _ducks_ or markers are placed
in a deep grooving or trough three or four feet wide, and of equal
depth, while to the right are two other similar troughs working their
winding and tortuous way into the valley beneath.

In Chapter VIII an idea is given of the movements of the great
glaciers that formed Desolation Valley and all the nearby lakes,
as well as Glen Alpine basin. These gigantic ice-sheets, with their
firmly-wedged carving blocks of granite, moved over the Heather Lake
Pass, gouging out that lake, and Susie Lake, in its onward march, and
then, added to by glacial flows from Cracked Crag, the southern slopes
of the Tallac range, and the Angora Peaks, it passed on and down,
shaping this interestingly rugged, wild and picturesque basin as we
find it to-day. How many centuries of cutting and gouging, beveling
and grooving were required to accomplish this, who can tell? Never
resting, never halting, ever moving, irresistibly cutting, carving,
grinding and demolishing, it carried away its millions of millions
of tons of rocky débris in bowlders, pebbles, sand and mud, and thus
helped make the gigantic moraines of Fallen Leaf Lake. The ice-flow
itself passed along over where the terminal moraine now stands,
cutting out Fallen Leaf Lake basin in its movement, and finally rested
in the vast bowl of Lake Tahoe.

To the careful student every foot of Glen Alpine basin is worthy of
study, and he who desires to further the cause of science will do
well to make a map of his observations, recording the direction,
appearance, depth, length and width of all the glacial markings he
discovers. On the U.S. Government maps the stream flowing through Glen
Alpine basin is marked as Eau Claire Creek. To the proprietors of Glen
Alpine, and the visitors, the French name is absurd and out of place.
No Frenchman has ever resided here, and if it was desired to call
it Clear Water Creek, why not use good, understandable, common-sense
English. At the request of those most intimately concerned, therefore,
the name has been changed on the map that accompanies this volume,
to Glen Alpine Creek, a name that "belongs" and to which no one can
possibly have any objection.




CHAPTER XXIV

FALLEN LEAF LAKE AND ITS RESORTS


Fallen Leaf Lake is a noble body of water, three and a half miles
long and about one mile across. Why it is called Fallen Leaf is fully
explained in the chapter on Indian Legends. Some people have thought
it was named from its shape, but this cannot be, for, from the summit
of Mt. Tallac, every one instantly notices its resemblance to the
imprint of a human foot. It is shaped more like a cork-sole, as if cut
out of the solid rock, filled up with a rich indigo-blue fluid, and
then made extra beautiful and secluded with a rich tree and plant
growth on every slope that surrounds it.

The color of the water is as richly blue as is Tahoe itself, and there
is the same suggestion of an emerald ring around it, as in the larger
Lake, though this ring is neither so wide nor so highly colored.

In elevation it is some 80 feet above Lake Tahoe, thus giving it an
altitude of 6300 feet.

At the upper end, near Fallen Leaf Lodge, under the cliffs it has a
depth of over 380 feet, but it becomes much shallower at the northern
or lower end near the outlet. Its surroundings are majestic and
enthralling as well as picturesque and alluring. On the west Mt.
Tallac towers its nearly 10,000 feet into the sea of the upper air,
flanked on the south by the lesser noble and majestic Cathedral Peak.
In the earlier part of the season when these are covered with snow,
the pure white materially enhances the splendor of both mountain and
lake by enriching their varied colorings with the marked contrast.

[Illustration: Glen Alpine Falls]

[Illustration: Glimpse of Grass Lake, looking across and up
Glen Alpine Canyon]

[Illustration: The Triumphant Angler, Lake Tahoe]

To the southwest rise the Angora Peaks, and these likewise catch,
and hold the winter's snow, often, like Mt. Tallac, retaining beds of
_névé_ from year to year.

To the geological student, especially one interested in glacial
phenomena, the lateral and terminal moraines of Fallen Leaf Lake are
of marked and unusual interest. The moraine on the east is upwards of
1000 feet high, and is a majestic ridge, clothed from the lake shore
to its summit with a rich growth of pines, firs and hemlocks. Its
great height and bulk will suggest to the thoughtful reader the
questions as to how it was formed, and whence came all the material
of its manufacture. It extends nearly the whole length of the
lake, diminishing somewhat in size at the northern end. There is a
corresponding moraine on the western side not less compelling in its
interest though scarcely as large in size as its eastern counterpart.
The terminal moraine, which is the one that closed up the lake,
separating and raising it above the level of Lake Tahoe, is a less
noble mound, yet geologically it allures the mind and demands study as
much as the others. In Chapter VIII, Dr. Joseph LeConte's theories are
given in full explaining the various glacial phenomena connected with
this lake.

The fish of Fallen Leaf are practically the same as those of Tahoe,
though rod and fly fishing is more indulged in here.

Boating, canoeing and the use of the motor boat are daily recreations,
and swimming is regularly indulged in during the summer season.

FALLEN LEAF LODGE

The distinguishing characteristics of this resort are simplicity,
home-likeness, unostentation. It makes its appeal especially to the
thoughtful and the studious, the not luxuriously rich, those who love
Nature rather than the elegance of a first-class hotel, and who desire
to climb trails, study trees, hunt, fish, and generally recreate
out-of-doors rather than dress and fare sumptuously.

It is situated on the southwestern edge of Fallen Leaf Lake, five
miles from Tallac, reached by a road that winds through the trees of
the Baldwin estate, and then skirts the eastern and southern shores
of the Lake. Stages--horse and automobile--run daily during the season
and meet all the steamers at Tallac.

The "Lodge" consists of a number of detached buildings, conveniently
and picturesquely scattered among the pines on the slopes and at the
edge of the lake. There are dining hall, social hall, post office,
store, electric power-house, boat-house, with stables far enough away
to be sanitary, and cottages and tents located in every suitable nook
that can be found. There are one, two or three-roomed cottages, tents,
single and double, all in genuine camp style. There is no elegance
or luxury, though most of the cottages have modern toilets, porcelain
bath-tubs with running hot and cold water. Electric lights are
everywhere.

The camp has been in existence now (1915) for seven years and each
year has seen considerable enlargement and improvement, until now
Fallen Leaf Lodge in the heart of the summer season is an active,
busy, happy and home-like community.

The table is wholesome, substantial and appetizing. There is no
pretense at elaborateness. Home-cooking, well served, of simple and
healthful dishes, in reasonable variety, is all that is offered.

Needless to say there is no bar or saloon, though there is no attempt
to compel a personal standpoint on the liquor question upon those who
are accustomed to the use of alcoholic liquors at meals.

In its natural beauties and advantages Fallen Leaf Lodge claims--and
with strong justification--one of the very best of locations. Fallen
Leaf Lake is large enough to give scope to all the motor-boats,
row-boats, canoes and launches that are likely to be brought to it for
the next hundred years, and ten thousand fishermen could successfully
angle upon its bosom or along its shores. For millions of Tahoe trout,
rainbow, Eastern brook, Loch Levin, Mackinac and German brown have
been put into this and nearby lakes in the last few years. While
some jerk-line fishing is indulged in, this lake, unlike Lake Tahoe,
affords constant recreation for the more sportsmanlike fly-fishing.

Another of the special advantages of Fallen Leaf Lodge is its
possession of a fine log-house and camp on the shore of Lake of the
Woods, five miles away, in Desolation Valley. To those who wish to
fish in greater solitude, to climb the peaks of the Crystal Range, or
boat over the many and various lakes of Desolation Valley this is a
great convenience.

Nothing can surpass the calm grandeur of the setting of this glorious
beautiful water. Lying at the lower edge of Desolation Valley and
facing stupendous mountains, the picture it presents, with Pyramid
Peak reflected in its gorgeously lit-up sunset waters, is one that
will forever linger in the memory.

The close proximity of Fallen Leaf Lodge to Mt. Tallac, Cathedral
Peak, the Angora Peaks, Mounts Jack, Dick, and Richardson, Ralston
Peak, Keith's Dome, Maggie's Peaks, Tell's Peak, with the towering
peaks of the Crystal Range--Pyramid and Agassiz--to the west, and
Freel's, Job's and Job's Sister to the southeast, afford an abundance
and variety of mountain-climbing that are seldom found in any region,
however favored.

But in addition to the peaks there are Sierran lakes galore, rich
in unusual beauty and picturesqueness, and most of them stocked with
trout that compel the exertion of the angler's skill, as much as
tickle the palate of the uncorrupted epicure. Close by are Cascade,
Cathedral, Floating Island, Echo, Heather, Lucile, Margery, Gilmore,
Le Conte, Lily, Susie, Tamarack, Grouse, Lake of the Woods, Avalanche,
Pit, Crystal, Pyramid, Half Moon, with the marvelous and alluring maze
of lakes, bays, straits, channels, inlets and "blind alleys" of the
Lake Olney of the ever-fascinating Desolation Valley. And those I
have named are all within comparatively easy walking distance to the
ordinarily healthful and vigorous man or woman. For those who seek
more strenuous exercise, or desire horse-back or camping-out trips
another twenty, aye fifty lakes, within a radius of fifty miles may
be found, with their connecting creeks, streams and rivers where gamey
trout abound, and where flowers, shrubs and trees in never-ceasing
variety and charm tempt the botanist and nature-lover.

While to some it may not be an attraction, to others there may be both
pleasure and interest in witnessing the operations of the Fallen Leaf
sawmill. This is situated on the western side of the lake, and is
a scene of activity and bustle when logging and lumbering are in
progress. On the hills about the lake the "fellers" may be found,
chopping their way into the hearts of the forest monarchs of pine,
fir and cedar, and then inserting the saw, whose biting teeth soon
cut from rim to rim and cause the crashing downfall of trees that have
stood for centuries. Denuded of their limbs these are then sawn into
appropriate lengths, "snaked" by chains pulled by powerful horses to
the "chute", down which they are shot into the lake, from whence they
are easily towed to the mill. The chute consists of felled logs,
laid side by side, evenly and regularly, so as to form a continuous
trough. This is greased, so that when the heavy logs are placed therein
they slide of their own weight, where there is a declivity, and are
easily dragged or propelled on the level ground.

[Illustration: Boating on Fallen Leaf Lake]

[Illustration: Fallen Leaf Lodge Among the Pines, on Fallen Leaf Lake]

[Illustration: Camp Agassiz Boys setting out for a Trip, Lake Tahoe,
Cal. Copyright 1910, by Harold A. Parker.]

[Illustration: Tahoe Meadows, With Mt. Tallac in the Distance]

I use the word propelled to suggest the interesting method used in
these chutes. Sometimes ten or a dozen logs will be placed, following
each other, a few feet apart, on the trough (the chute). A chain is
fastened to the rear end of the hindermost log. This chain is attached
to a single-tree fastened to a horse's harness. The horse is started.
This makes the hinder log strike the next one, this bumps into the
third and gives it a start, in its turn it bumps the fourth, the
fourth the fifth, and so on, until the whole dozen are in motion. Had
the string of logs been fastened together, the horse would have found
it impossible to move them, but "propelling" them in this fashion they
are all set in motion, and their inertia once overcome there is no
difficulty experienced in keeping them going.

The views from Fallen Leaf Lodge are varied and beautiful, one in
particular being especially enchanting. Over the Terminal moraine,
across the hidden face of Lake Tahoe, the eye falls upon the mountains
in Nevada, on the far-away eastern side. In the soft light of evening
they look like fairy mountains, not real rocky masses of gigantic,
rugged substance, but something painted upon the horizon with delicate
fingers, and in tints and shades to correspond, for they look tenderer
and sweeter, gentler and lovelier than anything man could conceive or
execute.

The owner of Fallen Leaf Lodge is Professor William W. Price, a
graduate of Stanford University, who first came into this region
to study and catch special Sierran birds and other fauna for the
Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, and
the British Museum. Later, when he founded the Agassiz school for
boys, at Auburn, California, he established Camp Agassiz near Fallen
Leaf Lake, in a grove of pines, firs, and cedars. Assisted by other
university men he made of this an ideal open-air school and camp
for boys. They were taught such practical things as to take care
of themselves in the mountains, find a trail, or go to a given spot
without a trail, fish, hunt, make camp, build fires in a rain-storm,
find proper shelter during a lightning-storm, carry a pack, pack a
mule or burro, even to the throwing of the "diamond hitch," the
"squaw hitch," and the "square" or other packer's especial "knots" and
"ties". They were induced to climb mountains, row, swim, "ski", and
snow-slide, and all were taught to recognize at sight the common
birds, smaller wild animals, trees, and flowers. Frequent camping-out
trips were arranged for, and the youngsters thus gained health, vigor
and permanent strength while doing what they all enjoyed doing.

In due time the parents wished to share the fun, joy, and out-of-door
experiences of their youngsters; then the friends, and those who heard
about them, and out of the numerous requests for accommodations Fallen
Leaf Lodge was born. For a time Mr. Price tried an ordinary hotel
manager, but the peculiar and individualistic needs of his peculiar
and individualistic camp at length led Mrs. Price and himself to take
the complete control. From that time its success has been continuous.

Mr. Price is a scientific expert upon the flora (especially the
trees), the birds and the four-footed fauna of the whole region, and
his readiness and willingness to communicate his knowledge to his
guests is a great advantage to the studious and inquiring.

Owing to the demands made upon his time by the management of Fallen
Leaf Lodge Mr. Price has transferred his school into other hands, and
has given up the Boys' Camp, though the lads are still welcome, with
their parents, as regular guests at the Lodge.

It should be noted that Fallen Leaf Lodge is but two miles from Glen
Alpine Springs and that all that is said of the close proximity of the
most interesting features of the southern end of the Lake Tahoe region
to Glen Alpine, applies with equal force (plus the two miles) to
Fallen Leaf Lodge.


CATHEDRAL PARK ON FALLEN LEAF LAKE

One of the newest of the Tahoe region resorts is that of Cathedral
Park, located on the western side of Fallen Leaf Lake. It was opened
in the latter part of the season of 1912 by Carl Fluegge. Everything
about it is new, from the flooring of the tents to the fine
dining-room, cottages and stables. A special road has been constructed
on the west side of the lake, over which Cathedral Park stages run
daily the three and a half miles, to meet every steamer during the
season at Tallac.

Rising directly from the edge of the lake, surrounded by majestic
trees, protected by the gigantic height of Mt. Tallac (9785 feet)
from the western winds, a clear open view of Fallen Leaf Lake and the
thousand-feet high lateral moraine on the eastern side is obtained;
there could be no better location for such a resort.

The distinctive features of Cathedral Park are simplicity and
home-comforts, with special advantages for hunting, fishing and
camping out. For ten years Mr. Fluegge has taken out some of the most
distinguished patrons of the Tahoe region in his capacity as expert
guide and huntsman. He knows every trail thoroughly and has scaled
every mountain of the surrounding country. He knows the habits and
haunts of bear, deer, and other game, and is a successful hunter of
them, as well as of grouse and quail. His office and social-hall bear
practical evidence of his prowess and skill in the mounted heads of
deer, and the dressed skins of bear that he has shot. He is also an
expert angler, and well acquainted with the best fishing in Granite,
Eagle, the Rock-Bound, Gilmore and other lakes, as well as those
closer at hand. There are twelve such lakes within easy reach of
Cathedral Park. Fishing and hunting are his hobbies and delights,
hence he makes a thoroughly competent, because interested, and
interesting guide. Nothing pleases him more than to get out with his
guests and assist them in their angling and hunting. To aid in this he
has established his own permanent camp at the beautiful Angora Lakes,
four miles from Cathedral Park, which is placed freely at the disposal
of his guests.

Especial arrangements are made for the perfect and satisfactory
accommodation of guests who desire to sleep out of doors. Tents,
sleeping porches and platforms are arranged with a view to the
strictest privacy, and those who desire this healthful open-air mode
of life can nowhere be better accommodated than here. As Mark Twain
has said, it is the "open air" sleeping in the Lake Tahoe region that
is so beneficial. Again to quote him: "The air up there in the clouds
is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it
be?--it is the same the angels breathe. I think that hardly any amount
of fatigue can be gathered together that a man cannot sleep off in
one night here. _Not under a roof, but under the sky_." Therefore
Cathedral Park says to those who wish to breathe the same air as the
angels while they are yet on the earth: Come to us and we will meet
your reasonable wishes in every possible way.

[Illustration: Picturesque Palo Alto Lodge, at Lakeside Park, Lake
Tahoe]

[Illustration: The Long Wharf at Lakeside Park, Lake Tahoe]

[Illustration: Automobile Road Around Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe]

The presence of Mrs. Fluegge, who is associated with her husband
in the management, guarantees to ladies, whether unaccompanied, or
with their families, the best of care, and the former are especially
invited to come and test the homelike qualities of the place.

The water supply of Cathedral Park is gained from its own springs, on
the mountain side above the resort. It is piped down to every tent or
cottage and the supply is superabundant. Fish are caught almost daily
on the landing in front of the hotel. Fallen Leaf is an ideal spot for
rowing, canoeing, and launch rides, and the hotel owns its own launch
in which parties are regularly taken around the lake. During the
summer season bathing is as delightful here as in any of the seaside
resorts of the Atlantic and Pacific, and almost every one takes a
plunge daily.

A camp-fire is built every night, where singing, storytelling, and
open air amusements of an impromptu nature are indulged in to one's
heart's content, though visitors are all expected to remember the
rights of others and not keep too late hours.

Informal dances are indulged in occasionally and everything is done to
promote the comfort, pleasure and enjoyment of the guests that earnest
desire, constant watchfulness and long experience can suggest.

The table is simple and homelike, but abundant, well-served and
satisfactory. This department is entirely under the control of Mrs.
Fluegge, who never employs any other than white help in the kitchen.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, lake trout and game in season, fresh milk
and cream, with everything of the best that the markets afford, are
none too good for the guests at Cathedral Park.

Unlike most of the Lake Tahoe resorts, it keeps open throughout the
whole year, and is managed with but one idea, viz., to give absolute
and complete satisfaction to all its guests.

Its rates are reasonable, and especial prices are given to children
under ten years of age and to families who wish to stay for any length
of time.

The short trail to Mount Tallac rises directly from Cathedral Park,