The view from my office window is spectacular. (No this is not it.) But, to the west, beyond the hills in my small
valley, I can see the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Just over their craggy peaks
and out of my sight is Lake Tahoe (shown here). It is a beautiful lake so
blue and clear you can see over sixty feet into the water to the lake’s bottom. Mountains surround the lake covered with a
dense pine forest. The view is
absolutely breathtaking.
Tahoe was originally named Lake Bigler after the third governor
of California. It is also one of the few
inland lakes that can trigger Tsunami warnings during an earthquake. It was also the location of the Ponderosa
ranch used in the TV series Bonanza—now a private residence.
But there is one little-known fact that I found
amazing. While reading Mark Twain’s
adventure “Roughing It”, I learned that Mark Twain and his colleague decided to
make the eleven mile hike from Carson City to Lake Bigler on foot. Many hours later after climbing over several
mountains they finally found the lake.
One day after starting a fire for their morning meal, Twain
headed back to the boat to retrieve the frying pan. He looked up to see the fire, which he’d
started beneath a tree, had caught the dry bed of pine needles ablaze. From there the surrounding pine forest became
engulfed in flames. For hours, from the safety of a small boat in the middle of the lake, Mark Twain and
his companion watched the mountains burn.
He later returned to Carson City to tell them of his
experience and had to pay for the damages incurred.
I knew Mark Twain was a lot of things, but never an accidental arsonist. Great post Jennie
ReplyDelete