Emerald Bay on Independence Day Weekend 2009

It is called the Jewel of Lake Tahoe.

Looking down from the curved mountain road, our eyes caught the deep blue-green waters shimmering in the sunlight hundreds of feet below.

Along with thousands of other San Franciscans we were using this year's long weekend of Independence Day for the opportunity to travel away from the city - see previous blogs.

Winding our way on Friday morning around the picturesque edges of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains, we took in glimpses of the lake between the firs and wood cabins.

But of all the beautiful places around the lake with its some 70 miles of shoreline, it seems nature has held sway. Originally named Eagle Bay after the bald eagles, the sheer magnificent beauty and deep colours caused it to be renamed Emerald Bay, and so to become the Jewel of Lake Tahoe.

The bay is accessed via the Emerald Bay State Park, a camping and trail area on the mountains. There we set out on the Rubicon Trail to begin a fairly gentle descent on the narrow path, all the while able to watch the sparkling waters below.

It was an idyllic morning, temperatures climbing comfortably into the seventies with just a touch of a lakeside breeze.

One of the lake's paddle steamers sailed past and plenty of small craft were bobbing around.

The Rubicon Trail is 1.7 miles and leads down to the shore to Vikingsholm, a unique historic mansion built partly in the style of Scandinavian churches and castles and famed for being one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere.

At the head of the bay near Vikingsholm is Fannette Island, no more than a large deserted granite rock, that once hosted a 'Tea House' for the family of Vikingsholm.

What is so attractive about the trail is that it runs across the mountainside so that it is easily manageable for reasonably fit adults and older children. Time is approximately 30 to 40 mins each way, and can be done in less.

***As we returned to the top and headed back to San Francisco, the realities of the Independence Day weekend were no doubt dawning for the thousands of city dwellers who were only beginning their travels.

Driving away from Lake Tahoe and towards Sacramento, the queues of traffic that we passed heading for the lake were immense. Cars were almost stationary for long, long stretches. Then as we neared Sacramento, police cars and fire trucks had stopped all traffic and were dealing with the remnants of a van that had burned out on the edge of the road.

July 4 Weekend - Cal Neva Resort, North Lake Tahoe

It's a novel place where you can swim and walk in California and Nevada - at the same time!

To the amusement of hotel guests, these state boundaries run through the Cal Neva Resort at Lake Tahoe.





In the Indian Room, a wood-panelled room with heads of deer and moose and other hunting memorabilia mounted near the ceiling, painted state lines run across the floor and up a wall: gold for California - what else! - white for Nevada.

Outside, a black line traverses the bottom of the swimming pool with the names of the states inscribed.

Sitting on wooded mountainside in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Cal Neva has picturesque views over Crystal Bay at North Lake Tahoe, its address officially in Nevada.

The Cal Neva Resort, Spa and Casino, as it has become, claims to be the oldest operating gaming facility in America, and was once part-owned by Frank Sinatra who gave it a short, but colourful, celebrity-filled era.

However, the original lodge was built in 1926 by a San Franciscan businessman, Robert P Sherman, and to this day many San Franciscans have stayed there, as house or hotel guests.

This extended Independence Day weekend was no exception.

When owned by Frank Sinatra in the early '60s, it saw amongst its guests Marilyn Monroe, members of the Kennedy family, Rat Pack actor Peter Lawford who was brother-in-law to President John F Kennedy, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Judy Garland.

Pics of its famous guests not surprisingly hang on the walls and there is a secret passage that led between Sinatra's private chalet and the hotel, which was used by his close friends.

A rumour of Marilyn Monroe is reported on the illustrated sheet documenting the history and which is used as a table mat: one week before her death she called the Hotel Operator to say she had overdosed, and paramedics were called, thus saving her life on that occasion.

The hotel is also famous for its Circle Bar, a circular bar over which hangs an inverted crystal dome, an enormous orb of over 7,000 pieces of hand-cut German stained glass.

At the entrance to the grounds are tributes to the American Indian ancestry. The road is flanked by an impressive totem pole and a Chief Joseph Monument fashioned in bronze.

With an indigenous name of Hinmuuttu-yalatlat - with variant spellings - he was the chief of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce.

He and other chiefs led 800 of their people to freedom in Canada, resisting the efforts of 2,000 cavalrymen to round them up and settle them on a reservation in Idaho.

'For over three months, the Nez Perce outmaneuvered and battled their pursuers traveling 1,700 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana,' says wikipedia in a tribute, describing Chief Joseph as a peacemaker and humanitarian.

A great pic of Chief Joseph and his family is on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Joseph family pic

So what is it like to stay at this resort?

We arrived late on Thursday night, just after 9.30 pm, due to the Independence Day exiting of the city - see previous blog.

As we made our way to our room, there were already signs of a tired hotel. The room, with darkened lake views, was elegant in appearance, but the old-style furniture was marked and battered.

Like 'Ol Blue Eyes, it had been a long time!

The taps, too, were old. The shower faucet needed a good tug!

Downstairs, we went in search of a drink and a light bite. The restaurant was closed and the Circle Bar near deserted. The bar served only drinks. The server, with embarassment, suggested we could get something to eat in the bar across the road.

And this in a hotel that is open all night as a casino! We settled for drinks. In the morning, we looked out over beautiful lake views and the promise of breakfast in the Lakeview Dining Room. The dining room does have a magnificent vista, though sideways onto the lake.

However, the room is a bit like a function room, lacking decoration and atmosphere. The breakfast menu is limited, and the scrambled egg was more like a thin, overcooked omlette. Chris thought his home fries were soggy and left them on the side of the plate.

Good points overall? Our server was friendly and our room was clean. Another negative, again, is lack of electric points in the bedroom. The only place where you could plug in a laptop was either in the TV socket or in the bathroom.

Tellingly, perhaps, their website home page gives a glamorous image of the hotel in both its blurb and pics, but omits to call itself a four-star, which is what it is supposed to be. We didn't dine there, so can't comment on the dinner service, but based on the general impression and breakfast, we would be wary.

Its website says it is under new management and ownership and announces, 'Namwest is launching a complete renovation and restoration program for The Cal Neva Resort, Spa & Casino intended to position the Resort as the leading destination in Lake Tahoe with services and accommodations that will meet the needs of the most discriminating traveler.'

It is worth a visit for the fun of the dual state lines and the history, but is a place of faded glory trading on history.

Independence Day Weekend- Driving!

For many San Franciscans this year, the Independence Day weekend provided a hopeful Thursday evening escape from the city.

But as thousands headed towards Lake Tahoe, the scenic resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains, it was a holiday start of heavy traffic queues.

With Independence Day falling on Saturday, many people had Friday off in lieu and, dreaming of a peaceful mountain and lake retreat, were trying to leave the city in droves by 4 pm.

What is officially described as an average four-hour journey took 5 1/2 hours, crawling slowly along car-logged roads and navigating roadworks.

By 4 pm there were queues of traffic on the approach to the Bay Bridge. Once on the Bridge, the heavy traffic flowed until we reached Emeryville on the other side. Then we slowed and progressed bumper to bumper, side by side, to the state's capital of Sacramento, about 80 miles away.

It was a beautiful, hot evening as we journeyed. But with other roadworks, including some on bridges not far from Truckee, we saw the sun set across the mountains and arrived at our hotel in the dark.

Forget lakeside dining in North Lake Tahoe, we spent it snacking in the car instead!