Many years ago after the lake was formed the Qua people had spread throughout the High Sierra and beyond, as described in Lost Legend #3. One large group of Quas lived winters in the foothills near Auburn, CA and summers on tranquil Carnelian Bay near the center of the North Shore of the great lake in the sky. The Quas fished the lake; and they hunted the forested lands running north towards today’s Mt. Pluto and northwestward to what they called the Big Gorge, today’s Truckee Canyon.

To visit the place, go north from the train station in the center of town, through winding streets. It is a short trip, less than a quarter mile. Walk or drive.



Once at the monument, the view southward is expansive.



The monument has story that starts in the 1800s...and maybe earlier.

The entrance to Northstar is off Highway 267 that runs from downtown Truckee to Kings Beach on the North Shore. The main road into the resort takes you to the Village, just completed in the last year. The original village (1970s) is still part of the new one. A distinctive turret marks the village entrance; shops and restaurants surround an ice rink in the heart of the village.



Next door is the new Hyatt, under construction.

1. The Truckee Canyon that holds Highway 89 and meets the lake at Tahoe City. 2. Next, comes Ward Canyon, which meets the lake at Sunnyside. 3. And finally, a couple of miles south of Sunnyside, there is Blackwood Canyon--a treasure unknown to many.

Stately Eagle Rock sits at the entrance to Blackwood. This rock, overlooking Lake Tahoe, can be hiked to the top up its back (west) side.

Overview
On May 19, 1846, the Donners and Reids joined a large wagon train headed for Oregon and California. For the next two months the mid-westerners followed the Oregon Trail. When they reached the Little Sandy River, in what is now Wyoming, they decided to take a new route to California, the "Hastings Cutoff,” named after its promoter, Lansford Hastings.

The Donners and others formed a small wagon train and they elected George Donner their captain.

In pioneer days (1840s-50s), this place was known as Truckee Meadows, a relatively fertile valley. Gold was discovered in the area (in Virginia City) and thus began the transition of this place from agriculture to commerce.

Years ago sheep owners would bring their flocks up to Lake Tahoe from the Sacramento Valley and the Carson River Valley nearby in Nevada. The sheep would be taken to high, mountain pastures where there was ample grass. Sheepherders would stay with the sheep over the summer mouths and then return the sheep to the valleys over winter.

Rumor has it that the oven in this picture was handbuilt by sheepherders.

Miners from the Comstock Lode in Nevada traveled though Tahoe City to get to California. Passengers from the intercontinental railroad left the train in Truckee and went to Tahoe City to visit the lake. The town is bright with history and scenic wonder in all seasons.

One of my favorite places for beautiful trees is Page Meadows, right in Tahoe City’s backyard. (Some people spell it “Paige” incorrectly, according to the authoritative book Tahoe Place Names, by Barbara Lekisch.)

Page Meadows is surrounded by aspens bursting in yellow, gold, and red, and hikers get glimpses of Twin Peaks, Grouse Rock, Ward Peak, and Scott Peak in the distance, above the trees.