![]() And it is now less than three miles away. News channels report its approach to Lake Tahoe, but most people do not recognize that it will get to Fallen Leaf first. The Caldor fire is considered the number one firefighting priority in the United States. Friends they did not get to see this year, but pray will be there with us next year. But this week is richer and more special for them because of the many camp friends they have each made. They are ages 6, 7, 8, and 9, and are devoted to each other. Now we are taking the four littlest, along with their parents. Our oldest two, now in college, went for nine years, and reluctantly agreed to step aside for their younger cousins. We first went to Stanford Sierra Camp with eleven close friends from Stanford and all of our children. ![]() In a secret pact, we keep them all safe, and they feel grown up and free, bonding with the other children that they will see every year throughout their childhoods. Of course, all parents are on the look out for everyone’s child. After that, everyone is on foot, and the children are safe to wander freely in this beautiful space. You arrive at camp and park your car for the week. It is at the end of the road and there is no through traffic. Part of the magic is the safety of the “campus”. And there is a lovely private beach, frequented by all ages. When they turn 7, they are allowed to go out on the lake alone in a fun yak-with, of course, a lifeguard on duty. The littlest children sit on the boat dock fishing for crawdads. There are book discussions, bridge games, conversations, family beach games, an egg toss, a sandcastle contest, campfires, a disco bingo night, talent shows, slide shows, an improv night, a children’s carnival, a parade, a mythic Capture the Flag competition, and finally, an egg drop contest that lures all the techie geniuses in residence to out-do each other. If you are willing to rise at 5:45, you can go sculling on the pristine, mirrored surface of this exquisite lake. ![]() If you are not really a “boat person” you can still go out on the ponderous “boatster” for a nature or photographic cruise. There is hiking, biking, tennis, beach volleyball, pickleball, basketball, and every kind of boating you would want: sailing, waterskiing, paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, “fun yaks”. Two professors are in residence every week and they each give a lecture and an informal talk to the adults. Over 60 Stanford students spend the summer there, creating marvelous activities for all of the children. In the center is a main lodge, where the staff provides wonderful meals and evening programs. No one ever willingly stops going, but eventually we are “timed out”. There is now a multi-year waiting list for these spots. There are 55 cabins which alumni can rent for one week, and they are guaranteed this cabin again for the same week, year after year. In the 1950’s, Stanford bought 20 acres of lake front property and created the quintessential summer camp for alumni families, dubbing it Stanford Sierra Camp. And I grew up to share her love of this place. My grandmother remembered those summers as the best of her life, this lake as the most beautiful on earth. ![]() It took two days and was worth the effort. From Palo Alto, they packed luggage for a summer-cooking equipment, bedding, cots, tents, clothing, emergency supplies, food-and took the train to San Francisco, crossed the Bay in a ferry boat, took another train to Truckee, took a smaller train to Tahoe City, crossed Lake Tahoe in a ferry, took wagons overland to the edge of Fallen Leaf Lake, and crossed that lake in a barge. In those days, the journey was so arduous that they stayed all summer. Fallen Leaf was evacuated last week-the week that we would have been there.Ī hundred and twenty-one years ago, my great grandfather and other Stanford professors first took their families to Fallen Leaf every year. All of South Shore Lake Tahoe-further from the fire-is under mandatory evacuation. It has now passed Lake Lucille and is approaching Grass Lake and Glen Alpine-all places we have hiked to from Fallen Leaf. I have my phone set on “Caldor Fire Hourly Updates”, and I watch helplessly as it moves closer and closer. Many people love Lake Tahoe, but those that get to see Fallen Leaf forever recalibrate their sense of beauty.Īnd now it is in the inexorable path of the Caldor Fire. The lake is the bluest of blues, surrounded by magnificent mountains and a glorious forest. It is just southwest of Lake Tahoe, but far enough removed to be quiet, pristine, absent of tourists. ![]()
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