{travel: Truckee, CA}

I talk about being up at the cabin a lot in this blog. Well, the "cabin", not really a cabin, but kind of... is on Donner Lake in Truckee, CA. About a three+ hour drive from San Francisco. A crazy seven to eight hour drive from LA... not doing that ever again. The Downtown area of Truckee is cool because it really feels like you are in an old mining town. The town preserves the old signs and exteriors of the buildings to keep the authentic feel. The shopping is great, and the restaurants are really good. One of our favorites, Moody's even had a guest appearance and performance by Paul McCartney, who supposedly has a home on Donner Lake. I called BS on it, but they have a picture of him there singing. Another place we like is The Squeeze Inn, where I saw Helen Mirren having breakfast. Pretty fancy celebs for a not-so-celeb sighting kind of place.

It's fall there now, and snowed one of the days we were up there. The trees are changing, the lake is down pretty far, and it's a good idea to light up the fireplace once inside. I love this time of year! It's our favorite quick weekend getaway, and we're so glad we decided to buy the cabin. This trip we were able to see Phase Two of our renovation get started, which included ripping off all the exterior decks of the house and laying the new foundation to beat the impending snow. They will frame the addition and work through the winter. All very exciting for us. I can't wait to show you what finishes I pick for the floors. I already have an idea, but will show you once it's finalized.

How Truckee got it's name:

1844: A friendly Paiute Indian chief assisted thousands of emigrants in their migration west across the Humboldt Sink through forty mile desert. The Indian's name sounded like 'Tro-kay' to the white men, who dubbed him 'Truckee.' Guided by mountain man Caleb Greenwood the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party (sometimes called just the Stephens Party) became the first Emigrant wagon train that successfully crossed the Sierra. Elisha Stephens called the small lake beneath the pass Mountain Lake. A year later it was also known as Truckee Lake.

The Donner Party:

1846: The Donner Party followed the Truckee Route to the California Trail, a branch of the Emigrant Trail, to attempt a crossing of Donner Pass. Arriving in late October, heavy snows had already begun creating harsh conditions for their journey. The party was said to have resorted to cannibalism to survive the winter. 47 of the 87 men, women and children perished. More can be learned of their fascinating story at Donner Memorial State Park where you can visit the museum and Pioneer Monument.

Emigrant Trail:

1846-9:In this short period, thousands of emigrants passed westward through the Truckee Basin on the Truckee Route of the California Trail. It ran through Stampede and Prosser Valleys, past Truckee into the Coldstream Valley, and over the Sierra crest via Roller Pass, where wagons were hauled up the steep slope using chains. After 1849 Emigrants used other easier routes to travel into the gold country of California.

On and on, very interesting stuff for this little town. See the Chamber Of Commerce for more history.