the pine trees it was in some places so narrow that the hubs of
our machine just cleared the tree trunks. We went first to Tallac, where
there is a very pleasant hotel on the lake. But it was full and we
turned back to Al Tahoe, a hotel in a great open space at the southern
end of the lake, with pine trees scattered here and there, and a little
colony of cottages outside the main building. We established ourselves
in one of these cottages, a one-room house with three wooden sides and a
long curtain across its open side. The fourth side of the building had
been literally lifted up and was supported by wooden props. In this way
it became a roof for the little platform of boards which stretched in
front of the cottage, and a sheltered porch was thus improvised. At
night we drew our calico curtain across the open front of our cottage,
and so slept practically in the open air.

[Illustration: 1. Mountain Stream in California. 2. Fallen Leaf Lake,
near Lake Tahoe. 3. Mountains around Lake Tahoe.]

From Al Tahoe one can make many excursions on foot or by boat. As there
was still snow on the road we did not undertake the motor drive from Al
Tahoe to Tahoe Tavern and Donner Lake. We did drive the nine or ten
miles of mountain road to Fallen Leaf Lake, which is a most exquisite
mountain lake right under the shadow of Mt. Tallac. The trails from the
hotel at Fallen Leaf Lake are very numerous and attract many
enthusiastic mountain climbers. The first rain that we had experienced
in all our long journey we had at Al Tahoe. When we left our hotel early
in the morning to drive to Carson City the rain was still falling, but
it cleared within an hour after our start, and we had no more rain until
we reached Ohio. Lake Tahoe on our left was wonderfully beautiful in the
morning light. The rich manzanita and other bushes were shining with
moisture, the tall pines were reflected in the clear depths of the lake,
the shores were wild and lonely. The road rose high above the lake, and
in one or two places ran along the edge of a precipitous cliff. After
leaving the lake we came into a rather desolate mountain region where
the whole character of the country changed. The road was a narrow shelf
along a barren, rocky mountain side. There were but few trees. The color
of the rock and of patches of brilliant yellow flowers, growing along
the roadside, gave variety to the landscape. Otherwise it was somewhat
dreary and forbidding after the rich fo