I was excited to get everyone moving this morning so we could get on our way to Emerald Bay State Park. The state park is about 10 miles south and is home to Vikingsholm.
Below is a great description of Vikingsholm by California Parks site. I'll let them tell the story and let our pictures paint the canvas.
"Vikingsholm is one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere. Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight purchased the property encompassing the head of Emerald Bay and Fannette Island in 1928 for $250,000.
Before starting construction of the summer home late that year, Mrs. Knight and her architect traveled to Scandinavia to gather ideas for the construction of the house. Work on the home ceased at first snowfall in the winter of 1928, and was started up again in the spring of 1929.
Two hundred workers were brought to Emerald Bay and started hand hewing the timbers, carving the intricate designs, hand planing the wood for the interior walls, and forging the hinges and latches. Most of the materials to construct the home came from the Tahoe Basin.
Trees were cut for their size and lack of knots, and the granite for the foundation and walls was quarried from behind the house. The ideas for the construction came from buildings dating as far back as the 11th century. Some sections of the home contain no nails, pegs, or spikes.
One of the interesting architectural designs is the sod roof which covers both the north and south wings of the complex. The interior of the home has paintings on some of the ceilings and walls and two intricately carved dragon beams. The six fireplaces are of Scandinavian design with unusual fireplace screens. " Source - www.CA.gov
We hiked down to the lake from the park entrance which was a little over a mile away. It was all a bit odd because it was about 60 degrees outside and most of the path still had a good layer of snow on it. Everyone just took in the scenery and all the wondrous views. As we got closer to the bottom, the snow pack started to get thicker and some sections were one to two feet deep. Every now and then we would venture off the main path, your leg would step into a deep snow pack.
I was excited to get everyone moving this morning so we could get on our way to Emerald Bay State Park. The state park is about 10 miles south and is home to Vikingsholm. 
Before starting construction of the summer home late that year, Mrs. Knight and her architect traveled to Scandinavia to gather ideas for the construction of the house. Work on the home ceased at first snowfall in the winter of 1928, and was started up again in the spring of 1929. 
Trees were cut for their size and lack of knots, and the granite for the foundation and walls was quarried from behind the house. The ideas for the construction came from buildings dating as far back as the 11th century. Some sections of the home contain no nails, pegs, or spikes. 
One of the interesting architectural designs is the sod roof which covers both the north and south wings of the complex. The interior of the home has paintings on some of the ceilings and walls and two intricately carved dragon beams. The six fireplaces are of Scandinavian design with unusual fireplace screens. " Source - www.CA.gov
We hiked down to the lake from the park entrance which was a little over a mile away. It was all a bit odd because it was about 60 degrees outside and most of the path still had a good layer of snow on it. Everyone just took in the scenery and all the wondrous views. As we got closer to the bottom, the snow pack started to get thicker and some sections were one to two feet deep. Every now and then we would venture off the main path, your leg would step into a deep snow pack.
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