Originally I wanted to continue my “Could I move to..” series and add one about my families Cabin in Tahoe, but I figured it was unrealistic because our cabin is unlivable in the winter. But don’t get me wrong, I would still love to live there. The Caselli Cabin lies at the base of the 39 Mile Track on Highway 50 and is seated approximately 100 feet from the Sacramento River. The 39 Mile Track is right on the edge of a small town called Strawberry and is about a 30 minute drive to Lake Tahoe. It is a magical place that is the host of so many of my best childhood memories.
Now it can’t be accessed during the winter because it snows in the winter. It snows a lot. Now one might think that it snows in a lot of places. Yeah, it does, but the 39 Mile Track is a dirt road that goes pretty much straight down a massive mountain. Snow plows wouldn’t have a chance. The cabin is plenty secluded, but there are quite a few neighbors too. The 39 mile Track itself is the home to a bunch of cabins that share the forest with the Caselli Cabin. But I do have to say that our cabin has one of the best stops on the track because it is one of the only cabins that sits right up against the river.
My Dad’s parent’s inherited our cabin from my Grandmothers Aunt. As far as I know, she was pretty wealthy. Though I have never met my great Aunt, I think I can tell a lot about her from the way the cabin is decorated. It has change significantly over the years, but there are still reminiscence of the 1940′s throughout the small house. Pillows with Norman Rockwell paintings on an old orange coach are in the living room next to two wicker chairs. There is an old Humphrey Bogart poster on the wall next to a whole bunch of photos of my grandparents when they were young. The ceiling sore up twenty five feet and are open showing the beams that hold the place together.
The outside is painted green and yellow to match the forest surroundings. The color choices are limited by the government which makes a ton of sense in my opinion cause I would hate to see a bright pink cabin next to ours. Anyway, our wooded cabin has a large tin roof and and stone fireplace surrounded by a giant deck that looks out on the river. The terrain is scattered with large boulders and huge pine trees. Squirrels and Chipmunks are seen playing everywhere and are accompanied by a ton of noisy blue jays and robins.
Like I said the river is but a few yards away from the front of the cabin. As far as rivers go, this one is quite small. About 50 feet across. When the river is high, you can’t get near it cause the water is moving too fast and when its at it’s lowest, it can easily be walked across. It is one of those mountain rivers that has house sized boulders with waterfalls around each turn. It’s filled with a ton of Rainbow Trout which I very rarely fished, but the few times I did, I had a blast. Our neighbor once pulled out a 19 inch trout with his fly rode right in front of our cabin. It was unbelievable.
Being 3000 miles from home sucks for a great number of reasons. Other than being away from my family, the cabin is right up there at the top of the list. All the times I missed being at the cabin just makes me sad. As time goes by I can only hope that I can let my future kids enjoy the cabin as I once did.
