Dutch oven cookoff at Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch

Anyone in the Plumas County, California, area on Saturday, May 31, 2014, is invited to a Dutch oven cookoff at Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch at 1 p.m. The ranch is located at 2116 Greenhorn Ranch Road, about 10 miles east of Quincy on State Route 70. The event flyer says there will be "raffles, gunfighters, vendors and music." A pulled pork barbecue tops the day at 5 p.m.

You need to call the ranch to sign-up or receive additional information as the flyer doesn't state the start times for the cookoff. The phone number is (530) 283-0930. You can also email the ranch at ride@greenhornranch.com or visit the website at www.greenhornranch.com/.

Debbie and I visited the guest ranch yesterday. The cookoff looks like a great way to kickoff their spring season, which opens May 14. We met owners Trish and Ralph Wilburn in the saloon, where they were hanging out after an afternoon mowing the lawn, tending to the horses, etc. Trish invited us to the first weekly public barbecue of the season on Friday, May 30. We won't be able to visit the ranch for the cookoff on Saturday, but will enjoy the barbecue on Friday evening.

Hope Valley Cafe and Market

I have driven by Hope Valley Cafe and Market many times over the past 30 years. While tempting, my wife and I rarely stopped in.

The rustic building was often just a landmark on a trip the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.

Debbie and I first stopped inside the cafe Saturday evening looking for the ATM machine. We had just set up camp at Kit Carson Campground on the other side of the highway. Out of checks, I needed cash to pay the campground fee.

Inside, we found a cross between an old High Sierra resort and a place one would love to call home. Hope Valley Cafe could easily become my coffee bar of choice on a daily commute through Hope Valley.

Joyce DeVore of the The Record-Courier best describes the eatery and market:

From the outside, the café looks like a small mom-and-pop convenience store and coffee shop. Stepping inside, one finds a creative dynamo with tousled black hair, proudly displaying cases of homemade pies and a counter laden with monster cookies and cakes. ("Hope Valley chef cooks her pies to order," October 2, 2009.)

The "creative dynamo" behind Hope Valley Cafe is Leesa Lopazanski, chef and shopkeeper. Frendly and willing to help, Leesa and her counter person pointed us to Woodfords Station when the ATM ran out of cash.

I didn't return to the cafe until late Monday morning when my granddaughter and I stopped in for milk shakes. The young lady behind the counter graciously created a chocolate milkshake off menu for us. The regular menu listed cookies and cream shakes, which would've been good.

My third visit came this morning. After making a 25-mile round trip to call my daughter on the cell phone, I didn't feel like cooking. And it gave me an excuse to stop in for breakfast.

After talking shop with Leesa for a few minutes, I have to say she was a pleasant hostess. From the breakfast menu I chose the 3 Egg Scram, "3 eggs, spinach, sundried tomato, meat & cheese -- all scrambled up w/ toast."

Leesa's 3 Egg Scram is reminiscent of Joe's scramble, a popular breakfast dish with ground beef, onions, mushrooms and spinach folded into three large scrambled eggs and topped with cheese.

Sometimes a simple photograph (above) can help you explorer the menu. Listed under the Scram is The Burrito. "Just like the Scram, all wrapped up in a tortilla w/ salsa & sour cream."

We need to return to the Hope Valley Cafe and Market before we leave for home on Saturday. I'll have to try The Burrito.

If you're in the South Lake Tahoe area as we are this week, you need to take the 30-minute drive out to Hope Valley and meet Leesa. She and her staff will make sure that you have a pleasant meal, full of flavor and goodness.

I promise to stop in next time I drive by.

Now closed

Now closed
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

This is the kind of high country resort that has always intrigued me. I've though that it would be fun to operate one such as Kay's Resort on Silver Lake in Amador County.

It may not be possible as the current owner, El Dorado Irrigation District, recently found wiring problems, contaminated soil and a leaking septic tank. (Spoils the picture, doesn't it!)

Kay's Resort -- closed for good

Kay's Resort -- closed for good
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

Kay Resort was a fixture at Silver Lake for years. It's now closed for good, not just for the winter.

Newspapper reports last year said that the El Dorado Irrigation District, current owner of the property and operator of the lake, may not operate or lease the resort.

High Sierra Kitchen

Blog no. 31 looks back to one of my favorite photographic trips this year. I hiked up to Glen Alpine Springs twice during vacation last August. If I lived in South Lake Tahoe, I'd volunteer just for the opportunity to sweep the flour in this kitchen!

After my son and I hiked up the historic Glen Alpine Resort early during a week-long vacation, I knew that I had to return later in the week. (You can access my original blog here.) My goal for the second hike was to photograph the kitchen and dining room in greater detail.

These photographs were shot through the windows as I couldn't get inside that afternoon. I was able to significantly reduce the glare by placing the camera lens right up against the glass pane. Here's the result:

The Glen Alpine preservation society fires the kitchen each July to prepare a $200 per plate fundraising dinner. Chefs cook "an atmospheric gourmet meal" to 60 guests who're "served on china and linens and the original tables from the 1920s" in the stone dining room.

With the exception of the wood stove (under the hood to the right in the photo), much of the equipment in the kitchen is up-to-date. I haven't been able to locate the menu for the event, but I can imagine a rustic bill of fare with a savory mountain trout with browned butter and capers, pork tenderloin medallions with apples and onions or herb-roasted chicken half.

Here's what the Glen Alpine Resort website says about the dining room: "The tablecloths were white. Flowers were on every table. Napkins were linen. The plates were china. Guests 'dressed' for dinner at Glen Alpine Springs Resort. The Galts offered breakfast and lunch at 75 cents each in 1923."

I'd love to learn more about the origin of the cast iron Dutch oven and skillets. From my vantage through the window, the skillets look to be from a different era. I can't date the Dutch oven. From its shape, it may be a modern Lodge home oven.

Glen Alpine Resort

My son and I hiked to Glen Alpine Springs this afternoon. The springs is the site of a preserved hotel and tent cabin resort that dates back to 1884 (and possible earlier). The hotel closed in 1966 after being passed through several owners.

Nathan Gilmore first explored Fallen Leaf Lake in 1863. He soon discovered Soda Spring and established a cow camp there. Gilmore operated the resort until his death in 1898.

Gilmore's resort drew its clientele from San Fransisco and Virginia City. "Guests of the resort traveled by steamboat (on Lake Tahoe) to the Tallac Resort and then by stagecoach or automobile, and were served elegant meals on china in the dining area," says Forest Service literature.

After a disastrous fire destroyed the dining room and kitchen in the early 1920s, then owner E.G. Galt enlisted the help of frequent guest and architect Bernard Maybeck to design a new resort. Among Maybeck's designs is the Assembly Hall that's next to Soda Spring. Today, the hall houses a historic interpretive center.

The four Maybeck buildings have been preserved and are included in a private historic preserve. The Dining Room (larger hall to the left) and Kitchen are still used for special events.

The Glenn Alpine Springs website includes this description of Maybeck's designs:

The famous Bernard Maybeck style: the "arch" -- the rounded roof eves resembling thatched roofs, industrial metal roofs, window sashes and doors, lots of windows, native granite rock buttresses both inside and outside the buildings at Glen Alpine Springs. They stand today as a tribute to the renowned architect's attention to build fireproof buildings as requested, but also show his purpose to blend the intimate relationship of topography and materials in site planning.

The kitchen features a large wood-burning range. Gourmet meals are still prepared in the kitchen, which dates from 1922. (I wasn't able to get a picture without the reflection unfortunately. Note the bottle of 409 that is visible through the reflected benches.)

The resort site is operated by Historical Preservation of Glen Alpine Springs, Inc., P.O. Box 694, Glen Ellen, California, 95442.

The site is only accessible by a one-mile hike from the parking area at the Glen Alpine Trailhead next to Lilly Lake. The trail follows the service road and includes two moderate climbs. The refreshing view of Modjeska Falls, named after a Virgina City actress who performed at the resort in 1885, is found at the mid-point of the hike.

Forest Service directions: "Take Highway 89 north approximately 3 miles from South Lake Tahoe to Fallen Leaf Lake Road. Watch for bicyclists and other cars on this narrow, one-lane road. Continue until you see the Glen Alpine trailhead sign and turn left. Trailhead parking is across from Lily Lake."