One day several years ago I was wandering off the beaten track when I encountered Gnome Sweet Home. Here in the middle of a forest on the edge of a canyon dozens of little gnomes and trinkets have been lovingly placed along the banks of a tiny creek in a shady grove. It was a bit of magical whimsey that quickly made me smile and shake my head with glee: What awesomely creative mind came up with this idea?
My travel writing about Tahoe is a declaration of love for this place. I am passing on to the reader its secrets, in hopes that he or she too will fall in love with it and treat it with respect.
The discovery of Gnome Sweet Home does, however, bring to mind the dilemma of the travel writer. I know many people who love Gnome Sweet Home are reading this and thinking: ”Oh, no. Why is this guy giving away our fun, little secret? Too many people will find it who don’t appreciate it.”
Often we writers do feel guilty talking about a beautiful place since it might lead more people to go to there and potentially ruin its ambiance. I really felt this recently while writing an article about how the number of users on the Tahoe Rim Trail has increased substantially over the last 10 years. Did my writing a guidebook about the trail play a part in this increase?
On the other hand, when I visit another place that I am not familiar with, I really do appreciate the inside scoop. The tips we receive on where to hike, ride a bike or a view that really shouldn’t be missed are priceless. Hopefully, good travel writing also comes with guidance to treat the place you visit with respect and tips on how you should behave in this place that you are not familiar with. Don’t forget, John Muir urged people to head out into the woods because he felt that if you fell in love with a place, you would want to protect it.
My travel writing about Tahoe is a declaration of love for this place. I am passing on to the reader its secrets, in hopes that he or she too will fall in love with it and treat it with respect. I’m also assuming that anyone who reads what I have to write about Tahoe is already planning on coming here and wants to know what to do while they are here.
In the case of the Gnome Sweet Home, however, I’m not going to tell you where it is. If you find it on your own, hopefully the effort of finding it will lead to your treating it with the respect it deserves. Be gentle in gnome land — and take only pictures.
Besides, the magic of this little gnome home comes from the serendipity of wandering through the woods and finding it yourself. There you are strolling along, partly listening to the sound of the wind and the birds flitting through the trees and partly enjoying the journey into that meditative state you can find in nature when poof — what in the heck is that? A bunch of little toy gnomes in their own little village in the trees?
Gnome Sweet Home is a dark, quiet, little spot, set underneath a thick grove of trees. It’s perpetually moist because of the deep winter snow cover, the constant shade and the wicking of water from the trickle of a spring. Sit and take in that quiet and soon the toys will become real. Magic creatures living their lives by a river in the deepest recesses of an endless forest. It feels like a hobbit could come strolling by at any minute.
How do you find Gnome Sweet Home? You will discover it when you stop looking and are busy enjoying a gentle stroll through the forest. And perhaps you will never find the gnomes but instead find your own quiet piece of magic around Lake Tahoe. Here’s a few other favorites: A little bench in the aspens honoring a loved one who passed on the edge of a wildflower dotted meadow. Nearby, an oven built by sheepherders nearly 70 years ago with their carvings on the aspen trees. Or on the other side of the lake, ancient stumps from trees cut more than100 years ago for the silver mines of Nevada. There are all sorts of interesting little tidbits of humanity tucked in amongst the natural wonders around Tahoe. Go find them.
