Valhalla Estate, Southwest Shore

Posted on August 24, 2007

Valhalla in Norwegian means “heavenly place” and Lake Tahoe’s version is heaven deluxe. Tahoe’s Valhalla Estate is situated on the lake’s southwest corner, less than 20 minutes from the uber-jingle of slot machines on the south shore. It’s an even faster drive to Emerald Bay—perhaps the lake’s most dizzying panoply of breathtaking vistas.

The day of this photo, I’d been invited to Valhalla for what was peripherally described as a Gatsby Day. When we arrived, the estate was chockablock with dedicated ‘Gatsbyphiles’ dressed in Roaring Twenties ware. There was even a live auction—and had bids been inflation adjusted, I might have purchased something. Too bad they weren’t; or that so many in attendance looked like they’d been drinking with Daisy Buchanan the first time around.

We retreated to an adjacent beach, fed the birds, and discussed the merits of a paperweight business. I cut open my foot as I ran after a panhandling duck. Even so, it was a relaxing afternoon, and as the sun slipped under the mountains behind us, I came upon this scene while gingerly limping back to my car. I wasn’t the only one. Just as I was about to take this picture, a shadow darted into my frame to capture his own Kodak moment.

“Balderdash,” I mumbled. (Or something with a few less letters.)

I waited, and waited, and when it became apparent that he was planning to take three or four rolls for his eight hour slide show, I dejectedly took this single shot. It came out better than I expected. Photography, I guess, is a little like golf: One lucky swing makes up for hundreds of bunker burners. When I look at that bench, I want to slip on a white linen suit and eat a giant box of chocolates. I don’t care if the bus ever comes.

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