Ponderosa Ranch closes at Lake Tahoe

[Mark Holtz]

From The Sacramento Bee...

Ponderosa Ranch closes at Lake Tahoe

NCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - Nevada's Ponderosa Ranch has faded into the sunset.

The 570-acre Western theme park overlooking Lake Tahoe and made famous by the 1960s television series "Bonanza" shut its gates Sunday after nearly four decades.

FULL ARTICLE HERE (http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/10893007p-11810590c.html)

From the Reno Gazzette-Journal...

Ponderosa rides into the sunset

The first time Roy and Rose Spilman wanted to see the Ponderosa Ranch it was closed for the winter.

That was 33 years ago.

The next time Roy and Rose showed up, the ranch was open for the last time. That was Sunday.

“We made it back,” Roy Spilman said, shaking his head and smiling. “We heard on the news that it was closing. We said, ‘We’ve got to go.’ ”

FULL ARTICLE HERE (http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2004/09/26/81342.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=umbrella&sp3=umbrella&sp5=RGJ.com&sp6=news&sp7=umbrella&jsmultitag=umbrella.rgj.com)

[Mark Holtz]

Another article from The Sacramento Bee archives...

Sale sends Ponderosa Ranch into the sunset

Legends die hard. And when they do, the residual effects are felt in concentric circles immediately and for a long time to come.
Such is the case with the Ponderosa Ranch, the popular theme park on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, near posh Incline Village. The ranch is almost history.

For 37 years, it served as a beacon of nostalgia for those who either grew up with "Bonanza," the most successful TV Western of all time, or watched it on cable as reruns in this country and abroad (it's especially big in Germany).

FULL ARTICLE HERE (http://www.sacbee.com/content/travel/america/story/10100570p-11021425c.html)

[JM Anthony]

Now if it was the "Mustang Ranch" that would have gotten my attention. :)

[RichW]

Darn, and right after I bought all those cows, too! :)