In 1928 Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight, purchased about two hundred acres of land at Emerald Bay in the Lake Tahoe region of California. It was there she decided to build a structure that would incorporate the atmosphere and design of an old Viking castle of stone construction. The castle was built in the shape of a horseshoe with two wings enclosing a courtyard. The main portion of the castle was designed on two stories with a square, three-story tower having a pyramidal roof. A circular tower, two-stories high with a conical roof, is located opposite the square tower at the other end of the castle. Excavation and foundations were begun in late August of 1928.
Mrs. Knight spent many happy years at Vikingsholm Castle, but she died in 1945, leaving her magnificent Vikingsholm Castle as a true monument of ancient Scandinavian architecture.
A look at Fannette Island and Emerald Bay from the shore at the Vikingsholm Castle. You can see the castle like tea room also built by Mrs. Knight.
After our walk around Vikingsholm Castle, I took Andra to the famous balancing rock. This 130 ton rock balances on a tiny pedestal in D.L. Bliss State park. People in the area have been predicting the rock would fall off it's pitch for decades.
Another look at the Balancing Rock. These pictures don't do this amazing phenomenon justice.