"The HASTY Thunderbird"
In 1935, George Whittell Jr., heir to one of the wealthiest San Francisco families of the time, purchased 27 miles of shoreline and nearly 40,000 acres of land along Lake Tahoe's east shore. It encompassed essentially 95% of the Nevada shoreline of Lake Tahoe — all of the land from Crystal Bay, Incline Village, Sand Harbor, Glenbrook, Cave Rock, and Zephyr Cove to Round Hill.
In 1936 construction began on his summer residence, Thunderbird Lodge, named for the legendary and supernatural being from Native American culture. The stone house was completed 2½ years later. The estate includes numerous small buildings. In addition to the main house, there is a Card House, Caretaker's Cottage, Cook/Butler's House, Admiral's House, Boathouse with adjoining 600 foot-long tunnel, Gatehouse, and the "Elephant House"—home to Mingo, Whittell's two ton Indian Elephant. The large boathouse houses his custom 55-foot mahogany and stainless steel yacht, the "Thunderbird".
During Whittell's later years and continuing after his death, the majority of his vast land holdings on the east shore of Lake Tahoe were sold or donated to the US Forest Service or State of Nevada, with much of the land becoming what is today Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park. The estate and 10 acres surrounding it were donated to the Thunderbird Preservation Society, which maintains and operates the site today.
The "HASTY Thunderbird" cache, is located in the waters of Lake Tahoe, somewhere in the vicinity of this magnificent estate. It is deep enough to require the use of SCUBA equipment (well within recreational dive limits) and cannot be reached via freediving. FTF wins a shiny new Challenge Coin, courtesy of the Washoe County Sheriff's HASTY Team Dive Unit! There is a slate for logging this cache!
NOTE: The Thunderbird Lodge and surrounding property are private property, with security cameras and legal postings everywhere. Please do not attempt to access the cache directly from Thunderbird. Best access is from the water