With the ever-present arrival of tech billionaires and their otherworldly transactions to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, it’s sometimes hard to believe that, for much of the 20th century, the area was known for its cowboys.
Cowboy culture here includes once-famous spots like the Ponderosa attraction in Incline Village, a small Western theme park based on the long-running TV Western “Bonanza.” The 2004 sale of the Ponderosa property to Incline-based billionaire David Duffield reflected a shift in the region from rural outpost to tech billionaire hideaway. The theme park is long shuttered, and the acquisitions and activities of the mega-wealthy continue to dominate the discourse for Lake Tahoe’s East Shore, yet real-deal cowboys persist.
You just have to know where to look.
One of them is Nick Nalder. He co-owns Nalder Cattle Company, a ranching outfit in Nevada’s Carson Valley just outside the Tahoe Basin, and participates in professional team roping competitions…