High in the Sierra Nevada mountains is the perfect place to begin our story. Long before there was boom and bust, there was ingenuity tied to the land.

Here in its original state, this awe inspiring natural phenomenon was a 17-ton boulder left by receding glaciers. It could be moved with the touch of a finger or by a gust of wind. The Washoe people who discovered it seized upon the opportunity to use it as storage for their food supply, keeping it safely out of the reach of wild animals and other elements.