Lee Vining to Topaz Lake, CA
Topaz Lake RV Park
Site #26
Distance: 93 miles
Duration: 2
Cost: $28 per night
Weather: Sunny and mild
Beautiful morning at Mono Vista RV Park.
Mono Lake
View from the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitors Center.
The following morning wasn't quite as cold, but we still had to use the portable propane heater. We packed up and drove to the Mono Lake Visitor Center, which is very impressive with lots of great interactive displays. From there we drove back through town and out to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake, which lies west of Lee Vining.
Pretty awesome rig!
Tufa is limestone formations in the lake and it was so cool to see them on such a beautiful day. I've seen some photographs of the lake at sunrise and wish we were both early risers. It felt like we were on another planet as we walked around the lake.
Tufa
After our self-guided tour, we realized that we were starving and drove back to Lee Vining to have lunch at Whoa Nellie Deli which, of all things, is a part of a Mobil gas station. I don't remember where I heard about this spot, but it's another winner! Who knew you could get such great food at a gas station. Well... it's really a restaurant and gift store with a gas station attached, but I never would have thought to stop and enjoy such a delicious meal. I had tacos (of course!) and Rod had the largest steak sandwich either of us has ever seen. They were both amazing, as were Rod's french fries. Needless to say, neither of us was hungry for dinner that night!
One of many classic cars parked at the gas station.
Yum!
One pork and one fish.
After our delicious meal, we had another easy drive up Hwy. 395 to Topaz Lake, which is on the border of California and Nevada. The RV park was getting ready to close down for the season, and was pretty deserted, which meant we had a quiet stay. We saw some pretty fall colors near Walker and there were a few oaks in the campground that were beginning to turn, too.
Our back-in site was level with full hook-ups and a picnic table, but no fire ring. We had some shade from the large trees and the WiFi was decent, as was the cell signal for Verizon. The showers took quarters and weren't nearly as nice as some of the others we've had to pay for. Overall, I'm not sure we'd return to this campground There's no privacy between sites (which wasn't a problem this time) and the lake is pretty barren. I'm sure it's a great spot if you have a boat for fishing, water skiing or tubing. For us, it was a decent spot to spend a night while waiting to move on to our next location.
Lovely sunset!
Cute husband.
Pretty moon.
Mono Lake is so surreal. Your photos are beautiful! We did manage a sunrise photo shoot several years ago (Eric had to drag me out of bed even though it was my idea originally to go, LOL). It was COLD. But worth it. One of these days I would love to kayak among the tufa formations.
ReplyDeleteLaurel, I saw the photos from your sunrise shoot and they are amazing! I think the only way I would be able to manage that is if we could boondock next to the lake and crawl out of our warm bed just as the sun was rising. I'll bet it was cold!! Yes, kayaking among the tufa would be incredible. Hope you get a chance to do that.
DeleteBTW, thanks to your recommendation, I just ordered a Weber Go-Anywhere gas BBQ. I also ordered a Broilmann stainless steel cooking grate and flavorizer bar replacements for the original model of the grill. Can't wait to try it out (and ditch the 35 lb. cast iron Weber grill!).