LAKE TAHOE TO MONO LAKE, CA

Thursday, 5-6-10


Our month long trip is winding to an end.


Lake Tahoe shines in the early morning sun as we take a quick drive out to Emerald Bay. As usual the wind is blowing and it is a very cold wind. At Emerald Bay we take a quick look-see at the bay with that cute little island in the middle and we walk over the rocks to take photos of the waterfall. We’re wishing the weather were better as we would like to take a horseback ride around the two small lakes that are adjacent to Lake Tahoe. But the wind blows and blows and it is cold and piercing.


We decide to head back over the Sierras to the little town of Gardnerville on Highway 395 in Nevada. It’s only a 30 minute drive and then we will take 395 all the way home. Besides, Gardnerville has one of our favorite Basque restaurants, the “J T Basque Bar and Restaurant” that serves family-style meals that seem to never end. We should be there just in time for lunch, 12:00 to 2:00.


We wind over the beautiful Sierras, dotted with huge pine trees and still topped with snow. The highway slowly winds down into the flat farmlands of Carson Valley. Gardnerville is just below us.


We make it in time for lunch and go all out with the big Basque meal. First bread and butter, then vegetable beef soup, followed by a leafy-green salad (too much dressing), after which we are given a platter of beans and another platter of lamb stew. We haven’t even hit the main course yet which happens to be Basque Chicken for me and Basque Pot Roast with mashed potatoes for Fred. Oh, and I forgot to mention the platter of French fries that are out of this world. Yes, it is way too much food and we take some leftovers with us. We also decide it is not as good as we remember. Or were we not as hungry? Needless to say, I’m sure we’ll return if we are ever in Gardnerville again.


We head out on Highway 395 towards Mono Lake, CA. In Bridgeport we take a side trip out to Twin Lakes. The sun is getting lower in the sky and we’re hoping for some good photos. There is still some snow on the peaks and some nice reflections on the lake. Fred heads in one direction and I head in another. I see a little bird and discover, according to my Audubon Bird app that it is a “Black-capped Chickadee”. I enter it in my “sightings”. When we are finished I gather up huge pinecones for our campfire in the evening.


Fred wants to camp at the same spot we camped at last time. He remembers a site overlooking the lake but I can’t remember such a campground. We reach the town of Lee Vining and look for the camp site he remembers. Evidently it wasn’t at Lee Vining above Mono Lake. Was it perhaps Lake Topaz? However, we do find a site at Mono RV Resort and luckily get a space with a fire ring. We set up camp, sit under our awning and watch the sun set over Mono Lake in the distance. I hear birds twittering in the nearby sagebrush and resist the temptation to pull out my iPhone.