Ghost Towns>

BODIE

It was 1994 when we first visited the Mining(Ghost) Town of BODIE. We were on a camping trip in Yosemite at the Tuolomne Meadows Campground, we decided to go to Mammonth Lakes for the day. On the way to Mammonth we noticed a sign that said Bodie so many miles. we picked up a brochure that said it was an old Gold Mining Ghost Town. This sounded like a perfect plan for a day. We decided to head into Mammonth to get some supplies for camp and sandwiches for lunch to picnic with out at Bodie.
Bodie is on state highway 270 east off Highway 395 in California, north of Mammoth Lakes, south of Carson City, Nevada.
We really did not know what we were getting into. However, when we turned the corner and saw the old Mining Town and how much of the town was still standing we were amazed. It was as if time was standing still. I guess that is how you are supposed to feel. After we parked we ate our lunch then went out to explore.
We took the self-guided tour that you can do using the program booklet you buy when you get to the front gate or at the visitor center. This is a good way to see Bodie because you can take your time and see it at your own pace. Of course, it is nice to listen and talk to the park rangers. They know alot about Bodie, most of them live out there in one of the homes(which they have redone the insides to keep the place from falling down). Outside it still looks as old as the rest of the buildings.
It is so amazing to look into the old houses and see the artifacts left behind when the Towns people left. To them it was probably junk, to us some junk and alot of Antiques.
{ Only about five percent of the buildings Bodie contained during its 1880's heydays still remain. Today, it stands just as time, fire and the elements have left it- a genuine California gold-mining ghost town. Designated a state historic park in 1962, is now maintained in a state of "arrested decay". Bodie was named after Waterman S.Body (also known as William S. Bogey) who discovered gold there in 1859. Unfortunately, he never saw the boom of the gold rush he died in a snowstorm, going after supplies. The change in spelling of the town's name has often been attributed to an illiterate sign painter, but was a deliberate change by the citizenry to insure proper pronunciation. By 1879, Bodie boasted a population of about ten thousand. One little girl whose family was taking her to the remote and infamous town wrote in her diary: "Goodbye god I'm going to Bodie". The phrase came to be know throughout the west (Bodie 1859-1900 by Franks. wedertz)}
We also stopped by the visitor's center, which was in what was once the Miners' Union Hall. That is where we bought a few postcards to send back home to our families.
After we saw all the old houses and shops (which actually took two trips in different years, we had gotten there the first time somewhat late), we went over to the cemetery to see what it looked like. It was quite big, spread out along the hillside. Most of the graves were inside the fence of the cemetery, But on the outside of the fence there were also graves. That is where they buried outlaws, lady's of the evening and the Chinese people. People who were out casts and/or not considered proper or respectable people.
It is amazing what the people of Bodie went through to live there.
This is a very interesting place with alot of interesting history. If you are ever in the area stop in to Bodie and plan on staying the whole day, because there is a whole lot more to do there than to just look.

We came acrossed a web site of Bodie that someone put up. It has grown since the first time we visited the Web site.

This was not a town per-say, but a Mining Camp we visited in 1994. It is not the easiest place to get to. There is some hiking involved, and to our supprise, we made it!
It is located on the East Side of Yosemite. The Trail head we took starts Just west of the East Tioga Pass Entrance into Yosemite( there is another trail head that start 3 miles east of Tuolumne Meadows). The trail starts at elevation 9600'. You start the climb at a slow gradual upgrade for a few hundred yards. Then the trail leads to what seems to be a straight up climb of approximately a 1/2 to 2/3 of a mile. At the top, you are at 10,600' elevation. Next, the trail leads down the steep mountain on the other side. The climb down is about 1/3 to 1/2 of a mile where it levels off at approximately 10,400' elevation. At this point, you are at the Middle Gaylor Lake. Then you climb another 3/4 mile or so, of a not so steep trail to Upper Gaylor Lake. From there you start another steep climb about 300 yards or so to the first of many of the remains of stone cabins of the Great Sierra Mine Camp.
Here miners were mining for Silver Ore, but no Ore from here was ever refined. In time, Mines and the Camp were abandoned (I do not the year). You are able to look down into the mine shafts and the air vents. There is nothing to keep you from falling in either.
It is incredible seeing the time and work that went into the stone cabins and the digging of the mines. Then to have had to leave with nothing.
It was beautiful up there and in the middle of summer, there was still snow.
It almost seem harder to go back downhill, then it was to go up.
Needless to say we all slept good that night.

We visited Virginia City, Nevada for the first time on our anniversary in 1996.
We went up to Lake Tahoe for few days to get away.
We had gotten a free 2-night Hotel accommodations. Boy was that a joke. The people who promoted it had sold us an upgrade, due to them not having the dates we wanted. The upgrade cost, pretty much took care of what the Hotel bill would have normally been. We didn't mind though, we would have went anyway.
We had always wanted to make a trip out to Virginia City and this seemed like a good time to do just that.
Unlike Bodie, Virginia City is still a living town, complete with businesses, Residents and tourism.
Virginia City was a Mining camp. Under the town, there are still 100's of miles of mine shafts. No body mines them anymore though.
The Miners mined Silver here and did very well unlike the Great Sierra mines.
We went there at an off season time of the year and a little late in the day to see much, so some of the attraction were closed for the winter. We plan to visit again. We heard tails that they were going to open the railway tracks between Virginia City and Carson City. They run the old steam powered trains that are clones of the trains of that time. That should be a kick too!