It's About the (RV) Journey....: Bodie Ghost Town..................

Bodie......a real ghost town in California! Once off the main highway (395), the road to Bodie State Historic Park is a long, winding dirt road, with magnificent views over the area. Before too long, you can see the remnants of the whole town nestled in the hillside. Though there are no formal guided tours through the town, visitors are allowed to walk around and peek in windows and just imagine how things were back in the day. Though most buildings are locked, there were a couple that were open to the public, such as the church and one of the homes. Some areas are fenced off for no admittance, for safety reasons.

the road to Bodie Ghost Town

a view of the mines and some of the town

only 10% of the original structures remain...(there have been 2 fires that destroyed the rest of the town)

another view of the town

In its heyday (late 1800's), it was a gold-mining boom town of about 10,000. Now it sits in "arrested decay", as its described in the tourist brochures. When you walk the streets of the deserted buildings, it really does look like people just up and left. If you look in the windows, you can see furniture and things left behind. Of course, now everything is in a sorry state.....decayed and falling apart. It makes it a great backdrop for ghost stories.....wahhaahaaha. For more information, click here.

we had a map of the town, and then we also bought a pamphlet with a bit more description

peeking in some windows

everything is locked up....nothing is restored....just left as is

looks like a scene from a ghost movie

the town is open for tourism :)

church was open

we noticed money on the floor in some of the buildings

the Park Ranger's home

Some areas are totally off limits because they present a safety hazard. You can see that some of the buildings are literally falling down, or have fallen. Some of the buildings are shored up with logs and pieces of wood. The mining area is definitely off limits, though there are daily ranger-led guided tours for those interested.

Apparently, there were a lot of bad things going on in this town! Lots of robberies, gunfights, murders, etc. It was a wild place! You can really use your imagination here!! Especially if you believe in ghosts....waaahahahhah.

some buildings were literally falling down

there were several streets in town

this house was open!

Take a peek at some of the pictures....if you dare:)

We bought a booklet for $2 that was pretty informative, describing what the buildings were and who lived there. It was pretty interesting. If the walls could talk, eh?? Apparently, in its boom-time, there were 65 bars, opium dens, prostitute places, and stuff like that. So the miners would work all day and get in trouble all night. Sounds like a rowdy bunch! It was known as THE wildest and most lawless mining town in the west. Once the mines were depleted, people started leaving-but there were still some that remained. The town did not really become a ghost town until the 1940's or so. There have been 2 large fires, and it is estimated that only 10% of the town is still standing.

view of another street

some of the buildings were shored up....no restoration though

this was the Visitor Center and small museum

stuff was just left here (made me thankful I was up to date on my tetanus shot!)

not real stable- looking

is that a ghost in the upstairs window? (I'm a little spooked...ahhahaah)

Hey Tom....I like the small houses...don't you?

this was a big store back in the day, then became a boarding house

view inside

check out the walls....and that pool table!

the mine...there were 9 (they do ranger led tours here in this part, otherwise, no admittance)

hmmm....working restrooms

another shop

who left without the chocolate??

some kind of coffee machine

gas pumps from the 1920's

check that out! I'm waiting for a ghost to show up

the bank vault

the jail

exploring the street on the hill by the mines

these houses were pretty nice

view from the hill

mining area

the doctor's house/office

Park Employees live here in this house!

school-in operation until the 1940's

so cool

Oh, and the town got its name from W.S. Bodey, the prospector who discovered gold in these parts. He was from Poughkeepsie, NY! WOW! Pretty far away. Anyway, he discovered the gold, but he froze to death here in a blizzard before the town was built. The town was named in his honor, and the spelling was changed to Bodie.

not looking too good

a mess

looks like new stairs and a new door

Again, the views were magnificent. The snow-topped Sierra Nevadas stand so tall, you can see them from everywhere its seems. It also seems that Mono Lake is visible from so many parts of this area, including the dirt road that Bodie was on...in the middle of nowhere. As we came back down the main highway (395), we had a birds-eye view of Mono Lake and our "neighborhood"-at least for a couple of weeks before we move again!