Four Extremes: Bodie, CA

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:59:59 -800

The last place we went was Bodie, California. Bodie is
an abandoned mining town at 8,400 feet that is now a state park. Due to its
high altitude, Bodie tends to record very very low temperatures at night. I
also have a thing for visiting unrestored ghost towns, because it's fun to peer
through the broken window panes on the twisted old buildings that are slowly
collapsing all over. This town was a gold town starting in the 1860s, and it
shows. It looks a lot like a set from a Western, only in this town there's an
odd mix between dilapidated old buildings and the ones that have been fixed
up--they look strong, straight and sturdy, unlike the one in the photo to the
right. Anyhow, we found a rusty old inline 6 truck engine, a schoolhouse with
old maps and things strewn everywhere inside, old fire trucks (it is a
wood-frame town, after all) and a slanty Protestant church. Unfortunately we
didn't have much time to wander around Bodie, because they kick everyone out
promptly at 6pm. The panoramas in this album do a much better job of showing
the town than the individual shots.