Bodie, CA: Ghost Town

The idea of the ghost town is very cool. In theory, they are dust covered time capsules waiting to be explored. The reality is often a bit different. They tend to be either: a) largely destroyed by thieves and vandals; b) so remote that the investment of time, effort, and expense in reaching them cannot be justified by whatever mysteries they may yet harbor, or; c) accessible and well preserved because anything of interest is surrounded by an 8 foot chain-link fence. This is why the idea of visiting Bodie intrigued me. Located just miles off California Highway 395, this abandoned mining town is reputed to be the best-preserved ghost town in the U.S. yet, from the few photographs I'd seen, no chain-link fencing in sight.

If you view this series of images and decide that you too would like to visit Bodie, be advised that there is a right way and a wrong way to get there. We took the wrong way…

Aren’t You Coming?

Mono Lake is just a few miles from Bodie so we made a quick stop to check out the tufa formations on the south shore. When we reached the edge of the lake Lewis kept walking.

Wading in Mono Lake

It was completely out of character for Lewis to wander into the water without any questions or investigation first, so the whole situation was quite amusing. It would have been even more so had he been wearing his Crocs instead of his walking shoes. This, the first day of our vacation, was the last time he would be able to wear them. He spent the rest of the trip picking rocks out of his sandals.

Next stop: Devil’s Postpile National Monument