The Biggest, Baddest Ghost Town Of The West – Bodie, CA
“Goodbye God, I am going to Bodie”
Diary entry from a little girl on her way to the infamous town
It was one of the biggest, baddest, most violet, lawless wild west towns of its day. Of course it started with the discovery of gold, as all the best western stories do. In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered the yellow metal near what is now called Bodie Bluff. In 1861 a mill was established, and then, as the old stories say, the rest of the gold-seekin’ fools all flocked to the larder. By 1880 the town had over 2000 buildings, 65 saloons, numberous houses of “ill repute”, opium dens, gambling halls, a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, miners’ and mechanics’ unions, several daily newspapers, and a jail.
And of course all the rabble, ill-seeking, wild west, trouble-making lot of folks that came with it…all 10,000 of them!
It was HUGE. Some say it became the 2nd biggest city in California, and it was desolate, crazy, and totally remote. Waaay out in the desert with blinding hot summers and deep freeze winters that plummeted down to -18°F (-27°C) this place was not for the faint of heart. There were long days of back-breaking work mixed up with gold, alcohol and guns at night. Lawlessness ran free and a common morning greeting was “Have a man for breakfast?”, meaning “Did anyone get killed last night?”. Oh yeah, you needed a tough skin and a quick draw to make it through this town.
But as with all the gold-rush tales, there came an end. By the late 1890’s gold-seekers were drawn away to the promise of richer strikes in Montana, Arizona and Utah and by 1915 only one mill remained. The town fell down to the last hardy remaining few, but managed to survive and (eventually) be preserved as a State Park.
I’ve been wanting to see Bodie for years. I LOVE the old wild west stories and this ghost town is one of the best preserved in the country. There’s only ~5% of the original buildings left, but what’s there is simply outstanding. Old houses, mill, run-down motel, firehouse, church, equipment, saloons filled with furniture and dusty interiors containing all the living history of a moment in time. There’s a good 3 miles of bumpy dirt road to get there, but it is TOTALLY worth it. We spent a couple of hours perusing around the city, chatting with the volunteers and soaking in the atmosphere. Even my camera got into the mood, going for a retro look in processing. From the baddest town in the wild west, to the coolest ghost town in the Sierra’s, it is definitely a place you don’t want to miss…
P.S. Pooch is allowed in town, so if you can handle the bumpy drive, bring the paws along.
P.P.S. For those Photoshop junkies out there, I created my retro post-processing look using tips from this site.
I thoroughly enjoy your photos and updates. You make me see some places that I’ve been in my RV differently. Thank you!
Happy I can give you a different perspective 🙂
Nina
A drive along the absolutely highway 395 is not complete without a stop at Bodie. Been there twice – love it.
Indeed…I am so happy we finally made it out there to see it!
Nina
Last time we were there I spent some time getting photos at “Boot Hill” near sunset, not a sound except the wind. Really makes you think about how hard the life was in it’s heyday. Did you get to the Mono Lake visitor center to learn about the interaction between the brine flies, brine shrimp, and the gulls?
Yup, we went to the Mono Lake visitor center last year and will probably go back this year. It’s an excellent center!
Nina
Nina and Paul, I don’t know if you will read this, but I really wanted to tell you about our Cali Pug dying on Tues, three days after we stayed next to you and Sunset Bay in OR. Stephen and Lissa
Stephen & Lissa,
Yes I did read your last comment, and responded back (did you get it?) I am so very, very sorry to hear of your loss. We really enjoyed your company and meeting Cali Pug at Bullards Beach. Such a lovely doggie.
Nina
Bodie is great!
And since you appear to be heading south on 395 you may want to got through Death Valley and just outside of the eastern edge of the park is the ghost town of Rhyolite. The difference is Rhyolite had buildings built of masonry which are now mostly shells, except of the train station. The “Bottle House” is pretty neat too. Great artwork just south of town, before you enter Rhyolite. Photos at sunset are impressive.
Very cool! Thanks for the tips! We probably won’t make it to Death Valley this trip, but I’m going to add it to “the list”.
Nina
I LOVE the new (old) look of your pics! Very creative and fits this interesting post. Thanks for sharing, makes me want to go too!
Thanks. I had alot of fun with the shots!
Nina
Great photos. Are you planning a visit to Randsburg? I would love to see your photos of that “ghost” town.
I had not actually heard about it, and just looked it up. Looks VERY cool! I will have to see if we can fit that one into the schedule.
Nina
Dont know about Randsburger), but we do know about Bodie. We had a wonderful five hours there last year — our second visit. The first was when our daughters were little tykes. We love the place, and it’s description as being preserved “in a state of suspended decay!”
It really is incredibly well “suspended”. So love all the old furniture and interiors. Lots of cool “peeking through windows” to do in this town.
Nina
funny you having this post as someone mentioned we should see Chloride, NM a ghost town there we think we might be able to visit later this month….
We missed Chloride when we went thro’ NM, but several folks recommended it to us so you should definitely go! It’s an easy day-trip from Elephant Butte State Park. There’s another ghost town close to Chloride, but I forget the name.
Nina
After reading your fascinating post and those amazing photos I guess we had better be adding that to our list of must-dos while we are here. I love the retro look of your photos and that great panorama shot. You tell a mean story Nina. You should definitely write a book. Pick a subject, any subject, and it’s sure to be great! 🙂
You should definitely go…you’re gonna love it!
Nina
Great photography! That is our kind of ‘poking around in wild places’! Do you think you would like to volunteer there? A little warm!!! Enjoy.
It could be very cool to volunteer there, but the temp changes are really dramatic…not sure I’d want to do it in the RV. There are on-site State Park personnel that live in some of the old houses…that would be fun.
Nina
These are great photos. Sometimes I can´t believe that places like this are still standing. Bodie definitely looks very well preserved. I would even say it looks lively – especially thanks to your photos. More than a piece of memory this place looks as if it was frozen in time. We have similar old ghost towns like this in British Columbia, but not every time they are this well taken care of. Definitely need to go to Bodie one day.
Bodie is exceptionnally well preserved thanks in most part (I think) because they transformed it into a State Park. They’ve done an excellent job of keeping this place “suspended in time”. It’s really a treat to go see it.
Nina
I live like an hour from Bodie and Never been there. Looks like a fantastic place to take the camera. I’ve never been to Yosemite either. Been all around it, fished and hiked within site of it, but never been into the park. I Guess i take it for granted because I’m so close. I love your pictures. I love the old timey look of them. Good job.
Oh you’ve gotta go! I know what you mean about not seeing things that are close though. Everytime I’ve lived somewhere there has always been major sightseeing spots I’ve not visited.
Nina
Love the pix of “Bodie”. The black and whites are terrific. Great photography! Ansel Adams would love them…
Thanks for the lovely compliment 🙂
Nina
Hi Nina & Paul,
I’ve been following your blog for awhile now. We’re familiar with many of the places you have visited, having lived in CA for 35 years, and most recently in OR for 6.
I agree that Bodie has a very interesting history. We’ve been there at least twice. I think that road is the prototype for “washboard”! It seemed longer than 3 miles when we drove it. Really liked your sepia tone treatment of the town sights.
I’d suggest while you’re in the Mono Lake area that you take the hike up Lundy Canyon to Lundy Falls. It’s a beautiful hike. I’d also highly recommend the Galen Rowell gallery in Bishop, and of course the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest if you haven’t been before. It’s quite a climb, though!
Paul & Judy
Yup, we just hiked Lundy Canyon the other day…love that area. But we haven’t seen the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest NOR the Galen Rowell gallery (I’m such a huge fan!) so those two are now ON the list!! Think we might need to make a stop in Bishop and explore that area.
Nina
For photographers, October 17 is photographers day. Photographers day allows you to enter before sunrise at 6:35 AM and stay after sunset 6:45PM. It offers great opportunity to shoot the golden hours and you can come and go as you please anytime ( during the mid day hours).
For more information see these links:
http://www.bodie.com/
http://www.robertrfletcher.com/Bodie%20SHP%20HTL
I have a friend that teaches photography that has been on photographers day and has said that it is an awesome experience.
Bodie is a wonderful ghost town. Love the nice thunder clouds that form almost every afternoon.
Julie
Brings back fond memories Nina. In mid-spring 1975 I was a young Marine temporarily assigned to the Mountain Warfare Training Center near Bridgeport to provide a communications link to Camp Pendleton. I borrowed my grandparents 16′ travel trailer and brought my wife, Denise, up to visit. We made camp in a small campground between the town of Bridgeport and the Training Center. Denise took photos of wildlife while I was at work, and we played and explored on weekends. Went horseback riding (her first ride), then had to walk back to the stables after she dismounted, told her horse quite firmly to “stay”, and went to get her hat that had blown off. Another weekend we went fishing, where she caught he first fish: an 11″ rainbow.
And, of course, we visited Bodie.
Keep up the good work my friend: your blogs are wonderful.
Steve
What a fabulous memory of the area! Thanks so much for sharing!
Nina