My Pops & I took a road trip last week from our homes in Southern California up to Bodie, CA (an old west mining ghost town & historic state park) then on to The Empire Mine in Grass Valley, CA (a historic mine with owners' home etc) then to Yosemite National Park. Lots of driving, lots of sights, and LOTS of pics!
It was a great time and as much as I enjoyed seeing everything, what I enjoyed most was seeing Dad having a good time. As some of you know my family has had a rough time the last few years, so having such a great time (which we usually do!) was good for both our souls!
So. Rather than one enormous pic dump I thought I'd try & share the photos in 3 groups based roughly on where we went. This first one is Bodie, second in a couple days will be The Empire Mine, then a few days later Yosemite.
Bodie tips & suggestions (please read if you're going!)
Now, lemme tell ya, if you get a chance to visit any of these places I cannot recommend them highly enough! However, if you go to Bodie there are a few things I should suggest. First off; even if its cool up there (Bodie is 8,375 ft above sea level) you're exposed and combined with wind chapping, you can sunburn really easily. My dumb ass did. Second; bring water & a snack, you are waaaay out in the boonies. Third; aside from the $5 entry donation, you can get a map for an add'l $2 and it is totally worth it! It tells you what each location is etc if you don't latch on to a Ranger giving a tour. Fourth and last; allow lots of time! The nearest towns are 30-45 minutes away from the turnoff, Bodie itself is about 17 miles from there BUT THAT will take another 40-45 minutes because most of the dirt & gravel road is rough & ungraded. We did it in my Dad's Honda Accord ok, but you have to take your time and pay attention! Do NOT RUSH, if you cut a tire etc AAA might as well be on the moon!
It's a lil' dusty and keep the high elevation in mind (since you'll be hoofing it around a lot), but it SSOOOOO worth it if you like the old west and/or ghost towns!!
And now the pics!!
The road(Hwy 270) to the Bodie turnoff
The road into/out of Bodie. Don't know if you can see the roughness of the road, but its like this and wors almost all the way in. Again, totally worth it!
Bodie itself:
Welcome, 8,375 ft high!
The concrete path from the parking lot to the main "street"
Yup, that's whatcha think it is!
The town church
One thing that surprised me were the number of old cars/trucks abandoned here. They were mostly left in its latter days (1930s). The fella in the pics is my kick ass Dad! :
Old machinery. That's a big ass boiler for a steam engine right in front of Dad.
Tumble down bank and a house in decent condition (respectively) :
The school house and a peek inside (most buildings cannot be entered) via windows. I loved the cool ,old wooden globe with the paint weathered off! :
Coffins through the funeral home window. Including child sized ones, a reminder of how hard life was here. And a couple of perspective photos giving an idea of how BIG Bodie actually is. Dad and I were slightly winded by the altitude after hiking waaaay the fuck up there LOL! :
Looking down into town, arrow point out the church & the parking lot.
Looking up the hill from the Schoolhouse. The arrow shows where I took the previous photo from.
The Fire House & gas pumps. I was surprised to see gas pumps in an old west mining town! They came along at the very end like the cars (1930s):
The Firehouse is across the street from the gas pumps. Don't think that wasn't on purpose!!
These small fire boxes/shacks were all over the town. About 3-1/2 ft high they were part of the early fire fighting efforts, of which Bodie had several as you can imagine from all the wood and the arid conditions! I thought they were cool. Early front runners to fire hydrants LOL!
Last, but not least, a pair of buildings that I loved! On the right is the OLD school gym, then next to it a bar!! That's what the fuck I'm talking about, a workout and a few drinks LOL!!
On the right, boxing & gymnastics:
On the left, beer & whiskey!!!
And my Dad (in the background w/the gray cap) talking to some really nice French tourists in front of the gym/saloon pairing. They were having such a great time, truly enjoying the whole thing. I thought that was so awesome. Really cool people.
Thank you so very much for indulging me here! We had a great time on this trip and I really wanted to share the highlights with you all because of the fun and how much these new memories mean to me right now! Please check in again for the next couple of posts. Thanks again, the SG crowd rocks!
