Bodie, Ca. ~ A Gold mining Ghost Town and a photographers paradise

shaunaaguirre — Sun, 28 Jul 2019 07:00:35 +0000

Just off the US 395 north of Mono lake and south of Bridgeport is the ghost town of Bodie. Take the State highway 270 east for about 10 miles to where the pavement ends. Another 3 miles on the dirt road gets you to the parking areas. Map of Eastern Sierras Bodie began as a mining camp in 1859 with just a few prospectors. However, in 1876 a large discovery of gold turned it into a boom town. From 1877 to 1882, Bodie was a bustling town with more than 10,000 residents. Over 2000 structures existed and the mine produced more than $35 million in gold and silver. Bodie, one of the richest gold strikes in California was known back then, as the most lawless, wildest and toughest mining camps in the West. Although two large fires wiped out a lot of the town, there are still over 100 structures to see. Bodie’s heyday was short- lived. The year 1881 saw the town in the grips of decline. The rich mines were depleted, and mining companies went bankrupt as the miners and business people left for more lucrative areas. By 1886 Bodie’s population had decreased to 1500. By 1890, the introduction of electricity brought a short resurgence to the town but a fire in 1892 wiped out a large portion of the buildings and another fire in 1932 destroyed all but 10 percent of the remaining buildings. By 1940 Bodie had become a ghost town. Most of the residents left their belongings because it was too hard to pack them out. The town is now owned and maintained in a state of “arrested decay” by the Parks association. Pick up a town map at the visitors center and spend hours walking around checking out the buildings, peeking in windows and getting a feeling for what it was like to live here during Bodies heyday. Bodie Gold Mining Equipment If you bring a picnic, there are plenty of places to sit and enjoy being in this eerie but fun place. The town has its share of ghosts, including James Cain’s Chinese maid/mistress at The Cain house and the phantom children playing at The Mendocino House. Maybe you’ll get a glimpse of them during your visit. Be sure not to take any souvenirs from this ghost town or risk being struck by the “Bodie curse.” For more Eastern Sierra day trips check out our blog on the Lakes of the Eastern Sierras.

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Eastern Sierras ~ The US 395, camping & day trips

shaunaaguirre — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 07:00:23 +0000

We love exploring the Eastern Sierras. This area starts at Lone Pine in the South and extends to the Nevada state line in the North. There are so many things to see that include the surreal Mono lake, the eerie ghost town of Bodie, so many lakes and and streams and much more. There are tons of places to fish, hike, camp, bike and ski. Just relaxing in what is known as the Ansel Adams wilderness and enjoying the scenery is an amazing time. Our first stop on our trip is always Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga, Ca. It’s a great place to pick up last minute camping and fishing supplies. However, be sure to give yourself a time limit because this place is easy to get stuck in for hours. Our destination is of our favorite places to camp, Bishop creek. This camping area is just west of the town of Bishop, Ca. Bishop is a sweet old-fashioned mountain town and makes a great base camp for exploring the Eastern Sierras. It’s a 6 hour drive from San Diego or San Francisco and a 4 hour drive from Los Angeles. Lone Pine ~ The US 395 to the Eastern Sierras From San Diego, we take the historic 395, there is so much to see on this route. We always plan our trip so we can spend a night in Lone Pine, the jumping off spot for hikers going to Mt Whitney and the southern entrance to the Eastern Sierras. Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 @ 14,500 feet. We love waking up in the shadow of Whitney and taking a drive up Whitney Portal road. This 13 mile drive west of Lone Pine, takes you half way up the mountain to the trail head. There’s an awesome breakfast/burger joint called the The Whitney Portal store with amazing pancakes. You’ll find a campground here and lots of trails to explore. There are plenty of HOTEL options in Lone Pine and rates are reasonable. Camping in Bishop, Ca. We like to get an early start out of Lone Pine and make our way to Bishop. If we are tent camping, we always go to the Bishop Park campground. Most of the sites are next to the rushing Bishop creek. Take the 168 for 16 miles and you’ll find it at Middle Fork at about 8300ft in elevation. The campsites are first come-first serve so the earlier you get there the better. Each campsite has a picnic table, a fire ring and a bear box. There are several other camp grounds in this area as well. On the way up, you have to stop at the Burger Barn. It is one of our “Top 5 favorite” burgers ever! If it’s too cold for a tent (for me, it’s never “”too cold” for Bryan) we like to stay at Parchers Resort. They have nice 1 and 2 bedroom cabins with decks and full amenities. Once we have our base camp set up, it’s time to plan our day-excursions. There are so many places to go from here. We will be fishing, hiking and exploring for the next few days. Check out our blogs on the Eastern Sierra’s. Get the low down on epic bucket-list day trips to Mono Lake, Mammoth lake, June lake & the ghost town of Bodie!

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Bodie, Ca. ~ A Gold mining Ghost Town and a photographers paradise

Eastern Sierras ~ The US 395, camping & day trips