If you are ever in the area or have the means too see this place you should. Bodie, CA is one of the largest ghost towns in the country. It is pure awesome. The town began as a mining camp in 1859 and and was pretty much abandonded around 1912 or so. The town still had residents all the way through the early 40's. At it's peak it had up to 10,000 residents and 2,000 buildings. It is littered with dozens of cars and trucks, some as they were when left and others that have been picked aprt over the years. VERY COOL. I took like 200 photos, but here are just a few, there are alot of "non-car" photos in here, but you really need to see those to get the feel of the place.
Cool pics. It's really cool that its remained in that condition for that long with out vandals and theft ruining it for everyone
because anything that is taken from there brings the person who removed the object, bad luck. Look but do not take.
Wow, great photos. That '37 Chev I've seen before in photos. Help set the scene for me, what was the temperature when these photos were taken? Thanks for posting. -H.R.D-
in the 90's. Elevation is around 8,400 so the air is really thin, walking around this place took a toll on us all. BTW - this place was made a national landmark in 61' and a state park in 62'. It had a caretaker through the mid 40's but after that the vandals had fifteen to twenty years to pick it apart. Most of the real HEAVY stuff still sits though.
A buddy of mine was named after that town, and now runs a Hot Rod Shop in So Cal. Bodie Stroud of BS Industries. His folks must have loved the place....
Went there in the late seventies.There was a park ranger there so the big items remained there.Thats good thing.
Been there many times. Jeeping in summer snowmobiles in winter. There's been a ranger there almost every time. My buddy got a ticket once ripping around too close to structures on his snowmobile.
In about 1930 my Mom and her family lived in Bodie for a couple of weeks. It was during the depression and they were trying to eke out a living. My grandpa gathered up scrap metal in the truck and hauled it back to LA to sell it. He left Grandma, my mom and her sisters to live in one of the old houses there while he was gone. My Mom died in 1998 at 80 years old but she always had clear memories of the time she spent in Bodie.
Its an incredible place , been there twice and picked up a book on the place the second time, just finished it, unbeleivable stories. A very unmolested place, and a real eye opener as to what life was like in the pioneer days.
Just had lunch in Bridgeport two weeks ago but, as usual, no time to go see Bodie. One of these years. Thanks for the pix.
Started going there as a kid...been a while since I've been back. I need to take my kids there. Thanks for the pics and the reminder. Neal
Awesome , I just did search in Wiki and I just cant believe my eyes. I´m driving by in October and I must see this place in person. Without your post I would have miss it ( never heard of Bodie) so thanks for posting. Ari
Definitely worth the trip. Most ghost towns in the west have been completely obliterated by scavengers, collectors, etc. but Bodie has been preserved in an arrested state of decay for people to enjoy. Most of the items in the buildings are exactly as they were left when the last folks moved out in the '30's and '40's. ---John
The Jalopy Journal
