Awesome pics! I guy I worked with is named Bodie. I asked if It was in relation to the ghost town and he said yes, because he had ancestors that lived there and the house they lived in is still standing and pad locked. As most the houses are. If he goes, the park ranger will open the house for him and his family. Pretty sweet family history
I almost stopped in there a few yrs ago, and wished I had. So, THANKS for these pictures. What are those newer looking buildings in the background?
Nice pictures, I`ve been saying I`m going to drive up there ,for the last 5 years. Have a vacation in 2 weeks . I will have to go there.
How cool. I went to school with a buddy named Bodie, and grew up in Sunland Tujunga, graduated Verdugo Hills in 87. Cant imagine there are 2 of them. If you are still working with him, it must be at his Hot Rod Shop, please say hello. If it is a different Bodie, then nice to meet another....
if i remember right, i think they were a saw mill. i went their about 3 years ago on our way home from Yosemite. we had more fun looking at all the old stuff than we did at Yosemite. it is worth the drive.
Love the place. Been there many times. The cemetery on the opposite side of the parking lot to the town is often overlooked in a visit. There was another mining town just over the border to Nevada called Aurora. The road out of Bodie to the north leads to the site. Mark Twain was a millionaire for a day in Aurora before his stint as a newspaper reporter in Virginia City. You can read about it in his book Roughing It. In it is perhaps the best account of crossing the United States in a stagecoach right before the steam locomotive took cross country travel over. The ghost town of Aurora had more buildings left than Bodie because they were constructed mostly of brick to combat the danger of fire that plagued these clapboard towns (Bodie lost over half the remaining buildings during the last fire in '32). The brick became the target of contractors from Southern California when it was found it could be easily removed and cleaned of mortar before the use of lime as a binding agent. Many homes in So Cal have fireplaces constructed from resourced bricks from Aurora and as a result nothing but the faint outlines of foundations among the brush remain at the site of Aurora. Don't mean to be long-winded but I've long been fascinated by the old west and spent many years researching and hunting old ghost town sites among which Bodie is the best preserved example, easy to access, and a favorite.
I've been to Bodie and found it fascinating. It's like stepping back in time. I thought it was illegal to remove anything from a national park. But, it's out in the middle of nowhere, so hard to enforce. Definitely a must see, as well as Mono Lake if you're in the area.
Funny how things don't change much. I have a picture of this engine in my collection that I took 20 years ago. Still in the same spot. They do say if you steal something you have bad luck and lots of stuff has been returned over the years. I don't believe in "Luck" but I never took anything from that place.
Very cool. I love ghost towns. There is one similar in Eastern Oregon called Shaniko. We were there about a month ago and loved it. We've been toying with the idea of doing a ghost town road trip/tour type thing. Maybe I'll have to add this to the list. Thanks for the pictures.
Nice pics. Thanks! Wife and I stopped in there several years ago when we were up that way for Mule Days in Bishop and my brother lived in Bridgeport then. Lots of cool stuff.
i made my first trip to Bodie in 1955 with the Boy Scouts. The 37 Chev. then was blue with Nevada license plate., sure has changed. I remember sitting in the back of a touring car that had button and tuff upholstery then. There was a Watchman at that time who drove a Model A Cabriolet, it had WATCHMAN handwritten on the door. He was a tough looking guy with a pistol on his side. At that time it was not a state park and still belonged to the family that owned it. Most building were opened and you could go inside. Lot of stuff disappeared because of that. No trees there, it is above the timberline, snow can many feet think in the winter. Aurora is not far but nothing much left, lots of brick came to Bodie for building but most building are/were wood. Masonic is close also but nothing left.
This is a real cool place! I and my wife went to Bodie on our trip to Hot Rod Reunion last year in October. The Bridgeport was a cool little town also! Here are a couple of picks from Bodie.
Totally bitchin'. Sort of sad....can imagine kids running around and adults doing their daily business. Totally amazed so many material possessions are still there! Awesome.
Would you believe at one time there was the 10 Commandments up on the wall in that empty space behind the alter that went missing? Thou shalt not steal. LOL.
Awesome to see what was left there. Do not let American pickers see these pictures Frankie will try to bundle it for one low price.lol Thanks for posting.
I would think with all the cool/valuable stuff there it'd have to be guarded some how or lots of it would be gone
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