Walk with Sandra: June 2009

Monday, June 29, 2009

Bodie & Tioga Pass, California, USA - 27 June 2009

Above left: The Northern Sierra Nevada; Above right: @ Bodie Historical Park

After a hearty pancakes and eggs breakfast at the Hays Street Cafe in Bridgeport at 6 AM, I started a long day of driving and sight-seeing. First stop, the State Historic Park of Bodie (pronounced BOH-DIE). To get to Bodie from Bridgeport, drive 7 miles south on US 395, then take SR 270 and drive 10 miles east to the end of the paved road. From there, continue for another 3 miles on a dirt road to the park entrance.

There was a $5 fee per adult to enter the California State Park and they would not accept my Federal State Park pass. The self-guiding brochure cost another $2. On the cover of the brochure reads:

And now my comrades all are gone; Naught remains to toast. They have left me here in my misery, Like some poor wandering ghost.

This might explain the "ghost town" reputation; although I might never discount the possibility of ghostly spirits still lingering around Bodie.

As a California State Historic Park since 1962, the silent Bodie ghost town has been well-maintained and preserved in a state of "arrested decay". According to the brochure, only about five percent of the buildings still remains today. The town, which flourished and prospered between 1878 and 1882, had at one time recorded a population of 10,000 inhabitants - many had moved there in search of gold (after William S. Bodey had discovered gold there in 1859). The town had developed a wicked reputation for a "sea of sins" from robberies and killings to street fights and lusts (brothels). Situated in the middle of no where at an elevation of over 8,000 ft (or over 2,500 m), it was also vulnerably exposed to the natural elements with severe cold and windy winters and scorching hot summers.

Above right: The old sawmill - logs were burned to keep homes heated during harsh winters

Above left: At one time, there were as many as 65 saloons in Bodie

Above right: The Methodist Church @ Bodie

From Bodie, I drove south on US 395 toward the motionless Mono Lake (the salt content of which was arguably 3 times saltier than the ocean) before heading west on State Route 120 to connect to the Tioga Pass highway. It was beautiful up there on Tioga Pass - the highway, which normally opens during the Summer season, was also the highest (at an elevation of 9,945 ft or 3,031 m at the entrance of Yosemite National Park) mountain pass of the Northern Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Some of the scenery there reminded me of my former travels to Europe and South America. How nice it is to know that one does not have to travel far out of the country to admire and enjoy the great out(of)doors. Natural beauty lies too in our own backyard. :-)