Yesterday, we visited the remnants of an actual gold mining town. This isn't "Ghost Town" or some other lame attempt at the re-creation of an old West Town. It's the real deal. The State of California has done an outstanding job of preserving what remains of this former hellhole.
Even though it's only 7 1/2 miles from our vacation home, it took us almost one hour to get there. You must travel 7 miles up a heavily wash boarded, rock strewn dirt road to get there. There are no paved roads to Bodie.
The cemetary sits high above the town, and consists of both marked and unmarked graves. What hits home wandering through this graveyard is the great number of children who never lived past a few years. The other is the very few who made it past 40 or 50 years of age. Several tombstones are marked "Native of Ireland".
Bodie continued to survive past the gold rush as evident by this fine young lady modeling beside a 1927 Dodge. The last remaining residents left Bodie in the 1950's.
"And now my comrades all are gone;
Naught remains toast.
They have left me here in my misery,
Like some poor wandering ghost."
According to our guide, Mr. Bodie discovered gold here in 1859 and by 1879 the town had grown to 10,000 residents. The above photo shows one of the remaining saloons. At one point, Bodie had 65 such saloons in town. The below photo shows the school house classroom.
All of these areas are closed off by glass from visitors. The reflection off the glass gives the photos a ghostly appearance.
Quoting from the guide, "Killings occurred with monotonous regularity. The fire bell tolled the ages of the deceased...Robberies, stage holdups, and street fights provided the variety"
Honestly, after two hours of this place we were ready to get back to civilization. It really makes you appreciate the world we enjoy today.
No comments:
Post a Comment