Memory Lane: Visiting Bodie, California an American Ghost Town

Bodie California SignIn June of 2008 our time riding with Novos came to a close in the town of Lee Vining just outside of Yosemite National Park. While Kenny, Greg and I checked in to a hotel, Novos peeled off heading towards his home in SoCal. He was going back to real life and we continued on in our California riding fantasy world.

In the morning under a clear blue sky, three headed north on route 395 with a view of Mono Lake sparkling to the east. We were heading towards the Sonora Pass.

About 20 miles out of town we saw signs for Bodie Historic Park. I had previously seen photos of the park from Novos. It looked really interesting. So, I pulled off and asked the guys if they wanted to check it out. I don’t know why I even asked. It should have been one of those given moments. Who knows when I’d ever pass that way again? It’s best to just go take a peek rather than wonder what it might have been like for the rest of your life. On we went in to Bodie.

Bodie is frozen in time. By the time that the State of California took over the town in 1962, it had been abandoned and ravaged by fire. The remaining 200 or so structures in the town are all that is left as a result of a major blaze that occurred in the 1930s.

It was fascinating to stroll through the dirt roadways, peering in to the old buildings. The only inhabitants that remain in this old mining town are the swallows that make mud nests in the eaves.

Photo Gallery – Click to Enlarge

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Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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12 Responses

  1. CrudMop says:

    Very Bodielicious. Thanks to Ed for pointing this out, well worth the run up the dirt road to get there and see an unblemished window into history.

  2. wendy says:

    Color me jealous! Great pics 🙂

  3. FuzzyGalore says:

    Memory Lane: Visiting Bodie, California an American Ghost Town http://goo.gl/fb/jf9b

  4. FuzzyGalore says:

    Photos from Visiting Bodie, California an American Ghost Town http://bit.ly/9RIh5p

  5. Gunnar says:

    Very nice. I love places like this.

  6. nikos says:

    Are those bullet holes on the Shell gasoline sign?

  7. FuzzyGalore says:

    California Road Trip Blog Post – Visiting Bodie, California an American Ghost Town http://bit.ly/9RIh5p

  8. Biker Ted says:

    Looks a very interesting place, Fuz. Was it originally a gold rush town that just got abandoned or something more macabre?

  9. Fuzzygalore says:

    Yes, Ted – It initially sprang up as a gold rush town~

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