Bodie

Bodie State Historic Park

Just north of Lee Vining and Mono Lake, off the highway, is a ghost town called Bodie.  It used to be a wild place with frequent murders. It acquired a reputation. Then the gold ran out, people left town and, apart from some destruction by several fires, it remains as it was. The buildings were made out of timber from the Sierra range to the west and the patina of the buildings is beautiful - maybe the tough climate of very hot summers and very cold winters helps.

We thought there would only be a handful of people there. We were wrong. We accidentally chose to go on the annual Bodie Day when friends of Bodie organise ceremonies, dress up, saddle up their horses, hitch their drays and have a good time. There were heaps of people there, out in the middle of nowhere. I'm glad we went.