Bodie California State Historic Ghost Town

Bodie State Historic Park

Gold mining ghost town

Bodie, CA

Established 1876 -Abandoned in the 1940's

In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880! By then, the town of Bodie bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters, prostitutes, and people from every country in the world. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Today, even though Bodie is down a dusty, bumpy, slow, 13 mile long road off State Highway 395, it’s amazing how many people are aware of this once glorious town.

 Michael and I had more than one "amazing" summer vacation cancelled this year due to COVID-19. We've done a couple small things like camping or watching movies at home, but we were really feeling the need to get out and do something. Bodie was a perfect choice as it is a road trip AND outside. We set off early in the morning for a long drive and a day of exploring Bodie, CA. 

Highway after highway of beautiful scenery and very few people on the road. 

We drove and drove, hardly seeing anyone or any gas stations. I set google maps towards a gas station in Bridgeport, not knowing what else was here besides a Valero. We arrived in Bridgeport just before noon and after getting the most expensive gas I've pumped in years, we stopped in the General Store for a quick deli sandwich. 

What a cute store and it had a little of everything. 

This is a very cute little town. 

Would love to come back and see what other little treasures are hidden here. 

The turnoff to Bodie was just a few miles from Bridgeport. 

The road is paved for a few miles before it turns to a very bumpy dirt road. 

I don't mind these views at all...

And then the washboard gravel road starts... 

Michael had no idea what washboard meant, but he does now. 

Because I have driven this road before, I knew about it and we had a little rental car that was bouncing all over the place. He found it hilarious and we had a great laugh as we bounced all around. 

When will it end?

It doesn't look that bad, but in spots you just bounce all over the place. 

When you arrive, there is a Ranger station collection entrance fees and selling tour brochures. 

Adults are $8 and kids up to the age of 17 are $5. 

Self guided tour brochures are $3. If you've never been here before, get the brochure. 

Had to stop for a quick photo op by the sign. 

And what else do you do by the minecraft cart...? 

Act like you're a minecraft character. 

Howdy partner

6' child for scale. 

That's one big wheel!

We will spend the next 3.5 hours going building to building looking at old cars and relics. I've taken a TON of pics, so feel free to scroll. Most are self explanatory. 

One old building after another...

Not sure what these were, but we were able to rotate all of the wheels. 

Outhouse. Two at a time?

Bank

Bank safe. Amazingly preserved. 

Ignition on the old car. 

This one didn't make it...

Michael likes looking at the old tires. We flipped these over and revealed the maker. 

Some of these we had never heard of. 

The old sawmill. This is available for group tours, but currently closed due to COVID. 

We look at these old relics and try to figure out what they would have been used for. This is about 12 feet long. No idea...

Ah, there's my car. Just where I left it, parked in front of my house. :-) 

School house

Interesting to see all of the items in the classroom. 

Can you find the error on the chalkboard?

Do they teach gold mining in school?

Inside of a saloon

At one time, this was probably Main Street. There was a bar, a gym and a general store. 

A beautifully preserved buggy

Church

Howdy

Lawn mower

These are huge. Assuming it's a generator of some sort. 

The Bodie cemetery sits atop a nearby hillside. It's interesting to walk around and see how old some of the markers are. Some of these people were born close to 200 years ago. 

We also noticed there were lots of young children. Quite a few in 1908. There may have been a virus or flu going around, not really sure. But definitely something. We also noticed several adults from 1918 and wondered if that was spanish flu. 

I rented a little economy car and was shocked to find out how small the Chevy Spark actually is. 

It kept us entertained because it was like driving a tiny clown car. Michael said it was like a hot wheel and in keeping with tradition, he named this car "TODD". A short name for a tiny car. 

The plan was for us to take our time going through all of the building of Bodie and then stay the night at Topaz Lake. After we were done, Michael was really pressing hard to convince me to just drive back home. He said, "I will help to keep you awake". 

Yeah, right. He slept more than 2 hours of the 3.5 hour drive... 

But we made Bodie a day trip and it worked out great. 

It's a fun outing and great family time.