My Trips:

My Blogspot Journal
2011 Trip @ Lakeshore Images
2012 Trip @ Lakeshore Images

Visit to Bodie State Historical Park, CA - May 8, 2011

Some other pages at this site:

Lower Antelope Canyon AZ
Upper Antelope Canyon, AZ
Arches National Park, UT
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Canyon de Chelly, AZ
Canyonlands National Park, UT
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
Devils Tower National Monument, WY
Glacier National Park, MT
Goblin Valley State Park, UT
Hanging Lake, CO
Kodachrome Basin State Park, UT
Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Mono Lake, CA
Mt Rainier National Park, WA
Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
The Grand Tetons National Park, WY
Valley of Fire State Park, NV
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Yosemite National Park, CA
Zion National Park, UT

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
Caverns of Sonora, TX
Luray Caverns, VA
Jewel & Wind Cave, SD
Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

I've been on a cross country trip and took enough photographs at the Bodie State Historical Park to devote an entire page to them. California has a Web Page for the site if you are interested in more information. The day I went to Bodie the park was open, but the road partially closed. A gate was placed across the road 1 1/2 miles from the park - you had to walk in. I started the photos with an picture of the road, but the view (in the last photograph) keeps you from getting bored.

Some basic information about Bodie - It is at an elevation of 8375' at the end of a 13 mile drive from US 395 7 miles south of Bridgeport.

Bodie was primary a gold mining town. At its peak in 1897 there were 8500 people & 2000 buildings in the town, including 60 saloons & dance halls. As richer gold was discovered in Aurora, Nevada & The Comstock Mine opened in Virginia City, Bodie declined. By 1886 the population was down to 1500. Fires destroyed parts of the town more than once, and by the 1940's, Bodie became a ghost town. In 1932 what little was left was designated as a National Historic landmark, and in 1994 the State of California bought the mining rights & declared the site as a State Historical Park.

It is normally open from mid May to mid October from 8:00AM to 7:00PM, and the rest of the year 8:00AM - 4:00PM or as posted. It closed at 3:00PM the day I was there. Hours are strictly enforced, and both volunteers & rangers actually live in some of the houses in the park. Notice that in one of the photos there is a compact fluorescent lamp in the socket over the doorway to one of the houses - quite a contrast! Anyway, some photos of the site:

Here are more photos of Bodie taken on June 4th, my second visit.

Bodie State Historical Park
Bodie State Historical Park
Bodie State Historical Park
Bodie State Historical Park

This page is maintained by: vermilye@oswego.edu
Last Update: September 19, 2013