#3 The Ghosts of Bodie
This is Bodie, or rather the remains of Bodie. Only about five percent of the buildings it contained during its 1880's heyday still remain. Today, it stands just as time, fire and the elements have left it -- a genuine California gold mining ghost town.
And now my comrades all are gone;
Naught remains to toast.
They have left me here in my misery,
Like some poor wandering ghost.
We caught a couple of ghosts peeking through the window!
Randy found this ceiling to be apPEELING!" ha ha ha
Don't let these pictures fool you! They may look like paintings, but they are actually Randy's photos that he his manipulated a bit. Cool, aren't they!
The Bank
At least the vault still stands.
The Standard Mill
The Standard Mine yielded nearly $15 million over 25 years, and its success cased the 1878 rush to Bodie. Within a year the population rose from about 20 to an estimated 10,000 miners, gamblers, and other entrepreneurs. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1898 but was rebuilt the following year. The Standard was the most successful of the 30 different mining companies that operated in the Bodie Mining District.
The Hotel
Just like at my house!
The Schoolhouse
Was originally a lodging house. The first school was burned down by an early-day juvenile delinquent.
The Outhouse
A Family Plot
Only those accepted as respectable were buried inside the fences. Others were buried outside the fences, and in most cases without markers.
Killings occurred with monotonous regularity, sometimes becoming almost daily events. The fire bell, which tolled the ages of the deceased when they were buried, rang often and long. Robberies, stage holdups and street fights provided variety, and the town's 65 saloons offered many opportunities for relaxation after hard days of work in the mines. The Reverend F.M. Warrington saw it in 1881 as "a sea of sin, lashed by the tempests of lust and passion."
The Church House
The last service was held here in 1932. Since then, the interior has been badly vandalized, and the Ten Commandments painted on oilcloth which once hung behind the pulpit ("Thou shalt not steal") has been stolen.
This was heaven for photographers!
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