A ‘state of arrested decay’

In order to leave the Hilton we had to get our car back from the valet which took about 10 minutes as the text messaging didn’t work with our phones. I resented all over again having to pay for a service we didn’t want!

Once we had the car we drove just down the road to a nice local coffee shop for breakfast, then set off on what was to be quite a long drive. But while long, it was also one of the most scenic of the trip so far, with glowing aspens and distant mountains.

Bridgeport

We stopped at a small town, Bridgeport, for petrol, a leg stretch, and a cold drink. We found some quirky things around the town to photograph, especially by one of the motels.

We then continued to the road that would take us to Bodie State Historic Park. This involved driving on a winding road, the last three miles of which are unsurfaced, but suitable for regular saloon cars.

Bodie State Historic Park

Bodie is a former gold mining town, now a ghost town which, as the website says, has been ‘preserved in a state of arrested decay'. The same website has a brief history of the town:

The town is named for W.S. Body (or Bodey), who had discovered small amounts of gold in hills north of Mono Lake. In 1875, a mine cave-in revealed a rich vein of ore, which led to purchase of the mine by the Standard Company in 1877. People flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown. In 1881, Bodie's "bust" began and the town's population declined drastically. The town's population continuing to decline until only a few remained. Mining officially ceased in Bodie in 1942, the final nail in the coffin for Bodie's township. Two large fires in 1892 and 1932 reduced the town's remaining structures down to less than 10% of the 2,000 structures that once stood.
Source: Bodie State Historic Park website

During its boom years (1879-1881), as many as 8,000-10,000 people lived here. Although the majority of houses and business properties were lost to those two fires, 110 buildings still stand in and around the town and their interiors remain as they were left, still stocked with goods and furniture.

We spent well over an hour wandering around taking photos, peering into the houses, shops etc. which had a Marie Celeste air. While most are closed (so my photos above were taken through grubby windows!) one house stands open, the rooms left as they were when abandoned by the residents.

I read that so much furniture and other possessions were left as the road in and out of the town was so rough it was easier and cheaper for the people to rebuild their lives elsewhere from scratch rather than take everything with them.

The Methodist church and Miners Union Hall are also open, the latter serving in part as a museum and visitor centre.

Lee Vining

After leaving Bodie we retraced our steps to the main road and continued south, with some great views of the surrounding hills and wonderful aspen trees.

We had good memories of our visit to Mono Lake when in the area in 1981. Back then there was no tourist development at the lake (or if there was we didn’t find it!) but we had managed to get quite close to the water’s edge. Today we visited a Visitor Centre which is set a long way back so our views of the tufa were limited, but we saw on a map the location of another access point which we resolved to visit tomorrow.

For now we headed to our booked motel in Lee Vining, the Yosemite Gateway. Our room there was simple but had a terrace with a partial view of Mono Lake and a comfortable bed.

We settled in and had a walk to check out the immediate area, including options for dinner of which there proved to be just one as others had already closed for the winter season.

That one restaurant option was Nicely's, a simple American style restaurant, which I’d seen was well reviewed. We enjoyed our dinner there (I had the fish tacos), washed down with a few beers.