A Ghostly Town!

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We spent the afternoon exploring the town of Bodie, a ghost town. It was an hour’s drive from Lee Vining following a bendy road but the last three miles turned into a dusty, rocky unpaved road. It’s often closed during the winter after heavy snow fall due to it's high altitude of around. By the time we got to the town our car had turned from a lovely white to a dirty grey.

The town had been a thriving gold mining town which grew up in 1859 when gold was found along the Bodie Creek. $100 million worth of ore was found but when the gold ran out everyone moved out.

Set in a large dust bowl the town had lots of wooden houses, a general store, a hotel, a church and a school. On the hill was the remains of the factory. Most of the buildings are left un-restored just as they were back in the 1930's We spent longer than we intended here and ended up rushing back to Lee Vining to secure the motel room for the night.

We needn’t have worried the motel was practically empty despite it’s location as the gateway to Yosemite.

Along the street from the motel was a warm and friendly restaurant called Nicely's, the typical American diner experience, tables in booths and country and western music playing with exceptionally friendly staff. After a hearty meal we were tucked up in bed by 9.30pm as that's when the town shuts down.

Just as well- tomorrow is going to be an early start.

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