Tuesday, September 1,
2015
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| Bodie State Historical Park |
Another interesting place to check out for the day –
Bodie State Historical Park. The park is owned by state and there is a
$5/person fee. In 1888, Bodie was considered to be one of the most lawless,
wild and toughest mining towns in the west. Gold was discovered in 1859 by W.S.
Bodey and E.S. “Black” Taylor. Bodey died in a blizzard while returning with
supplies. Temperatures are extreme in both summer and winter (3-6 feet of snow
on flat ground and up to 20 foot drifts) and winds can be up to 100 mph. Due to
the location, mining did not boom until the mid-1870’s. Nearly 10,000 tons of rich ore was extracted
from the mine, netting around $15 million over 25 years. By 1879 the population
was nearly 8500 people with more than 2000 buildings. By 1881, the mines were
depleted and companies were going bankrupt. The population was down to 1500 by
1886. In 1894 a fire destroyed many homes and businesses. Cyanide process in
the 1890s and the use of electricity made mining profitable. In 1932 another
fire roared through the town, only 10% of the towns buildings remained.
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| Bodie State Historical Park |
Today, Bodie remains in a state of “arrested decay”,
meaning the way it was left as residents left the town. Often residents would
leave possessions behind since when they went to settle in a different town
they were charged by the weight of the possessions that they would bring with
them.
You may be asking yourself “Why is the town spelled as
Bodie when one of the guys that discovered to riches was spelled Bodey?” Simple
answer - the person that painted the sign did not like the way it looked with
the y so they changed it to ie.
The site is defiantly worth a visit, it is unlike any
other ghost town that we have visited. Allow at least 2 hours to wonder about
the site. There is also a tour of the stamping
building available (for an additional fee), we did not take the tour.
We
had a late lunch back in South Lake Tahoe at The Brewery. The food was just
okay, but the staff was very friendly. Mike enjoyed the beer selection. After lunch,
we headed back to the Gelato place for yummy gelato.
After lounging around for
the afternoon, we had dinner at the Bear Moon Restaurant, which was good.
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