#10- SR270 Revisited-the WHOLE way.......

In case you are going thru withdrawal yet
and haven't been able to go to Bodie
lately, here is a video to help you
relive the memory....
Thanks Dave, from Bodie.com, for this video.

Locals "highly" suggest that newcomers
do NOT speed and take this road slow
but keep an eye open for locals
that KNOW the road and go whizzing by....
It's kinda like the way home...
when you do it everyday ...
your car almost memorizes the roads,
but you MUST always watch out for wlidlife
such as pronghorn antelope, sheep, coyote,
deer, sage grouse, or rabbits.

#9- All I know is I am on My Way.....

"All I know is I am on my way".... to Bodie.
This is the song that plays in our heads....
It's called "Bodie Fever" back then it was
called Gold Fever.... and now 150 years later
the price of Gold has gone up so much
there is a New Gold Fever and many
stores are currently sold out of pans
for panning for gold. Many new folks
are staking claims. I know there is still
alot of gold left in Bodie. Thank God
it is a State Historic Park so it is
protected .... and today is it s miracle
that it still stands for all of us to
appreciate the hardship of the lives
of those that had "Gold Fever."
Bodie Fever is incurable ;-)
So just go have a good time,
make some images and pretend
you were there in the 1800's....

#8- Home of Maiden Lane and Virgin Alley

This video has a wonderful narration chalk
full of the history of Bodie if you want to learn
the history and stories of Bodie. Please grant
yourself the pleasure of watching and
listening to this video. It is very well done.
Nothing fancy but tons of history
and gives you a small feel of what
was there in it's Hay Day.

A few years ago Mac and I were able to spend
the day interviewing and photographing
one of the last living men to be born in Bodie.
Bobbie Bell. He showed us his house where his
dad had added an extension on to the living room,
and his bedroom and the wild rose and rhubarb
plants that his mom had planted...as he took
a bite of the rhubarb. Spending the day
with Bobbie was definitely a treat i will
always remember. If you wish to visit
Bobbie now, you will have to go up the hill
and visit his grave site up in the active cemetery.
When I find his picture with the house
I will post it here for you all to see....
He was a REAL character just like the town
he was born in....
May He Rest in Peace......

#7- There's a Ghost town in My Heart.

What a wonderful tune to use with this video.
sorta sums it up for those of us that love Bodie.
Just so everyone knows.....
there was a little girl living back East with her mom
when her dad wrote and asked the family to come
West to live in Bodie. The little girl was so depressed
she wrote in her diary before they left.....
"Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie."
If you noticed at the Top Right of this Blog
I have changed that quote and have on
my car license plate frame with these words...
"Good, by God, I'm going to Bodie."
So those of us that love it, put the commas
in a different place...but the original quote
came from the little girl's diary long ago....
Hope the latter become your motto also.

#6 - FOB website & BBQ- 8/10/08

Howdy all,

Well the Friends of Bodie now has another website
that I have added to our links section.

The Annual "Friends of Bodie" BBQ this year
will be SUNDAY (not Sat.) Aug. 10th.
....more details to follow.....

Please note the 1st-
Photog's Day in Bodie this year
will be June 17, 2008:
Get in 30 min before Sunrise and stay
till 30 min After sunset....outside Park normal hours!
Good for Spring bloom of Iris in Bodie and
outside Bodie flowers all around!!
That's when I usually go to the Eastern Sierra
for flowers anyway...around the Solstice ...

$50 per person
Advance reservations are required.
Aong with your "check ONLY" payable to:
Mail completed checks & notes to:
Friends of Bodie
(Photog Day)
PO Box 515,
Bridgeport, CA 93517
We do not send written confirmation of your reservation;
however, you may contact FOB to verify your reservation.
Please put ATTN: Terri on your reservation form envelope!!
For further information and reservations contact Bodie at (760) 647-6445.

#5- Cornish Miner's Day Remembered

it is very appropriate that this video have
Celtic music in the background and many
of the miner's were Cornish and of Celtic
descent. I remember many summers back
when one of the other Ranger's living there
"Bodie" Jack Shipley played the hammered dulcimer
(also recorders, guitar) on his house front porch
for us and the sound would woft across the bowl
which is Bodie and we could hear it anywhere...

It was wonderful and made you feel like the
town was alive again. Things like this happen
also on the Friends of Bodie Day in August
when the Annual BBQ is held and bands play
while miners walk in the streets.
"Bodie" currently plays with the
Wild Mountain Tyme Band and they can be
reached thru Big Gerry. I love the
"Sierra Christmas" CD.

#4- Ode to Both FOB/Brad and Bodie !

Here is a nice video recently made with
nice narration about it's history,
but there is also a very nice
section interviewing Brad Sturdivant
the Head Ranger in Bodie for
the last 20 years.... We owe him alot
for helping Preserve Bodie also.
He loves it SO much...that is why
he stayed there for so long to
help all of us have it to enjoy...
Thanks Brad......

#3- and a song about Bodie for your pleasure....

This videographer even composed and sang a tune
with his band about Bodie Town. It is fun to see
someone appreciates it also as much...
Named after Waterman S. Bodey when he
discovered some gold just North of Mono Lake
and In 1877, the Standard Company struck pay dirt
and a gold rush transformed Bodie from a town
of 20 people to a boomtown of 10,000 at it's peak !
Who knew a Signmaker that didn't have room
for the tail on the "y" in Bodey would change
the towns Name to Bodie forever?

#2- SR270- The Road Home......

They always say a photo is worth a 1,000 words.
So here is a video of the BEST road to Bodie.
When I was little neither of the 2 roads to town
was paved and they were both bumpy
ALL the way......
Today we are very lucky they have paved
the majority of the road off Hwy. 395
and now it is only the last 3 miles
where we get a "Taste of the Original"
"washboard road" that the old wagons
and mules traveled during the
days of the CA Gold Rush.....
.......Enjoy..........

#1- Long Live Bodie S.H.P.

This blog is being started as a way to spread the word
about California's Official "State Gold Historic Ghost Town."
I have been going there since before the State of CA
purchased the town and I want to share all of it's
specialness with everyone so everyone will want to
help preserve not only one of our State, but our
Nation's historic sites. It is still one of
California's Gems.