In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore (due to a freak mine cave-in), which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. Rich discoveries in the adjacent Bodie Mine during 1878 attracted even more hopeful people. By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 5000–7000 people and around 2,000 buildings. Over the years, Bodie's mines produced gold valued at nearly US$34 million. By then, the town of Bodie bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters, prostitutes and people from every country in the world. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Among the saloons were numerous brothels and 'houses of ill repute', gambling halls and opium dens - an entertainment outlet for everyone.
Hardships and violence aside, Bodie was a thriving, bustling place. However, like other boom towns, Bodie’s period of glory was brief, lasting from 1879 to 1882. The decline was slow, with the two major mines-the Bodie and the Standard-merging in 1887 and operating successfully for the next two decades. A disastrous fire struck in 1892 and with a steady decline in the interim, including additional mine closings and abandonment of the Bodie Railway in 1917, another devastating fire destroyed much of the town in 1932. Although Bodie was already dying, further decline having resulted from Prohibition and the Depression, some mining continued. However, there were no new strikes and companies eked out only minor profits, largely by using the cyanide process to extract gold from old tailings (i.e., mine refuse). By the 1950s even this recovery operation ceased and Bodie became a ghost town.
In 1962, after years of neglect, Bodie became a State Historic Park, and two years later the Ghost Town of Bodie was dedicated as a California Historic Site. It has also been designated a National Historic Site. Bodie is maintained in a state of what is termed “arrested decay,” which means the buildings are protected but not restored. Bodie is located in the Basin Range of the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, about 13 miles East of Highway 395 in central California. Today you can visit Brodie and checkout this once booming town! Definitely a trip worth making!
Bodie is a rare example of the dry-summer subarctic climate, with warm summers and long, snowy winters. Winds can sweep across the valley at close to 100 miles per hour. Nights remain cold even through the summer, often dropping well below freezing. The harsh weather is due to a particular combination of high altitude (8,400 feet) and a very exposed plateau, with little in the way of a natural surrounding wall to protect the long, flat piece of land from the elements.
To experience Bodi with it's haunting beauty don't waste time come on up to Mammoth Lakes this summer and escape the LA heat and immerse your self in the natural and maybe even supernatural sights and sounds that are Bodi.
Need a place to stay during your visit to Bodi. Visit MammothRentalBy Owner.com for accommodations that won't leave you feeling haunted
http://mammothrentalbyowner.com/index.html (818)883-2488
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( 3 / 3587 )Devils Postpile: What do you really know about it?
This amazing Monument was once part of Yosemite National Park, but discovery of gold in 1905 near Mammoth Lakes prompted a boundary change that left the Postpile on public land. Later, a proposal to build a dam called for blasting the Postpile into the river. Influential Californians, including John Muir, persuaded the federal government to stop the demolition and in 1911, President William Howard Taft protected the area as a National Monument.
How it happened-
The name "Devils Postpile" refers to a dark cliff of columnar basalt when lava erupted in the valley of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. As lava flowed from the vent, it filled the valley near the postpile to a depth of 400 feet. Radiometric dating of rocks thought to correlate with this basalt-a dark gray, fine-grained rock with feldspar crystals suggests an age of less than 100,000 years.
Surface cracks formed when tensions caused by the shrinkage of the cooling lava were greater than the lava’s strength. Each crack branched when it reached a critical length. Together with other cracks it formed a pattern on the surfaces of the flow. Ideal conditions allowed surface cracks to deepen and form long post-like columns.
Plan your visit:
While planning your upcoming visit, it is important to remember that Devils Postpile National Monument is only open during the summer months. Enjoy such activities as hiking, fishing, horseback riding and mountain biking. When you book your next Mammoth trip you should definitely take the bus to this unique and beautiful spot. This is truly a place you do not want to miss!
Stay with Mammoth Rental By Owner and get monumental accommodation at Devishly low prices. WWW.MammothRentalByOwner.com or give us a call on the hot line at (818)883-2488 and keep us posted!
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( 3 / 7384 )History:
Prospectors came to this region in their endless search for gold and silver in the late 19th century. The Lakes Mining District was organized on Mineral Hill near Lake Mary in 1877. The following year, General George Dodge organized the Mammoth Mining Co. Over a thousand people flocked to Mammoth City the summer of 1878 and perhaps 1,500 the next. The riches and the bonanza never materialized and the Mammoth Mining Co. shut down its mill in 1880. In the 1890's a different people discovered Mammoth. They were looking for recreation in the Eastern Sierra. Fishing, hunting, photography, camping, hiking, horseback riding were what drew the summer visitors to Mammoth and with them came the businesses to support them. Only a few caretakers stayed to protect the properties that were here during the winter. Mammoth became a quiet and remote area until the completion of a modern highway in 1937.
Today:
Lake Mary (Elevation 8,920 feet) is the star of the Mammoth Lakes region. Of all of the lakes in the area, Mary is the largest and most developed. The lake provides a great base for activities like fishing, viewing waterfalls, flat-water paddling, camping, hiking and backpacking.
Recreation:
Lake Mary receives the highest number of trout stocks in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, and it is well-known to anglers for its rainbow, brook and brown trout fishing. No swimming or wading is allowed in the lake.
Though no hiking trails begin by the lake, several interesting trails offer a variety of hikes nearby, including day hiking and backpacking trails into the rustic John Muir Wilderness.
Come check out Lake Mary. Need lodging visit mammothrentalbyowner.com or give us a call at 818-883-2488
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( 3 / 7395 )Hey,
Check out the fish my granson caught!
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( 3 / 7401 )Great fishing hole
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