New and Old…

Barack Obama is now the president elect.  This marks a new era for the US.   Whatever your political inclination, it is pretty amazing. 

Now for something old and vastly less important, but still pretty interesting.  Over the weekend, I went with my girlfriend Anya down to Bishop to do some climbing.  On the way back, we made a side trip to the gold rush boom-town turned preserved ghost town of Bodie. 

Gold was first discovered in the area that is now Bodie during the late 1850s.  By 1880, the town was thriving with 10,000 or so residents, despite it’s location at above 8,000 feet in the mountains South East of Bridgeport.  As quickly as Bodie boomed, it faded away.  According to information provided by the Park Service, gold valued at $900 million in today’s dollars was mined in Bodie, but still most claims proved unprofitable.  Also two large fires burned large portions of the town.  By the end of World War II, only a couple people were left.  Now it sits abandoned, but preserved. 

There is still writing on the chalk board in the school house, un-used coffins in the morgue and dust covered furniture in the homes.  Walking through the streets and peering in the windows is like looking back in time.  Definately worth a visit.

Here are some photos

   

  

And a link.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodie_State_Historic_Park