When I was very small, I had one of those horses on springs. I would jump on it and bounce around furiously while my Dad would urge me on, calling out to me to "Ride that horse down the bumpy road to Bodie!"
Before I was born, my family had taken a trip to the High Sierras and my Dad and Mom never forgot the potholes they had to navigate their 56 Chevy station wagon over. It was a memory they spoke of often. When I got a little older, I got to visit Bodie with my folks, navigating a slightly more modern Chevy station wagon over those same potholes. Bodie became a lasting part of my consciousness as well.
There's something about the air in the High Sierras... and the light too. Bodie felt like another planet... still... quiet.. except for the incessant wind blowing through the boards. Even as a child, it seemed to me to be a very special place.
Throughout my life, I've had a special interest in ghost towns. As a Boy Scout, my Dad would take me camping at Calico Ghost Town. I'm still not entirely sure why sagebrush and shacks appeal to me so much, but it has something to do with the stillness left behind.
I know there aren't really any ghosts here, but that doesn't mean that I don't still feel their presence. People always leave a mark on the land... just like the sun, and the wind and the rains do.
I love places like this, and to this day, I dream of riding that horse down the bumpy road to Bodie.
I have a photograph of me as a toddler stark naked riding the horse, but it's locked up in a drawer. Don't bother to ask.
Here's a great documentary on Bodie from the mid-1950s... probably not too long before my folks first navigated those legendary potholes...
Part One:
Part Two:
If you love ghost towns like I do, check out my photographs of...
9 comments:
Found this post on BoingBoing--and Bodie is one of my favorite places to photograph; Highly enjoyed the videos, and you'll be glad to know that the bumpy road to Bodie has been graded, and is more dusty than bumpy these days.
It's under the budget ax, though; slated with hundreds of other California state parks for closure due to budget woes.
Here's one of my favorite shots from Bodie.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ambitious_wench/2962859998/
Thanks for sharing this video with us!
Edie
I left a comment on the Boing Boing site, I love Bodie. Had not heard that it was one of the possible axed parks. It would be a shame for it to fall further into ruin. It is such a time capsule of the old west.
I found your site through Boing Boing. My grandparents emigrated to the United States in the early 20th Century, settling in the Mason Valley on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas. Grandpa worked mostly in Bodie during those early days running an pseudo ice cream shop which fronted for a saloon. We were never able to get from him the exact name, but think it may have been called the butterfly or something along those lines. Bodie has a very special place in my heart.
Thanks for the great pictures. I also love ruins, but in Pennsylvania our ruins are mostly in forested areas, a totally different vibe.
Really enjoyed your pics of Bodie. I agree - it really is a magical place. I was up there about 4 years ago. Some of my images from there are in my Rural Life gallery on my site.
Takes me back to my childhood in the north country, near Canada.
Go out into the deep woods and every mile or two there was a slumping, board structure with missing windows and a rotted foundation. Inside, decades-old strewn debris on the floor that had been exposed to many summers of wind and rain and winters of snow and frigid cold. Here a rusting coffee can, there an old black shoe with rotting laces. Above the ceiling sometimes, a wood box with some old rotting magazines in it.
There is a kind of silence and dignity to these places. A mouse, a bird, a squirrel you might quietly hear for a moment or two, or an old board rocking in a breeze. Standing inside their dark interiors on a bright summer day, the foliage outdoors seems intensely rich, color-saturated, framed in the dark, grey windowframes.
I met some of the people who'd built and abandoned such places, and often they too had taken on a similar, quiet dignity. They'd learned about the real value of frantic days and worried nights. Maybe these places carry the spirit of their transfigurations. That's what I felt visiting them. Like the land was speaking to me, saying "It's OK. It's OK."
Wonderful post. You comments are thoughtful and intriguing. Loved the docs, too. Hey, next time you are in the neighborhood of Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood, introduce yourself. I'm Ricky and I work there.
Thanks again and good luck with your music and movies quest!
-Ricky
Thanks for adding to my knowledge of Bodie!
I was just in Bodie two weeks ago and I was very happy with the shots I got.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlevy/sets/72157619950723588/
I hope you enjoy!
Ben
Wonderful job documenting Bodie! My dad took me there as a kid too and that place burned itself on my memory. I have a photo of myself, as a child, sitting in the same broken down car you posted here.
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