Bodie Ghost Town, Califorina and the Jeffery Pine Forest

We've already started our summer trip but never posted anything else for our May Nevada trip soooo..

MONO LAKE, CALIFORNIA

This was an unexpected stop...did not realize how much there was to see and do...but we tried to fit them all in. Bodie, The Mill Town, a couple of kayak lakes, Tioga Pass, Mono Lake Tuffas, the largest Jeffery Pine forest in the world, an obsidian volcano and a mountain side of pumice.

Kim has always wanted to see the best preserved (and largest) ghost town in America, Bodie. So, we parked the coach at the Mono Lake Visitor's Center, unhooked our pickup and took a ride waaaay back into the hills to see Bodie. 

Large stamp mill operation in the distance, of which there were several. They "stamped" the ore 24 hours a day. Can you imagine the noise?

The majority of the buildings are gone, over 85%.

So many of the building still have items left in them. It's as it they were abducted by aliens !!

You can see that the town is allowed to "disappear" on its own without interference.

Almost ready to fall but someone has propped it up.

Then, we decided to take a day trip with the car, just to explore and found the Mill that made the wood for all the construction at Bodie!

This is what the mill looked like. They would slide the trees down to the valley then up to get cut and the train would take them to Bodie.

This is what the valley looks like today...all that's left is some old wood.

We also found out that the largest Jeffery Pine forest in the world is located right here so we drove into it a ways, had some lunch and just enjoyed the gentle breeze flowing through the pine needles.

Of course, we both enjoyed it in our own ways!

I'm not a tree-hugger but I couldn't resist this one.

Kim is totally at peace with the forest.

Here's just one of the views looking west towards the Sierra Mountains.

Hope you enjoyed tis one...we'll do more in a few days.

steve/kim/katie

...looking forward to visiting the Bodie...

Let's give Nevada a try

What city do people think of when you mention Nevada? VEGAS....right? Well, no Las Vegas or the other big city, Reno, on this trip. We're going to be desert rats in small towns. 

Here's the population breakdown of the towns we're going to visit: 175 people,  68 people, 182 people, 1176 people, 1807 people, 217 people..

You're asking, "What is there?" 

Bonneville Salt Flats • A spot where you can view the curvature of the earth • Bristlecone Pine Trees that are between 4,000 and 5,000 years old • Wild Burro Refuge • Death Valley • East entrance to Yosemite • Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains • Mono Lake • Bodie Ghost Town • Basque food restaurants • Alabama Hills Rock Formations • tiny BBQ restaurants • Star Wars Canyon....and much more!

So....watch for upcoming entries as we poke around the great state of Nevada !

steve/kim/katie

Getting eager to take off again!

 It's early March and the winter is finally starting to relax it's hold on us. Weather is in the 50's, almost getting into the 60's ! 

One thing nice about the winter....we get great views from our deck during the morning...and afternoon....

...and, yes, we got some snow....

We're getting cabin fever and are itching to get back out on the road but we have doctor's appointments in late April, so May looks like when we will start. I think we'll do some northern Nevada as a shake-down cruise before our serious summer travels. Here's our route so far...

We'll see Shoshone Falls, the curvature of the earth at Wendover, the Great Basin National Park from Ely, Death Valley for 4 days, watch the jets fly through Star Wars Canyon (see link below),see the best ghost town in the states...Bodie, California... kayak on Mono Lake, see some friends in the different cities, then home. One month.

Watch these jets  at Star Wars Canyon just west of Death Valley!

https://youtu.be/SiAW6u4Yt1w

We'll be posting so, if you're interested, take a peek.

So glad when this masking is all over....

steve/kim/katie