When people find out I visit ghost towns, they assume I spend a lot of time at Bodie. I can’t tell you the last time I visited, other than just driving through to other destinations. There is so much to explore beyond Bodie (a little foreshadowing; I have thought about this for my next book).
Don’t get me wrong, nothing compares to Bodie. It is a fully intact ghost town, frozen in time. It is the best in the world. I am fortunate it is so close to home.
I prefer the unknown sites that haven’t been photographed to death and have stories waiting to be uncovered.
Gene White says
My dad was a silver prospector who had formerly worked at the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Reno in the 1950’s. Will leave a separate comment about Star Canyon in the 1950’s. In 1963 he and partners found a site about halfway between Bodie and Aurora. We used to do back-pack in core drilling at a site there. Have been through Bodie many many times, starting in 1963. It was a privately held and protected, which is why it is still there. The State of California took it over many years later. We would come over mostly on weekends across Sonora Pass from Danville , California where we lived. I am very interested in Aurora, Nevada, where I have spent some time in the 1960s on these trips. Thank you for interesting articles.
Tami says
There is so much to explore outside of Bodie. Some think Aurora has nothing, but it does if you know where to look.
My second book is Beyond Bodie, sites aout 25 miles from Bodie.