Foggy evening in Morro Bay

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Tufas at Mono Lake

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Sweetwater Mountains - Ride through the Aspens

It's a bit of a bumpy ride, but I promise it's worth it.

Beautiful California

Found this amazing time lapse video made by Hal Bergman.

Bergman wrote that his goal was to “cram all of the visually stunning things about the entire state, from coastline to mountains to deserts, from cities to wilderness and national parks, into four minutes.” This time lapse took Bergman over four years to make and the average clip in it took between three and ten hours to edit. (via Bold Italic).



You'll see the building where we live at 2:33. Can you find it? :)

11.19 It Took Us There

We wouldn't be able to explore the back country like we do if we didn't have this fun, hardy, tough little vehicle.

11.18 Videos of our Mining Towns Ride

Chemung Mine:


If the videos aren't already shown in HD, you'll want to change it to 1080p by clicking on the gear icon on the bottom right of the video. So much prettier.

Quaking Aspens.
One of my favorite sounds in the world. This quick little video doesn't come close to the sound or what it looks like, but I still had to try to capture it.


The full ride from start to finish. 9 hours in about 7 minutes.

11.17 Chemung Mine

You may recall that Jimmy and I did an amazing off-roading trip in the Eastern Californian Desert. I blogged about the more famously known Bodie State Park and Ghost Town.

But the Chemung Mine was my favorite spot of the day. There was something magical about this spot.

It might be because of the magnificent, freshly snow capped Sierra Nevada mountain range in the background.

Or maybe it's because the mine was up against the hillside next to a beautiful aspen grove. And aspens are my favorite tree.

More likely it was a combination of both in addition to the amazing buildings that was deteriorating, instead of the ones at Bodie that were maintained in 'arrested decay'.

I wasn't able to find out much about the mine. But according to a bit of googling, it was built in the early 1900's and was active till 1938. Then again in the 1950s and 1960s, a sole prospector worked the mine, supporting himself, but never striking it rich.

Now, if you can get to it, you can explore the mine freely. Just be kind to the surroundings so others can appreciate it, too. It's really a remarkable spot in California's mining history.

This main building seemed to take center stage.



But the other smaller buildings were just as amazing.



With breathtaking views.

Not sure if this was a place of worship, or just a power line perfectly placed...

But doesn't this invoke the Wild Wild West to you?

Exploring the ruins of the main building was very interesting.

Imagine the people and now ghosts(!) that wandered through these rooms.

Watching the aspens quake in the wind and change colors in the fall.


Or prepare for the bitter cold of winter. At 8100 feet elevation, winters were harsh, windy and covered in several feet of snow.

But the dreams of finding "gold in them thar hills" was enough to keep the mine running.


I'm sure you can see why this spot is so amazing. We could have spent half the day exploring this area, but we were just beginning our day.

But seven hours later, we rode by it again on our way back to the car and caught the mine at that perfect Golden Hour moment.











The best way to start and end a day packed with back country exploring.

Bodie Ghost Town

Last week Jimmy and I went on a long ride on the ATV in Eastern California and Nevada.
The area is very remote but in 1859, gold was discovered and the small mining town of Bodie, named after W.S. Bodey, was built. However, it wasn't till 1876 that the town became a 'boomtown' and grew rapidly. It became infamous for wickedness and badmen. Killings occurred regularly, almost on a daily basis.

It was known as the "worst climate out of doors" and can still be described as that. At an elevation of 8400', winters see subzero temperatures, an average of 93" of snowfall per year and 100 mph wind is not unusual. Summer days can be hot, yet nights are very cold, often falling below freezing.

The town went through many ups and downs in population through the late 1800s, but in 1915 it was labeled a ghost town, though it still had a few dozen permanent residents. In 1962, it became a State Historic Park but only about 5% of the buildings remain compared to what it had in its heyday. The remaining buildings are kept in a state of 'arrested decay' meaning that the structures will be maintained, but only to the extent that they will not be allowed to fall over or otherwise deteriorate in a major way.

During our ride, we approached Bodie from the north.
From here we could see how exposed it was to the elements and how much they had excavated the surrounding hillside.

We entered though the back way, but had to drive up to the main entrance to pay the fee. The sign says "Bodie State Historic Park Elevation 8375 feet".

The Methodist Church was built in 1882 and is the only church still standing.

The last service was in 1932.

James Stuart Cain residence. Cain came to Bodie when he was 25, entered the lumber business transporting lumber to the mines via barges he built on Mono Lake. Later he expanded into wagon and railroad freighting. He eventually acquired the Standard Mine and Mill and became the town's principal property owner.

Kirkwood house and barn. Kirkwood owned the main stable.

Metzger House. Henry Metzger came to Bodie in 1878 from New York and worked at the mill till 1916. Two of his seven children were born in this house.

Looking out towards Maiden Lane. That far building was on Maiden Lane or "Virgin Alley". Ladies of the night lived and worked here in a row of one-room cabins.

Chinatown. There were several hundred Chinese residents who peddled vegetables, operated laundries and cut, hauled and sold firewood. They maintained their separate customs and traditions. They had their own general store, saloon, gambling halls and Taoist temple but the Opium parlors were open to both Chinese and Caucasian alike.

Site of the Bodie Bank.

All that remains is the vault, the structure burned in 1932.

Ruins of a stone warehouse.

The Standard Mine and Mill. Its success caused the 1878 rush and within a year, the population rose from about 20 miners to 10,000. The mill last operated in 1938. It had produced nearly $100 million in gold and silver during it's lifespan.

Swazey Hotel.

Window into the past.

Inside one of the homes.

The 1st school house burned down by an early-day juvenile delinquent, so it moved to this location, originally the Bon Ton Lodging house, which was built in 1879.

Piano inside the school house.

A peak inside the morgue.

Inside a saloon.

Looking inside the general store and warehouse. Owned by Harvey Boone, a direct descendant of Daniel Boone.

Gasoline pumps in front of the general store.

This is what it looked like circa 1890
During its peak, there were over 2000 buildings buildings in Bodie. When it became a State Park in 1962, less than 175 buildings remained.
I found this image on Bodie's wikipedia page. Additionally, I got most of my information from the pamphlet they gave us when we the State Park.