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Mono Lake & Bodie, CADay 6 probably should have been devoted completely to Yosemite, but I didn't have that kind of time, and there were a couple of attractions worth visiting, before crossing back over Tioga Pass. One was Mono Lake.
Mono Lake is famous for the odd shaped limestone formations that spike up from below the water's surface. They're called Tufa, and they actually grow while under water. When Los Angeles started diverting water to the city in the 1940's, the water level at Mono Lake dropped, exposing the strange Tufa formations.
There are several great places to view Tufa. I stopped at one of the boardwalks along US 395, but the best Tufa display is at the South Tufa Area. To get there, take US 395 south from Lee Vining, then turn east on CA Hwy. 120. The area will be well marked on your left. After my quick visit to Mono Lake, I continued north
on US 395, then turned right on CA Hwy. 270, which leads to the ghost
town of Bodie.
Bodie, CA - Ghost TownBodie may very well be the best historic example of a wild west gold mining boomtown, and the very best modern-day example of a ghost town. Dozens of long-empty houses still stand, many with furniture still inside. Scattered about the town, you'll also find old mining equipment, now frozen from old age.
This equipment is some of the first you'll encounter, right by Bodie's main parking area.
They had electricity, but not indoor plumbing. Back in Bodie's boom days, this was among the town's most modern facilities. (The park now features toilets that actually flush!)
A few old houses in Bodie are open, and allow you to walk inside. At others, you can peer in through the dusty window panes. Most have warped floors and paper peeling from the walls.
The town had everything you'd expect to find on main street...
...including a soda fountain...
... and a church. Actually, there were several places of worship, and many more buildings, before fire swept through the town, back in 1932, destroying 90 percent of the buildings. The town couldn't rebuild after that catastrophe, and almost all the people who lived here, took off in a hurry.
The bell tower above the Methodist Church.
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