Archive for the ‘California State Parks’ Category

Feb

2013

Support Your Local Ghost Town: Bodie SHP

I can recommend a visit to your local ghost town. Seeing the remains of an active settlement gone vacant provides a vivid read on reality. There seems to be so much inertia in even a small town that I find it remarkable that a place that was home to thousands could later become completely absent of people. But there it is, unequivocal evidence.

In this entry we explore the famous ghost town of Bodie, CA. The town is preserved as a State Historic Park (SHP), operated by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The historic district lies along CA-270, about 13 miles east of the junction with US 395.

The preceding three images were made near the ruins of the Head Frame and Machinery site.

There are few casual visitors to Bodie. Virtually everyone who visits is also visiting someplace else as their first choice: Mono Lake most probably, or Mammoth Mountain for skiing, or perhaps just lost heading east out of Yosemite National Park.

There is a wide range of ruination amongst the remaining structures. The minimalist shacks, as shown above, have not stood up very well over time. On the other hand, better-built houses (the McDonald House on the west side of Fuller Street), as shown below, look as though they might still be occupied.

The following three images are of the old Methodist Church, located at the corner of Fuller and Green Streets.

Bodie lies on a treeless and exposed plateau at about 8400 ft above sea level: a rare example of subarctic tundra at latitude 38 degrees north. As you scan through the images in this set I invite to find the trees.

The story of Bodie is the story of gold mining in the American west. In 1859 gold was discovered in the area, but mining in Bodie was overshadowed by efforts in Aurora and Virginia City until 1876, when a large deposit was discovered. Bodie grew rapidly in the next few years, attaining a population of greater than 5000 by 1879. By the early 1880’s the area had been mined-out and growth had reversed course, leading to the long decline of Bodie that was complete by 1915: 50 good years, a solid run by the American standard for mining villages.

The image below is of the Schoolhouse along Green Street. Peering through the front windows reveals the stuff of grammar school life, desks, books, a globe, there is even bits of a lesson remaining on the chalkboard. The second image below is of the Conway House. Robert Conway ran supply wagons between Carson City (NV) and Bodie.

The image above was shot looking west down Green Street. The road in the distance is the Bodie-Masonic Road, which links Bodie with Masonic, CA, another ghost town – never as large as Bodie, nor as well preserved (according to reports, never been there personally).

The two images below are of important buildings on Main Street. The first, directly below, is the Barber Shop. The second image is of the Boone Store and Warehouse, which is right on the corner of Green and Main, which would have been the busiest intersection in town.

The two images below are of the lovely James Stuart Cain House. A beautifully-preserved gallery of glass lies behind a remarkably elaborate exterior wall of small window panes. Although the town was named after the guy who discovered gold here (but who never lived to actually see the town), it was Cain who was the real empire-builder (timber). Cain was the principal landowner during Bodie’s most active period.

Images in this entry were recorded at around mid-day on November 15, 2012, using the Nikon D4 and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at various focal lengths. Exposures were in the range of f/8 to f/11, with shutters speeds between 1/800s and 1/1250s, +0.33 EV (corrected in processing). All images recorded handheld.

For more information regarding Bodie and mining in the eastern Sierra, please consult the following resources:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509

The park brochure, with an excellent map, in PDF format may be found here:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/509/files/BodieSHP2010.pdf

Posted in Adventure, California State Parks, Ghost Towns | 1 Comment »

Jan

2013

The Many Moods of Mono Lake

On a recent visit to the eastern Sierra town of Mammoth Lakes, I had the opportunity, nay pleasure, of making several short sorties to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake State Natural Reserve. Mid-November is perhaps not the most obvious time to visit, but the weather moving through the region during the late fall of 2012 made for compelling skies.

The story of the Mono Basin is legend amongst the environmentally aware… A lake forsaken to quench the thirst of the City of Los Angeles, only to be saved (apparently) through the efforts of many, culminating in the historic court case between the National Audubon Society versus Superior Court.

In 1941, an increasingly thirsty City of Los Angeles began systematically diverting water flowing into Mono south towards the city water supply. The lake level at the beginning of the diversions was 6417 ft above sea level (asl), with a lake volume of 43 million acre-ft, and this level establishes the condition of no exposed lakebed. The diversion continued unchecked for four decades, and by January of 1982 the lake level had fallen to 6372 ft asl (a change of 45 ft), losing just of half of the original lake volume, and exposing over 18,000 acres of lakebed.

As of October, 2012, the lake level was 6382.4 ft asl (LA DWP). The current lake level target is 6392 ft asl (as mandated by the State Water Board in 1994). The tufa formations along the South Tufa Trail range to about 20 ft above the current lake level, so much of what is currently visible will be covered by the additional 10 ft of water.

The four images above were recorded on the afternoon of November 14, 2012, using the Nikon D800E and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at various focal lengths. Exposures were f/8.0 or f/11.0 and 1/500s to 1/100os (+0.33 EV, corrected in raw conversion), ISO 400.

The next day I arrived at the South Tufa area at 09:00 PST. The air was crisp and clear and the light was winter cool. The image above and the three that follow below were shot look east towards Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs.

All of the images (save one) in this entry were recorded from along the southern shore of Mono Lake in the South Tufa Area. To get there, depart US 395 5 miles south of Lee Vining, and travel northeast for 4.7 miles along Mono Basin Road (CA 120). Turn left (north) onto Test Station Road and travel another mile to the South Tufa parking lot (fee required). A boardwalk leads from the parking area to the southern shore of the lake. Here you will find the most extensive tufa formations.

The image above is typical of the sort of scenery visible from along the boardwalk. The three images below were shot looking north across the lake. The angle of the sun in the late fall morning is perfect for capturing the eastern side of the South Tufa Area.

The eight images above were recorded on the morning of November 15, 2012, using the Nikon D800E and the 24-70mm lens at various focal lengths. Exposures were at f/11.0 and 1/800s (+0.33 EV), ISO 800.

The image below was recorded from Mono Basin overlook off of US 395, located about 0.2 mile south of the West Portal Road. This image was recorded looking northward at 12:30 on November 16, using the Nikon D4 and the 24-700mm f/2.8 lens at 60mm. Exposure was f/16.0 and 1/500s, ISO 1250.

The three final images were shot at the South Tufa Area later that same day using the same setup as described above. Exposures were f/8 or f/11 with shutter speeds between 1/400s and 1/800s, ISO 1000.