Spooky Trip: Bodie, CA.

When I was a kid, I was a little let down when I found out what a "ghost town" was. The name sounded delightfully ghoulish, but the reality was a little more complicated: Rather than towns full of ghosties, the term actually referred to places that were abandoned, frozen in time. As I grew up, I came around to the notion of the ghost town, and now I can safely say that I absolutely love them.

The first one I ever visited was Calico, a California ghost town on the way to Las Vegas, and it was amazing. According to many, however, Calico is not "authentic." It was owned by Walter Knott (of Knott's Berry Farm, of course!) and many of the buildings are replicas, rather than true relics. Thus, it was decided that I had to visit a real ghost town. Our choice: Bodie, California. Bodie has a rich and storied history that epitomizes how we think of "the Wild West," and I highly recommend a visit - but hurry, before the Governator closes the park! (Now that's scary.)

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our trip:

The road to Bodie.

Abandoned cars. (People lived in Bodie until the 1930s!)

The church, where a scroll featuring the Ten Commandments was stolen.

Horse-drawn hearse.

Two interior shots of the town mortuary.

The old schoolhouse.

The old stamp mill.

Yes, they celebrated Halloween in Bodie! The interior of the schoolhouse is enjoying an eternal October.

If you can make the trip, don't hesitate. Bodie is certainly a fascinating, spooky place.