Bodie in Winter...

Middle of March at Virginia Creek these ears happen upon a conversation relating to the mysteries of our old ghost camp up 270. A nice German couple had grand thoughts of hiking 13 miles and figured with no weather in Bridgeport all was dandy. Jaws hit the floor including mine when the proprietors of the settlement informed all that the arctic plain was still under 10 feet of snow! We hadn't had a storm come through town in nearly 6 weeks. How could it be??!! The allure of Bodie to miners, bar keeps, prostitutes and pokes was immense in the late 1870's. 10,000 roamed the boardwalks in search of fortune. 65 saloons lined the roads. There was a fire brigade, a baseball club and no perceptible law. But Bodie's time was running thin. Area township Bridgeport was due to become the new Mono County seat, state lines were drawn and the silver was abundant but not limitless. Another problem was where Bodie sat, 8,379 feet. With winds that ramped at 100 mph and bitter cold, sometimes -20 below for weeks on end the lifeblood of a camp could only take so much. Eventually it became what it is today. But the frozen season is intact and rages! A frightful code cracked by none. The spirits tell yarns on drifting snow bends late in the Moon of Popping Trees. Only the Crow and Brush Wolf eye the buildings. Bodie in Winter is a mean bitch...RW
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