An original ghost town from the late 1800’s. Bodie Ghost Town stands today in a state of “arrested decay”. So coined by the State of California when they took over the town in 1962 to make it a State Historic Park. In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Ghost Town Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880! By that time, the town of Bodie Ghost Town bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters and prostitutes of all kinds. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Amongst the saloons were numerous brothels and ‘houses of ill repute’, gambling halls and opium dens. Needless to say that there was entertainment for every taste.After a long day working the claims, the miners would head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. The mixture of money, gold and alcohol would often prove fatal. It is said that there was a man killed every day in Bodie Ghost Town. Presumably, the undertaker never had a slow day.
Badlands National Park
The Lakota gave this land its name, “mako sica,” meaning “land bad.” Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park consists of 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. It is desolation at its truest, where you can look for miles … Read more