"And now my comrades all are gone;
Naught remains to toast
They have left me here in my misery,
Like some poor wandering ghost." -Unknown

There are touristy ghost towns like Tombstone, AZ, and uncommercialzed, authentic ghost towns such as Bodie. Although five percent of the original town remains, the town is eye candy for amateur and professional photographers alike.

Located in the Eastern Sierras of California, Bodie once boasted a population of 10,000 people thus making one of the largest towns in California during its time. With a combination of gamblers, miners, prospectors and corrupt politicians it was rumoured a murder took place once a day in the town. To keep Bodie unique and authentic, the state park service has maintained a policy called "arrested decay." The original buildings will remain as they are with little or no maintenance from the park rangers.

A walk through the town is literally a walk into the past...only this time as visitors you have a good chance of coming out alive.

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Photos and text copyright by Sam Antonio. To purchase prints, use an image for your site or to license an image please contact me click here to send me an email or leave a comment in my guestbook.