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| Along Sonora Pass |
After hooking up with Joan and Ted and Terri at the park and ride lot in Cotati we headed for Highway 12 eastbound. Highway 50, our usual route to Highway 395 was closed due to the Caulder Fire burning adjacent to it and Highway 89. Our options were either 80, Highway 120 through Yosemite or Highway 180 over the dreaded (so we'd heard) Sonora Pass.
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Another view along the pass
The drive was pretty uneventful. We made a stop in Jamestown at Railtown 1897 for a picnic lunch. It was a lovely day for early September in the Gold Country, the temperature was in the mid-seventies. After lunch we continued on over the mountains and down the pass, which was a slow go with all the twists and turns, but the drive was filled with wonderful granite mountains and unseen territory for us. Once we were down the mountain we were about 30 minutes from our campsite at Robinson Creek, which was 10 miles west of the town of Bridgeport. |
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| Final view along Sonora Pass |
After lunch we continued on over the mountains and down the pass, which was a slow go with all the twists and turns, but the drive was filled with wonderful granite mountains and unseen territory for us. Once we were down the mountain we were about 30 minutes from our campsite at Robinson Creek, which was 10 miles west of the town of Bridgeport.
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| Our home for 5 nights, site 9 |
I was concerned about the campground being overrun since only campground in the Humbolt Toyabe National Forest had remained open when the US Department of Forestry closed all other National Forests because of an inability to protect them if any more fires were to break out. Surprisingly it was sparsely populated when we arrived on Thursday although it to fill up by Saturday night.
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| Regular visitors |
The deer have evidently been well fed by visitors as they were not afraid to approach us. This doe and her fans were right in our campsite. The next day they joined me down by the creek. We were also amused by the antics of the ground squirrels as they chased one another around the trunk of a pine tree. The one that crawled into the truck when I accidentally left the door open, and was closed inside the cab for a bit was not quite so amusing. We knew he was there by his tell tale droppings. After searching for him I started banging around behind the seats and he flew out the door past Mark's shoulder just like Rocky the Flying Squirrel.
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Along Robinson Creek
The creek was just across from our campsite and we could hear it from our bed at night. |
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| Robinson Creek |
Sitting alongside the creek was a lovely respite from the afternoon sun. Terri and I saw 5 messengers manuevering up the stream.
Curious about what was on the Bridgeport Reservoir we picnicked at a park along side it and discovered what was there.
The reservoir abounded with birds, there were oodles of stilts, lots more ibis than we saw on our visit to the valley, white pelicans flying along looking for food a tasty morsel, heron and ring neck seagulls. The RV park was not great, but might be worth a stay just to watch the birds and hookups would make it so the camper could be heated in April!
Bodie Bluff
The idea for this trip to Bodie State Park came to me when I read about Ghost Walks that the Bodie Foundation Sponsors. We booked reservations in March. On Sunday Evening at 6:00 we traveled about 45 minutes to Bodie State Park for our tour. The evening began bright, sunny and warm.
We were lead by a guide to stations where volunteers roll playing period characters from Bodies past recounted tales of ghosts in Bodies present and past history.
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This character from the Wild West recounted the story of Jerry the mule who lived in the mine because he was to fat to get through the passageway and out.
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The mine was along the summit of the hill. Jerry was killed in a fire in the mine.
To this day Jerry is seen walking along the bluff at the top of the hill.
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| Immigrant from Cornwall |
This lovely British lady told the tale of the Tommy Knockers, wee folks who hid in the luggage of miner's from Cornwall who came to Bodie in the 1870's. The miners were called Cousin Jacks. The Tommy Knockers would protect the miners and made a loud knocking sound to alert the miners when they needed to get out of the mines. They also like to play games by moving things and playing jokes. More information on the Tommy Knockers.
Best role play of the evening!She told stories of shootings and lynchings.
Lady Jole had lived in this house and she and her husband were upstanding members of the community, articles were often written about them and there participation in local society in the newspaper. She became ill and the pharmacist prescribed salts. Rather than salts, she received poison and died. The house later became the postoffice.
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| Lady Jole's chair |
Lady Joel was seen recently by a film crew sitting in this chair.
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| Mrs. Friend |
Mrs. Friend's husband had pneumonia and died when she was 22, he was 33. She was one of 2 undertakers in town. She recounted the story of the importance of a wake so that there would not be a premature burial. Loved ones were buried with bell ropes so they could ring the bell if they woke up. Once someone heard them they were dug up and thus "saved by the bell'.
I did find another account which states that it was used in boxing when a boxer was in danger of losing a bout and the bell rang, it was saving the boxer from defeat.
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| The Dechambeau Residence |
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| Window in Dechambeau Residence where a woman often peers down |
By the time we hiked backed to the parking lot the sun had set and the drive back to the campground had become a ghastly adventure!
The area we camped in is considered Twin Lakes. The above photo is of Lower Twin Lake. All the white on the minarets above the lake is granite. We were so happy to have a few days that were smoke free so that we could enjoy the beautiful blue sky.
Twin Lakes is a great place to camp and explore the area around 395. Besides Bodie we checked out another almost ghost town about an hour and a half southeast.
In 1860s silver was discovered near by Benton and it became busy with competing hotels, stables, saloons, breweries, newspapers and shops.
The historic general store also served as Wells Fargo station, stagecoach stop and post office.
Bodie was the longest standing mining town rival, Dogtown and Monoville appeared and soon vanished. In 1883 the Carson&Colorado Railroad built it’s station 4 miles east of the general store. The town of Benton grew around it and this place became known as Benton Hot Springs.
Sudden deaths that could leave restless spirits were common: murder, suiside, acute illness, accidents in the mine and mill. Prominenet citizens included Robert Morrison, a store keeper deputized in 1871 to pursue prison escapees who murdered him at Convict Lake; and F.B. Remington, a proprietor of the store who died right in front of it! The motive for his 1914 suicide by cyanide is still a mystery.
When the silver ran out, the hot springs still flowed. A series of entrepreneurs appealed to the tourist dreams of their era- hotel, health spa, dude ranch, motel-and the bed an breakfast of today.
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| The hot spring, it was hot! |
On our final day after a lazy morning around camp we drove over to Buckeye Campground, what a spectacular view along that road, and hiked along Buckeye creek, we thought. We followed Buckeye trail for about and hour past a small meadow and turned around and headed back to the trailhead. It was well over 80 degrees and getting a bit warm.
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| Aspens just beginning to change color. |
We continued along the road but made a circle and ended up on Highway 395 north of Bridgeport. All that hiking had earned us rooter floats in town at the Jolly Cone.
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| Meadow |
We continued along the road but made a circle and ended up on Highway 395 north of Bridgeport. All that hiking had earned us rooter floats in town at the Jolly Cone.
Tuesday came and it was time to head back over the mountains and home. Every day when we'd had cell service we'd tried to get reservations at Yosemite for Tuesday so we could stop, but there were no day passes available.
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Granite mountainside along Tioga Pass
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| More granite along Tioaga Pass |
We decided to drive through on 120 anyway and at least experience the beauty that is Yosemite from the road, no stops allowed.
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