A Post-Apocalyptic Western in Bodie California

Chris Veldhuis
Mar 16, 2015
2 min read

While driving down from our campsite at Lake Tahoe we saw a sign telling us that we were nearby Bodie. I remembered reading something about this place and decided to take the turn. The road deteroriated and led us into the desert. In the distance we could see the Sierra Nevada, like a gigantic wall holding all the water. This landscape would perfectly fit a Western.

We drove very carefully, around holes, trying to save the coating of our rental. It was only twenty kilometers, but it took us half an hour. Bodie turned out to be surprisingly beautiful! I'm not a big fan of these kind of open air museums. Where I'm from they are mostly kind of lame, with recreated buildings and mannequins in old clothes. Bodie is very real, the buildings are real and it's like they are frozen in time. Once again I was very impressed by how Americans preserve their heritage. There was no big touristy atmosphere, it was all very modest and everything is carefully left the way it was when the last people left this town. Even the debris on the streets, scrap metal and glass, remain untouched.

Walking around this ghost town, looking inside every window was an awkward experience. I strongly felt like I didn't belong. Most of the furniture was still in place and there were still bottles of Seven Up, whisky and household products on tables and cabinets. I imagined myself the protagonist of an apocalyptic film. The feeling of being in a film is reinforced by the stories about the town: weekly murders, bankrobbers blowing up safes, tough miners fighting in the saloon, finding themselves a girl in one of the many brothels or getting their beards trimmed at the barbershop next door.