Bodie, Bridgeport, California

[carbon_dragon]

<p>I'm considering a photo vacation probably next spring to go visit the Bodie ghost town. Just a little tooling around the web seems to indicate the easiest way is to fly into Reno and rent a car and drive about 2 hours to get to Bridgeport and base there. Is that right, or is there a smarter way?</p>

<p>Any particular place to stay while there? Any place I should definitely see other than Bodie? Thanks.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>I used to drive from southern california up to that area all the time. But when I moved to Portland, I did need to do a photoshoot there for a client. We did fly into Reno and stayed in Bridgeport--actually just a ways outside in a nice little place that was closer to the northern access road. I don't know how long you are going to be there, but Bodie is probably a days worth of shooting--be sure you can get in, it does snow deep in there!</p>

<p>The area has a lot to offer. Bodie is not far from Mono Lake and Mammoth Mountain, which sometimes has late year skiing--if it does when you are there, Bodie probably wouldn't be accessible yet! Anyway, Devil's Postpile is in Mammoth as well as many other high country lakes and such. One of the roads into Bodie is actually right adjacent to Mono lake and you could stay in the town, Lee Vining, there as well. This is also where the Tioga Pass comes out and it is an easy drive up into that area and the high country of Yosemite. You will also be very close to Lundy Lake and the canyon there. You can hike up behind the lake to the hanging valleys or just poke around the valley there. At one time there was a great beaver pond behind the "resort" there--term is used very loosely! Then there is the whole June Lake loop and all the hiking trails into the Sierra Mtns there. Essentially, there is a whole bunch of stuff around there--have fun.</p>

[david_henderson]

<blockquote>

<p>is there a smarter way?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Well if your trip is Bodie specific in the springtime then the smart way would be to make sure that the snow has materially gone before you commit to your flight. I tried to go in 2006 and on and around May 1st I couldn't get in driving a 4wd after substantial late snowfall. Note that the road appears closed long after the park is open, and the best plan IMO is to telephone the rangers at Bodie and get their view of whether the road is passable. Not such a big issue for me since I also wanted to spend time in the Sierras, at Mono Lake, and in the Owens Valley. But if Bodie had been my major objective----.</p>

<p>One other word. When you're reserving your hotel, make sure there's going to be somewhere open to eat. Last time I booked into a hotel in Lee Vining - at the very end of April- I was told that the restaurants/cafes hadn't opened yet because of the snow meaning little business, and that the nearest place to eat would be June Lake- so i stayed down there too. </p>

[the world in black white]

<p>David: Is snow conditions permit, you might consider visiting the Bristlecone Pines, out of Owens Valley. Methusela, formerly called the oldest living thing on Earth (7400 years) is in this forest.</p>

 

[craig_gillette]

<p>Access to Bodie would depend on snow conditions and as others have noted, it's not entirely predictable when the roads will be open. Highway 395 and the other main roads are generally always kept plowed and open but Tioga Pass isn't. The general trout season in the eastern Sierra opens the last Saturday in April so a lot of the fishing based resorts/facilities won't open until then, many open later as the roads open and the lakes become fishable. Ski areas will run until there isn't enough snow. Some of the facilities in Lee Vining may not be open (I believe some of the restaurants and motels are.) What that can mean is the "opening weekend" is a big event and lodging will likely be slammed near Crowley Lake between skiing and fishing that weekend (Bishop to mammoth and maybe farther in both directions). Bridgeport is a nice small town, and if you can get reservations, it's pretty close to Bodie. I don't know if it's hit too hard by the fishing opening.</p>

<p>When you consider that much of the area is 7000 - 8000 feet in elevation and higher, spring comes late and may of the roads into the mountains will still be closed and the lakes frozen over. Because the road to Red's Meadow and Devil's Postpile crosses Minaret Summit at over 9,000 feet (in the Mammoth Mountain ski resort area), that road can be a long time in opening, the schedule is similar to that of Tioga's opening/closing dates. I'm not sure how near to the summit they plow in the resort but if you can get to the summit area, there is a spectacular view of the Minarets and Ritter range.</p>

<p>In the Reno area, there is the Lake Tahoe and Donner Pass, Carson City, the capital of Nevada has some interesting historical museums, a railroad museum and also the the silver mining boom town of Virginia City is still a rather randy not quite ghost town. Depending on schedules and funds, etc., there may be some old trains running at the musueum and the Virginia and Truckee may be running something near Virginia City (I haven't kept up with restoration efforts). Again, high country so "spring" can require some flexibility and working around snow.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>Would Fall be better? Or Summer? I want to make sure I can get there (to avoid the snow) and I want the rangers to be there etc. My planning is in such early stages that I could really plan for any time of year.</p>

[craig_gillette]

<p>Summer would certainly allow you to get there, but it's a fairly popular tourist site, there would be problems with trying to keep people out of your shots. The weather is typically good but thunderstorms are fairly common in summer in the area of the Sierra Crest. Which means there can be some spectacular cloud formations in the area. It's not impossible to even have snow in the high country but that's pretty unusual.</p>

<p>Fall is less likely to have crowds, getting towards cold weather and early snow - which isn't likely to seriously impact visiting Bodie. One thing to consider is that the peak of fall color change is typically about the first weekend of October and in a good year, the displays of aspens can be quite spectacular and it's a popular photographic destination.</p>

<p>Here are some vacation trip shots from that area in both summer and fall. The area in the pictures ranges from Mt. Whitney to Donner Pass. As you get into the fall season, more and more of the fishing "resorts" and other facilities that depend on non-ski tourism begin to close for the season although lodging in Bridgeport, the June Lake area and Mammoth Lakes/Mammoth Mountain area is available.</p>

<p>http://www.pbase.com/gillettecraig/sierra2006</p>

<p>http://www.pbase.com/gillettecraig/eastsierra05</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>Fall would tend to be more predictable, expecially if you time it to coincide with the foliage, and at that time should you wish you'll probably be able to cross the passes into Yosemite etc too- its a few years since the winter closure started in October Also, one advantage of fall vs spring is that sunrise and sunset tend to be at more sociable times of day.<br>

The other idea of course is to do spring but later - I was really unlucky not to be able to drive to Bodie in early May, so I'd have thought that a trip mid month would be pretty safe with the prospect of some snow still on the tops of the Sierras too. From the point of view of getting round from there Tioga has opened before 20th May in five of the last ten years.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>I tend to need to operate pretty near the car these days, and I thought Bodie would be a nice place to visit, especially as I was born in Merced, a short distance away. Haven't been there since I was a baby though.</p>

<p>I'll probably try it in early Fall. Thanks for all your input. I expect I'll try to visit Bodie and Mono Lake at least and we'll see what else I have the energy for. I have plenty of time to do my research and I'll use the places you've all mentioned as starting places for the research. It's a bit too far to drive from Atlanta though, so that means flying and I'm not looking forward to getting my camera gear on the plane.</p>

<p>It will be the first time I've done that since the film era. At least I don't have to worry about hand inspecting all my film at the xray machine.</p>