Bodie and Mono Lake Field Trip
September 6-8, 2006
Wow! What a trip! Twenty four members drove over 600 miles to make the round trip to Bodie, an old ghost town out in the middle of nowhere. We drove up the washboard dirt road and headed straight towards the big billowy thunderheads that filled the intensely blue sky. In Bodie, the rustic old wooden buildings were lit by the late afternoon sun. The dry grassy weeds blew in the breeze, and the bright yellow rabbit brush glowed in the sun.
After months of tedious planning, coordination and preparation by our trip leaders, Sue Craft, Kay Hendrickson, and Tylene Trout, our trip to Bodie and Mono Lake finally came about and was among the most enjoyable and rewarding trips we’ve ever taken!
There was so much to consider in putting all this together; the best time of the year to go, the lunar cycles, motel accommodations, meals, carpools, insurance, and special access.
The main thing that made this trip so special was the dedication and cooperation of the park rangers – notably Ranger Rod. Ranger Rod took a day off work in order to grant our group special access to the park before its scheduled opening time and beyond its scheduled closing time. He also stayed with our group giving us an orientation of the park and then special access to the inside of four different buildings, which our leaders selected. This special access is rarely granted to the public, and then usually at a cost of hundreds of dollars per person!
Starting off our trip, about half of us met at Denny’s in Mojave for breakfast before the long ride to Lee Vining. Kay had maps and more trip info available and we talked about everything over breakfast. On arrival at Lee Vining, we met again for lunch at the Whoa Nellie Deli before checking into our motels, taking a short rest and heading on to Bodie.
Of course, the picture taking began immediately as there was so much neat stuff there. Some of our group was so wound up taking pics that they missed our 4:00 pm meeting for our group photo and short workshop by Lyle Trusty. Lyle gave the group some tips on camera settings, polarizers, and graduated neutral density filters. People then scattered in all different directions, photographing old buildings, old mining equipment, reflections on the windows, and even the sage grouse.
As the sun started getting low in the sky we all headed for the hillside and picked out prime spots to photograph the sunset over Bodie. Our dates for Bodie were chosen so that we could photograph the full moon rising over the town. We watched the sun set and then saw the sky light up in full glory. There was a heavy cloud cover to the east, and we waited, waited, waited for the moon to show its face. Finally, it flashed for a moment – so brief that those that saw it could not believe their eyes! Yes, that evening required some pretty fast action on the shutter release. Did anyone get a clear shot of the moon???
Wrapping up the day at Bodie, we headed back to town where some of us met again for snacks and to share tales of the day at the Tioga Lodge.
After a short nights rest, we were up again very early to head back to Bodie to catch the sunrise.
This time we were really scattered about over the opposite hillside, everyone hoping to capture the town in a unique way as the sun slowly came over the horizon. As usual, during the wait, we shared some of our photo secrets and simply enjoyed the company of our fellow members.
After our sunrise shots, we had a bit more time to photograph the town before Ranger Rod met with everyone for a briefing and talk about the history of Bodie. Then, it was time to begin touring the interiors of the selected buildings.
Our leaders had a schedule worked out where everyone had a time slot for each building. It worked out perfectly! We were in groups of five and each group had fifteen minutes in each building with Ranger Rod. We were cautioned not to touch anything as there were many fragile and historic artifacts throughout the interiors.
Even the layers of dust had not been disturbed by human touch for many years. With the exception of some of the various artifacts being stored within these buildings, the interiors appeared to be just as they were left, many years ago. We went into Boone’s General Store, the Schoolhouse, the Wheaton & Hollis Hotel, and Lottie’s House. Ranger Rod gave us a fascinating history lesson on Bodie and some of it’s residents.
This was really an experience that most photographers can only dream of. For us, it was a reality!
After spending a whole day at Bodie, most of the group stopped for a quick nap before heading to Mono Lake for sunset. The sky didn’t light up quite as much as the night before, but we were still treated to a storm filled sky, a few raindrops, reflections on the lake, and even a partial double rainbow.
The foreground was filled with bright yellow bushes, the white tufa lit up with the afternoon sun, and the background was filled with dark storm clouds. Beautiful!
After sunset at Mono Lake, 17 of us dined with Ranger Rod at the Tioga Lodge Restaurant for dinner. This was really a good place to eat, and even though we were all a bit tired, we had such a great day at Bodie, we were anxious to share stories of the day, have a good meal, and thank Ranger Rod for making this special experience possible.
Ranger Rod had some special stories of his own to share over dinner. Sue had prepared a certificate of appreciation, which she and Kay presented to Ranger Rod, along with a donation to the Friends of Bodie from our group.
The next morning, a few hardy souls, and a few more who were worn out (but didn’t want to miss anything), made it to Mono Lake for the sunrise and moonset over the mountains.
The sun came up, the moon went down, the tufa lit up, and the reflections on the lake were colorful! Once we finally took all the pictures there were, we started heading home. Some of us met up in Bishop for breakfast before continuing the long ride home.
Everyone was exhausted after all those long hours, all the hiking/walking at 8,400 ft, all the sunshine, and the workout from lugging around all the camera gear and heavy tripods. May your reward be a lot of fantastic photos, and some great memories!!!
It should be mentioned that gaining access to Bodie before/after hours, was no easy task, as we had to purchase a million dollar liability policy and get a permit from the California Film Commission. We were extremely lucky to get inside some of the buildings. Thank you to Ranger Rod for volunteering his time to be with us!
This was not only one of our most memorable and enjoyable trips, but was a “Once in a lifetime” experience. Many thanks go to Sue, Kay and Tylene for putting this all together and making it happen, and to Ranger Rod for making it all possible!
By John Shedrick and Paul Craft
Group photo by John Shedrick
