Ghost Town Run

By
Bob Mabey

There can be challenges if you want to cross the Sierras through some of the higher passes after traversing the Great Basin.  If Tioga and Sonora passes are open it may be uncomfortably hot and dry crossing the basin.  If the basin is pleasant, the passes are probably closed. That’s pretty much what happened to Ken and myself as we dogged range fires all the way westbound and saw a spectacular fire burning up the hillside in the evening just north of Carson City. Things improved the next morning as we ran south along 395 toward Bodie. It was cooler and the scenery was great with the Sierras just off our right hand.  We were still feeling good about the great family style Basque meal we’d had at Louis’ in Reno the night before (about three blocks east of Circus Circus – don’t miss it if you get the chance to stop by).

I’d been past the Bodie turn off years before with out going twenty miles out of my way and then had read about it in travel articles several times after that, realizing what I’d missed and wondering if I’d ever get the chance to see it.  This was that chance and we took it.  Waterman S. Bodie discovered gold on the hillside above what became the town of Bodie in 1859. By the 1870’s it was a town of 10,000 featuring shootings and killings almost daily in or around one of its 65 saloons.  It was also noted for its scorching summers and twenty below winters. One small girl supposedly wrote in her diary, “Goodbye God.  We’re moving to Bodie.” The town gradually died, but only after the mines gave up more than 100 million in gold (real money in those days) and was empty by WWII. There are over seventy buildings on the walking tour where you can look in the windows at the furniture, utensils, bedding, and anything else imaginable. Everything is covered with dust because the town is maintained in a state of “arrested decay”.  Roofs and windows appear to be kept relatively water tight, but nothing inside has been touched since the houses and businesses were abandoned. The funeral parlor even features small wooden caskets under construction or leaning against the wall.  Bodie, California.  Put it on your list.

That afternoon we traveled over Tioga pass and through Yosemite to Mariposa.  The ride was beautiful, but turned hot with heavy traffic leaving the park. It was already a bit late in the year to visit California gold rush country so we sprung for an air conditioned room and a shower. The next morning we made some special stops around Mariposa and then pushed on for Columbia.  Again it got a bit hot for motorcyclists, at least two from Utah, but was a beautiful twisting ride along Highway 49 (49’ers get it?) through Gold Rush country. We did the walking tour down the brick buildings on Columbia Main Street, and headed out for Sonora Pass and back to Nevada.

I prefer Sonora to some of the other Sierra passes because the road is too steep and narrow for bigger vehicles. That eliminates all motor home and trailer traffic and most cars so we had the road pretty much to ourselves once we started to climb.  It was nice and cool at 9,400 feet too! We descended in to Bridgeport for dinner and headed past Mono Lake to Hawthorne, Nevada, to gas up.  Then it was east toward Tonopah and north up Nevada 361 to the ghost town of Berlin to camp for the night.

I’ve always wondered if Highway 50 is “the loneliest highway in America”, then what in the hell are the highways that branch off 50?  One of those would be 361. We rolled in to Berlin at sunset and camped in the junipers about a mile away from the old stamping mill.  We forgot about our tents and went with mattresses and sleeping bags on the ground. All of us should be required to sleep in the desert under the stars at least once a year to keep life in perspective. Nowhere else can you see the heavens like this.  A delightfully cool and gentle breeze came down the hill for perfect sleeping. The half moon set after midnight and the heavens became even more spectacular. This is definitely one situation where it is a treat to wake up in the middle of the night to answer the call of nature!

The next morning we fired up the stoves for coffee, tea, and oatmeal, then headed north to hit Highway 50 at Austin.  This took us over dirt and gravel roads to another ghost town, Ione, and past some very isolated ranches for about 80 miles, but Ken was introduced to the true spirit of the GS ride and no longer felt uncomfortable off the pavement. Our only problem on the trip happened just east of Eureka on Highway 50 after breakfast in Austin. I’ll just say that Ken and his bike ended up staying in Eureka for the night while I rode on home to return the next morning with the truck. I call that story “The Mormon Cricket Run”.