Bodie State Historic Park, off Highway 395, California. Rated ★★★★☆
I drive up and down 395 every couple of years, and I’ve had Bodie on my to-do list for many of those years, but I always thought of it as having a 20 mile rocky dirt road, so I hadn’t attempted it till now. Turns out they’ve paved nearly all of that road, and the remaining few miles are nicely graded and easily passable by 2wd vehicles. Which I guess is good for most, and unfortunate for a few who wanted a bouncy adventure! I walked all around town taking photos and listened to the guide’s presentation about the history of the area. Really enjoyed the history and the buildings “kept in a state of arrested decay”. Enjoyed imagining the place in the winter with ten foot snowdrifts, and living here when there were tens of thousands of miners and hundreds of saloons and whorehouses. There’s also a tour of the mine, which is normally closed, if you’re there at the right time of day. Wish there was a nice easy camping place right nearby — like maybe on the road up here. I stayed up in the forest camping near Buckeye, west of Bridgeport.