London Bridge in the USA

As we made our way back south, toward home, we had a few sights that we wanted to see, and the London Bridge was one of them.  The London Bridge had actually been rebuilt and replaced at least a few times over its history.  The Bridge that is now at Lake Havasu City, AZ, was built in England, and completed in 1831.  I really wanted to see this piece of history, and so we made this a stop for us on this trip.  You may be wondering why the London Bridge was being replaced and this one sold.  Well, back when this bridge was originally built, in the 1800’s, no one could imagine what a bridge would have to be able to support in the 20^th century.  And, after years of traffic on it, the bridge was sinking into the river!  Yes, the London Bridge was truly falling down!!

The first thing we saw as we entered what’s considered the “English Village” at Lake Havasu City, AZ is a gate that was part of Witley Court in Worcester, England.  Robert McCulloch bought this gate when the estate it was on was sold off to various buyers, and he had it shipped to Lake Havasu City.  I really loved the look of this gate – a grand entry to a commercial community I was not expecting!

Just after passing through the gate, there was a fountain with lion statues surrounding it on all 4 sides, each lion clearly a part of the overall fountain structure.  It was rather warm (ok, hot) in Lake Havasu City, and all this water splashing felt refreshing, even though no one could actually feel the water.  The fountain was one that folks would toss coins in and make a wish, and Jeff and I were among those who did so.

Ah, the Bridge – what I had wanted to see!  It was interesting to learn that when the bridge was purchased and readied for shipping to the US, each block was numbered before the bridge was disassembled.  The blocks were then shipped to California via the Panama Canal, and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona.  Mr. McCulloch purchased the bridge in 1968 for just over $2.4 million.  The bridge was then reconstructed over a newer bridge capable of withstanding modern day traffic driving on it.  The reconstruction was complete and the bridge was rededicated in October, 1971.  The entire expense of the bridge’s initial cost, transportation and reconstruction totaled $5.1 million.

I loved looking at the details of the bridge’s stonework!  We were able to walk underneath the bridge and get relatively up close to it!  What a treat!!  There was a lot more in the area of the bridge, including restaurants, shops, hotels, etc.!

And, I love this phone booth.  It reminds me of something that one would have seen in London at the time the bridge was perhaps considered relatively new.  I also love the pop of the bright red color against the cool grey of the stonework of the bridge!

And, how could we visit the London Bridge without taking the opportunity to drive on it?  I wasn’t sure Jeff would go for such a touristy thing to do, but he did!  Just rather neat to be driving on history! And, just fyi - this bridge is actually built around a new bridge capable of withstanding today's traffic, so it won't be falling down again!

Enjoy!

History Walk Continued

Although we saw quite a bit of Bodie during the last post, we really are only about halfway through all that we saw on our afternoon visit.  There is quite a bit more of Bodie that remained to be seen that we didn’t get to, but I like to think we hit the highlights to truly get a feel of what it may have been like to live in this town, many years ago!

This poor building, propped up by pole you see on the left side of this image is the Swasey Hotel.  Horace F. Swasey was a Nevada rancher who bought this 2-story hotel in 1894.  In later years, it also was a clothing store and a casino.  What tales the walls of this place could tell…..as long as it remains upright!

The Miners Union Hall is the only building in Bodie that people can enter, primarily because it now serves as the Bodie Museum.  It was built in 1878, and was central to the social life that existed here in Bodie.  It not only was the meeting place for the union members (mining), religious services, balls, masquerade partied, school recitals and annual Christmas parties also happened within these walls.  

Bodie had several fraternal societies, and one of them was lodged in this building.  The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge No. 279 used the second floor (notice how access to the second floor was from the outside of the main building – photo on the right).  The first floor was originally used by Henry Ward for his undertaking/furniture business, rather an odd mix of businesses, I thought!  It was later used by the Bodie Athletic Club, and some of the exercise equipment is still there (left photo).

Next to the IOOF Hall is the DeChambeau Hotel.  Originally, the post office was in this building in 1879.  The upstairs served as Grandma Johnson’s rooming house, and Jeff and I were quite intrigued by the upper windows (photo below), and we felt like someone could be up there, checking out who might have entered the post office, once upon a time.  In later years, it became the DeChambeau Hotel, and in Bodie’s final years, it was a bar and café.

Just down from the Hotel, a murder occurred at this site.  On January 14, 1881, a miner, Thomas Treloar was shot and killed here.  It was a bit of a Peyton Place situation – Thomas was shot by Joseph DeRoche, who was romantically involved with Thomas’ wife.  He shot Thomas as he left a dance at the Miner’s Union Hall, just up the street.  DeRoche was arrested and escaped a few hours later.  A posse recaptured him 2 days later and he was brought to the Bodie Jail (which is no longer standing). However, after midnight, a vigilante committee, known as “601”, took DeRoche from his jail cell and hanged him at this site.  Wow!  Looks rather non-descript, but quite a historical event happened there!

Across the street from the Boone Store and Warehouse, sits this building, the Wheaton and Luhrs building.  It was a store in the 1880’s.  After Luhrs died, a sign called it the “Bodie Store”.  Then, J.S.Cain bought it and it became a land office.  It then became offices for the hydroelectric company that transmitted electricity to the town from Lundy Canyon.  Final, after the Clinton-West Company arrived in the 1920’s, the building finally became a hotel/boarding house.  Although Josie Perl was hired to be the cook for the hotel/boarding house, she continued mining on the side!

When I looked in the front door and window, the sign for the Bodie Hotel, the switchboard, and desk with small cubbyholes for any messages and mail that might arrive.  I love looking at these snippets of everyday life, and they continued along the side of the building.

In the windows along the side of the building, I saw a pool table, and imagined the guests/residents relaxing there in the evenings.  Other windows gave me a look into what I thought might be a pantry area, and then a kitchen, where Josie worked her cooking magic!

Just down the street from the Wheaton and Luhrs building is the Schoolhouse.  However, this building was originally the Bon Ton Lodging House.  It became the school after the first school was supposedly burned down by an early-day juvenile delinquent.  In 1879 – 1880, the school saw its highest enrollment of 615 students.  This school closed in 1942.  Of course, I had to look in the windows of the school!

Again, I felt like the children who were in the classroom might simply be out for recess, except, of course, for all the dust!!  Although there are 3 images, this seemed to be one large room, with the organ off to the left in the room (center photo), student desks in the center of the room (upper right photo), and the teacher’s desk (lower left photo).  The photo with the student desks also has a globe in the very front of the image.  It was very faded and dusty, sitting in the direct sunlight, but I can’t even image how out of date it might be!

This building is the Firehouse, and was actually rebuilt in 1930 by the California Conservation Corps.  Over the years, two of the biggest fires were in July, 1892 and June, 1932.  Again, we were able to look inside the firehouse (image below)  and saw some of the old equipment – a fire wagon (left photo) and a stretcher and lanterns (right photo).

Across from the Firehouse is the Lottie and Eli John House.  They moved to Bodie in 1883, and their successful mining investments allowed them to purchase houses and several saloons in Bodie.  From 1932 – 1942, the Post Office was located in this building.

On our way out of town and back up the hill toward our car, the Bodie cemetery was off to the left.  We didn’t walk up the hill to the cemetery, mainly due to the fact that it was later in the afternoon and it was getting rather chilly up in the Sierra Nevada’s!!  

Enjoy!

Bodie – A Step Back in History

There were two things that struck me about the ghost town of Bodie.  First, it was absolutely in the middle of nowhere!  How did people not only survive, but thrive here?  The second thing that surprised me was how large the town was originally, and how much of it still remained standing!

Bodie is located along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  It was established after the 1849 Gold Rush on the western slopes tapered off.  W.S. Bodey, from Poughkeepsie, NY, discovered gold here in 1859.  However, he died months later, in a blizzard, and never saw the town that honors him.  His remains were lost, rediscovered in 1879, and then lost again.  It is believed that he now lies on the hill above the cemetery.  The town’s name eventually came to be spelled “Bodie”.

The first house we came to as we entered the town is the McDonnel/Dolan House.  Donald and Frank McDonnell, father and son, lived in this home and were miners, based on the 1920 census.  Donald’s wife, Mary, was one of Bodie’s postmistresses.  Alice Dolan, the schoolteacher and daughter of the sheriff, lived here briefly from 1935 – 1937.  Her father was killed in a shootout near Mono Lake, about 10 miles away, in 1915.

This church, the Methodist Church, was built in 1882, and is the only church still standing.  There was a Catholic church in Bodie, also built in 1882, but it burned in 1928.  E.J. Clinton, head of a mining company in town, used to preach sermons in this church.  Although we couldn’t go into the church, I was able to look inside and capture an image of the benches and the organ, still looking as if they are ready for Sunday services.

Across the street from the McDonnel/Dolan House, is the D.V. Cain House, built in 1873.  David Victor Cain was the son of James S. Cain, the last landowner of Bodie.  The Cains sold Bodie to the State of California in 1962.  In 1904, D.V. Cain married Ella M. Cody, a schoolteacher who later founded the Bodie Museum.

This barn is typical of the large barns that were once used throughout Bodie.  The original red color can still be seen, although faded and worn.

This house belonged to Tom Miller, his wife, Jessie and their 2 children.  Tom worked for the Bodie Railway and Lumber Company at Mono Mills, near Mono Lake.

These 2 images are of the front (top) and side/back (bottom) of the house owned by J.S. Cain, the last landowner of Bodie.  He was 25 when he arrived in Bodie in 1879.  At that time, he had just married Martha Delilah Wells of Geneva, Nevada.  He worked in the lumber business, and then as a banker.  In 1915, he acquired the Standard Company mining properties, and that was how he became the principal land owner in Bodie.

This small building, known as the Saddle Building, was part of a large, stable complex in the field to the south of town, owned by a Bodie merchant, Harvey Boone.

This is the Boone Store and Warehouse, built in 1879.  It was one of several general stores in town.  Its owner, Harvey Boone, was a distant cousin of Daniel Boone.

It was really interesting to look into the windows and see a mannequin in the window, along with shelves and display cases, many with various items still intact.  I would really have loved to walk through the store, but most of the doors to the buildings are closed and locked.

This storage room/building was next to the Boone Store and seemed to hold some of the larger items that may have been for sale, such as wagons to cart supplies and people who lived in the outer areas of town into town.  Perhaps the people who lived in the small cabin we saw and highlighted in the previous post about our travels to town, used a wagon like these to get to and from town.

Every town needs at least one morgue, and this is one of the morgues in Bodie.  The other is closer to the cemetery, and wasn’t one that we visited.  Originally, the Bodie House Hotel stood where the morgue is today, but it burned down in 1888, and this morgue was then established here.

It was a bit creepy looking into the morgue windows.  At first, I just saw a desk where paperwork on the deceased individuals was apparently completed (top photo), but then, I noticed the coffin just sort of propped up against a wall in the lower photo, and that felt really odd, to say the least.

More to come – stay tuned for the next post!

Enjoy!

The Road to Nowhere

We stopped to camp at a small town in Nevada just so we could drive up into the mountains to find the old ghost town of Bodie, CA.  We were near the borders between the 2 states, so it wasn’t as far a drive as it sounds……or, as it turns out, as it felt!

It was a beautiful drive, with colorful sagebrush and mountains in the distance.  We had started on one route, but then saw a sign that promised a shortcut to Bodie.  Silly us – we believed it!

I think we were on some range land, although we didn’t see any cattle.  In hindsight, the ranchers may have already moved their cattle down lower in the mountains in what would be there winter pastures.  The air was a bit nippy and the change of seasons was a definite promise.

There was some interesting looking cactus growing along the roadside, and the roadside gave us a false promise of getting closer to our goal of Bodie.  About 3 miles after we saw this sign, the road suddenly ended and became impassable, even if we could figure out where the road had once meant to take us.  Our only option was to backtrack about 20 miles to the main road and take the longer alternative – darn!

We drove along the more formal route – meaning that it was mostly paved roads, until we came to another sign directing us to Bodie.  Should we trust it?  It seemed a more formal sign, so we decided to take it.  Believe it or not, when we saw this deserted cabin, we saw it as a sign that we were probably on the right route, and that this may have been a more remote cabin, in what we now thought of as the “suburbs” of Bodie!

We saw a small herd of mule deer, and this one seemed to treat us as much of a novelty as we saw it as being!  Still, we persisted….certainly Bodie couldn’t be too much farther down the road!

And, we finally saw it in the distance!  The ghost town of Bodie, and some scenery that spoke to its mining history.  The ghost town is now a state historic park, and it seemed odd to have something as established as a state park with so few signs directing one to it.  But, never mind!  We found it, and now the second part of our adventure was about to begin!  

Enjoy!

Driving the Coast

On the day we left Coos Bay, OR, we decided to drive along the coast into northern California on the way to our next camping stop.  It really was such a lovely drive, I thought I’d share some of my favorite images of the drive

Early in the morning, I walked with Jeff and Max along the old harbor at our Coos Bay campground.  As is often the case along the Pacific Northwest coast, the day began with a bit of overcast.  However, that just allowed for the sun to make a subtle appearance! 

Once underway, the view from the highway (a little two lane road) was pretty spectacular!  I loved the rocks rising up from the surf as we drove along.  It reminded me of another lovely spot Jeff and I stopped at one our very first trip together – Canon Beach, OR (further north up the coast from Coos Bay).

We don’t usually stop when we’re driving along in our motorhome for sightseeing, but Jeff felt like he just wanted to take advantage of a handy pull-out along the road at a place that would give Max one more chance to play along the beach…

…and one more chance to play “chase” with Jeff on the beach.  He’s such a funny pup – he’s still very leery of the waves crashing on the shore, but loves to prance along the beach, sort of playing with the waves!

Before we left, I stopped to take one final shot of the part of the beach that looked wilder and perhaps more true to nature, as our farewell to the coast of Oregon.

We didn’t travel far along the California coast before we came to our camping spot for the evening.  However, shortly after entering California, we had fog from the ocean drifting across the road, and then had a lovely drive through the California redwoods.

Enjoy!