The alarm went off early – around 5. I had thought 4 a.m. would make a great
adventure-departure time, but still up at 11 pm, getting things ready, I thought I'd be pushing it a bit with such a go-time. The kids and I left around 6:30, heading up the
50 to the 89. This was Annie’s first road
trip adventure and she was whining with excitement for much of the way, despite
the homeopathic calming tabs she'd been given.
We made pretty good non-Lizzie time and were at Bodie by 9:45. Fortunately,
I has some cash with me as there was an entrance fee – hadn’t even thought
about that – with the leftover $2, I purchased the guide booklet. We were impressed with the state of the ghost town…
such an incredible place to visit and apparently there has been NO restoration. The dogs
did well here; they are great heeling dogs – though Annie just follows because
that’s what Mabi does. I have to admit –
I began to feel like somewhat of a voyeur, peeking into so many windows. After
about 2 hours of looking, we went back to the car for bread, tomatoes, basil and
fresh mozzarella.
The second half of Bodie included looking at near the stamp
mill. I was thrilled at Ethan’s interest
as he went above and beyond to climb the hillsides to see the town from above,
or to go look at the tombstone far above, singled out from the rest of the graves
in the cemetery. I was interested to learn there are actually 5
cemeteries lying adjacent to one another – the ward cemetery (city’s), the Masonic
cemetery, the Miner’s Union cemetery, the Chinese cemetery and “outcast”
cemetery – society’s throwaways, the illegitimate children, the prostitutes, the
gunmen (there were a lot of these) and these were marked by piles of rocks or decayed
wooden markers. There is one marker,
though, that is obvious and in newer condition, this is Rosa Mae’s – she was a prostitute who nursed
miners back after a pneumonia outbreak. 
After 4-5 hours of walking, my body was done and we called it
a day. The next plan was to find the Travertine
Hot Springs so we could soak. Sergio (my
male Siri) did it again, though and led us on a wild goose chase. Bakersfield streets are one thing, but a half
hour drive on a dirt road in back country of the Bodie Wilderness Study Area with no service is another. We had a blast, though, laughing a giggling the
whole way as my sweet Mazda gave us one hell of an adventure through very rough
land. I even managed to find a spoon on the
dirt road as a reminder. We finally turned
around (I didn’t want the road to turn to mud as the rain increased) and turned
around, only to see another SUV full of people try the same road. I warned them I had found nothing, and we continue
the search. Eventually – we actually
found the hot springs, and my god, this was the most incredible thing: a picture so
perfect it was hard to believe it was real – and absolutely spiritual place –
just me and the three kids. Thank you,
Universe. 
We got in the car and headed back. The kids both fell asleep and I drove,
listening to my audio book. I knew they wanted
to camp, but I don’t know this area – I’m not sure where to go – all the lands
I would have explored have been charred black by the fires and wouldn’t have
made nice camp places, so I headed back to the one place I know – El Dorado
National Forest. I pulled in to the little
general store by the lake and grabbed more ice, stuff for s’mores and more
water and we headed to the place I camped with Ethan and his friend…
..except there was a kid wearing purple sitting there, on the
dirt entrance, so I knew our place was being sued. We headed back, further and further, finally
followed a dirt road in though I was hesitant because I saw tire tracks. 2 car
loads of guys drove out of one road, yet I followed a path unmarked by tires. We drove until it went no further – a little cul-de-sac
- with targets and shot out water jugs
and lots of trash. Heartbreaking, yet it
was peace. There were tons of mosquitoes,
so we sprayed down & as Mags and I set up the Marmot, Ethan cooked the
burger patties Maggie had made the evening before. Those hamburgers were the best I’ve ever had. Maggie was an angel and made sure my bed in the
Marmot was soft and comfortable. Ethan’s
tent was broken, so we cleared the car for him and he slept in the car with the
dogs. I listened to my audio book a
while longer as Mags looked at pictures… what a beautiful day it had been.
Pictures: The natural hot spring we sat in; The kids head out to explore Bodie; A home in excellent condition; A beautiful automobile that has seen better days; A video of my view in the Travertine hot spring
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