Leaving Yosemite, we crossed the snow-swept Sierra Nevada mountains and spent three days exploring and photographing the towns, villages, deserts, and forests sprawled along their eastern flank. The highlight of this visit was a morning spent in Bodie, the last great mining ghost town of the west, where 500 structures still stand in a state of arrested decay. Between the Civil War and World War II, the Bodie Mining District produced close to $100 million in gold and silver, and when the mine finally was shut down, the town ... (more)