Town of Ghosts

Bodie is by far the best preserved ghost town in the United States.

Gold was discovered back in 1859 by William S Bodey and at its apex, the town had a population of 10,000 residents through the 1880’s. Bodie was replete with the makings of old west folklore; gunfighters, saloons, miners, gambling halls and prostitutes, a rough place through and through. But the town’s success didn’t last and faded from ‘glory’ prior to World War I and was finally down for the count during WWII once all mining operations were halted due to the war effort. It was effectively abandoned with many of the structures retaining the inhabitants belongings because the roads out were toll and weight based; many people simply decided to leave their belongings behind to avoid large fees so the ghost town was born.

Today, after two fires, around 100 structures remain, (5% of the original town) some of which are filled with furniture, lined and matted with layer up on layer of rotting and sagging wallpaper. Some buildings are seemingly untouched time-capsules to the once treacherous lives of the miners and other inhabitants of the town. Kids toys sitting by the window, a ball peen hammer on the ground, strewn gears in a machine shop, and rusted hangers hanging in a closet.

Walking the grounds, particularly the cemetery, I was overcome with a sense of foreboding and the gentle but incessant march of time continuing on. The once important lives buried under a wood tombstone were all but forgotten and those now nameless people who were loved or loved others, brothers, fathers, sisters and mothers, almost never existed unless you look at the uneven ground at a certain angle in the perfect light.

We spent a week shooting with access to some of the interiors of the buildings, and the ability to shoot at night. Because it is located in the Sierra Neveda and its unique geography and high elevation, the weather was quite extreme and could change in a matter of minutes; most nights were very cold and the temperature often sat in the low teens and were mixed with snow, wind, and icey rain.

Bodie is kept in a state of “arrested decay” and hangs (sometimes literally) in a sort of desolated limbo, as the dry lumber, rusted nails, and worn masonry, slowly give into the sands of time.

Special Thanks to Ranger Tom Gunther. Thank you for your help!!!

Thanks to Matthews MSE, (Tyler, Bob, Ed) for helping me with some last minute requests and their use of the DC Slider and dolly track.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that voter turnout for the Nevada caucuses was very low, despite the Republican Party’s constant fear-mongering and attacks on President Obama.

Something’s going wrong with the GOP strategy of demonization and Tea Party ultra-conservatism; I suspect the toxic atmosphere of the far right is beginning to turn off center right Republicans, and that could spell big trouble for the GOP in the general election.

Mitt Romney’s easy victory in Nevada’s Republican presidential caucuses might, in the long run, be less important than the fact that a surprising number of Republicans who could have participated Saturday chose to stay home.

Republicans’ disappointing turnout foreshadows difficulty energizing GOP voters in Nevada, a key swing state in November’s general election.

Turnout was unlikely to match 2008, when 44,000 Republicans participated in Nevada’s caucuses. Complete figures were not released by the state party as of 10 p.m. Saturday, an indication of a lackluster showing.

“It was less than what we had planned for,” Clark County caucus Director Michael Chamberlain said on KNPR.

Republican turnout in Washoe County, Nevada’s second largest, was 8 percent, well below the 20 percent some had predicted.

“We expected more. Obviously we hoped for more,” David Buell, chairman of the Washoe County Republican Party, said.

Here’s an open thread to keep up on news from the Nevada GOP caucuses, in which Mitt Romney is expected to thoroughly trounce Newt “Poor Kids Make Great Janitors” Gingrich.

Ron “I Can’t Help It If White Supremacists Dig Me” Paul, for some reason, seems confident that he’ll beat Gingrich for second place.

If you’re on Twitter, statewide vote totals are being tweeted by @NVGOP…

Live results:

Here’s a thread to post breaking news on the crash of a vintage WWII aircraft at the Reno Air Races…

The latest news is that the plane crashed into a “VIP box seating” area near the main grandstands.

According to this story at the Reno Gazette-Journal, at least seven people have been shot by a suspect with a semi-automatic weapon…

This Easter, the right wing Las Vegas Review-Journal is running this crazed editorial by Glenn Cook, comparing Tea Party/John Birch Society lunatic Sharron Angle to … you guessed it … Jesus Christ.

How appropriate that on this Easter Sunday, Nevada marks yet another political resurrection.

And this one, so unexpected and undeserved, could answer the prayers of the tea party movement.

Sharron Angle, less than six months ago a national embarrassment following her humiliating election loss to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, might very well find herself representing Nevada in Congress by summer.

The GOP’s Angle stands out as a clear-cut winner following Thursday’s news that Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is resigning effective May 3. …

She has risen. She has risen indeed.

Bloggers won’t be running out of material any time soon, with the GOP’s goofiest right wing extremist, Sharron Angle, forming a new TeaBagger umbrella group called “Patriot Caucus.”

Former Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle is angling to lead the tea party movement heading into 2012.

Angle over the weekend unveiled the Patriot Caucus, a PAC that she says has the support of tea party organizers in 15 states and which will “organize a ground game across most battleground states for the 2012 election cycle.” The group plans to open offices in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and Nevada – states with early presidential primaries and caucuses – in early 2011.

Here’s their website, created by Eric Odom, with a hideous logo that looks like an explosion in a font factory: The Patriot Caucus PAC.

Sharron Angle’s overtly racist ads featuring images of menacing Latinos seriously backfired on her; she garnered just 8% of the Latino vote, compared to Harry Reid’s 90%.

In this election, the Tea Party GOP made a calculation to pander to the racist and xenophobic elements of their base, and this is a glimpse of the backlash to come. The days when they can count on a racist base to put them over the top are numbered, as Latinos and other minorities make up increasingly large segments of the American population.

Nevada Tea Party loon Sharron Angle gives us our quote for the day:

“You know, the two wars that we’re in right now is exactly what we’re in.”

Univision has announced that they’re not going to run the outrageous advertisement from a Republican front group trying to suppress the Latino vote in Nevada: BREAKING: Univision Will Not Air GOP Group’s Ad Telling Latinos Not To Vote.

“Univision will not be running any spots from Latinos for Reform related to voting. It is also important to clarify that while Mr. Robert de Posada has on occasion provided political commentary on Univision, representing one of various points of views, he is not in any way affiliated with Univision. Univision prides itself on promoting civic engagement and our extensive national campaigns encourage Hispanics to vote.”