Bodie Diary - Monday June 29, 2009
Bodie Diary - Monday June 29, 2009
The morning was warm once again as I began my last day working in the museum. This is not my last day in Bodie...I will be here until the 5th of July...but my days will be filled with Bridgeport 4th of July activities and The Friends of Bodie booth.
As usual, the day started out slow, then towards 11 or 12 the crowds came in. The 11:15 video was mine today and it turned into an overwhelming crowd. A large group full of kids overflowed the theater in the Red Barn, much to my surprise. I exceeded the fire limit by three, but that was quickly remedied when a family of three had to leave because the little boy needed to go to the bathroom.
Following the video, a Belgian family came up to me all angry that they hadn't been able to get in. I checked with Mark and got permission for a 12:00 showing and got twelve other takers, including the family that had missed out, and one other woman and her husband that I had to turn down the first time. Everyone was delighted I had managed to accomodated them after all, and a few hurried to the museum to buy the full one hour DVD. Whew! A bad situation turned good after all!
Jordan was taking over in the museum when I got back. In a fast attempt to rescue her, I think I screwed up a couple of the cash register sales. ....not for the customers but for Jenna's end of day. The tape ran out, too, but Mark L. came to the rescue. The three of us must have been a spectacle, trying to figure out FOB discounts, mis-entered transactions, and the cash register tape all at the same time. Fortunately the ladies waiting to purchase their items kept in good humor.
Jenna came back and things kept busy. By this time I was nursing a "vision migraine" without the headache, and waiting for three Tylenol to kick in. Meantime, we swore in a few Jr. State Park Rangers and I made friends with a family from Redwood City on their first visit to Bodie. The younger boy told me all about his vacation thus far, which included his first trip to Yosemite as well. Memories of my own childhood vacations with twice a year camping trips to Yosemite came to mind as I listened to him tell about his and show me pictures on his camera. I tried to reach way back to the days when I took real vacations instead of being a tour guide for other people's vacations. The boy also showed me family pictures on his camera from home - his coon hound dog and his pet bunny. He was fascinated that I lived in a real live ghosttown, too. In fact that may be the most ask question one gets when they work in Bodie - "Where do you live and what's it like?"
We were busy, but somehow the day seemed to drag. 3:30 couldn't get here fast enough. At last Mark L. came to pick up Jordan and I and it was off to the Bodie bluff for a private tour! We saw the ponds and learned that in winter the rangers ski on them. Mark H.'s dog Cole occassionally goes for a summer swim, too. We didn't get out of the truck and into any buildings, but I had done the tourist version of the bluff tour years ago. Mark pointed out one building that had an adobe wall - the only one like it in Bodie. He pointed out the mines and mountain peaks at various stops - from Nevada to California. What a view of town we had, too! We saw many remnants of many mining attempts and then stopped and got out of the truck to throw a rock down one deep shaft. We wound up at 9,000 feet and a great overlook of Bodie. We tried to imagine what it all must have looked like when it was in full boom.
The wildflowers were everywhere, and even at 9,000 feet elevation, Mark showed us one cactus tucked away. We learned about the pika that play in the mine tailings and build six feet haystacks. We learned a little about animal droppings too, as Mark is a "shit" expert, as well. And the old railroad grade was pointed out to us, where the Bodie railway came in with logs from Mono Mills. Mark talked about what a greuling mountain bike trek the route is now, and I told him about our experience driving it in the old Blazer several years ago. From another view he pointed to the Geiger Grade and what an incredible route that is to barrel down on a Mountain Bike without breaks on, too. Currently, it's too rocky for fast no brake excursions though, thanks to all the storms we've been having. We also learned that the Bodie bluff is full of incredible Indian archaeology, but we didn't get to see any artifiacts today. Still, just imagining all the railroad, the water, the mining, and the ecology of the area - it was incredible time and we had a lot of laughs along the way.
We get back to the museum to help Jenna close out her day. I tried to call Roger to brag about my bluff tour, but he wasn't by the phone or he was out somewhere. So I reluctantly headed back to Milk Ranch to try to beat the inevitable early evening cloud build up. I barely got my meal cooked on my little two burner propane before the dropbs hit and the sky rumbled a few times.
Tomorrow Jenna and I will play, then Wednesday I'll get the van ready for Roger who will arrive on Thursday. If Terri's in town, I'm sure she'll have chores for us to do to get ready for our booth in Bridgeport and all of the 4th of July festivities.
I still pinch myself that I am living in and experiencing Bodie. It's fun to watch and hear the visitors from all over the world experiencing this old ghosttown and to help them understand what went on in it over the years. I marvel at people who have never before been a part of such a place and are learning things that just seem second nature to me after over twenty years of being a part of such places myself.
The sun is setting and darkness will soon take over. The air is dipping down to cool temperatures once again. With no particiular schedule until 1:00 tomorrow with Jenna, I think I will put down my pen for the night and hit the Bodie history books until my eyes grow tired and I fall asleep.
The morning was warm once again as I began my last day working in the museum. This is not my last day in Bodie...I will be here until the 5th of July...but my days will be filled with Bridgeport 4th of July activities and The Friends of Bodie booth.
As usual, the day started out slow, then towards 11 or 12 the crowds came in. The 11:15 video was mine today and it turned into an overwhelming crowd. A large group full of kids overflowed the theater in the Red Barn, much to my surprise. I exceeded the fire limit by three, but that was quickly remedied when a family of three had to leave because the little boy needed to go to the bathroom.
Following the video, a Belgian family came up to me all angry that they hadn't been able to get in. I checked with Mark and got permission for a 12:00 showing and got twelve other takers, including the family that had missed out, and one other woman and her husband that I had to turn down the first time. Everyone was delighted I had managed to accomodated them after all, and a few hurried to the museum to buy the full one hour DVD. Whew! A bad situation turned good after all!
Jordan was taking over in the museum when I got back. In a fast attempt to rescue her, I think I screwed up a couple of the cash register sales. ....not for the customers but for Jenna's end of day. The tape ran out, too, but Mark L. came to the rescue. The three of us must have been a spectacle, trying to figure out FOB discounts, mis-entered transactions, and the cash register tape all at the same time. Fortunately the ladies waiting to purchase their items kept in good humor.
Jenna came back and things kept busy. By this time I was nursing a "vision migraine" without the headache, and waiting for three Tylenol to kick in. Meantime, we swore in a few Jr. State Park Rangers and I made friends with a family from Redwood City on their first visit to Bodie. The younger boy told me all about his vacation thus far, which included his first trip to Yosemite as well. Memories of my own childhood vacations with twice a year camping trips to Yosemite came to mind as I listened to him tell about his and show me pictures on his camera. I tried to reach way back to the days when I took real vacations instead of being a tour guide for other people's vacations. The boy also showed me family pictures on his camera from home - his coon hound dog and his pet bunny. He was fascinated that I lived in a real live ghosttown, too. In fact that may be the most ask question one gets when they work in Bodie - "Where do you live and what's it like?"
We were busy, but somehow the day seemed to drag. 3:30 couldn't get here fast enough. At last Mark L. came to pick up Jordan and I and it was off to the Bodie bluff for a private tour! We saw the ponds and learned that in winter the rangers ski on them. Mark H.'s dog Cole occassionally goes for a summer swim, too. We didn't get out of the truck and into any buildings, but I had done the tourist version of the bluff tour years ago. Mark pointed out one building that had an adobe wall - the only one like it in Bodie. He pointed out the mines and mountain peaks at various stops - from Nevada to California. What a view of town we had, too! We saw many remnants of many mining attempts and then stopped and got out of the truck to throw a rock down one deep shaft. We wound up at 9,000 feet and a great overlook of Bodie. We tried to imagine what it all must have looked like when it was in full boom.
The wildflowers were everywhere, and even at 9,000 feet elevation, Mark showed us one cactus tucked away. We learned about the pika that play in the mine tailings and build six feet haystacks. We learned a little about animal droppings too, as Mark is a "shit" expert, as well. And the old railroad grade was pointed out to us, where the Bodie railway came in with logs from Mono Mills. Mark talked about what a greuling mountain bike trek the route is now, and I told him about our experience driving it in the old Blazer several years ago. From another view he pointed to the Geiger Grade and what an incredible route that is to barrel down on a Mountain Bike without breaks on, too. Currently, it's too rocky for fast no brake excursions though, thanks to all the storms we've been having. We also learned that the Bodie bluff is full of incredible Indian archaeology, but we didn't get to see any artifiacts today. Still, just imagining all the railroad, the water, the mining, and the ecology of the area - it was incredible time and we had a lot of laughs along the way.
We get back to the museum to help Jenna close out her day. I tried to call Roger to brag about my bluff tour, but he wasn't by the phone or he was out somewhere. So I reluctantly headed back to Milk Ranch to try to beat the inevitable early evening cloud build up. I barely got my meal cooked on my little two burner propane before the dropbs hit and the sky rumbled a few times.
Tomorrow Jenna and I will play, then Wednesday I'll get the van ready for Roger who will arrive on Thursday. If Terri's in town, I'm sure she'll have chores for us to do to get ready for our booth in Bridgeport and all of the 4th of July festivities.
I still pinch myself that I am living in and experiencing Bodie. It's fun to watch and hear the visitors from all over the world experiencing this old ghosttown and to help them understand what went on in it over the years. I marvel at people who have never before been a part of such a place and are learning things that just seem second nature to me after over twenty years of being a part of such places myself.
The sun is setting and darkness will soon take over. The air is dipping down to cool temperatures once again. With no particiular schedule until 1:00 tomorrow with Jenna, I think I will put down my pen for the night and hit the Bodie history books until my eyes grow tired and I fall asleep.