Bridgeport 2004 page 1


With only a short Memorial Day weekend to get away, Dave and I decided to drive up to the Bridgeport area of California. Bridgeport is a historic town on the slope of the eastern Sierras, and is the Mono County seat. We wanted to view some of the old ghost towns, hike around Mono Lake, and generally just relax. Click on any photo below to see it enlarged
We were lucky to get a room at the Virginia Creek Settlement just two days before the weekend. This place is on 395 about ten miles south of Bridgeport. Rather kitschy, but quite comfortable, and the proprietors were very nice.
		We arrived fairly late, and the next morning, we got up early and headed into town for breakfast. Unfortunately, the weather was somewhat rainy, but there were breaks in the clouds.
After breakfast at the Bridgeport Hotel, I asked Dave to drive out toward Twin Lakes, an area I used to spend some time in around 20+ years ago. The clouds hide the famous Sawtooth Ridge, but the cows were there in the pasture, as usual.
		The Twin Lakes are very beautiful, and behind the mountains in the background is Yosemite National Park. I used to go swimming in the Upper Lake near the small dam shown here. This has been the only place I have ever seen a family of freshwater otters.
Several cabins are scattered around the lakes; this is the one that was owned by a childhood friend of mine. I don't know whether the family still owns it anymore or not, as I have lost contact.
		Because the weather was so bad, we drove north on 395 to look at some of the small towns and points of interest. This is Centennial Bluff outside of Coleville, so named because a pole and an American flag were raised on the top of the bluff on July 4th, 1876. The monument commemorates the 75th anniversary of that event in 1951
Also outside of Coleville next to 395 was this steaming hot spring. Unfortunately, it is fenced with "No Trespassing" signs.
		The weather began to get better, so we decided to see if we could drive up to the old mining town site of Masonic, which is located east of Bridgeport on an old dirt road. It's best driven with a 4WD, but we managed to get pretty far with our sedan. We found the site of the upper town, but not much remained. However, the view was spectacular.
We tried to get down into the area of the lower town site, but the road got too muddy, so we turned back after driving up to this tower to see what the view was. Yes, the wind was really blowing and it was cold!
		On our way back down, we stopped at the old Chemung Mine site, which was a source of Masonic's prosperity in the early 20th Century. The site is quite interesting, although little is left of the machinery.
The cyanide process for extracting gold from ore was developed in 1887, hence this ancient drum which is labeled "sodium cyanide". This process is now controversial because of the wastewater generated.
		As the mine was abandoned in the 1920s, most of the buildings are either collapsing or in a very poor state.
Old mines can be hazardous, and Chemung is no exception. These are apparently prospecting tunnels excavated after the mine closed. They are down in a hole which one can fall into if not aware.
		Looking into one of the old buildings, one can see a couple of huge mixers(?) which could have been used in the cyanide process, but I don't know much about mines!
The old mine commands an extraordinary view of the Bridgeport Valley and the eastern Sierra, even on a day like this.
		Bridgeport is a small community of about 500 people at an altitude of almost 6500 feet. Here's a view of it up against the much taller Sierras. Bridgeport Reservoir is on the right, which was completed in 1924.
In the afternoon, we made a visit to the famous (or infamous, depending on the stories) Bodie ghost town. This now a state park that is kept in "arrested decay". It's an amazing place to visit. This view shows Bodie, the Bodie Bluff behind it, home to dozens of mines, and the cemetery in the foreground.
		Much of Bodie's buildings burned in several fires, but what remains is still very interesting. Here's the old Methodist Church, which still retains its pews and organ.
*Somewhat ominously, right after I took the above photo, a crow landed on the steeple and started cawing! I began to think of the Hitchcock movie, The Birds!*
		It always amazes Dave and I that people would walk away and leave so many belongings, including cars and what have you. Bodie is strewn with the leavings.

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