On the east side of the Sierra Nevada, explore weathered wood buildings and artifacts in Bodie State Historic Park, a fascinating ghost town that thrived on gold mining 1876-1917. The park lies in the Bodie Hills in the Basin & Range physiographic province, in Mono County, near Bridgeport. After W. S. Bodey’s original gold discovery in 1859, profitable gold and silver ore discoveries in 1876 and 1878 transformed “Bodie” from an isolated mining camp to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of 5000-7000 people with 2000 buildings. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Bodie declined rapidly 1912-1917 and the last mine closed in 1942. Bodie became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and Bodie State Historic Park in 1962.