Tag Archives: abandoned

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Ghost Towns, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Skidoo Mill

May 9, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The abandoned Skidoo Mill, high in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley National Park

I have been out to the site of the old ghost town of Skidoo a few times. Oddly perhaps, snow has played a part in more than half of my visits—not what you might expect for a desert region like Death Valley. The first time I went there I really did not know much about the place at all, and I drove the nine mile gravel road more or less on a whim, arriving at the broad valley where the main town was, finding little there, poking around a bit, and leaving, a bit disappointed. (I did have a chance to investigate some other historical sites in the area on the same trip, so in the end I didn’t feel cheated.) More recently I visited last winter, during a very cold trip to the park when I encountered sub-freezing temperature down in Death Valley itself and colder temperature well down into the teens up here. Parts of the road were covered by shallow snow, and it was a quiet and lonely experience to be out there alone in the snow. This time I poked around a bit more, exploring some side trails and nearby ridges, until I decided that it was best not to push too far with the snow on the ground.

This past April we were there again, on a day full of interesting experiences and adventures. I often spend at least a day up in the Panamint Range when I visit the park, and I always find new and interesting things, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such a range of conditions and subjects in a single day before. We started before dawn and had a brief moment of sunrise light before the clouds of an incoming storm turned out the lights. Very soon we began to see snow flurries along the Panamint ridge and other summits, and soon after visiting one historic site it began to snow in earnest. We headed toward a higher location and finally had to back down as the snow continued to fall. Surprisingly, in these cold conditions and snow we found… abundant wildflowers! We stopped several times to photograph the unexpected display, and then decided to make the side trip to Skidoo as the storm passed and the sun came out. Once there we pushed out past the town site to the location of the old mill, where ore from the mines was processed. The mill, long abandoned and deteriorating now, is an astonishing thing. Its location is unexpected and stunning. It sits right below the crest of a steep ridge and the structure stretches down toward a deep valley below—and the entire site overlooks a vast and arid desert landscape, a bit of which is visible in this photograph. Even more amazing, this mill was powered by water, not at all what you would expect in such a dry and desolate place. But the miners ran a pipeline over 20 miles from a spring elsewhere in the high Panamints to get water to supply power and for the domestic use of the town’s residents.

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Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Brick Building, Doorway, Reflected Sky

December 14, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

The desert sky is reflected in the windows of an abandoned brick building in the ghost town of Bodie, California

I have been to Bodie quite a few times, but I rarely go there anymore unless I think something interesting might happen with the weather. The place is often sun-blasted, with cloudless blue skies, and during the part of the year when it is most often visited it tends to be quite hot and dry. Don’t get me wrong – Bodie is a fascinating place and its story is even more interesting. I’ve visited a number of ghost towns and isolated abandoned structures in the outback of California, and the sheer scope of this ghost town sets it apart, as does that fact that California has worked to sustain it in a state of suspended decay.

We were wandering around the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada and points further east of that on the final day of our five-day “aspen chasing” visit this October. Most often my plans are a bit general and/or flexible, and I like to adapt to changing conditions rather than stick to a preset shooting schedule. On this day we were surprised to find it snowing when we awoke in Mammoth Lakes, and as we left town to explore in an eastward direction we stopped to photograph dawn snow flurries over the Sierra crest. Eventually, after going a good distance out toward the Nevada border, we looped back to the north and ended up in Lee Vining, where we grabbed a (very late!) breakfast at Nicely’s. The possibility of going to Bodie was somewhere on the list of options, but when we continued to see snow falling about the town and clouds to the north and east, we decided to head out there to see what we could find. In the end, there was no snow falling in Bodie – though it had fallen there earlier that day – but it was very cold and very windy and broken clouds provided interesting and changeable light. One of my main subjects as I wandered around the town making photographs turned out to be the doors and windows on the old buildings. Perhaps ironically, given my usual lack of interest in sun-blasted Bodie, I shot this scene in nearly flat front light – but it seemed appropriate for this old and weathered building and the reflection i the old windows of the very blue cloud-filled sky.

Commentary

Recent Photographs from Bodie

November 9, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Almost a month ago we spent a few hours in the historic ghost town of Bodie, California on the final day of a trip to the eastern Sierra to photograph fall colors. On this day we decided to focus on a few other things, including a looping drive out to the east of the Sierra, followed by a side trip to Bodie, which came up when it looked like the weather conditions out there might be somewhat more interesting than usual.

Rather than save these up for a week’s worth of individual post, I have decided to combine them into a single post. (I have too many photographs queued up for future posts already.) I am presenting them in roughly the order that I shot them as we wandered around in Bodie. For those who may be unfamiliar with Bodie, it was the site of silver and gold mining many decades ago. There are stories of it being a fairly populous place with many “modern” amenities – but also of it being a rather rough place, which isn’t surprising given its remote location and the fact that it was a mining town. The mines gave out and the citizens gradually moved away, leaving the town almost completely abandoned. A few decades ago it was taken over by the California State Park System and it is now a state historical park that focuses on protecting and maintaining the place and making it available to visitors.

Weathered wooden walls and windows, Bodie, California

I passed this building or group of buildings on my way into the town. I have photographed this structure and, in fact, this section of the structure before. Exposed to the harsh summer and winter conditions of this high desert location, it is no surprise that the wood has been severely weathered.

The Standard Mill in the ghost town of Bodie, California

The Standard Mill is a large facility for refining ore, located across the town from the place where most of us begin our walks. To my eyes, it reminds me a lot of certain other mid-century industrial sites where I have photographed. Unfortunately – for me, but perhaps fortunately for other reason – fences surround the site and it is not possible to easily get inside and wander about without a guide. For that reason all of my photographs of the mill are from some distance.

The corrugated metal exterior of the abandoned Standard Mill, Bodie, California

This is a closer photograph of the buildings of the Standard Mill, whose angles, structure, and supporting wires fascinated me.

Bodie - Buildings Near Standard Mill — Bodie – Buildings Near Standard Mill

Old abandoned buildings line the streets of the ghost town of Bodie, California

These are among a number of buildings along the street heading to the entrance to the Standard Mill. The view here looks back across the valley in which the ghost town is located, toward higher hills, a small aspen grove, and cloud-shrouded peaks.

Windows on the front of an abandoned wooden building in the ghost town of Bodie reflect the cloud-filled sky

The squared geometry of the front of this building first caught my, along with the typical weathered condition of the wooden door, window frames, and paneling. The window reflects a distorted and blurred version of the cloud-filled sky, and underneath are hints of what is inside the windows.

The schoolhouse in the ghost town of Bodie, California

This is the view I first had of the schoolhouse, before I realized that it was, in fact, the school. The tall steeple first had me thinking it was perhaps a church. From this side, the building is backed by nothing but the open space of the high desert, highlighting the desolation of the place.

Downtown Bodie ghost town, with barren hills rising beyond

The foreground structure is the same schoolhouse building seen in the previous photograph. Here the perspective looks over the back of the school and across the buildings of the main street leading toward the mill, which is behind my camera position.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Chimneys and Building Details, Standard Mill

October 29, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Details of buildings and chimneys at the Standard Mill, Bodie ghost town, California

On the final day of our October eastern Sierra visit we covered a lot of ground, starting with dawn virga and light snow near Mammoth Lakes before heading east into the high desert toward the Nevada border and then north by back roads past Mono Lake to Lee Vining, where we finally stopped for a very late breakfast. We headed north from Lee Vining, first stopping to photograph aspens near Conway Summit, and the snow that was still falling above along the Sierra crest. With this “interesting” weather still around, it seemed like it might be worth a trip out to Bodie.

I’ve been to Bodie a number of times, and while the historical story is fascinating and the presence of such a large abandoned town is remarkable, I have sometimes been frustrated by the stark and cloudless skies and the realization that the place has been photographed so darned much! But a number of years ago I made it out there on a spring day when there was light snow falling, and I realized that in the right conditions it is still well worth a visit. Since there was a possibility of similar weather this time – though snow did not fall after we arrived – and since it was the off-season, the drive seemed worth it. And it was. Along the way we saw high desert aspen groves, which have a very different appearance than those of the eastern Sierra. The weather gave us a combination of blue skies, partial clouds, and occasional mists covering hill tops – and all of this was constantly changing as the clouds thickened and thinned. As I have walked around Bodie in the past I have been fascinated by the large Standard Mill that sits across the Valley. Since it is fenced off and access isn’t permitted without a guide, I was not able to walk among the buildings… but I was able to get close enough to make some photographs of the interesting juxtapositions of stark metal walls, windows, and chimneys.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: abandoned

Skidoo Mill

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Brick Building, Doorway, Reflected Sky

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Recent Photographs from Bodie

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Chimneys and Building Details, Standard Mill

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.