1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Bodie & Benton R&R, Bodie & Aurora Ghost Towns

Discussion in 'Off-Roading & Trails' started by YodaMedic, Jun 3, 2010.

  1. Jun 3, 2010 at 4:44 PM
    #1
    YodaMedic

    YodaMedic [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17821
    Messages:
    46
    Gender:
    Male
    Travis AFB, CA
    Vehicle:
    09 Regular Cab SR5 4x4
    Since my last visit last year, the road has entirley been engulfed by an encroaching sand dune.
    whereistheroad_57940c068cb8e51215c12730221673d654cd9ba1.jpg
    My VSC really helped taking this off-camber dune when I would begin to bog down. High altitude, turning, off camber, and deep sand make this fun. Pictures don't do it justice.
    bigsandymm_51c3afcb7368d5b1d62dbb64d7f6754fcf8947e5.jpg
    Another look at the dune.
    bigsandym_2e3d9b73cd35e8b64ff8f88abc8a9f8a6fe12532.jpg
    These railroad ties have been left relatively untouched for 100 + years. Very cool.
    rr_42391af6d3721704dfda55af2d3a23c5b7e53dc6.jpg
    My truck crawling a gulley where the road has washed out.
    mytruck_e7fada2b5bc8ad550a3dd9fb1b2f42110bc413f4.jpg
    My Dad's new FJ. Pretty sweet vehicle I must add.
    fj_470c848688419d07a68b839a193ccc91da9a6e88.jpg
    Bodie, an old mining ghost town near Bridgeport, CA.
    bodielean_dcf71609c71454bd6cea3a05f866cf91cefe89aa.jpg
    Bodie is in a state of "Arrested decay" which means the state does not upkeep the buildings, just prevents them from falling down.
    bodie1_c17c7b7e6e0dc569509f770fa7addf97417eb54d.jpg
    Old Bodie mill
    ghost_daccd00ec58eafad1d52b9a12e6739838876450a.jpg
    En route the Aurora, an older ghost town across the Nevada border we found the remains of an ore crusher. Oh and my truck :)
    millbodie_e370876898f2750e9d9ffbf75c441becb534f3f0.jpg
    Another shot of the building. We walked inside, pretty interesting.
    bodiemill_65d045b7a2be0817a6122a854ae835a78c0e8e22.jpg
    A really muddy bog. The FJ started to go through the middle but sunk real deep real fast. There was a bypass to the upper left that we took. Tread lightly!
    bog_0d8c2097e7a3eb5815bae191d93b4d880811d9e9.jpg
    We found Z71 Chevy out in the middle of nowhere. Engine and wheels gone. Pretty much intact after that. We reported it to the Rangers at Bodie.
    abandonedchevy_a2a94a305c7b37ee4e04d0174ae9ef0611695f59.jpg
    My Dad and I were debating if it was stolen, or if it broke down. Kind of a long drive to take apart a stolen car I thought. I decided it broke down. Note to self: Don't take a Chevy in Toyota territory!
    tacochevy_762cd1c8bf556d5b62463658fa3cdab90addad5c.jpg
    Anothe shot of the broken truck.
    abandonedchevy_a2a94a305c7b37ee4e04d0174ae9ef0611695f59.jpg
    A few creek crossings were fun. The one before this was deeper and had bigger rocks.
    tacowater_07eab1105fff7f530ac03843346c7f713b6a4f1f.jpg
    Aurora, a ghost town. 10,000 people used to live here. A lot of rubble and old mines. I'm a history geek. I love this kinda stuff.
    aurora1_5e070ba1715dd4f143258ddad5632a4ec697400f.jpg
    Mark Twain lived here for a short period of time and worked as a miner, and he writes about it in his book "Roughing It".
    aurora1_5e070ba1715dd4f143258ddad5632a4ec697400f.jpg



    Overall a great trip, I can't wait to do it again next year. If I had to offer advice to people wanted to take this trip as I learned the hard way last year, is BE PREPARED. Spares, tow straps, shovels, come alongs, tools, extra gas, GPS (I was using 2) and a map. Aurora is in the boonies for sure and would not want to get stranded out there. But I HIGHLY encourage anyone to check these places out that are into ghost towns and history.
     
  2. Jun 3, 2010 at 4:46 PM
    #2
    Packman73

    Packman73 ^^^^ 3%er ^^^^

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2008
    Member:
    #8741
    Messages:
    8,276
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Matt
    The free state of Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2007 TRD Off Road
    Bilstein 5100's (front set @ .85"), OME 885's, chris4x4 anti-Taco-lean spacer on driver's side, Total Chaos UCAs, Rear Leaf Spring TSB, Toytec AALs, Black FJ TT Wheels, BFG 285/75R 16 AT Tires, TRD Exhaust, Viper Alarm, Fog Light Mod, De-badged, Blue LED Dome Light, EZ Clamped Tailgate, Wet Okoles, Satoshi Grill, 5% Tint, Engine Tick Fix, Black Rear Bumper, Black Center Valence, Exhaust Cut At Axle, Thanks for all the help chris4x4!
  3. Jun 3, 2010 at 5:56 PM
    #3
    YodaMedic

    YodaMedic [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17821
    Messages:
    46
    Gender:
    Male
    Travis AFB, CA
    Vehicle:
    09 Regular Cab SR5 4x4
    Haha sorry about that, I messed up the pics at first. But now they should be ok.
     
  4. Jun 3, 2010 at 6:03 PM
    #4
    Packman73

    Packman73 ^^^^ 3%er ^^^^

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2008
    Member:
    #8741
    Messages:
    8,276
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Matt
    The free state of Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2007 TRD Off Road
    Bilstein 5100's (front set @ .85"), OME 885's, chris4x4 anti-Taco-lean spacer on driver's side, Total Chaos UCAs, Rear Leaf Spring TSB, Toytec AALs, Black FJ TT Wheels, BFG 285/75R 16 AT Tires, TRD Exhaust, Viper Alarm, Fog Light Mod, De-badged, Blue LED Dome Light, EZ Clamped Tailgate, Wet Okoles, Satoshi Grill, 5% Tint, Engine Tick Fix, Black Rear Bumper, Black Center Valence, Exhaust Cut At Axle, Thanks for all the help chris4x4!
    Very cool pics!
     
  5. Jun 3, 2010 at 6:51 PM
    #5
    YodaMedic

    YodaMedic [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17821
    Messages:
    46
    Gender:
    Male
    Travis AFB, CA
    Vehicle:
    09 Regular Cab SR5 4x4
    Thanks guys, I really didn't want to come back to civilization. Very relaxing, go at your own pace trip.
     
  6. Jun 3, 2010 at 6:53 PM
    #6
    kinetik873

    kinetik873 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2008
    Member:
    #9468
    Messages:
    1,516
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Josh
    Springfield, Va.
    Vehicle:
    '08 TRD
    OME 3" lift, ARB bumper,DTRL, CB radio in console, 5lb fire extinguisher in bed. SockMonkey decals, Allpro rear bumper, UWS 42" bed box, Wet Okoles all around, snorkel, Pioneer Av3200, ..yadda yadda yadda
    Awesome dude, I wish I was back in AZ.......
     
  7. Jun 3, 2010 at 7:01 PM
    #7
    moto932

    moto932 What's the matter, Colonel Sandurz? CHICKEN?

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2009
    Member:
    #15770
    Messages:
    3,462
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Eric
    Dayton, Ohio
    Vehicle:
    04 TRD Off Road
    Basically stock. OME 882s, HD Dakars and nitrochrgers, TG front bumper, custom rear bumper, 4Xinnovations sliders, RAT skids, Softopper, 255/85/16 ST MAXX's on 16" steelies, 1" B.O.R.A. wheel spacers Scangaugae II, deck plate mod, grey wire mod,ECGS bushing, diff breather relocation, alarm mod, defrost w/o compressor mod, de-badged, sockmonkey beside decals.
    looks like a sweet trip! i want to do on a off road adventure like this sooooo bad, but i would have to do some traveling to find anything like this. awesome pics.
     
  8. Jun 3, 2010 at 7:10 PM
    #8
    YodaMedic

    YodaMedic [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17821
    Messages:
    46
    Gender:
    Male
    Travis AFB, CA
    Vehicle:
    09 Regular Cab SR5 4x4
    Not gonna lie I did get stuck in the sand on the way out, the stretch of sand is almost 100 meters long now and you are sideways for most of it...the FJ had to pull me out and it was my Dad...it was the basis for jokes the rest of the trip haha. I figured out why I got stuck needed a lot of speed to get through, and I turned my wheels sideways without realizing it. It is kinda hard to tell in that sand and it was killing my momentum and I was stalling. Turned it to 4 Low and I started digging in. I went through the dune like 6 more times to PROVE that it was user error, not truck lol. Best way was to go in 4 hi, 1st gear going about 20 mph keeping my RPMs up real high. The altitude also was killing some horse power in my 4 banger, but over all it performed awesome. My new BFG's did wonders too.
     
  9. Jun 5, 2010 at 1:45 AM
    #9
    06rubi

    06rubi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2010
    Member:
    #36309
    Messages:
    806
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Kenney
    Pueblo West, CO
    Vehicle:
    10 MGM (wife's truck)
    Debadged, tinted windows, 7 pin relocated, bed lights, 12 volt socket in bed of truck, on board air, auxiliary fuse box, grill craft, hella 500's, t-rex eyelids, pink budbuilt skids, icon remote resi coil over, camburg uca, alcan rear springs, ubolt flip, icon 2.5 remote rear resi shocks
    Nice pics! I need to go play on the desert sometime, looks fun. What kinda tire pressure were you running?
     
  10. Jun 5, 2010 at 9:09 AM
    #10
    YodaMedic

    YodaMedic [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17821
    Messages:
    46
    Gender:
    Male
    Travis AFB, CA
    Vehicle:
    09 Regular Cab SR5 4x4
    I never have a bad time out in the desert. I was running street pressure, forgot my portable air compressor at home so I didn't bother airing down although I am sure it would have helped.
     
  11. Jun 5, 2010 at 9:12 AM
    #11
    derekabraham

    derekabraham Living vicariously through everybody

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2008
    Member:
    #7822
    Messages:
    28,873
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    TW'S Hippy Liberal
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2002 4x4 4Runner
    Stick on hood scoop from Autozone.
    Sweet pics!
     
  12. Jun 5, 2010 at 9:23 AM
    #12
    2010 trd sport

    2010 trd sport Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2010
    Member:
    #37444
    Messages:
    80
    Gender:
    Male
    NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 trd sport
    none yet
    Great pics. That looked like an awesome trip! I wish there was something like that around here. Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:
     

Products Discussed in

To Top