Remembering our visit to Bodie - watercolor sketch

For those of you who are not from around here, Bodie is a wild west ghost town in the high desert of California.  We drove out there one day last summer, but it was spring there due to the high elevation.  We spent the day, had a picnic among the wild blue irises, and took many, many pictures.  It was a gorgeous day, wildflowers were everywhere.  I would like to do more sketches from our photographs.

A little history:

Waterman (William) S. Bodey discovered gold here in 1859.  The town was named after him and misspelled.  By 1879 Bodie had a population of 10,000 and was known for wickedness, badmen and the worst climate out of doors.  Killings were almost daily events.  The firebell (behind the falling buildings here) tolled the ages of the deceased when they were buried. 

In 1962 Bodie became a state historic park.  If you look in the windows you can see old bottles, furniture and peeling wallpaper.  I have heard that it is spookey on a windy, dark day, but it was so beautiful there, I did not see any ghosts!