(DIR) Hitori Dake no Renga - The Literate Anti-Comic (DIR) Floodgap Gopher Fun and Games Hitori Dake no Renga - If We Were The Last Two Men on Earth (63) Image: (IMG) panel-63.jpg This is a view down Main Street of one of western America's most famous (and infamous) ghost towns, the town of Bodie, at over 8300 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevadas. The town too wicked to die, Bodie boomed when gold was discovered in 1876. At its peak, the town had 65 saloons, countless opium dens, a thriving prostitution industry, and close to seven thousand residents braving winds in excess of 100mph and temperatures that during the winter were well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. After the gold strikes died, a small population clung to their holdings until a fire gutted much of Bodie in 1932. It was donated to the California state park system by the former owners, becoming a National Historic Landmark District in 1961 and officially a state park in 1962. The road there (State Highway 270) is fascinating, windy and horrid, and so is the weather. The isolation and the austere, stark conditions made me wonder what, in the town's last days, would have gone through the residents' minds. Copyright 2009 Cameron Kaiser except noted. All rights reserved. (TXT) What on earth is Hitori Dake no Renga? (FAQ) (HTM) Hitori Dake no Renga Web version Previous: (DIR) Hitori Dake no Renga - Portals of Gold (62) Next: (DIR) Hitori Dake no Renga - Happy Mother's Day (64)