Old Castle Whiskey

[Toma777]

Old spice just isn't worth saving.

 

[UncleBruce]

A brisk slap in the face... sure did sting after a shave.

 

[Wildcat wrangler]

This may not be my best bottle, but it's my all time favorite, because it was found by my father and I at the May Lundy mines in the Eastern Sierra mountains around 1968, when I was about 8 or 9 years old.

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It was quite an adventure at that age to be backpacking with my family in the high mountains of California. Bottle hunting was more of my father's activity, and I joined him because I was too young to climb the mountains, and explore the mines on the sides of the high cliffs. It was something my "mountain goat" older brothers did. The old mines were filled with other antiques that my brothers collected, like lanterns, square nails, etc. Back in 1968 antiques were everywhere for the picking, especially in places like Bodie, where you could camp right inside the old ghost town.

Because May Lundy was so rocky, finding intact bottles was tricky, and we had to dig under old bushes to find them. I also found a small purple Kellogg's bottle in a sandier location.

U camped in bodie?! That would scare me, and not very much does! Very nice bottle, there. When was the last time u went to Bodie? It’s been a couple years for me, but a lot had changed- they had freakin tours with rides around the area. And a lot of buildings had fallen to the ground, or were showing their “arrested decay” from my previous time there, the year before. I have to go back, soon! That place is an absolute trip.


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[Wildcat wrangler]

Long distance electricity was invented because of Bodie. They needed to run their stamping mills to extract the gold out of the quartz, and so they experimented by running electric lines from the Mono Mills (I believe) hydro plant to Bodie. I believe it was something like a 26 mile run of electric lines, which had never been done before.

I visited Bodie many times over the years, and the last time I was there I sneaked into the private land area, and peaked into some of the old houses.

There was a Clint Eastwood filmed next to Mono Lake.

Now u can peak into all the houses- such a trip. The undertakers house, Lottie the town prostitutes house with George Washington’s pix up in her bedroom. I’ve been there 3 times and still have not seen it all- am planning another trip there, this summer. I can’t imagine how it was when it wasn’t a state park! I love your story, but couldn’t imagine camping at Bodie? The first trip, I took a square nail home- big mistake. I wouldn’t take anything out of that place- after a hellish year, & by then, I had heard of the Bodie curse- I couldn’t take that stupid nail back and leave it back at the Tracy house. Immediately this huge wind came up and and leave whole house was just screaming so loud, and it only got louder as I walked away... it was so creepy! I have it on video, someplace? Also there were bones all over the floor of the Tracy house. Did u say you got bottles from there? I saw incredible bottles there, but after that year and hearing other people’s stories, and seeing the Cole house just streaking so loud, I dust my shoes off when leaving that place! I can’t wait to go back!

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[Toma777]

The last time I was in Bodie was in 2002. It was around 1993 that I snuck into the private land area, still owned by descendants of the original owners.

The private land area, looking from the cemetery, is right of the big mine buildings, up on the saddle, and over the saddle. I parked somewhere outside of Bodie on the other side of the saddle and walked in. Then I walked into Bodie afterwards, and nobody seemed to care I was in the private land area.

I've had friends that say they lived past lives in Bodie, so for fun I told myself I would dream of a past life there if it were true, and that night, while camping near Bodie, I had a long lucid dream about a life in Bodie, which ended where I was buried alive in a mine cave-in. Like you said, creepy, but a lot of fun. What's funny is in the dream I recognized my sister in my dream as being one of my girlfriends in real life.

 

[hemihampton]

I always wanted to visit Bodie. I did buy a DVD disc of Bodie off of ebay a few Years ago. Interesting. To bad more then half the Town burned down many Years ago if I remember right. LEON.

 

[Toma777]

OMG! $2,300 for one of those Bodie bottles!

Pearson Bros. Bodie Soda Bottle CA - Bodie,Mono County - c1880-1887 - 2012aug - Saloon

Pearson Bros. Bodie Soda Bottle CA - Bodie,Mono County - c1880-1887 - 2012aug - Saloon - Holabird-Kagin Americana

www.icollector.com

Mark Twain In California’s High Sierra – From Mining To Story Telling

"Prior to Samuel Clemens’ fame, he was a journalist whose journeys lead him to the mining town known as Bodie."

Mark Twain In California's High Sierra - From Mining To Story Telling

Mark Twain in California created Sam Clemens' moniker. Read about where he gained fame as an author to his famous quotes about Lake Tahoe & much more!

californiahighsierra.com

 

[willong]

OMG! $2,300 for one of those Bodie bottles!

Pearson Bros. Bodie Soda Bottle CA - Bodie,Mono County - c1880-1887 - 2012aug - Saloon

Pearson Bros. Bodie Soda Bottle CA - Bodie,Mono County - c1880-1887 - 2012aug - Saloon - Holabird-Kagin Americana

www.icollector.com

Mark Twain In California’s High Sierra – From Mining To Story Telling

"Prior to Samuel Clemens’ fame, he was a journalist whose journeys lead him to the mining town known as Bodie."

Mark Twain In California's High Sierra - From Mining To Story Telling

Mark Twain in California created Sam Clemens' moniker. Read about where he gained fame as an author to his famous quotes about Lake Tahoe & much more!

californiahighsierra.com

Mark Twain wrote an account, reputedly of his own experience, of traveling across Lake Tahoe to camp. (It's been awhile since I read it, but I think the purpose was either to stake mining claims or homesteads.) He said that the campfire got away from the group and started a massive forest fire, which he described in some detail. According to Twain, the party decamped in a rush and never admitted (prior to his writing obviously) their responsibility. Ever since reading the account, I've been intrigued with the notion--not that I'll have enough years and ambition to do so--of either confirming or debunking the story. Are there 160-year-old fire scars over a large area in the country described, or contemporaneous newspaper accounts, etc?

Mark Twain also described a sailing trip on Mono Lake.

 

[Toma777]

Thank you for the additional information about Mark Twain. I've driven around Lake Tahoe, but never explored that area.

 

[willong]

Mark Twain wrote an account, reputedly of his own experience, of traveling across Lake Tahoe to camp. (It's been awhile since I read it, but I think the purpose was either to stake mining claims or homesteads.) He said that the campfire got away from the group and started a massive forest fire, which he described in some detail. According to Twain, the party decamped in a rush and never admitted (prior to his writing obviously) their responsibility. Ever since reading the account, I've been intrigued with the notion--not that I'll have enough years and ambition to do so--of either confirming or debunking the story. Are there 160-year-old fire scars over a large area in the country described, or contemporaneous newspaper accounts, etc?

Mark Twain also described a sailing trip on Mono Lake.

Found a couple websites with the fire tale. I had forgotten that it was part of "Roughing It" a book I have read entirely once and revisit portions of on occasion. Perhaps that is where the Mono Lake account resides as well. Here's a link with partial fire account: https://wildfiretoday.com/2010/09/18/mark-twain-started-a-fire-at-lake-tahoe/

There seems to be some acceptance of Twain's fire as fact, even if liberally embellished.