"Goodbye God, I'm Going to Bodie!!"

That's a direct quote from a little girl whose family was moving to the infamous and wicked mining town in the 1880's. Now a genuine ghost town, Bodie, CA, is quite a step back into our nation's nutty past. On our way back from Black Rock City (Burning Man), we stopped into this town frozen in time before we passed through Yosemite.

Bodie has a great story and is worth the 8,000 ft mountain drive to get there. There are no inhabitants or services beyond the gift shop in Bodie so we stopped for dinner and slumber about 45 minutes past there in Lee Vining at Mono Lake. Lee Vining is a town of 300 people so you would think there wouldn't be a healthy morsel in sight. Wrong!! It was so easy and the people couldn't have been nicer.

Our first meal was at Bodie Mike's BBQ and I pigged out. They had a great veggie mexi burger (salsa in the veggie patty with guac on top!!) as well as a delicious soup and salad bar. I also saw that they had teriyaki veggie kabobs!They are at Hwy 395, Lee Vining, CA 93541, (760) 647-6432.

After a good night's rest, I popped into the Latte Da cafe (a few doors down from Bodie Mike's) where they served up organic soy lattes ; ) I broke fast with my travel buddies at Nicely's, directly next door to Bodie Mike's, where I got a big bowl of yummy oatmeal and fresh oj.

If you happen to pop into Lee Vining for some lake activities or before you head over the Tioga Pass into Yosemite, you can stock up at their local market with fresh produce and a ton of vegan, veggie and other healthy products like Amy's frozen goodies, tofurky and Odwalla juices. The selection was incredible and I highly recommend you poke in if you are thinking of heading into Bodie or Yosemite. Or if you miss the turn for Mammoth!!