My wife and I love to visit ghost towns as we RV across the Western United States. Each town has a story to tell, interesting places to explore and endless opportunities for shutter bugs. Forest City, California is no exception. It has photogenic old buildings, several fascinating stories attached to it and if you visit in the fall, a resident bear. In the mid to late 1800’s fresh fruit was a delicacy and a much needed staple for the town’s miners. A diet without fresh fruit could lead to scurvy and other illnesses. To avoid this, the residents of Forest City planted apple trees to provide a source of fruit. Over a hundred years later these trees are still bearing fruit, even if the residents are no longer there to harvest and consume it. Now the low hanging apples and ripe ones that have fallen to the ground are a ready food source for the local bear each autumn. In the vicinity of the old school house we found ample evidence of our apple loving friend. Numerous tracks and apple “dumplings” were left behind since the last rainfall which was several hours prior to our visit. Needless to say, we were watchful where we went (and stepped !) during the remainder of our visit. Ghosts, bears and dumplings, just another adventure in RVing!
Schools out forever in Forest City!
Fresh tracks in the school yard.
Main street.
Spotted this guy a couple of days later. Was this the apple loving bruin?
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