Dueling Ghost Towns

Calico, California, never got over Bodie being designated as the state's Official Gold Rush Ghost Town.

Today Governor Schwarzenegger signed a "compromise" bill naming Calico as California's Official Silver Rush Ghost Town.

The unfussy, quiet Bodie, preserved in a state of "arrested decay," is considered by many to be the more "authentic" ghost town, while Calico has characters in period costume roaming the streets.

A side note, Walter Knott, founder of Knott's Berry Farm, owned Calico for 15 years and deeded it to San Bernardino County in the '60s. The Calico name is used prominently in the amusement park's Ghost Town area.