We were up and out the door by 7:30 am en route to Scotty’s Castle 50 miles away. We made reservations for both the house and underground tour beginning at 9:30 am. Based on our experiences last evening traveling 17 miles over winding roads we decided it would be best to leave early so as not to miss our scheduled tours. As it turned out we arrived about 45 minutes early and were able to get in on the 9 am tour.
There has been much folklore surrounding “Scotty’s Castle” when the real truth is that “Death Valley Scotty” claimed this Spanish-style mansion was built by gold from his fictitious mine. In reality, it was the 1920’s vacation home of his wealthy friends.
When we arrived we were taken aback by the incredible beauty of the place in the middle of a desert oasis.
Scotty's Castle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Our tour guide was very informative bringing us through both floors of the castle.
One must read the true story of the Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson and his unusual friendship with a con-artist who called himself Scotty. Scotty wove tall tales until the day he died.
After completing the house tour we were given the underground tour of the castle. The castle was very modern for it’s day (early 1920’s) and had a refrigerator, gas stove and electricity generated by water that turned the turbine for electricity.
He also installed a bank of 100 dc batteries just to prevent the lights from flickering. Something that was a real irritant to him.
In the basement of the house there are thousands of tiles that were to be used to finish the “lake” in the yard. It’s really a pool but if it was called a pool then it would be taxed. Most of the tiles were imported from Italy and quite expensive.
The reason the pool/lake was not completed was because the federal government declared Death Valley a National Monument and the Castle fell within the parameter of the park.
Just a sampling of the tiles stored in the basement
The pool/lake area will never be completed because the National Park Service wants to maintain the integrity of the property as it was originally left, so the tiles will remain in the basement for ever!
Scotty was buried high up on a hill overlooking the castle. Of course we had to climb that confounded hill to see the gravesite. As usual, the sun was just in a position so Ron couldn’t get a clear picture of Scotty’s Monument.
The view from the top of the hill looking down on the castle
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It was a very interesting and informative time at the castle. The story of how these men met and became friends is one for the books.
Next we stopped at the Ubehebe Crater created just a few hundred years ago by a massive volcanic explosion caused by magma mixing with an underground spring, shattering the silence of Northern Death Valley. When the cinders and dust settled, the 600 foot deep crater remained.
There is a 1/2 mile rim walk around the crater that we chose not to take today.
The crater is quite impressive and pretty to view.
Back at the MH we had dinner then planned our final activity of the day. Attending the “Night Skies “ program. We have been to several over the years and always enjoy looking at the stars and planets through high-powered telescopes.
Tonight was the best program we have been privileged to attend. There were about 40 telescopes and much to see in the vivid night sky. We were able to see Jupiter, Venus, and star clusters like Pleiades and the distant Andromeda Galaxy, just to name a few. We are fortunate to be able to participate in such great programs. Sunday we plan to tour the Titus Canyon. Looking forward to more explorations.
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