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Day trip to Scotty's Castle, Death Valley, California

10th October 2015 - Scotty's Castle

Scotty's Castle is an easy 52 mile drive from Furnace Creek, surprisingly a cool wind blows through that area and it was a pleasant in the shade. Built by millionaire Albert Johnson (or billionaire in today's terms) in 1927, this castle was actually called Death Valley Ranch. Johnson and his wife Bessie met Walter Scott, a con artist through a gold prospecting investment created by Scott.

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The driveway inside the castle...to continue with the story. Well, Johnson was a very sharp businessman and it didn't take long for him to work out that there was no gold mine. But instead of taking umbrage, he and his wife struck up a life long friendship with Scott. There appeared to be no single bone of truth in Scott's body, he was a compulsive liar -he even claimed to have built the castle.

The Spanish influence is very evident throughout the castle..all artefacts, furnishings, including the Johnsons' clothes in the wardrobes are the original. It's as if time stood still for Albert Johnson when his wife died in an automobile accident in a vehicle driven by him.

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The couple enjoyed Scotty's company so much, he lived with them at the Castle and was very much a part of their social life. In fact, Scotty was the resident "court jester" at the Johnson's parties. This gun rack holds Scott's guns at the entrance to his bedroom.

The 1 hour tour cost $15 per person and was quite fascinating. Our Ranger Guide Andrew did a great job of captivating our attention. There is also a tunnel tour but we felt it would take too long to do both. I won't tell you all of the story....you'll just have to go visit!

One of 2 Packards owned by Albert Johnson. Built in Detroit, Packards were the premier luxury American cars when they were first built. The first model rolled off the production line in 1899 and the last in 1956.

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8 miles from Scotty's Castle is Ubehebe Crater...worth the detour from the Castle. When we got out of our truck, we were almost blown off our feet...the wind was absolutely howling across the landscape...quick reflex action saved my visor before it could take off to oblivion. Thankfully the wind was blowing away from the crater and not towards the crater!

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Ubehebe is not a crater caused by a meteorite but it is a volcanic crater. The crater was formed when magma migrated close to the surface and the heat of the magma flashed groundwater into steam, throwing large quantities of pulverized old rock and new magma across the stony alluvial fan draped across the valley floor.

The resulting light to dark gray cinder deposits consist of finely fragmented volcanic rock mixed with pulverized bedrock.

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Here and there across Death Valley, we came across areas that appeared to have some form of underground water source, resulting in what appears to be pockets of oases.

How narrow were the rv lots?...well our slide outs were pushed into the trees, even the birds didn't know we were just a pane of glass away from them.

Tom giving a fellow rv traveller a hand at backing into his lot. The guy was doing the directing and his wife drove...well done Michelle!

Entrance to Furnace Creek Golf course - 214 feet below sea level. Tom had a game at the course which he found challenging due to the lack of elevation.

The Borax museum is within the RV Park - it is a free exhibit of carriages and machinery used during the gold rush era.

There is no smoking allowed - as you can imagine everything is tinder dry. You do not want to gain notoriety as the eejit who smoked the Borax Museum...it will be like knocking down one of Stonehenge's pillars!