Death Valley - Scotty's Castle, the inside story

Water was the key resource that allowed Albert Johnson to build Scotty's Castle. Several springs produce water in the canyon above the house. Johnson not only used the water to meet irrigation and household needs, he also fed it to several Pelton water wheels which he used to power systems in the house.

Here's what remains of another novel system he built - it's a solar powered water heater, dating (probably) from the 1920s.



Tunnels run beneath the house. These tunnels provided ready access to plumbing and wiring. They also look into a never completed swimming pool through stout glass windows. Tiles meant to finish the pool's concrete walls are still stored in the tunnels.

One of the Pelton water wheels is still operational. I had the fun of turning the valves that control it's water inlet. This particular wheel powers a 7KW DC generator. When electrical needs exceeded 7KW, the diesel generator on the right was added. I'll betcha that it made alot of noise!

Power from the generator was routed to two banks of fifty batteries each. These batteries are connected serially and in parallel to produce (I think) 120 volts DC. Electric systems in the house ran on DC, no AC. Surprising to me, the batteries are not lead acid.

Death Valley - Scotty's Castle

Scotty's Castle isn't really a castle and it didn't belong to Scotty. Chicago insurance man Albert Johnson built the place as vacation home. Walter Scott was a Death Valley cowboy turned con man who got along pretty well with Johnson. Joanie and I figured it'd be a good place to spend a snowy day.

The clock tower sits apart from the rest of the place. Johnson may have had unfulfilled plans to connect it with the other structures - he lost his fortune in the Depression and the place was never finished.

Both the exterior and the interior show a strong Spanish influence.

Details on the gate show good craftsmanship. The J/S stands for Johnson and Scott, all the more amusing since Scott had no money to put into the place.

The interior is a museum, maintained for the most part as it when the Johnson's occupied it.

Upstairs there's a music room with awesome sound. On the right there's a machine that plays rolls of music. The lattice on the right conceal the sound machinery, an organ with more than 1000 pipes. I think it's the 1920's equivalent of an awesome entertainment center.

Death Valley - Amargosa Opera House and Transportation

When the storms finally cleared, we headed north from Tecopa into Death Valley. The route took us past the Amargosa Opera House. Local legend Marta Becket still performs here on Saturday nights, though the show may change at any time due to her health problems ... In case no one shows up, she's painted a 150 member audience on murals inside the theater. Really.

The empty parking lot outside had a Twilight Zone feel to it. Sadly, we would miss her performance as it conflicted with our Solstice celebration.

See the URL http://www.amargosa-opera-house.com/

Transportation in the Valley has changed with the times. Initially, 20 mule teams hauled two large wagons full of borax coupled with one water tank many miles to the rail head.

This steam engine replaced the mules in later years. I would think the mules would have been more reliable.

Fast forward to 2008. Someone has painted a Dodge Cummins pink and used it to transport tourists eager to experience the "Natural Side of Las Vegas". I found this one hard to comprehend.

Tecopa Hot Springs

While at Agua Caliente, I asked Joanie where she'd like to spend her birthday. With a gleam in her eye, she said "Death Valley". So ... we left Agua Caliente and made our way north and east towards Death Valley. We drove through a nasty dust storm toward the Salton Sea, then north to Joshua Tree National Park, where we made preparations. The Black Rock campground where we stayed is just outside Yucca Valley, where Joan's Grandfather Basil Starkey lived for many years, so Joanie just had to have this picture.

We left Joshua Tree and headed north toward Death Valley, knowing that a series of storms was headed our way. Uncertain if this sign was a joke or not ... One thing's for sure, there's not that much commerce in the valley. Our plan was to weather the storms at Tecopa Hot Springs just south of the Park, then head in to Furnace Creek when the weather cleared.

The hot springs water at Tecopa feels silky. The "town" is a little rough, the place we stayed was rustic, if you know what I mean. Good folks, though. We seem to meet great people at hot springs. On the full moon, I built a large fire overlooking our camp. We invited the couple camping next to us to enjoy it with us. Eventually they joined us for dinner in our fifth wheel, complete with Joanie and Lisa dancing some country swing together after the dishes were cleared.

We've seen the coldest nights of the trip here. The mountains just north east of us looked like this the morning after the storm cleared. Two days earlier, we endured a severe wind storm. The wind knocked trailer off it's supports, blew down signs, broke open the door of the office. It moved our trailer back and forth enough that one of the chocks between the tandem axle wheels came loose. Good thing I'd chocked both sets!

The morning of Joanie's birthday dawned clear and calm. She walked the labyrinth above our camp, dressed in her birthday finest. Including long underwear, if I'm not mistaken. We had breakfast and dinner in the little bistro down the hill from us. Excellent meals and good company. Limited menu. Closed now until the day after Christmas.

Here Joanie wears a birthday present - it's a glow in the dark tee shirt, stating among other things, that " a good planet is hard to find".

China Ranch

One of the day trips from Tecopa took us to China Ranch, so named for the nationality of the man who began to work this land in the 1800s. It's an oasis on the Amargosa River, sheltered by surrounding bad lands.

Date farming at the Ranch began to really take off when the current owners bought the property in the 1990s. They've developed the date orchards of many varieties.

Darnest thing, to keep the birds from eating the maturing dates, each bundle is covered in cloth. Old sheets seem to do quite fine.

Pull up a sheet and voila, expose the dates within. We sampled several varieties in the little bakery/store at the ranch. Mmmmm ...!

Labyrinth

The flat rocky earth of the Yaga Labyrinth at Tecopa Hot Springs also hosts several pieces of rock art, courtesy of those that visit. Enjoy!

Agua Caliente Hot Springs - Anza Borrego Desert

The Agua Caliente campground isn't all that pretty - I remarked to Joanie that some of the surrounding hills look better in the dark ... Get out and hike the surrounding hills and canyons and the beauty of the desert comes alive.

The hot springs here have been developed and improved over the years. The indoor pool, which measures about 103 degrees, is enclosed by a metal framed glass building. Sliding doors open to the outside and the roof retracts, opening the ceiling to the sky.

Outdoors, a recently finished pool opened in November. This pool is "supposed" to be about 80 degrees F. One of the solar heaters was not functional, so it was a brisk 72 degrees. Didn't stay in there long!

During the weekends and on holidays the campground may fill. Weekdays we had it darn near to ourselves.

We hiked two of the trails that depart from the campground. Here Joanie checks the view and the trail ahead as we prepare to descend back to camp.

We hiked most of one day in the Blair Valley, seeing pictographs, bedrock mortars and prehistoric village sites. Here the wash pours off into Smuggler's Canyon, 100 feet below. And me without a rope! We turned around at this point.

Heading for home at day's end the temperature dropped significantly. We feel winter progressing. Since May, we've watched Jupiter move west each night. Finally, at Agua Caliente, on December 2nd, Jupiter caught Venus in the western evening sky. Soon we'll not see Jupiter at all. Orion is rising and Cygnus is slipping from the sky. Since November 1st we've been effected by the shortest days of the year, perhaps in much the same way as the ancient ones. Thankfully, daylight hours will increase December 21st!