Rockies tour : Chico to Death Valley : days 304-306

home itinerary Caspar Scotty's Castle Death Valley
Chico to Death Valley The road from Caspar to Chico is at once endlessly fascinating and so familiar that I can't take pictures of it. Sorry. Over the Coast range, around Clear Lake, across the Central Valley. There seems to be much more irrigation on the west side of the valley near Williams.

Ever wonder what news readers wear behind their desks? We watched Chad do a couple of sports anchor assignments, ate wonderfully, and got a trip's worth of books.

From Chico along the east side of the Central Valley, first through almond orchards then rangeland. We turned into the foothills at Grass Valley, and drove along familiar Highway 49 almost to Jackson. The fields were green and the wildflowers at times abundant. We headed into the Sierras on a back road through Fiddletown, joined up with Highway 88, and cruised over Carson Pass.

It was snowing gently above 8,000 feet. Near Kirkwood we saw a wolf, and in the upper Hope Valley we saw a beaver. Our little new car handled the mountain driving magnificently -- it sure does love to go downhill! We came to rest at the eastern foot of Carson Pass in the little town of Woodfords.

Caples Lake

view from our room

The sun played through the clouds, illuminating the crags above the mouth of the Carson River's gorge.

For dinner, we rode up to nearby Minden, Nevada, for gasoline for our car and Basque cuisine for ourselves. At dinner I realized that I'm a California boy at heart. The countryside, the views, the towns, lakes, rivers, and forests here thrill me more than anything I saw in Europe. After dinner, the sun dropped beneath the clouds and illuminated the trees and dry landscape of the upper Carson valley, so dramatically different from the heavily forested slopes of the moister western side of the Sierras.

Scotty's Castle

Our longest day yet, over Monitor Pass, around two sides of Mono Lake -- two long Os, please -- and then across some of Nevada's most desolate desert, with Tonopah the bright spot. Goldfield, once a town of 10,000 souls, is now decrepit as only a desert town can be. Nevertheless, we arrived in time for a tour of Death Valley Scotty's Castle.

Death Valley Ranch, aka Scotty's Castle

tower and veranda

If there's a castle, we better see it! As castles go, this one is modest and recent -- built mostly in the 1930s and never finished due to uncertainty over who owned the land. Situated in the wettest part of Grapevine Canyon at elevation 3000 feet, this is, for Death Valley, as clement as it gets. The Johnsons, who really owned it, found the warmth, dryness, isolation, and quiet splendid. But Mrs. Johnson, a daughter of luxury, thought it would be nice to have something a little more comfortable than a tent for their winter vacations ...and so building commenced.

The Johnsons were religious and well off. Their first architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, proposed a variant of the Marin Civic Center, but it wasn't well suited to the site and would have been prohibitively expensive. Another architect came up with "modest" plans, but even so, the amount of building that actually got done cost $2 million. The building materials were cement, stucco, and redwood. The design called for a full basement and massive walls to improve thermal performance in this demanding regime.

inner entryway

weathered redwood shutters

tile sundial and chimney

wrought iron fixtures

The architect and building supervisor were friends of the Johnsons, and great care was taken to make the building harmonious and beautifully detailed. Although the location is hard on some materials, the iron and wood seem to be weathering beautifully three quarters of a century later. Credit goes to the National Park Service, who have been sensitively conserving and upgrading the plant. Our tour was conducted "living history" style, as if the year were still 1939, and Scotty might turn up any minute.

Scotty was a famous character, and did everything he could to promote himself. He'd spent 12 years with Wild Bill Hickock's Western Show, but never felt he received the billing he deserved. By the time Bill fired him, he'd learned plenty about the power of a good story, and spent the rest of his life telling stories. The Johnsons encouraged him, even adding building details to enhance his stories.

sunroom roof framing

Scotty's shot splitter

Scotty's main story was that he had a gold mine, and the castle represented just a little bit of his profits. As a wealthy man, Scotty knew he was the target of thieves. Thieves come in pairs, of course, and while one would batter on the door, the other would breach the window (out of the picture to the left.) The metal double bell would split the shot from a single blast, and dissuade them both from entering ...or so the story went.

The Johnsons, who had originally been sucked in by Scotty's story -- he was a shameless promoter of his apochryphal mine -- became his witting conspirators. Johnson introduced himself to the curious journalists who flocked to the castle as Scotty's banker, and Scotty was included in the ownership of the castle in every way but on legal documents.

Curiosity drew many other visitors to the ranch, and they were accommodated in a sort of motel on the site. Tours were also given, the technology proudly explained to anyone who wondered how "nice people" like the Johnsons could consent to spend so much time out here. In fact, they loved it, and undoubtedly lived longer, happier lives because they had the outrageous Scotty for a friend.

Death Valley Ranch chinaware

modern tiled kitchen
Johnson, trained as an engineer, introduced many modern conveniences to the castle, principally energy efficiency. Water for the castle came from a 100 gallon a minute spring well up-valley, and was conducted to the powerhouse where it drove a pelton wheel that generated electricity. The house had central heating, carefully designed ventilation that drew cool air from the basement, and coal gas for the kitchen range. The house boasted two indoor waterfalls, fondly remembered by everyone who saw them.

The tilework is remarkable throughout the castle, although in the 1930s tile was much used in California, and the Mexican tradition of creating decorative tiles for luxurious houses was enthusiastically adopted.

Like many homes in Southern California at the time, hot water was provided by a solar collector made of glass and copper. Unfortunately, an unusual cold snap destroyed the system, and it was never restored to service.

It is tempting to compare this castle with another contemporary California castle, William Randolph Hearst's grandiose development at San Simeon. Scotty's castle is much smaller and more modest. Some of its amenities are remarkable principally for their presence here in Death Valley, one of the most inhospitable places on the continent.

solar hot water collector

Great Room chandelier and fireplace

While the Great Room served as a public space and Scotty's audience chamber, the music room was where the family congregated, and it is finished more lovingly than any other room. The music room equipment, including a roll organ and interconnected piano, are still maintained in working order. With the shutters tightly drawn, the rooms of the house, in early May, are so cool and comfortable that it is easy to forget that outside the sun is beating down.

All castles seem to be about illusions, but this is Scotty's castle's most successful magic.

Scotty loved Death Valley, and lived here full time -- actually, in a cabin a few miles away even though he had a "room" at the castle -- but the Johnsons came only in late Autumn, Winter, and early Spring, when it can get chilly here, especially at night. All of the rooms have fireplaces.

Needless to say, the furniture stayed year around, and in summer, 100-plus degree temperatures are not unusual inside the rooms, despite the passive cooling and massive structure. Over the intervening years, this has taken a toll on wood and textiles.

the music room

elaborate redwood scrollwork ceiling

music room tile floor

The workmanship, carved redwood, wrought iron, and sculpted cement, is magnificent throughout. How did the Johnsons get such good artisans out into the desert?

spiral staircase to the tower

powerhouse arch and door

around Caspar on to Death Valley

Travel along with us!

home itinerary

updated 4 May 2002 : 22:09 Caspar (Pacific) time
this site generated with 100% recycled electrons!
send website feedback to the Solarnet webster

© 2001-2002 by Caspar Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Scotty's Castle Our longest day yet, over Monitor Pass, around two sides of Mono Lake -- two long Os, please -- and then across some of Nevada's most desolate desert, with Tonopah the bright spot. Goldfield, once a town of 10,000 souls, is now decrepit as only a desert town can be. Nevertheless, we arrived in time for a tour of Death Valley Scotty's Castle.
Death Valley Ranch, aka Scotty's Castle

weathered redwood shutters	tile sundial and chimney
wrought iron fixtures	The architect and building supervisor were friends of the Johnsons, and great care was taken to make the building harmonious and beautifully detailed. Although the location is hard on some materials, the iron and wood seem to be weathering beautifully three quarters of a century later. Credit goes to the National Park Service, who have been sensitively conserving and upgrading the plant. Our tour was conducted "living history" style, as if the year were still 1939, and Scotty might turn up any minute.
Scotty was a famous character, and did everything he could to promote himself. He'd spent 12 years with Wild Bill Hickock's Western Show, but never felt he received the billing he deserved. By the time Bill fired him, he'd learned plenty about the power of a good story, and spent the rest of his life telling stories. The Johnsons encouraged him, even adding building details to enhance his stories. sunroom roof framing	Scotty's shot splitter Scotty's main story was that he had a gold mine, and the castle represented just a little bit of his profits. As a wealthy man, Scotty knew he was the target of thieves. Thieves come in pairs, of course, and while one would batter on the door, the other would breach the window (out of the picture to the left.) The metal double bell would split the shot from a single blast, and dissuade them both from entering ...or so the story went.

The Johnsons, who had originally been sucked in by Scotty's story -- he was a shameless promoter of his apochryphal mine -- became his witting conspirators. Johnson introduced himself to the curious journalists who flocked to the castle as Scotty's banker, and Scotty was included in the ownership of the castle in every way but on legal documents. Curiosity drew many other visitors to the ranch, and they were accommodated in a sort of motel on the site. Tours were also given, the technology proudly explained to anyone who wondered how "nice people" like the Johnsons could consent to spend so much time out here. In fact, they loved it, and undoubtedly lived longer, happier lives because they had the outrageous Scotty for a friend.	Death Valley Ranch chinaware
modern tiled kitchen	Johnson, trained as an engineer, introduced many modern conveniences to the castle, principally energy efficiency. Water for the castle came from a 100 gallon a minute spring well up-valley, and was conducted to the powerhouse where it drove a pelton wheel that generated electricity. The house had central heating, carefully designed ventilation that drew cool air from the basement, and coal gas for the kitchen range. The house boasted two indoor waterfalls, fondly remembered by everyone who saw them. The tilework is remarkable throughout the castle, although in the 1930s tile was much used in California, and the Mexican tradition of creating decorative tiles for luxurious houses was enthusiastically adopted.
Like many homes in Southern California at the time, hot water was provided by a solar collector made of glass and copper. Unfortunately, an unusual cold snap destroyed the system, and it was never restored to service. It is tempting to compare this castle with another contemporary California castle, William Randolph Hearst's grandiose development at San Simeon. Scotty's castle is much smaller and more modest. Some of its amenities are remarkable principally for their presence here in Death Valley, one of the most inhospitable places on the continent.	solar hot water collector

Great Room chandelier and fireplace While the Great Room served as a public space and Scotty's audience chamber, the music room was where the family congregated, and it is finished more lovingly than any other room. The music room equipment, including a roll organ and interconnected piano, are still maintained in working order. With the shutters tightly drawn, the rooms of the house, in early May, are so cool and comfortable that it is easy to forget that outside the sun is beating down. All castles seem to be about illusions, but this is Scotty's castle's most successful magic.	Scotty loved Death Valley, and lived here full time -- actually, in a cabin a few miles away even though he had a "room" at the castle -- but the Johnsons came only in late Autumn, Winter, and early Spring, when it can get chilly here, especially at night. All of the rooms have fireplaces. Needless to say, the furniture stayed year around, and in summer, 100-plus degree temperatures are not unusual inside the rooms, despite the passive cooling and massive structure. Over the intervening years, this has taken a toll on wood and textiles. the music room
elaborate redwood scrollwork ceiling	music room tile floor
The workmanship, carved redwood, wrought iron, and sculpted cement, is magnificent throughout. How did the Johnsons get such good artisans out into the desert? spiral staircase to the tower	powerhouse arch and door

	updated 4 May 2002 : 22:09 Caspar (Pacific) time this site generated with 100% recycled electrons! send website feedback to the Solarnet webster
© 2001-2002 by Caspar Institute. All Rights Reserved.