[VAC] 03/02/01 Friday - EEWCRC

["Terry Tyler" <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"East and West of the Colorado River Caravan"

What a day this turned out to be. The alarm clock went off at 6am, we ate a quick breakfast, packed
a lunch and drove to Scotty's Castle. It is a bonafide castle in one of the most desolate,
forbidding and hottest regions in the world (134 degrees in the summer). March temperatures are
tolerable for visiting the castle. It was built in Grapevine Canyon as a vacation retreat by a
wealthy Chicagoan (Albert Johnson) and contains beautiful furnishings and art objects. We toured the
castle with a guide (in period clothing) who shared anecdotes about the owner, his wife and Scotty
(Walter Scott). The vast sums of money spent on building this castle seemed bizarre. The number of
bedrooms for guests and the lavish entertaining done at the Castle would be unimagineable if we
had not seen it for ourselves. 

After our picnic lunch, we drove to Ubehebe Crater (a huge volcanic crater with hurricane force
winds). My clip-on name tag was torn off by the wind. While searching for it and trying to avoid
being knocked down by the howling wind, I found someone else's new hat among the spiney shrubs. 

Back at the campground (100 miles of driving), we bought 35 gallons of fuel at $2.49 per gallon
<ouch>. This was our highest cost per gallon - ever. Three days in Death Valley was not enough time
to see everything. A week would be about right and then, only if each day's trip was pre-planned to
minimize distances traveled. Tonight's pot luck supper was another good meal provided by caravaners.


The Ranger program at the auditorium was interesting, but not as entertaining as last night. During
the walk home, lightning, rain and wind began picking up. The change between a slight breeze and
heavy duty wind can be mere minutes and seems unpredictable to me. Each time I unroll our awning for
protection from the hot sun, I don't want to leave our campsite. And, when we do, I immediately roll
the awning back up. Maybe I'm too cautious because three years ago, I lost an awning while sitting
under it on a calm, sunny day.

Terry
mailto:tylerbears@airstream.net