Scotty's Castle
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May 2007: Visiting Scotty's Castle in Death Valley |
Scotty's Castle is one of the more intriguing places in Death Valley. This mansion was built in the early 1900s by Albert Johnson, so his wife would have a nice place to stay during their excursions to Death Valley. |
The national park now owns the property, and runs tours with guides in period dress, and period personas... |
Walter "Scotty" Scott was a colorful character who among other things spent time in Buffalo Bill's wild west show. He convinced a couple investors that he'd found a gold mine in Death Valley, and just needed some money to get things rolling. |
In reality, he never did have a mine, and just used the money to support his flamboyant lifestyle. Chicagoan Albert Johnson was one of the investors, and asked for a tour of the mine. Scotty led Albert on a wild goose chase, even staging a holdup at one point. He figured he could just wear out the city slicker. |
To the contrary, Mr. Johnson fell in love with the desert, and took a liking to the affable Scotty. He didn't seem to mind being swindled - after all, it wasn't a lot of money to him. He returned to the desert year after year to continue his explorations. |
Mr. Johnson's wife started accompanying the men on their desert wanderings, and thought it'd be nice to have a place to stay out there. |
The "castle" was never completely finished. The Johnsons passed on, as did Scotty (he's buried on a hill nearby). The National Park Service acquired the property in the 1970s, and has kept up the grounds, but otherwise, left it in its original state (along with the unfinished swimming pool). |
Where is it? Scotty's Castle is located in the northeast corner of Death Valley. |
Before you go... There are two tours - one of the building, and the other of the underground tunnels. You can wander the grounds without a tour, but it's worth paying the fee so you can get inside. |
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