March 22, 2015. More Death Valley exploration

CAMPGROUND:  Mesquite Springs Campground inside Death Valley National Park.  At about 2000 foot altitude, so not too hot.  Very few amenities, as with most national parks.  Decent flush toilets. Dish-washing sink.  Beautiful huge sky.  $6/night.  4 stars

LOCATION:  Northern section of Death Valley National Park, in eastern California

WEATHER:  Sunny. Highs around 80

We said good-bye to our Quebec neighbors with their neat RV.  It folds down to a teardrop style.

We drove about 50 miles to the northern part of Death Valley National Park.  We didn't have a problem finding a campsite.  We picked this one, due to its location and altitude.  There are 9 campgrounds inside the park, some below sea level, others above the snow line. 

After lunch, we drove to Scotty's Castle inside the park.  In the 1920s, a scoundrel named Scotty got banks to loan him money to mine gold.  After giving Scotty a bunch of money which he squandered, one banker asked to see the mines.  He came out here from Chicago.  He found out it was a scam, but ended up loving the area, and built this fabulous Mediterranean style castle here.

We took 2 different tours.  Both were excellent.  The first was a tour of the home, guided by a park ranger in period clothing, pretending to be a cowboy in that era.  The second tour was an underground tour, in the castle tunnels.  We learned how they figured out how to have water and electricity back then.  The swimming pools were part of the castle grounds that were never finished.....

 In the tunnels are thousands of tiles that were going to be used for the swimming pools, including decorative tiles imported from Spain.

Then we went to see a huge volcanic crater.  The winds were about 100 mph.

Back at the campground, George made a fire.  Three other Airstreams are here...kind of unusual.  

DINNER:  Pasta with chicken.  Using more of the frozen leftover chicken, I added onions and garlic, as well as some leftover spinach.  I stirred in a little cream cheese for a sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan.