Round The World and other travels

I had an excellent night's sleep and didn't stir until 0830, which is really quite late for me. I helped myself to the breakfast buffet laid on by the Furnace Creek resort - there weren't too many alternatives! - and was once again amazed by the number of British guests, closely followed by Dutch. By the time I stocked up on supplies at the surprisingly extensive store and got myself organised for the day ahead, it was already 10 o'clock. My main objective was to visit Scotty's Castle and then I would see what else I could fit in. I had read in a guide that it wasn't possible to do Scotty's Castle and other attractions in the Furnace Creek area in the same day. I suspected that this was nonsense and so it was to prove!

I made it to the castle by 1120, after a nice drive punctuated by the usual stops, including one for a very inquisitive coyote. Either some stupid person had fed him in the past and he was now reduced to begging for food, or else he was weighing up the possibility of trying a juicy morsel of  me! More likely, he was just plain nosey. In any case, I wasn't about to find out and photographed the animal through the raised car windows.

I had no idea what the strangely-named Scotty's Castle was all about; I had simply read in a guide book that it was a 'must see'. It is the most striking thing when you first catch sight of it, mainly because it is so completely unexpected in a setting such as this. I signed up for the guided tour at 12 noon. The tour, run by the US National Parks Service in whose care the castle now survives, proved to be very interesting. I won't spoil it for any future visitors; suffice to say that the story of the place is as bizarre as the building itself and frankly leaves a lot of questions intriguingly unanswered. Among all the natural wonders of the region, it is a magnificent monument to human eccentricity.

Next, I made my way down the short dead-end road to Ubehebe Crater, again not knowing what to expect. It was a rewarding visit, the landscape assuming almost lunar qualities while I was almost blown off my feet by a decidedly earthly strong wind. From here, I returned briefly to my hotel before embarking on Stage 2 of the day's sight-seeing. I had found out from the ranger at Scotty's Castle that the Badwater road had been partially re-opened. I decided that I couldn't be bothered with the sunrise thing on my day of departure; instead I would take the opportunity to visit this very afternoon. So I set out again along a truly spectacular road to the lowest point in the United States. I seemed to assume the role of official photographer, taking no fewer than four photos of people standing by the Badwater Basin sign. I didn't mind at all, even discovering in the process that one guy hailed from Edinburgh. I was indeed glad that I had made this second trip of the day, despite the searing heat experienced as I looked around.

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner. This time, I was happy to wait for the steakhouse to open at 1830. It was a good decision to wait : the food was very similar to the cafe, but the ambience was infinitely nicer and I had a most enjoyable dinner. I decided to watch another movie. With my next destination being Las Vegas, Ocean's Eleven seemed entirely appropriate