Scotty's Castle Days: Death Valley Weekend

While the historic abode undergoes renovations, stop by the Furnace Creek Visitor Center for talks, photos, and other to-dos.

THE FALL OF 2015... delivered a wailer of a storm to Death Valley National Park, and a landmark building, one of the best-known sites in the arid expanse, experienced a notable amount of damage. It's Scotty's Castle we're referring to, and so extensive was the flooding at the structure that it promptly shuttered, remaining closed not for just a few weeks, nor even months, but a number of years. All told, it will be closed for nearly a half decade, give or take, before it debuts again in 2019 (or 2020). By then, the destination will be restored, returned to its former glory, and ready to again welcome history-seeking, tale-craving adventurers, the people who want to know more about the former home of Albert and Bessie Johnson, not to mention colorful local character Walter Scott. But if its re-unveiling still seems a bit far off, you can indulge your desire to know more about Scotty, the Johnsons, and how this picturesque Mission-Spanish Colonial Revival home rose in such a remote and dramatic landscape. How? By attending...

SCOTTY'S CASTLE DAYS: The big thing to note here is that Scotty's Castle Days won't actually take place at the happening's namesake but at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. As for what will happen during the info-filled weekend? "This free public event will offer an opportunity to remember the beauty of Scotty's Castle through a virtual reality experience, new Scotty's Castle exhibits, a photo booth, and other programming!," says the site. Also? Talks about what's happening with the renovations will be a part of the gathering, as well as "costumed interpreters." If you're a Scotty's buff, and you just can't wait to see it again, this is definitely a next-best-thing kind of deal, a weekend full of love for the desert gem. Just make for the national park, and the Furnace Creek area, on Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 8, and connect with a fabled castle years ahead of its reopening.

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