Hearst Castle, Bakersfield, Barstow

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Geo: 34.893, -117.026

The Hearst castle was an excellent example of what you can do with lots of $$. Originally the land area owned by the Hearst family was in excess of 300 sq miles. William Randolph Hearst had travelled to Europe at the age of 10 with his mother. This was likely where he got many of his ideas. The castle is built of concrete to withstand earthquakes. The construction was augmented by artifacts brought from all over Europe and Asia and integrated into the structure. Money was no object and the project took 20 - 30 years. There was also a zoo and many exotic animals from around the world. Most of the animals have since been removed but some still wander the hillsides including zebra. After the 3 hour visit to the castle we headed southeast to Bakersfield and on to Barstow passing vineyards, nut trees and orange trees as far as you could see. The area is a large flat irrigated valley. Before Barstow we say hundreds of windmills for power generation. The area around Barstow is basically desert like. The weather was great - ideal for travelling. Tomorrow we pass through Vegas on our way to Utah and Zion park.

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