Castle stands as curiosity in Esmeralda County

Nevada's remote expanses draw a few hardy types who relish solitude and resist the strictures imposed by living in close proximity to others.

California native Randy Johnston sought just such a spot after living many years at Lake Tahoe, and he found it in Esmeralda County at the Hard Luck Mine, about 35 miles from Goldfield on the way to Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park. Sparsely populated Esmeralda County imposes few limitations on taxpayers' developments on their own land.

In 1998, Johnston bought 40 acres that include the old mine and an adjacent claim. The Hard Luck Mine evidently operated from 1897 until World War II brought things to a halt. It never reopened after the war, partly because trespassers stole equipment left behind at the time of its closure. The mine is in a canyon at about 6,500 feet elevation in a rugged range dotted with old diggings.

Two years after buying the property, Johnston began construction of his "castle," and he has been at it ever since. Originally a plumber, this self-taught jack-of-all-trades does most of the work himself, occasionally helped by visiting volunteers. He lays block, sets stone and tile, fabricates steel and iron, installs plumbing, runs gas and electrical lines, builds furniture, harnesses solar and wind power, plasters, paints, grouts, maintains his own access road and handles whatever else needs doing.

The Hard Luck Mine Castle is about a 3½-hour drive from Las Vegas. Follow U.S. Highway 95 north through Beatty toward Goldfield. At Scotty's Junction, turn onto Route 267 and drive 6½ miles to the turnoff near the ruins of the lead smelter at old Bonnie Claire. Follow the graded road past a quirky wayside shrine about nine miles to a three-way split. Turn left on a marked side road to reach the castle perched on the mountainside above you.

The Hard Luck Mine Castle draws curious onlookers, just as neighboring Scotty's Castle did when construction on it began in the 1920s. The Moorish-style mansion in remote Grapevine Canyon at the edge of Death valley is about 22 miles from the turnoff to Johnston's secluded citadel.

Johnston interrupts whatever he is doing to give visitors a guided tour of his unique home. To arrange a tour, offered daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., call ahead at (775) 772-2413. Allow about 45 minutes for the tour. Since there are many circular stairs to climb and open balconies, this is not a suitable tour for disabled visitors or small children. A donation of $5 per person is suggested at the end of the tour.

From a foundation on bedrock, the 50-foot-diameter tower of concrete, stone and metal rises four stories, capped with a plate-glass cupola perfect for enjoying expansive daytime views and glittering night skies.

The structure encompasses 8,000 square feet from basement to cupola. Walls are 126 inches thick with arches for solid wood doors with hand-wrought hardware. Many windows pierce walls for light. The living space includes a great room, dining room, two kitchens, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a wine cellar, a media room, an electrical room and a workshop. A large shed outside houses a larger work space.

By the way, the unique property is on the market for $3,250,000.

Johnston's bastion utilizes power generated by the sun and wind, stored in banks of batteries. Thick walls protect the house from extremes of cold and heat. Vents channel outside air or rising heat to keep the interior spaces comfortable. The structure has no fireplaces, odd for a castle, but there aren't any ready sources of firewood nearby. Cooking is done with propane in the kitchen and on a barbecue outside that burns wood pellets. Water trucked in from a spring near Gold Point on the far side of the mountains is stored in a huge gravity-flow tank.

Johnston has the basic house completed, but finishing work remains to be done, such as grouting floor tiles and applying finish coats on many walls. He is installing two pipe organs in his desert retreat, complicated instruments he enjoys playing and maintaining.

He admittedly gets sidetracked when opportunities arise, such as his recent acquisition of cast-off parts of a vintage pipe organ, which he plans to use to increase the number of pipes in his organs. He has made many recent trips to the coast to pick up the long lead pipes and wooden covers.

Margo Bartlett Pesek's column appears on Sundays.