The rear courtyard has a garden, beyond which are tennis courts, below which
is the indoor pool.
The courts were illuminated for night time matches.
Cement courts require little maintenance, I would expect. Unlike traditional
grass or clay.
The back entrance/courtyard was never finished. It was used as the main
entrance when people drove up to the house, especially during inclement weather.
And one of the front towers is visible just poking over the roof.
One of the towers at the front of Casa Grande just showing above the roof line.
These hills are east of Casa Grande, and supply water to the estate. I
believe at one stage that water was also used to generate electricity.
This swimming pool is underneath the tennis court. Our guide is getting us
in, and coordinating with the other tour group at the far end.
The main body of the pool is 10 feet (3+ metres) deep, whereas the smaller
section shown here is but 4 feet (1.3 metres). At the time of construction, not
many people were swimmers, so the shallow pool was for them
This is the main part of the pool, showing both the mosaic tile pattern on
the bottom of the pool and the reflection of the roof and walls on the surface.
The mosaic tile pattern on the bottom of the pool. Remember the pool is 10 feet
deep, so the water is both clear and calm.
Shortly north of the visitor facilities for Hearst Castle is a vista point
called "White Rocks". Guess why it's called that!
The wider angle view includes the point with a lighthouse to guide mariners
away from the coast line.
The final view of Hearst Castle, as north of here it is well hidden. If you look
closely, especially at the larger version, there are two tour buses on the road
to the castle! One is on the left at the very top of the brown area, the
other on the far right.
And that ends the photos of this trip. I don't recall what we did for the next few days, but there are no photographs, so it probably wasn't much at all.
Inside Casa Grande
Reunion