Despite the fact that the CG is jam packed and we chose a site backed up to the highway, it was a very quiet night. The weather continues to be great with projected temperatures in the low 90’s. I finished the laundry and by early afternoon we headed out to Coral Castle.
Coral Castle is an engineering marvel that has been compared to Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt and has been featured on programs such as “That’s Incredible”, “In Search Of” and “You Asked For It.” In 1984 the Coral Castle was placed in the National Register of Historical Places. It represents the story of Ed Leedskalin a 5 foot tall 100 pound Latvian immigrant who spurned by the love of his life, his Sweet Sixteen, without any help, excavated, carved and moved tons of coral rock. He built Coral Castle using simple tools many of which he made.
Ron had been to the Coral Castle in the past but this was my first time visiting and I was awestruck by how one small man could excavate and move those rocks all by himself. While he was building his castle he charged admission in order to make money to support himself.
He understood the laws of gravity, and used counterbalances and leverages to move the the huge stones with the largest weighing 29 tons. Spaces between the large stones are filled with small fist sized stones placed perfectly so that no light shows through.
Ed built a sundial to record the hours between 9am and 4 pm. The sundial is so accurate it is possible to determine Standard time within one or two minutes year round. When this picture was taken it was 1:32 Pm exactly what the sundial projected. Amazing!
Next we stopped to see the Polaris Telescope. It is perfectly focused on the North Star. It stands 25 feet high and weighs almost 30 tons. He even has a small platform to stand on with a peephole that lines up perfectly with the telescope cross wires looking toward the North Star.
As the day progressed it go hotter and hotter Not sure when the cold front will be passing through but it will be a relief from the humidity. It’s the first time we have run into such hot temps and high humidity. The local people are saying this is their summer weather and they are also looking forward to a cooling down. Better then ice and snow though! LOL
Since it was Valentines' Day the heart table was very appropriate.
There are two gates, one nine ton and the other six tons that pivot perfectly with the push of a finger.
The fact that this small man knew enough about balance,weight, leverage and fulcrums that allowed him to build all of the different pieces in his castle alone was an incredible feat. He built himself a bathtub and would fill it daily from his well. He would heat the water by the sun and take his bath at night. He also carved a smaller area and painted the background black, filled it with water and used it as his mirror to shave.
We were allowed to walk up the sixteen stairs he built and look at his very meager quarters. We were told that when Ed opened his castle to visitors he was always well dressed and he did the majority of his work in the dark night because it was too hot to work during the day.
After the tour was complete we watched the video that provided more info on the Coral Castle and its’ builder. It was very interesting and a place that should be visited if in the area.
Also, because it was Valentines’ Day we were provided with free lemonade and cookies. If we wanted we could renew our wedding vows and be given a certificate. There was a bus load of people doing just that!
We enjoyed the history and our time at the Coral Castle.
Back at the CG we took Jewel for her much anticipated walk. We had learned quickly where not to walk because of the very aggressive pit bulls tied at some of the campers. We also noted that a lot of the campers that were here five years ago were still here. Below a couple of the long term residents. It really is a very cheap way to live , especially in a no- snow climate.
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