The day after Vegoose, AKA Halloween, Nate and I needed to run a few errands and drop off a gigantic cooler on the other side of town. On our return trip toward the Whitney Library we were driving up Sandhill when I spied what looked like something out of a dream. On the right side, behind a wall, we saw a helicopter, parachutist, old neon signs, and a roof that looked like it was from a Taj Mahal movie set. Since we weren’t in a big rush we wandered through the neighborhood in search of this magical place.
I pulled up in front of what looked like a Mayan Temple. Yet this was a temple with a batmobile, spaceshuttle, octopus and dozens of other random oversized decorations in the front yard. I offered some cream to the kids that were checking it out then noticed a white Cadillac pull up in the driveway. After a quick introduction and a donation of some Mochi Ice Cream Lonnie Hammargren started to fill me in on his dream home. It’s officially referred to as the Hammargren Home of Nevada History or Castillo Del Sol. Due to Lonnie being an ex brain surgeon and lieutenant governor, he has amassed a collection of everything that old vegas left for dead. They only open the house for tours a couple times a year and, luck have it, Halloween was one of them. In exchange for the free Mochi and an Ice Cream Man DVD he gifted me a two dupees gold coin with his likeness on one side and his wife’s, Sandy, on the other. I was especially honored, even before he told me the story of how he had given one to Bill Clinton a while back. Apparently he is the only person who can make them and that they work in slot machines. He then quickly informed me that it was a felony to do so.
We looked around for a bit then ran into Tobias who had stopped by out of curiosity. Ends up that Tobias is a famous designer of leather and rare skin jackets and apparel. We talked for a while about designing an official Ice Cream Man outfit and came up with cream ultra suede pants, jacket, vest and hat accompanied by navy blue snake skin bowtie, buttons, belt, spats, and edging on the hat. So don’t be surprised if you see me entering the next ice cream season in some serious duds.
Once dusk came we headed back over to the house to check out the backyard. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it but I have a feeling it meant more to me than anyone else. It’s so refreshing to see successful people break free for societies confines and follow their hearts and dreams. I thanked Lonnie over and over again as I wandered around taking as many pictures as possible. Too bad we were only able to see less than half of the estate. Maybe next year we’ll be able to go in the tomb and see where Elvis is buried.
To learn a lot lot more about what’s going on at the Castillo Del Sol, click here.
