So, the last several nights when I get a little free time I have been watching the AS movies again. Something dawned on me in watching #3 last night. Those scenes where Dagny is at the party in the house in the Gulch...I thought, "Hey, I've seen this before...". Then it dawned on me that there are a few communities in the woods right around here that are just like that: a collection of very nice cabin-style homes tucked away in the forested area like that (I'm talking $1M for starters, many much more expensive). These are places like Montroeux Golf Club, Clear Creek near Lake Tahoe, etc.) And, these spots serve as the Gulch does in the book. They are escape properties owned by multi-multi millionaires who wan to hide away, and avoid California taxes. These spots are unbelievable. At least in AS some of the inhabitants aren't so rich. It's interesting the commonalities, though.