“USA 🇺🇸 ~California Driving from Lost Hills and Cholame to Our House in SoCal AND an Ode to James Dean”

• September 18, 2023
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

We Made It!!!

California USA 🇺🇸

⬆️ Our house in Cali, Jonah, The Whale and Daryl’s e-bike. Daryl was so happy to get his bike back on the rack, after our Alaska trip! 

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⬇️ A quick get-together for a bite and great conversation with our friend, Pam 💕

WAY Earlier On This Day

We had a beautiful sunset in Lost Hills, California, on our last evening there, at the KOA; where we stopped to simply discontinue driving for a while. We rested up and really did very little, which was the plan.

On departure morning, we were up at 3:30AM to break camp 🏕️ and get under way. This was the final leg of our epic journey; the official return from Alaska, back to our house in California, where we had started from; though we headed for Montana to go to Glacier National Park, and the last USA State, before crossing the Canadian border, on the way to Alaska.

I decided to make our home, in SoCal our official departure location and return location, since we are not returning to Kingman, Arizona after all; which was where I had figured would be our leap-off point. It matters little, where, we start from, actually, since our travels are quite fluid, living this full-time RV life.

Four months and three weeks ago, we departed from our house, to make our way to Alaska.
We left our home, on April 27, 2023 after shuffling items into our storage there, to lighten The Whale’s load, and we headed out;  via Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Today we feel quite accomplished to have made this epic round-trip

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We were underway from Lost Hills, at 4AM. Since needing to go through Los Angelas, we chose to miss the commuter traffic, as much as we could. It worked out just fine and we did not get stuck in traffic, as we skirted around Las Angelas, making the early wake-up very worth it. 

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An Ode to James Dean ⬇️

While staying in Lost Hills, California, we took a Sunday drive in Jonah, on Route 46; the same route James Dean took on that fateful day, of September 30th, when he was killed in a two-car collision, 13 days shy (on this day) 68 years ago.

The first stop we made on this adventure to his memorial site, was very nearby, in the town of Lost Hills, CA. It was the last stop James Dean would make, en route to an auto rally he was heading to, but would never make. I’ve read where he stopped at a small market at this location, where he bought an apple and cigarettes.

We continued on to the actual junction of the accident, and then to the memorial in his honor, just beyond that. We were told by a local, there used to be a business that was opened at one time, nearby the memorial, that had a lot of James Dean memorabilia.

A lot can happen in 68 years.

The actual site of the accident is outside of Lost Hills, in an area called Cholame. This place was originally settled; (pronounced Sho-Lamb) by the Yokut Indians, Cholame meaning “the beautiful one.”

⬆️ One of the last known pictures of the star alive, on that day. It was taken at a gas station in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, prior to him arriving in Lost Hills, as Dean fueled up, en route.

Always the rebel, Dean’s real life hobbies would reflect his daredevil, on-screen enthusiasm. In addition to collecting guns and riding motorcycles, Dean loved his car; a silver Porsche 550 Spyder that he nicknamed “Little Bastard.” But unfortunately, “Little Bastard” would turn on him, on a cool September evening.

In the early afternoon hours of September 30, 1955, Dean would head out with Porsche factory mechanic; Rolph Weutherich to an auto rally in Salinas, California. Dean and the “Little Bastard” were pulled over for speeding by a Bakersfield police officer, who issued a citation for doing 65 in a 55 and cautioned Dean to slow down and be careful. Dean and Rolph would continue their journey to the Salinas rally and headed out on Highway 466, towards Cholame, California, unaware of their fate that was ahead of them.

Meanwhile, near Paso Robles, 23 year-old Cal Poly student, Donald Turnupseed was heading home in his 1950 Ford Tutor. He was making a left turn at the intersection of Highway 41, onto State Route 466 (later changed to State Route 46) unaware of the Spyder approaching from the opposite direction. At the last moment, Turnupseed pulled back to the right to get out of the path of the approaching Porsche, but it was too late James Dean had yelled to his friend seated next to him “He’s Got to See Us.” (Some sources cite the quote as, “That guy’s gotta stop… He’ll see us).”

The two cars hit; drivers side to drivers side. The Ford Tutor, “Little Bastard” and its occupants would come to rest near a telephone pole, fifteen feet off the road, making this location one of the most high-profile U.S. auto accidents—the wreck that claimed the life of actor James Dean in 1955.

Though I was not even born yet, before the iconic actor became famous and died tragically; after only making three movies, his story and this place is a big part of California history.

Contrary to the reports that have stated Dean’s speed was in excess of 80 miles per hour, California Highway Patrol officer Ron Nelson (one of the first law enforcement officers on the scene) said “the wreckage and the position of Dean’s body indicated his speed at the time of the accident was more like 55 mph.”

Rolf, thrown from the car, survived with a broken leg and serious head injuries, but he did survive. Donald Turnupseed, escaped the accident with only a gashed forehead and bruised nose. But James Dean, America’s “rebel without a cause,” would suffer fatal injuries, including a near decapitation. His body would be taken via ambulance to Paso Robles War memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, by Deputy Coroner Paul E. Werrick.

The Coroner’s report would list Dean’s death as a broken neck, multiple fractures of upper and lower jaw, multiple fractures of left and right arm and other internal injuries, caused by a two-car collision.

James Dean was only 24 years old.

Kuehl’s Funeral Home in Paso Robles, California would prepare the badly mangled body for its return back home to Indiana.
His funeral would take place at the Fairmount Friends Church on October 8, 1955.

James Dean is buried in Fairmount’s Park Cemetery where his tombstone has been stolen three times; the last time, in July of 1998.

Ironically, Rolf Weutherich would be killed in a car accident in 1981, after surviving several failed suicide attempts. Donald Turnupseed would die in 1995 of lung cancer.

The Roadside Memorial can be found about 900 feet from the crash site. ⬇️

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Next stop, Vegas, Baby!