On the side of the road just outside of Cholame there is a lonely stretch a road that winds between sun drenched hills there is an intersection that is the location, on a September 30th, one of the brightest stars in Hollywood was snuffed out. James Dean.
I had been to the crash site of James Dean as a kid, in fact you’ll get to see that in a bit, but it had been years, and it was worth a revisit for me, also Patrick had never been.
While there is a James Dean memorial along the highway, the actual crash site where James Dean met his end is at the intersection of 41 and 46 (though in 1955, it was 466), and those in the know pay their respects there. Often it’s easy to spot as those who love Jimmy leave tokens.




It was incredibly winding and brutally hot. I was thankful for wearing a dress that was a little too big and sans belt. Plus we had been on the road since 7 in the morning, so comfort was a bit of a priority.
After stopping at the crash site, we went to the memorial.


I also felt a need to recreate a childhood photo. I think this photo is from 1996…


Shame the rattle snake sign wasn’t there anymore!
I guess it should be noted that we have indeed arrived in California and are off having lots of fun adventures! And as much as I love instant blogging, my 11-inch laptop is quite the change from our 27-inch iMac with regards to editing photos! Also I’m often just beat by the end of the day! So we’ll see if more blogs posts happen while we’re here! Otherwise it will be a flood of posts when we get back to Portland!
What a cutie!!!! If you make it to Sacramento, you and hubby have a place to stay if you want. We have a great Mid century antique/vintage store I would love to share with you!!!
You can contact me by my email :celticlassacramento at yahoo dot com.
Best,
Morning Waters
oh how cool are these photos? james dean was so cool, your dress is amazingly cool and the desert scenery is also ‘cool’. i totally love this post.
-Abigail
This is so incredibly sweet. I love that you not only returned to the same spot, but posed just as you did when you were a youngster. What an awesome series of memories to make!
♥ Jessica
I LOVE that you recreated that photo! So adorable! 🙂