Not only do I have a long list of places I wish to visit day little day trips here in California, but also a long list of places I wish to stay at. California offers a lot with regards to unique accommodations, from the Madonna Inn to the Wigwam Motel, there are many neat places to visit for small getaways. For my birthday I picked one such interesting place, the Joshua Tree Inn, and specifically room eight.

To the average person the Joshua Tree Inn may not look like much, but it is home to a piece of unique music history – it is the place where country rock pioneer Gram Parsons passed away. Call me morbid, but it is something I have been longing to do since I heard it was possible.

On the night of September 18th Parsons was here with friends drinking and later, drug use. Gram was no stranger to drugs, including heroin, and had been off and on trying to get clean, which was perhaps his downfall. After taking an assortment of pills, and unable to secure heroin, Gram took morphine from a connection made with one of the other people at the motel. Gram went in and out of consciousness, but eventually overdosed. An ambulance was called, and Gram was taken away, motionless, only to be pronounced dead at 12:15, the morning of September 19th.

Gram’s infamy lived on after his passing, by way of his notorious “cremation.” Not long before Gram’s death, he and his manager, Phil Kaufman, had been attending the funeral of a friend, where Gram spoke of not wanting anything like what they were witnessing, and instead told Kaufman to just take him out to the desert and burn him. Kaufman did just that, stealing Gram’s corpse from the airport, and driving to Joshua Tree National Park’s Cap Rock, pouring gasoline into the casket and setting it aflame.

We spent several days out in the desert, mostly loafing about the pool and in the private patio of our room. The Inn is quiet and incredibly peaceful, and was the perfect place to recharge.

Outfit 1
Cowboy Hat: Found by my dad
Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels Tee: Worn Free
Mexican Blanket Print Shorts & Cowboy Boots: Buffalo Exchange, Los Angeles, California
Turquoise Cross Necklace: Wanderlust, Portland, Oregon
Turquoise Rings: Here and there

Outfit 2
Cowboy Hat: Found by my dad
Mexican Blanket Print Playsuit & Cowboy Boots: Buffalo Exchange, Los Angeles, California
Jean Jacket: Buffalo Exchange, Portland, Oregon
Turquoise Squash Blossom Necklace: Birthday present from Patrick (but I know it came from Magpie, Portland, Oregon)
Turquoise Rings: Here and there