The tragic loss of a star

Perhaps no American male actor has had more press coverage than the iconic James Dean. This handsome twenty-four-year-old man had just begun his career in Hollywood when his life ended tragically on September 30th 1955.

James Dean in his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

He had appeared in only three films, but his persona was generating a sizzle among film critics.

There are more posters and t-shirts, with him looking forever young and handsome, than most people have brain cells. And there are the famous paintings, showing Dean hanging out with Humphrey Bogart, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe in bars, pool halls, movie theatres, and one with a very chilled polar bear in a hot tub.

I bought that one. Laureen told me it was fake. But who wouldn’t buy it?

In an interview conducted by MTV with Johnny Depp in 2005, the actor had this to say about Dean.

"There are moments — behavior — in 'East of Eden' that are pure magic. ‘Giant’ is pure magic; 'Rebel' is a bit dated and is sort of a strange vision of the 1950s, but his work in that was amazing."

One recent afternoon, my son-in-law, Justin, informed me that the late actor’s transaxle from his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder sold at auction for $382,000.00.

“What?” I asked, trying to recall what a transaxle actually was.

“Yeah, part of his wrecked Porsche. The single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile’s transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly.”

Had to agree he’s one smart guy. No father-in-law actually wants to admit that. Son-in-laws are to be the brunt of jokes.

Those are the rules.

“Maybe the purchaser should have gone to Rock Auto,” I replied. “Would have been cheaper.”

Why such a high price for a piece of a car driven by James Dean? No idea, and actually there wasn’t much left of the Spyder after the collision at the intersection of Route 466 and Route 41. 

Dean was an amateur road racer, and had recently purchased the Spyder for a race in Salinas. Because the vehicle was new, it didn’t have enough break-in miles on the motor. So, his Porsche factory-trained mechanic, Rolf Wutherich, suggested driving the Spyder to Salinas for the race.

Okay, instead of towing the sports car to Salinas, there was a chance to drive it all the way there – who’d give that up? Dean didn’t.

On September 30th, he left Sherman Oaks around two in the afternoon, headed for the Grapevine and Fresno. From there, he and his companion would take the route toward Salinas.

Just south of Bakersfield, Dean was ticketed for speeding by the California Highway Patrol at three-thirty in the afternoon.

Duh, a brand new Porsche 550 Spyder. 

If I had been driving that vehicle, there would have been a message sent to the CHP’s offices along the route prior to my leaving.

‘Please pre-fill out the tickets for speeding, and send them to Laureen. I just can’t drive fifty-five.’

That would make a great title for a song. In fact, I could imagine Sammy Hagar performing it.

Dean and his mechanic, Wutherich, stopped at Blackwell’s Corner to fill up the Spyder before taking off to meet up with some friends in Paso Robles later in the afternoon.

A bit peckish, Dean bought an apple and a Coke before leaving the store. He smiled, took some photographs, and then got back into the Porsche heading west on Route 466 (later changed to Highway 46).

The corner store was located near the town of Lost Hills, forty-two miles west-northwest of Bakersfield.

Being a race car, and the fact the windshield was rather limited, Dean may have donned his favorite pair of goggles when leaving Blackwell’s Corner for the drive to Paso Robles.

That’s an important thing to remember – the goggles.

Just before six in the evening, a Ford Tudor Coupe entered Highway 466 from Highway 41 and within seconds crashed head-on with Dean’s vehicle.

Witnesses said the Spyder was sent into the air, and flipped over numerous times before coming to a rest in a gulley alongside Route 466.

What was left of Dean's Porsche after the crash

Wutherich was horribly injured but survived the crash. Dean did not. He died soon after being placed into an ambulance.

The driver of the Ford Tudor Coupe, Donald Turnupseed, ended up with a bloody nose and some facial injuries.

I was about to type something about Turnupseed’s name sounding a lot like ‘turn-up-the-speed’, but Laureen thought it would be better if I didn’t. Not classy, considering.

The twenty-three-year-old Navy veteran and Cal Poly student, may not have seen the Spyder heading west along Route 466. The grayish-silver, low-profiled speedster may have been hard to spot at that time of day.

It was a sadly tragic accident.

A twenty-four-year-old was dead, and a twenty-three-year-old might blame himself forever for that accident.

Laureen and I were heading to Monterey, not long ago and were traveling Highway 46 westbound.

“Did you see that sign?” she asked.

“Spiritual? Or highway?”

“The one we just passed that said this was the James Dean Memorial Junction.”

Missed that. A quick and safe U-turn took us back to the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 46.

John at the junction of 46 & 41

We parked far off the pavement, looked both ways, and then sauntered off toward the highway sign Laureen had noticed. There was also a memorial to Dean along a chain-linked fence on the north-west corner of the highways.

Make-shift memorial to James Dean

Even with traffic speeding by us on all sides, the location was eerily serene. Here, at this spot, one of America’s up and coming actors had been killed by a freak accident.

The memorial had flowers, ribbons of various colors, hand painted signs about James Dean, and a small heart shaped locket hanging from the fence.

Laureen at the intersection where James Dean lost his life

We wondered and pondered, what it must have been like when those first people came across such a horrific car crash. It must have been heart-rending. 

It was touching. We didn’t say much to each other, the place deserved quiet and reflection.

Forgetting for the moment that we were originally heading west toward Monterey, we turned around and headed east, back to Blackwell’s Corner, located at the intersection of State Route 46 and State Route 33. George Blackwell had opened a rest stop at the location in 1921 for road weary travelers. The name of the corner is in honor of him.

The place was hopping with tourists. Besides being a gas station, this is the place to go for any kind of pistachios. They had garlic onion, hickory smoked, roasted salted and peppered, chili lemon, and more than I wanted to jot down. There was home-made fudge, home-made cookies, home-made pickles, and a bunch of other home-made products that were never made in my home.

John standing next to a very tall James Dean

It’s a large place, this Blackwell’s Corner, and everywhere the guest would look there was the history of the region along the walls and the floor space.

Photographs of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and others showing Hollywood’s best during the 1950’s. 

There was a tribute to John Steinbeck, one of my favorite authors, depicting a pick-up truck loaded down like the one the Jarod family may have driven to the West along Route 66. Packed to the gills with everything a fleeing family would need to make a new home for themselves in California.

And of course, there is an entire hallway in honor of a customer who had stopped by on that fateful September 30th day in 1955.

There are photographs of him adorning the walls. Newspaper clippings of his film success as well as his obituary. And one piece of equipment the young actor may have worn that day - that last day of his life.

His goggles.

After the accident, passersby, stopped by the crash site and some decided that pieces of the carnage laying around were free to take.

There’s a tale of a young woman snatching Dean’s goggles from the ground, and hiding them in her purse.

Sixty-two years later, a family member donated them to Blackwell’s Corner as a museum piece – and they are now there behind bullet proof glass.

James Dean goggles, picked up by a passerby

There’s debate over whether Dean was wearing the goggles at the time of his death, or if they just happened to be in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Does it really matter?  

A celebrity is killed - grab what can be taken from the scene and auction them off. But, in this case, the family finally did the right thing. 

Driving a highway is one of the great adventures we can enjoy. You never know what you may run across.

Even a memorial to a forever twenty-four-year-old actor, by the name of James Byron Dean.

Juneteenth - a time to Celebrate

Although the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 ushered in the end of slavery, word of freedom, and enforcement of the law, traveled slowly, following the advance of Union troops. Texas was the most remote of the Confederate states, thus it took more than two years after the document was signed by President Lincoln for the news, and support to reach throughout the US.  

President Abraham Lincoln

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger delivered the news to the people of Galveston, Texas: freedom. By 1866, all territories (including Indian Territories, the Choctaw were the last to free enslaved people) recognized not only the proclamation, but the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment of 1865.

Major General Gordon Granger

Originally called Jubilee Day, or in certain locales, Emancipation Day, Juneteenth joins together “June” and “nineteenth,” in recognition of the date of Granger’s announcement. Preserving its place in history, Texas became the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday. In the late 1870s, the Texas Legislature declared it a 'holiday of significance...particularly for the blacks of Texas.'

Earlier this month, both houses of Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing the date as a federal holiday. It is expected to be signed into law today, June 17, and become the 11th federal holiday.

Juneteenth is a day to celebrate the joy of freedom, especially for descendants of those who were once held as slaves. The holiday is also a time for reflection, bringing to light the historical injustices suffered by African Americans.

Le Haute Desert Aerie - the place to be

 

Main Street, Pioneer Town

It was suggested by a reader that I should visit a place near Pioneertown, which I would find very interesting.

I like interesting places, and know Pioneertown. Laureen and I played a couple of characters in a low-budget western film utilizing the 1880’s themed town a few years back. 

Pioneertown - the place, where all sorts of Hollywood western legends used to film movies and television shows is approximately sixty-seven miles, southeast of Victorville off of Highway 247. The likes of Roy Rogers, Russell Haden and Gene Autry, just to name a few were almost locals in this place. Rogers enjoyed nothing better than bowling at the Pioneer Bowl between film shoots.

And there we were with a film crew, all dolled up in our western apparel and ready to act. It was a great deal of fun - if standing around for hours dressed in period wardrobe, on a hot summer day, and waiting for the chance for a three minute on-screen presence could be considered enjoyable at all.

We love dressing the part

Actually, we had a great time with the entire crew and couldn’t wait to see our film debut on the big screen.

We’re still waiting.

But, I digress.

I asked Laureen if she recalled a place in Pioneertown that had something to do with being hot and airy in the desert. “It’s called Le Haute Desert Aerie.”

Shaking her head, something I am all too familiar with when I pose certain questions, she responded. “It’s French, and roughly translated means a birds nest in the high desert.”

“That’s what I thought,” I responded.

Anyway, turns out that this Le Haute Desert Aerie, is a rather fancy getaway that involves Airstream trailers, safari tents, and a large hand-crafted house sitting on top of a high hill just northeast of Pioneertown.

Airstreams, tents, and anything crafted got my attention.

A road trip was needed – actually, in this humble writer’s opinion – a road trip is always needed.

I contacted the General Managers of the Le Haute Desert Aerie, to see if we could have a tour of the property.

Darrein Seqqoya, who is one of the managers along with her husband, Ryan, stated: “We’d love to take you on a tour.”

“And we’d love to be taken on a tour,” I replied. “Are the Airstreams really shiny?”

“Excuse me,” she replied.

“The trailers, the Airstreams, they are so cool and shiny when the sun hits them just right.”

There was a pause. “Yes, they are.”

They are really shiny!

We set a date and time for our tour.

“You didn’t really ask if they were shiny, did you?” Laureen asked, as we headed east out of Lucerne Valley on 247.

I didn’t answer. It did sound rather inane, when stated back to me. Shiny, of course they would be – they’re Airstreams.

Before starting out, research was conducted and learned that the owners of Le Haute Desert Aerie, were Eric and Lori Mueller. Eric is an internationally known artist as well as a successful custom furniture designer and builder. He had painstakingly built each section of the desert getaway himself. Native stone, scavenged Joshua tree wood, and other natural materials were used to create a sanctuary, all on forty acres of rolling desert hills.

Laureen and John beneath the Spirit Portal

For nearly a decade, they have run an Airbnb, used primarily for commercial photographers and film industry rentals. But now, they have expanded and the entire forty acre compound or specific sections of it can be rented from two nights to three million nights. A huge portion of their business is a venue for weddings.

“The photographs on line were beautiful,” Laureen stated. “The whole place looks so serene.”

“We shall see after our tour,” I stated. Being a travel writer, I have to see for myself before making judgement calls with only internet photos as a baseline. I’m disciplined like that.

The directions given to us were perfect. Just a half mile east of the restaurant, Pappy’s and Harriet’s, in Pioneertown there is a very well graded dirt road heading north. Stay on it until it reaches Le Haute Desert Aerie. It’s that simple.

A public service announcement; do not use a GPS. The Pioneertown and Sawtooth Mountains play havoc with the satellites circling the earth. 

“It says to turn around, get out of the car, and roll around in the dirt.”

“Must be the right thing to do. It is the global positioning system, after all.”

Driving up to the main entrance to Le Haute Desert Aerie was very impressive. To the right is the main residence, a large multilevel structure which appears to have come out of a different country.

Recognizable right off is a large wood pergola stationed on the lower level from the entrance way. 

“That’s not from here,” I said.

“No, it’s from Tibet,” Ryan responded, as he and Darrien introduced themselves.

All the way from Tibet

This young couple have been the property managers, and marketing team, for the resort for nearly eight months. They moved to the site from San Diego, and haven’t regretted one second being somewhat off the grid.

“We really enjoyed San Diego,” Darrien said. “But living here, and meeting all the wonderful people who visit us, is so worth it.”

“It’s so peaceful here,” Ryan stated. 

Peaceful seemed in abundance. The views of the desert were wide and open. They were also open and wide.

“Let’s begin with the tour down at the Airstream village,” Darrien suggested.

John with the managers, Ryan and Darrien

And we did. Walking down dirt paths, we were shown a garden of trees – juju bean, cherry, apple, and a whole lot more that I can’t remember. Well-tended and loved.

“The whole property is on solar, even though we are on the grid,” Ryan said. “And we obtain our water from a large underground aquifer.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey information, the aquifer within the Yucca Valley – Joshua Tree area, is huge, and with its annual recharging from runoffs of snow in the nearby mountains, there is plenty of water to be had.

Airstream Village consisted of two large shiny Airstream trailers, with large outdoor covered decks, fireplaces, barbeques, and awesome views of the desert and mountains to the west. 

One great aspect was the outdoor shower. Well, not outdoor exactly. There are doors for privacy, but when showering there is an open view of the surrounding territory for the showerer.  

“I bet the view from this shower is fabulous at night,” I said.

“All the views at night are fabulous,” Ryan replied. “The Milky Way is our window to the universe.”

Well said, young man, well said.

One of the outdoor showers, staring into the heavens

“We have people from all over,” Darrien reported, “and say they’ve never seen such night skies like we have here.”

The places most of the folks come from are Los Angeles, San Diego, and other places south and toward the coast. Though, according to the managers, they are starting to receive guests from all over the southwest.

This place, this Le Haute Desert Aerie has an entire feeling of the Bohemian to it. It has artsy written all over it. Eric has spent years upon years creating a canvass with layers of relaxed patterns, style, texture, color and warmth.

Each section a visitor would find themselves is different. No two spots within the forty acre refuge is the same.

We learned that as the tour continued past a rather large and gracefully designed natural lagoon. Here, guests can sit in chairs while lounging on the sandy beach, enjoying the coolness of the clear and cool waters. 

On a long winding path, we came to a sign which pointed to the left to Little Tibet and to the right Marrakesh. 

This was the Safari Tent section of the resort. The term is, glamping, short for large canvass tents, with soft queen sized beds, stoves, chairs, and outdoor decks to enjoy the views.

“Now, this is rough camping,” Laureen said.

If this is Glamping - count us in!

A few moments later we were at the main residence, also available for those who desire not only a bit more comfort, but a chance to see all the love Eric put into this home. It is hard to explain in words.

Door frames, doors, floor tiles, ceiling panels, windows seem to speak of other countries in which they have come. The home is that of an artist – an artist with a perfect eye for every detail.

The main house is incredible - that's the best way to describe it

“It is absolutely gorgeous,” Laureen stated.

I had to agree. 

For further information:

https://www.lehautedesertaerie.com/