James Dean Virtual Cache
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(virtual)
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Virtual Cache is located off of highway 46 in the hamlets of Whitley Gardens, Shandon, and Cholame.
California State Highway 46 streaks eastward from the city of Paso Robles, near the northern edge of San Luis Obispo County, and cuts across gentle rolling hills and sweeping fields dotted with an occasional ranch. It is a desolate, windblown vista, broken only by the squatty, weather-beaten buildings that make up the hamlets of Whitley Gardens, Shandon, and Cholame.
Almost twenty-five miles from Paso Robles, and less than a mile east of Cholame, the highway cuts through a gap in the Temblor Mountains, so named because the San Andreas Fault runs at their base. Here the highway splits: 46 continues eastward to Bakersfield, and its branch, Highway 41, turns northeast toward Fresno. This junction near Cholame was the epicenter for a shock that reverberated around the world almost half a century ago, but not because of the constantly shifting San Andreas Fault.
Actor James Dean, idol to millions of moviegoers, was killed in a violent automobile accident at that junction.
Cholame, remains virtually unchanged since Dean’s death on September 30, 1955. The alteration in Cholame’s skyline is a stylized sculpture built in the memory of Dean by a wealthy Tokyo businessman, Seita Ohnishi. Ohnishi, reportedly idolized Dean for his lifestyle and philosophy. The businessman contacted a Los Angeles architectural firm to seek help for his proposed memorial. Ohnishi, who had never been to Southern California and speaks no English, made a total of three trips from Tokyo to Cholame to supervise the erecting of his memorial. After examining the site of the accident, which is now nothing more than a couple of road signs and flashing yellow signals, Ohnishi chose to build the memorial around a tree of heaven growing in front of the Cholame post office. Ohnishi reportedly chose the site with the tree because the Japanese consider trees symbolically sacred. The sculpture, composed of concrete and stainless steel, was cast in Japan and then transported to Cholame, accompanied by Ohnishi and placed there in 1978.
After returning to Japan, the businessman made a final trip to Cholame several months later for the dedication ceremony, held in September on the anniversary of Dean’s death.
Ohnishi reportedly never disclosed to anyone during his three trips to California why he decided to pay tribute to the actor 22 years after the fatal accident.
To receive credit for this cache, please add a photo of yourself with your GPS standing next to the memorial to your log. The highway the memorial stands off on has claimed many lives and you are reminded of this by the many crosses you see off the highway when you travel on this road. Please drive carefully.
Additional Hints
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