Death Valley, The Racetrack Playa and The Michigan Loader Site

For the fifth year I asked the group if we could go to The Racetrack Playa in Death Valley to see the spot of the burning of the Michigan Loader. I have been consistently outvoted because the spot is very hard to get to. This year I got my wish!

The Racetrack Playa, or The Racetrack, is a scenic dry lake feature with "sailing stones" that inscribe linear "racetrack" imprints.

From Lone Pine where we bunked for the night after checking out Independence it is about a 60 mile trek from the turnoff on CA 198. All of those miles on dirt roads. Not just dirt roads but really windy, mountainous mining roads. None of these dirt mining roads are closer than 40 miles to anything that can be called a town.

Luckily George has lots of backcountry driving experience, topo maps and ice in his veins. The ride was very very bumpy, and we got temporarily lost at least twice. The views were spectacular. Death Valley is a breathtakingly beautiful place.

The view from Hunter Mountain overlooking Hidden Valley:

Tea Kettle Junction - about 6 miles from the Racetrack. Yes, we left a tea kettle:

Racetrack Playa from about 3 miles away:

Racetrack Playa:

The rock formation near the center is known as "The Grandstand".

Sailing Stones at The Racetrack:

Below is the set of the burning of the Michigan Loader, the incident that spurred the Inyo County Sheriff's Department to start the investigation that led to the Barker Ranch Raids and the final arrest of Charles Manson. The spot is the turnoff onto Lippincott Lead Mine Road.

As intense and unforgiving as Death Valley is, it is full of natural beauty.:

On the way back to LA we hit the Trona Pinnacles. Many of you will remember the backdrop from the YouTube video of Bill Nelson filming Cappy as she protested that he had promised not to film her:

MansonBlog Tour 2016: Independence, CA

Today was Independence, CA - where Manson and others were processed and held following the Barker Ranch raids.

We were fortunate enough to get inside the courtroom!!! The below photos are the courtroom from outside the doors, then from just inside.

Above is the iconic LIFE Magazine photo of Lynette and Sandy, followed below by the seats they occupied. The courtroom has changed very little since 1969.

Above is the stunning view from the courthouse steps. Eastern CA offers some really spectacular views of the eastern Sierras.

Above is the now boarded-up Pines Cafe. While in Independence, the press would treat the girls to pie, sodas, and so on to have more opportunities to speak with them.

We had hoped to gain access to the old jail to see Manson's cell. The engaging folks in the courthouse informed us that it had been razed around 1990. Sitting between the historic courthouse and the Pines Cafe is this empty lot which was the location of the jail. We were disappointed but undeterred. We set out for the Eastern California Museum a few blocks away to see if we could find photos.

The curator of the museum was a great help. We were able to get these archived pics of the old jail which housed Manson in 1969:

They promised to research the archives for any surviving photos on the inside where Manson was held. If we get them we will post them for you.

We also tried to determine which of the motels the girls stayed in. The museum curator was certain it was Ray's Den on the north side of town:

But we think that there is a possibility that it is this one on the south side:

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This is the Property Report from Manson's arrest October 12, 1969 in Inyo County.  He gave an alias of Charles Miller Benson when arrested.  According to Manson the officers booking him added the Jesus Christ alias, an alias he never claimed use.  The charges on the report are 10851 which is a vehicle code charge for stealing a vehicle, 496 PC receiving stolen property and 272 PC contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

MansonBlog Tour 2016: The Gun Toss And Steven Weiss' House

After the murders on Cielo Drive the killers turned up Benedict Canyon Blvd. to return to Spahn's Movie Ranch. After crossing Mulholland Drive on the crest of the Santa Monica mountains they turned north on to Beverly Glen Blvd. and began their descent into the San Fernando Valley. Soon after starting down the hill Linda Kasabian threw the .22 caliber High Standard Buntline revolver used in the killings out of the car's window. The gun went over the side of a hill and landed on an embankment leading down to the back yard of the Bernard Weiss residence where it was found by son Steven Weiss while he was working on a sprinkler fixture on September 1, 1969. The gun was turned over to police the same day, but no connection was made between the weapon and the murders for over two months.

The former Weiss residence at 3627 Longview Valley Road

in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles

Google Maps view of the Weiss residence 

and Beverly Glen Blvd. behind and above it. 

The road sign in the center of the picture gives a good idea of 

how close to the Weiss house Beverly Glen Blvd. is. 

The hillside behind the Weiss house where 

the gun used in the Cielo Drive murders was found

The property has a very small back yard.

The gun (Photo courtesy CieloDrive.com)

On tour day the house was seemingly vacant and being made ready for repairs, so we were able to explore it completely, even venturing into the back yard. The house practically abutted the hillside behind it, but someone in a car on Beverly Glen at night would likely not have been aware that there was a neighborhood and houses situated so closely to where the gun was tossed out. 

MansonBlog Tour 2016 - Jane Doe 59

Helter Skelter page 620:

On November 16, 1969, the body of a young girl was found dumped over an embankment at Mulholland and Bowmont Drive near Laurel Canyon, in almost the same spot where Marina Habe's body was found.  A brunette in her late teens, five feet nine, 115 pounds, she had been stabbed 157 times in the chest and throat. Ruby Pearl remembered seeing the girl with the family at Spahn, and thought her name was "Sherry." Though the Manson girls traded aliases often, LASO was able to identify only one Sherry, Sherry Ann Cooper, aka Simi Valley Sherri.  She had fled Barker Ranch at the same time as Barbara Hoyt and was, fortunately, still alive.  The victim, who had been dead less than a day, became Jane Doe 59 in police files.  Her identity is still unknown. 

The proximity in time of her death to that of Zero suggests the possibility that she may have been present at the murder, then killed so she wouldn't talk. But this is strictly conjecture, and there is no evidence to support it. Her murder remains unsolved.

There have been conflicting reports of the location of her discovery. Some articles have identified the spot as Mulholland and Skyline which is 3/4 mi down the hill from Mulholland and Bowmont. We stopped there first:

It is an isolated drop-off and a good place for a panicked perp to throw the remains. Below the ravine is a jogging trail which would have made it easy to spot the body from.

Looking north from the top of the ravine you can see the Chatsworth hills where Spahn Ranch is...

Reet Jurvetson's remains were found by a bird watcher. The level of decomposition was fairly light.

The MansonBlog investigative team is on the scene.

At the intersection of Mulholland and Bowmont there is a very steep drop-off ideal for disposing of a body

The first thing we noticed exiting the car was that there were surround sound bird calls. Plus, there were markers for bird watchers like the one above. You would think it is likely that since a bird watcher found Jurvetson's remains that the Mulholland/Bowmont site is the more likely of the two places of the discovery. However Mulholland/Skyline is where Jurvetson was found.

This is mansonblog.com reporting live...