Visiting The Manson Sites

Since my retirement a little more than one month ago, and my moving to SoCal, visiting the various Manson related sites had been something high on my To Do list. I did not expect to find out something that would change the course of popular belief, or a smoking gun that would change the future perceptions of the case. It was more of a curiousity, which began some 42 years ago. I had seen photographs in various books, and more recently, photos posted, but I wanted to experience the environment, and the feel, for myself.

My wife could not understand this at all. We all have spouses or significant others that look at us with a raised eyebrow, or a look that lets you know you are being humored by someone who does not understand. My wife could not understand my interest in this case, but then she cannot understand my profound enjoyment of watching the Three Stooges either. She has told me that I have spent the past 25 years in the legal arena, that earlier in my career, I was called out to numerous crime scenes, why spend my newfound free time doing something like this. I offered to become more involved in her work, offering advice where not wanted, and giving areas of commentary not solicited, to which she decided my interest was not so bad after all.

So, on Sunday, I dropped my wife off at the Burbank Bob Hope airport at 5:30 A.M. for a week-long meeting in Scottsdale, AZ, and I then began my day. I dressed in jeans and boots, as I planned on getting out of the truck several times to look around. I looked at different routes to each location from Spahn Ranch, as I wanted to try to approach each location similar to how it might have been done 42 years ago.

I left my apartment in Encino, travelling down Ventura Blvd. to Topanga Canyon Blvd. I fired up my iPod with the full catalog of The Doors, my favorite group, to put my mind into the proper perspective. It could have been The Beatles, but I listen to them quite often. I drove down the road, through Canoga Park towards Chatsworth. The weatherperson had forecast Santa Ana winds to be blowing at about 35 miles per hour. The wind was blowing, but it did not seem that strong while driving through towns. The Sun was shining bright, the high was expected to be about 72 degrees, it was going to be a good day.

As I drove through Chatsworth north towards Santa Susanna Pass, I reflected on a conversation I had recently with a woman who grew up in Chatsworth during that time. Gloria was 20 in 1969, and she told me stories about growing up in Chatsworth, going down to the Sunset Strip, seeing groups play at the Whisky, and encountering all types of young people. I asked her about Spahn Ranch, and the Wooly Hophead, and she told me that they were well known around Chatsworth, but most familyies told their kids to stay away from Spahn. I asked Gloria why, and she told me that while there were street kids and hippies all over SoCal, most who encountered the "family" recognized that these were not your typical Generational Gap youth, but something more intense and strange. That led me to ask if her memories were that way because of various stories and news reports over time, and she told me that after the crimes and trial, she did not follow much of anything related to any of the players. She just stated that she had enough of them with chance encounters in Chatsworth or on the Strip and that was enough for her.

It was interesting that as I approached the northern edge of Chatsworth, with the various businesses that were not there 42 years ago, next thing I knew the left hand turn onto Santa Susanna Road was right there. I am sure that the distance was a bit more between the ranch and the town back then, but only by maybe a couple of miles. I had always envisioned it to be very remote from civilization.

As I turned, I was taken by the change in the area, compared to the city I had just driven through. It was hilly, with huge boulders and rocks throughout the area. It was a rocky terrain, with scrub brush everywhere. It reminded me of similar high desert areas. The winds were getting pretty strong now as I turned onto Santa Susanna and drove the approximate two miles to the site of the ranch. It was interesting to me to see a road full of bicyclist's, the Rocky Peak church up on the right hand side of the road, and the homes close by. It was certainly a different area 42 years later. I drove up to the area that is now a state park, looked at the locked gate, and got out to look around. I was not able to really picture the ranch in my mind as I remembered from pictures, but what I did think about was how uncomfortable it must have been living there. They certainly experienced similar Santa Ana winds as was blowing now, but they also endured numerous 100 degree days during the summer. With the lack of trees on the hills, and the low growth vegetation, it would not have been the nicest place to live. After looking around for a bit, I drove further up the road, found a small pull-out on the road, parked my truck, and climbed down the side of the road to the ranch area below. I could see old roads, possibly fire roads that were overgrown, no longer used. It was much greener down here, with trees, and bushes, out of the direct impact of stronger winds. I did not look for the cave or other sites as I knew I would come back, and I wanted to see the homes of the murders. I am not sure what I felt while walking around. Some have felt various things on their visits. I think I thought more about the thousands of cars that drive past the turn off each day on their way to get on Highway 118, wondering if they knew that the home of the crimes that changed so much for society even today, was only a short distance. I tried to imagine Shorty Shea being murdered somewhere around here. I tried to imagine what was going through the killers' minds as they drove back down this road, what were they thinking as they came back right to the area where I was standing. After a while, I climbed back up the side of the road, and headed to Gary Hinman's house.

Getting to Gary Hinman's house from Spahn Ranch is no simple drive. While only about 16 miles away, it feels much further. Contrary to what people envision about Los Angeles and SoCal in general, the terrain is about as diverse as the approximately 8 million people who call it home.

I took Topanga Canyon Blvd. to Mullholland Dr., then on Mullholland Hwy, turning onto Old Topanga Canyon Rd. I was past the neighborhoods and the $400,000.00 homes that cost only a fraction of that when they were built 50 years ago, turning onto a windy two lane road for the last couple of miles to Gary Hinmans House. The flat city terrain was gone, replaced with a hillside that had Oak and Eucalyptus trees growing everywhere. The homes were further apart, some old beat up houses, some new Million dollar homes. It reminded me of the hills outside of Santa Cruz, CA. Both the homes and the cars were very eclectic. I saw older Volvo and Volkswagens, and new Range Rovers and Porsches. I had to laugh to myself as I came upon a Hummer H2 with a peace sign and Dead Head sticker on the back. This was much easier to look back 42 years ago and see what it was like. It was very much a laid back area with a feeling of what would have been called a "hippy" feel to the area. There are horse boarding facilities and riding arenas sprinkled throughout the area. As I pulled up to Gary Hinman's old house, I was struck by the additions that have been built, compared to the photos I had seen. It was a nice home, lots of trees and shade. With many of the homes new, it was easy to understand that with fewer homes back then, I could see why it could take days before Gary's body was found. This was not an area in which you just happened upon, it was a destination point. I could see how gary could have been held as a prisoner for a couple of days and no one would know what was happening. The area has certainly had to have changed some, but because of the hills and terrain, I noticed that I could not receive any signal on my cell phone and I could not get much of any AM radio signal. It was kind of a throwback technology wise to 42 years ago. I did not get out and look around for there really was no where to park, and the homeowners were home. They probably have had more than their share of gawkers. My thoughts while looking at the house was whether Gary Hinman knew he was going to die. Of course, it is just speculation for only Gary knew his thoughts over those two days, but I believe that up to the end, he believed in the good of man, and that his assailants would let him go. There was certainly no worry of anyone hearing anything, neither the gunshot, nor if he had yelled for help, in this case, remoteness was not his friend.

It is interesting to note that as you continue down Old Topanga, you will come across the village there with smatterings of restaurants, general stores, a post office, and yes, the former site of the infamous Spiral Staircase. You will also see the occasional peace sign flag flying, homemade candles for sale, and realize, that in many ways, it is still the late '60's there. As you come out of Old Topanga Canyon, exploding into your view is Highway 1, also know as the Pacific Coast Highway, and the Pacific Ocean. Interestingly enough, a short twenty minutes later and you will be in Venice, California, site of numerous Manson related incidents. Everything is close, yet far.

I was not sure which route the killers took from Spahn Ranch to the Tate home. It is possible that they took surface streets, but it is also possible that at some point they took the 405 to the 101, and then surface streets. However they got there, they passed numerous homes and mansions there in Beverly Hills. While it is obviously going to built up more 42 years later, most of the premium homes and lots would have already been occupied. If they came down the Beverly Glen Road, they took a narrow street that will eventually turn onto Mullholland Drive, then turning onto Benedict Canyon. The area is hilly, but nothing like what Topanga Canyon was like. You can look down into a valley and see much greenery and trees, but it is also now very developed. From Benedict Canyon, I turned right onto Cielo Drive, and moments later, there I was. If I took out of my mind many of the newer looking homes, it was easy to envision in my mind's eye, the terrain back then. I could understand how the souds could have carried, but at the same time, reverberated off of things, thus distorting the sound. I was struck by how narrow the road was. I had always envisioned a normal width of a road, but Cielo was not quite two car widths wide. It got me to thinking if anyone had driven past the house during the murders, they would have seen the Ford parked there, for it would not have been easy to pass by. The lot, though a good size, did not seem from the street as large as the aerial pictures made it seem. Of course, that impression could change once on the grounds, but given the size of the other homes in the area, it just seemed smaller. With that, it did make me wonder why more people did not hear the pleas and screams as they occurred.

Again, some may feel a sadness, but I did not. Perhaps because I have seen sadness on scenes before, I may be a bit jaded, but it did cause me to think that five people died here at the hands of others, and that numerous lives were changed or shattered right there. I could envision Mrs. Chapman running up the drive I was standing at, yelling for dear life, knowing how she would suffer for the rest of her life. There is enough seclusion that the murders would not have been seen,that the sounds of a .22 revolver being fired could have been muted, but the sounds of the screams baffled me. Another thing that stuck in my head, was I could not remember reading anywhere that Tex Watson had been to the Cielo address before. I remembered that the Wooly Hophead had been there, but if Tex had not been there before, how did he know how to get there? Had he and the Wooly Hophead driven past there before? Did someone give him directions? That still stands out in my mind. Does anyone have an answer?

My last stop was the La Bianca house, and that trip has changed my mind some. It is 25 miles from Spahn Ranch, taking the 118 and the I-5. I had always leaned towards the house being chosen randomly, but now I am less a subscriber to that theory. I recalled that the Wooly Hophead drove for quite a while, and that there were possible targets before, the car at the stop light, the church, and the home with the kid's pictures. But to get to the La Bianca house, in my opinion, was like going to Hinman's house, or the Tate house. It is not an easy route to get to. Whether you are coming off of the I-5, or from the opposite direction off of Santa Monica Blvd., to Western, either way to turn onto Los Feliz Blvd., then onto Rowena, then onto Waverly Drive. It would take a lot of coincidences to lead you to the La Bianca home. This was not an Occam's Razor moment of the simplest explanation being that they happened upon the street. I do believe that someone, whether it be the Wooly Hophead, or Linda Kasabian, or even Susan Atkins, suggested that location. Was it because they planned on hitting Harold True's house and then changed their mind to the house next door? Was one of the La Bianca's an intended target? I do not know. I just know that getting to Waverly Drive is not a random chance.

As you are driving there, you will see Griffith Park, and a very well to do area, with older, well kept homes. It is easy to see many of these homes, though 80 to 90 years old now, going for a Million dollars. Many are certainly in the 600-800 Thousand price range. The homes are well kept. As I turned onto Waverly, once again I noticed how narrow the street was. While a bit wider than Cielo, maybe 2 1/2 car widths wide, it was not an easily manuevered street. I tried to envison Leno LaBiana having to back his boat into the driveway, and it made sense that coming home late at night, with little street lighting, he would park the boat on the street and move it in the morning. The house has a tall fence built around the front, but you can see down the driveway through the gate, to the house. You can see Harold True's house next door, and understand that there would be some familiarity of both houses. It was easy to imagine the Wooly Hophead walking down the driveway to secure the home and it's victims, then returning to the car. Perhaps because Harlod True's house had been the site of may parties, the Ford with it's multiple occupants did not stand out, but as I stood there, I was certainly noticed by several home owners. It is a good thing that I have an impish grin and Danny Partridge charm. Maybe because the killers struck so late, they were not noticed. I do not know.

As I drove away, I thought about many things. It was easy to understand why Los Angeles was in such a fear mode. None of the murder sites were extremely far away, but the areas in which the murders occurred could not be more different. The distance between the Tate Murders and the La Bianca murders was not even 12 miles apart, but it was certainly different worlds. There are no movie stars in the Los Feliz area, and I do not know if any grocery store owners live in the Beverly Hills area, but due to the differences in the areas and the victims, it is easy to understand how anyone could think that they were in danger.

I also thought about how one group of people could change so much with the act of murder, how the tentacles of evil thought and action could damage the psyche in such a large area like Los Angeles, and to a greater extent, most of the United States. These murders caused many a mother and father to say "I told you so" to their children about the dangers of drugs and hippies.

I thought about how mobile the killers were, travelling to so many different areas before and after the murders. I still have not reconciled in my mind the connection to Venice, CA, and the numeous things occuring there, from the Straight Satan's to potential murder victims, to Zero's "suicide". I do not know the answer to that, perhaps we never will, but I would love to hear other thoughts.

So as I finish writng my thoughts, I cannot help but laugh and compare it to a school paper on how I spent my summer. But I am done. Since my wife is out of town, it is time to pour some dark rum, pull a cigar out of the humidor, and sit on the balcony and ponder. At least it will air out by the end of the week...

A + for your report Dilligaf. That would make for an interesting journey. Well done and enjoy your retirement.

Awesome read dilligaf. Thanks for the insight and your opinions. Happy retirement !

Thanks for the narrative Dill. Good read.

Since you asked, I will share my thoughts on how Tex was familiar w/ the Tate house/grounds (just my opinion here).

Dean Moorhouse supposedly stayed in the guest house at Cielo. He and Tex were thick as thieves always pallin' around it seems. The story of them taking Melcher's car on a trip somewhere comes to mind. You have to know and trust someone pretty well to let them stay on the property and borrow your car especially for a road trip. I see them(at least in the beginning) as kind of hangers on. Casual acquaintances of the Family, not fully accepted, coming and going by choice and/or maybe even left behind a time or two in a move. I believe there were many connections both personal and drug related between Family members and Cielo victims and former residents(Melcher) and friends of both. From everything I have read the whole Benedict and Laurel Canyon drug and music scenes were pretty open and most everyone knew of one another. Patty Montgomery swimming at Cielo? So many rumors reminds me of a saying, where there's smoke there's fire. Going out on a limb here but I believe Voytek(and possibly Sebrng too) was waiting for Tex that night, just hanging out on the couch waiting for him and possibly Linda to stop by for a deal. Why else would Jay be hanging around while everyone else was either asleep or in bed?

Dil, Eloquent, Evocative , I felt I was sitting in the passenger seat .

You must have had the juries in the palm of your hand during final summation.

Your friends recollections were interesting about how the "family" members were so well known and how they stood out from the crowd back then as being even more " far out" than the rest of the Hippie culture.

Look forward to the next part of your journey.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Dill, and for sharing it with us. A good read.

Jem

Irish Coffees ... for a Scot? Murdering a good dram?

Actually, MIke, if you're not doing so you should be keeping an eye on some very interesting constitutional issues over in the UK right now regarding further devolution and/or referenda for Scots secession from the union. Maybe when the war for independence breaks out you'll find new uses for that shillelagh?

Me, although the UK has been and continues to be good to me, in my head I still live 'in unity and freedom' under the cerulean blue and white flag of Argentina so I'll not take sides. We kicked the English out for the last time in 1807.

Nuff said, and no offence to the Brits on this board.

Jem

Great post, Dilligaf. You should have dropped out to SoCal and become a writer years ago. LE's loss would've been our gain. Thanks for sharing... and more, please.

A Three Stooges fan listening to The Doors while retracing the the Manson Family wanderings........CLASSIC!

When you went to Cielo, did you go across the street so you could see the whole vista and get a good look at that monstrosity of a house now sitting (and gobbling up) that pristine property?
And also, did the driveway to the LaBianca house seem a lot shorter in distance than it does in pictures? i was also struck by how close Harold True's house was to the LaBianca's and why no one heard any screams (or did they?).

Thanks Dill...well done. Your narrative brought back lots of childhood memories for me. Some of them very fond, bringing tears to my eyes. I would tell you to enjoy your adventure but I see you already are.
I know what you mean about people (wives, husbands and friends) who just don't understand the fascination with this case. I don't understand NOT being fascinated with it. It has everything you find in a good book or movie, sex, murder, wealth, drugs, the occult, plot twists galore and to top it all off....it's true!
This forum is the only place where I'm not considered a ghoul, could it be that we are a group of ghouls and just don't recognize each other as such? Dunno, don't care, I am happy to be here and to be accepted.
Here's a thought....get yourself a pair of sandles, some love beads, don't shave while your wife is gone and pick her up at the airport in a Nero jacket with insence burning in the car. ....what a hoot!
Have a wonderful retirement, you've earned it.

Freebird

LOL At least he has varied interests
FB

I've wanted to started a thread about the subject of friends/colleagues' reactions to knowing of our interest in the Manson case. I know that the people whom I'm close to outside of work and have known a long time understand it - kinda - and just accept it as me being me. But my work colleagues do not understand my fascination at all because it is so different from my job, and I suppose whatever persona I have. I don't think I'd be pegged as "murder" girl. I think people are mostly confused by it. Does anybody else get strange reactions?

Many times they give me that "you're a weirdo" look and most of the time people won't even talk about it. I don't even bring the subject up very often anymore but if someone mentions it......I'm more than willing to discuss it.

FB

There are so many houses crammed into such a small area that you do not have much of a view while standing there. You can see the hiilly terrain more as you drive down Benedict Canyon rather than from the property surrounding the home.

The driveway at Waverly actually seemed as accurate as it looks in photos, it is longer than a traditional California driveway. In re the True house next door, I believe it was vacant at the time. Perhaps someone can verify that or correct me if I am wrong. We really do not have much information about whether either of the La Bianca's screamed much, do we?

Does anyone else have any other thoughts regarding Tex Watson finding his way to Cielo? Coonhound has said that Tex & Moorehouse were tight, so that is one possibility. For some reason, his ability to drive to Cielo has really stuck in my mind since driving from Spahn to Cielo. Maybe it is one of those things that cannot be answered, but it would be nice to know.

Actually I was talking about the street across the canyon (don't know the name of it), but it leads to a gated, locked fence. Anyway, from that vantage point you can see the entire property, and I probably was there illegally but, as I say, it gave me full view; I was so mesmerized all I could do was stand there, wordlessly, staring. But you are absolutely right, Cielo Drive is interesting - actually chilling for me - and you can tell how clustered the houses are, but you can see practically nothing over the gate. I still don't understand how no one at those houses could have missed those noises - I mean, they're so nearby. Even if the canyon does play tricks with noises.
Also, did you find that Spahn Ranch was a lot smaller, too? I don't know why but I had always thought these areas were huge until I visited them. Having said that, though, I thought Gary Hinman's house and property seemed larger in person than I had imagined.