Crossing from Oregon into California is not an earth-shaking experience, but on this occasion in 2006 it had special meaning for me: I was attempting to duplicate a picture I took 40 years earlier.

In September 1966 I took a picture of a similar sign to document my first visit to California. I and Don Harrison, a college friend, were engaged in a whirlwind tour of California before resuming college work at the University of Washington. The 1966 photo showed asphalt, two guys shaking hands, a sign, a background of a thick stand of evergreens, and a hint of a steepish embankment beyond the road shoulder.

The embankment was the only thing I had to go on for locating the 1966 site, so I knew in advance that finding its location would be difficult. Nonetheless, in 2006 I was hopeful. To my dismay, camera troubles (my D100 died) prevented an adequate examination of the area. I had to return home and get a new camera.

The premature conclusion of my 2006 effort meant I had to get revenge. In 2010, on my way home from Utah, I stopped here to get that revenge, resuming the search for the location of the 1966 photo. What I found was a stretch of road with an embankment, but the trees looked very different (duh!) and there was no sign. It occurred to me that in the span of 40 years the road could have been rebuilt, altering the embankments. In addition, the sign could have been moved. Defeated, I photographed other nearby signs and accepted the fact that I would never be able to duplicate the 1966 photo.

An interesting side issue is that I could not find the state line, even after walking back and forth a few times along a long stretch of road. There was no obvious marking of the boundary: no line, no fence, no post, no survey marker, no sign.

The light-colored specks on the sign's post are wads of gum.
I did not contribute to the collection.

The death of my D100 when taking this picture is described in detail in another posting of this photo.