California

Red Dead Redemption
Stranger Side-mission
Red Dead Redemption
Stranger Side-mission
California

Progression
Unlocked by	Unlocks
Bonnie MacFarlane mission strand: "Women and Cattle"	None

Location Map

California Stranger Location,click to enlarge.

“I will find me my California. I will!”

–Sam Odessa

California is a Stranger side-mission featured in Red Dead Redemption.

Story

Sam Odessa, a strange man of a background to the Black Sea region in Eastern Europe, claims that he is on his way out West. When Marston meets him, he explains he aspires to go to California, so he may forever be remembered by his family as the man who completed the span of his heritage, from the Black Sea to the Pacific in three generations.

Walkthrough

Mission Prerequisites

Before this Stranger will appear on the world map, the player must complete:

Bonnie MacFarlane mission: "Women and Cattle"

Mission Objectives

After locating Sam Odessa, the player must:

Warn Sam of the danger of Gaptooth Ridge.
Locate him again near Cueva Seca.
Locate him a third time wandering in Gaptooth Ridge.
Locate him a final time near Tumbleweed.
Deliver his letter to the Telegraph Office in Armadillo.

Mission Details

This series of Stranger Missions involves finding Sam in different places and watching the resulting story. The general area of all encounters after the first are marked on your map, although his exact location must be found by searching.

First Encounter

Marston first meets Sam out in the desert, Southeast of Gaptooth Breach, sitting against a rock, playing a harmonica.

After a short talk with Sam and his goal to reach the state of California, Marston warns Sam of the presence of dangerous outlaws and gangs who roam the surrounding area. Sam explains that his horse became lame awhile back and then decides that he'll get himself a stagecoach. He sets off into the desert cheerfully..

Second Encounter

After the course of about seven days, Marston runs into Sam again just outside of Cueva Seca to the Northwest. This time, Sam is showing a few signs of confusion and even though Marston gives him directions to head West, Sam decides to talk about horses who can do math problems and eating cacti. Marston then tells Sam that he should get some help if he wants to get to California, but he ignores Marston and heads off down the road once again.

Third Encounter

After the course of about seven days, Marston has once again ran into Sam in a ravine north of Tumbleweed. The complete opposite way that Sam was supposed to be going to reach California, convincing Marston that he is hopelessly lost in the desert.

Sam has gone crazy and his clothes are worn and tattered. He tells Marston about his journey and how he will make it to California and begins to go insane, even taking out his gun on Marston when he offers to take him into town. Marston backs off and Sam goes off once again into the desert.

Final Encounter

South of Tumbleweed, Marston finds Sam, dead on the side of a road, with a vulture beginning to eat away at his sun-baked corpse.

Marston quietly pities the foolishness of Sam and then decides to search him for any items. He discovers a letter for his wife. Knowing that the letter would mean a lot to her, Marston decides to drop off the letter in Armadillo for it to be mailed to Sam's wife. After this, the quest has finally come to an end.

Mission Complete Unlockables

Treasure Hunter Outfit scrap

Sam's Letter

The letter found on Sam's dead body can be found in the "kit" area of your satchel. It can be read like a Newspaper or Wanted Poster. It says...

"My Darling Wife,

Not a day goes by when I don't think about you and our beautiful baby boy. It is now many weeks since we parted. Precisely how long, I don't know. Time, once so predictable and reliable, has slipped away from me. I know how callous my abrupt departure in the dead of night must have appeared, and for that I am truly sorry, but I hope you will find it in your heart one day to forgive me. For it was not a choice to leave, but rather an obligation. My grandfather came to this country with a dream; a dream that was passed down to me, that is in my blood, in my very soul. I always believed it was my duty to realize that dream, to complete a journey that started in Odessa, by the black sea, three generations ago, but I have lost sight of what it is, if I ever knew at all. I am headed West towards the ocean, but I'm not sure why anymore. Day after day, the Sun beats down on me in this godforsaken desert, relentless and mocking. Every step I take forward, I seem to get further away. I thought this was my destiny, and perhaps it is. Maybe we are condemned to walk in circles, chasing the skyline. Maybe it is all a lie. Oh, this is a terrible land of broken promises.

I had everything and gave it up in the pursuit of nothing. I fear I have made a terrible mistake, but there is no way back now.

Forever yours,

Sam"

Notes

The appearances are separated by one to two days in-game time. If more than three days pass without the mission becoming active, save your game and load it again. The locations should appear as a purple circle on you map, which will turn to the "?" symbol as you enter them.
On the second encounter with him, wolves may attack just before the player speaks to him. If shot at, the gunshots will scare Sam and he will run away.
If Sam should die or if the player's gun is pointed at Sam, you will fail the current part of the mission.
Shooting the vulture that is feasting on Sam's body is an easy way to get a kill towards the Unnatural Selection achievement/trophy. However, the player can't pick up the vulture feathers until after they have examined Sam's body.
Sam most likely died from dehydration, as he states in his letter, commenting about the heat in "this desert".
Several of Sam's lines are references to the They Might Be Giants song "No One Knows My Plan". Examples include "I was careless, I can see that now" and "Why the dancing, why the shouting?".
When approaching Sam at the first encounter, Sam is playing "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" on his harmonica. This song is heard again after John is killed in the mission "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed."
There is sometimes a random occurrence around where Sam's dead body is, usually a Damsel in Distress. This means that the vulture will probably not be on the body but the body will still be accessible once the problem is dealt with.
When you complete a part in the task after the game autosaves you can reload the autosave and the mission will become active without having to wait two to three days.
If you follow Sam after the second encounter he will walk to the outskirts of Rathskeller Fork and stop there.