05.07.06

“And the Colorado rocky mountain high, I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky. I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly, Rocky mountain high…” John Denver

Posted in Uncategorized, life's stories at 9:59 pm by Deb

We arrived at the Greyhound Bus station in Denver, Colorado after an uncomfortable but otherwise very pleasant ride. Hitchhiking was illegal in Colorado, so we had decided to take a bus to Salt Lake City, Utah. Our plan was to go to the airport in Salt Lake and try to “air hitchhike.” We had read about this in a great book I had gotten the year before called The Great Escape: A Source Book of Delights and Pleasures for the Mind and Body, (edited by Min S. Yee Bantam Press). This book is now out of print. I couldn’t even find it when I googled it. It was published in 1974 and was and is one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever owned. It’s similar to the Whole Earth Catalog only much more bizarre and more travel related. Sometimes I miss those days when everyone was trying to share all kinds of new information, or at least new to us. That’s when Rolling Stone magazine, Mother Earth News, Well Being magazine (which later merged with The Vegetarian Times), Relix magazine (first published as Dead Relix) and so many other publications were starting. If I’ve forgotten any, as I’m sure I have, please leave them here and I’ll add a special post. Anyway, here we were at the bus station with hours to kill, so X pulled out his guitar and we started singing. Next thing we knew people were dancing around, stomping their feet and clapping their hands. One elderly woman asked X if he was “Johnny Denver” and kept following us around asking for his autograph even though he insisted he wasn’t John Denver. She was almost in tears as we were getting ready to board the bus, so X obliged her and signed “John Denver” on a slip of paper. We were a little concerned we would get thrown out for causing such a ruckus, but no one seemed to mind. Older couples were swinging each other around. It was like an old fashioned hoedown. It seemed like it was the most fun they’d had in years. The place sure was rocking. We were almost disappointed to leave - almost, but not quite. The ride to Salt Lake was breathtaking - through the Rocky Mountains with snow capped mountain peaks and steep cliffs and ridges all around. We arrived in Utah in daylight and found our way to the airport easily. Finally, we could try this new form of travel. We met someone earlier in our trip who had done it and recommended it highly. We couldn’t wait.

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