Aspen, Colorado

“How’s Your Aspen?”

ASPEN IN 1977

This play on words was everywhere when I first visited Aspen, Colorado in 1977. It was a different place then, defined more by its infamous residents like gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and singer songwriter John Denver, free-flowing cannabis and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office’s Saab patrol cars.

Stan Perry's' Jeep I visited Aspen on many occasions—the first time in the summer of 1977 when Stan Perry and I rolled in on his jeep on our own wild and crazy “on and off the road trip.” We got a little over-the-top boisterous at a local fondue restaurant and camped high atop Aspen Mountain in the middle of an electrical storm, and the following morning, it was so cold that our fingers did not have the manual dexterity to disassemble the tent, so we threw the entire thing on top of the Jeep and rode down into Aspen for hot coffee to thaw our digits and warm our spirits.

ASPEN TODAY

Although I have never been here during the winter, I have found the summers enjoyable, especially when invited to join my parents at the Aspen Institute’s summer sessions in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Today, even if you did not participate in the Institute’s annual Ideas Festival, which wrapped up last week, I recommend viewing the 2018 festival’s highlights and those of previous years on their website. Check out this especially compelling Q&A on Biomimicry with Janine Benyus.

We came to Aspen this year to promote our road trip and were pleased to find Aspen welcoming with a new Tesla Supercharger and extraordinary flower arrangements around the City’s shopping and gallery areas.

We were also delighted to have to have three-term Mayor Steve Skadron send us off. Mayor Skadron is committed to 100% renewable energy for Aspen and has worked to maintain Aspen’s small town character.