The John Denver Sanctuary

One of Aspen’s most peaceful and pensive places to go and just enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Rockies is the John Denver Sanctuary located just north of the Roaring Fork River. Of course the sanctuary bears the name of that unique and soulful singer/songwriter who defined himself within the neighboring mountains and touched millions with his music.  It is really a beautiful spot.  The garden by the creek is scattered with giant rocks, many of which are engraved with some of his most famous and poignant lyrics, and one bearing his name that also reads: “I am a song.  I live to be sung.  I sing with all my heart.”  Designed as a fitting tribute to honor the spirited artist who left us much too soon, it is indeed a sanctuary and not a mortuary or true memorial.  It is simply a place where people can sit, reflect, sing, play, or do whatever they want.  Seems like that’s the way he would have wanted it.  The John Denver cannon, rooted in the majesty of nature’s awe-inspiring splendor and the celebration that it can create in the human heart, is undoubtedly a natural fit in this place.  So it makes perfect sense that he made Starwood in Aspen his home for many years.  

In the early sixties, Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., the son of an Airforce Pilot, dropped out of Texas Tech in Lubbock (the town where I was born, although the last time I was there was when I was two years old… because I am also the son of an Airforce Pilot and we moved a lot :)  Eventually John changed his last name to Denver, because he said he “always wanted to live in the mountains”; and also presumably because it would fit better on the marquee.  Like countless artists before him and since, he became a traveling musician, struggling to find his place in the national music scene.  Eventually he had some success in LA and New York, but it was clear even early on that he really belonged in the mountains of Colorado.  

Jimmy and Lakisha, all smiles at JD's Sanctuary

I have to think that the Rocky Mountain High lyrics, “He was born in the summer of 27^th year, coming home to a place he’d never been before.” is almost certainly an autobiographical reference to his own creative and spiritual rebirth that came when he finally made Aspen his home in the early 70’s.  He must be telling the story of his own elation after finally realizing his dream.  According to his book Take me home: An Autobiography, John and his wife Annie were hanging with friends in the mountains one August night during the Perseid Meteor Shower.  When the shooting stars finally lit up the sky (causing them to cast a shadow) the idea for the song formed in his head, he later recorded it, and it became one of the most recognized songs in history.  According to local legend the first time he played it for an audience was in 1973 at the Red Onion tavern right downtown in Aspen.  By 2007 it was the official state song of Colorado when the Colorado General Assembly declared that “Rocky Mountain High reflects the strength and beauty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the importance of preserving the natural beauty of our state.”  It now shares the distinction with the old classic Where the Columbine’s Grow.

Somehow JD fit right in with those Muppets!

In addition to his musical achievements, John was an environmentalist and activist, an actor, a writer, a pilot, and the official Poet Laureate of Colorado, but I remember him most as a kid from his Christmas album with the Muppets.  I still have this album and consider it one of the best Christmas albums ever (Seriously, check out Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem’s version of Old Saint Nick; they put the Beach Boys to Shame!  Or John and Ivory-ticklin dog Rowlf’s amazing duet version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.)  I am a little too young to remember his great Muppet Show moments, but I'm sure there were many.  John Denver and Jim Henson at the height of their art forms and popularity coming together in 1978.  Seems like a natural fit right?

Kisha looking for the triple-word

Over the years I had listened to my fair share of John Denver, especially since he was one of my Mom's favorites.  I remember often hearing her playing and singing his folky classics and I wonder how many times I "accidentally" caused one of his old records to skip on the turntable while I was bounding through the living room.  Listening to his stuff as an adult, I always considered him a truly incredible singer, but as a songwriter a lot of his music seemed to be too overly simple and predictable.  After all no one calls JD a musical genius.  But while his musical prowess might not have been as refined as some, listening to his stuff now in Aspen, either while playing Scrabble in his sanctuary or while watching some shooting stars of our own from the hot-tub, it actually makes a lot more sense to me.  It is Simple, honest, and filled with pure ecstatic love for this magical place in the Rockies. I get a sense of how he must have felt when he first came here.  How it healed him, taught him and gave him hope for the future.  It’s hard to think of a more fitting match between artist and setting.  Like they were always meant to go together. 

And nearly thirteen years after the tragic passing of John Denver, one of our great storytellers, his music lives on.  And you can feel it come alive, here in Aspen.  His muse, his bliss, his peace of mind, his friend, and his home.