11 AM- John Denver Sanctuary
The John Denver Sanctuary is nestled in the heart of Aspen, next to the Rio Grande Park, adjacent to Theatre Aspen's summer performances. Its location, near the Roaring Fork River, makes this an ideal spot for quiet meditation or a family picnic. The Song Garden features many of the iconic singer's lyrics etched into native river boulders placed in a perfect circle to represent the circle of life as a score of music. At the circle's center, a single Colorado Blue Spruce was planted which symbolizes the spirit of John. It is an idyllic location and visitors will not wonder for long where "Rocky Mountain High" originated. The man-made wetlands and winding streams work as an innovative stormwater filter system, cleaning water before it drains into the Roaring Fork River. Within the Sanctuary, you will find one of the largest perennial flower gardens open to the public, which adds to the friendly atmosphere for its visitors from around the globe. These beautiful gardens start blooming during late May/ early June, which makes this the perfect location for small get-togethers or even weddings.
In the spring of 1998, months after John Denver’s tragic death, Jeff Woods, Manager of Parks & Recreation at the City of Aspen, approached Annie Denver to collaborate on a place to celebrate Denver’s life. The concept was beyond just a memorial, “but also served as a garden to capture nature’s spirit. We decided to call it a ‘sanctuary’ and that it should reflect John’s passion for nature and protecting the environment.” -Wood. On August 15, 1998, Mayor Bennett and City Council officially dedicated the 4.5-acre site as the John Denver Sanctuary. Over the next 15+ years, a team of passionate professionals from the City of Aspen has transformed this small ditch, which used to flow through an underground pipe, into an environmental masterpiece. They sculpted thousands of cubic yards of earth, found and placed hundreds of boulders, planted groves of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers and created wetlands, streams and waterfalls into this unique landscape which captures Aspen's beauty but also serves to continuously clean the community's storm water runoff.
1 PM- Woody Creek Tavern
Step into the Woody Creek Tavern for the first time and it is difficult to figure whether you have stepped back in time, or forward in time, or maybe you suddenly slipped sideways in time. The uninitiated will stare in astonishment at the bizarre collection of “stuff” that dominates the Tavern.
The walls are plastered with hundreds upon hundreds of photos, (if you want to join in, ask your server to take your picture and we promise to get you “plastered” so you can find yourself the next time you come in) stapled over other photos and there are magazine covers, newspaper clippings, children’s drawings, license plates, pieces of original art, memorials to old friends who are no longer with us and just about anything else you can imagine.
A single word doesn’t do justification…it is bizarre, strange, peculiar, odd, curious, funny, outlandish, abnormal, eccentric, unorthodox, queer, extraordinary, weird, wacky, kooky and maybe even freaky. One thing is clear, the Tavern is not conventional nor is it the result of a well thought out and precise design. There is a wonderful irony wrapped around the Tavern. When it opened in 1980 it was intended to be a gathering place for locals, for the residents of Wood Creek and it’s neighbors. It was to be an unpretentious place located in what once has been a combination tiny grocery store, post office and gas station. A few miles to the east, Aspen in the 1980’s was eagerly going in one direction, the Tavern was content to be down-home and casually comfortable.
The Tavern was busy being the Tavern, it does stand out amid all the glitz that surrounds it, and that was one of the reasons its achieved international fame. There were never any interior decorators lurking around and designing cute themes, if anything, it is a collective attitude shared by the owners and staff. The Tavern has had it’s share of celebrities and movie stars who are regulars, however, if you were to ask, “Do any celebrities ever come in,” the response probably would be, “as far as we are concerned, you are a celebrity to us!” If you stripped away a few photos, you would find an old sign on the wall that stated, “It’s not who you are that is important, it’s how you conduct yourself.” An all inclusive attitude existed – it didn’t matter who you were or what you did, the Tavern wanted you to come in and enjoy yourself.
As much as anything that explains the Tavern’s messy decor. It began in 1982 when the owners wanted to spruce the place up a tad by adding new wallpaper to the walls. A few photos decorated the walls in the bar area and the owners were convinced to not dump them but to move them to the rear of the building near the restrooms. The seeds had been planted. The photo montage grew slowly at first and then like a horde of locusts, the Tavern walls fell victim to endless photos and clippings.
No, the Tavern is not the result of someone’s clever idea, just about everyone who ever worked there or drank and ate in the place managed to contribute to the ambiance, it that is what it can be called.