By Mark Kneeskern
The first thing I notice is the fresh mountain air. On my way to Salida again, I’ve just been dropped off at Copper Mountain by three high school friends from Iowa who are on their way to an elk hunt near Grand Junction. I’m from Iowa too, and not at all embarrassed about it … however, the air in Iowa is not as crisp and refreshing as the air here in Colorado, so I’m taking big lung-fulls of it. Mountains literally have an uplifting effect on one’s soul and it’s making me feel high. Did you know that John Denver’s most famous tune was banned in 1972 because the FCC had legal precedence at the time to censor any song that seemed to promote drug use? Now, of course, it’s one of Colorado’s two state songs, and ironically, has been used in Coors commercials, not to mention the chain of medical marijuana dispensaries called “Rocky Mountain High.”
