GC7B65E John Denver Sanctuary
Type: Virtual | Size: Virtual | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: GrayFinders2 @ | Hide Date: 07/16/2018 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N39° 11.556 W106° 48.960 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
                   

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He was born in the summer of his 27th year. Coming home to a place he’d never been before….

John Denver, beloved entertainer, environmentalist, and humanitarian, called Aspen his home for much of his life. He loved the Rocky Mountains and shared that love with all of the world through his music.

What some of you may not know, is that John also was very passionate about the environment. He founded two groups, The Windstar Foundation, which conserved land in Snowmass, and Plant It 2020, a reforestation program.

How fitting, it was then, that after his tragic passing in 1997, that Jeff Woods, Manager of Parks and Recreation at the City of Aspen met with Annie Denver to plan a place to celebrate John’s life. A place that would be more than a memorial, but a place to reflect John’s passion for nature and protecting the environment.

The John Denver Sanctuary, a 4.5 acre memorial garden park, is open and free to the public to enjoy. You’ll find boulders in John’s Song Garden surrounding the posted coordinates with many of his songs engraved into them. There are groves of native trees, shrubs, and wild flowers. Easy trails meander through the constructed wetlands, streams and waterfalls for you to enjoy in this unique landscape that not only captures Aspen’s beauty, but also cleans the community’s storm water runoff. I think John would have thought that was "farout!"

There is no public parking at the sanctuary. Parking at the nearby parking garage is recommended. Note that the park closes at 9pm.

To claim this cache, you will need to visit the posted coordinates to collect the following:

1. Entering the “stage” of the amphitheater from the stream side, you will pass through a split boulder with two vertical faces. EMAIL us the names of the two songs engraved on the faces.
2. Find the “Rocky Mountain High” etched rock from the Song Garden. Post a picture of your gps, your watch, or another means including an embedded date, in front of the rock, with or without you.

Logs with spoiler photos will be deleted. Logs without the required picture (posted or emailed) will also be deleted to prevent armchair finds.
 
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.



Additional Waypoints
017B65E - Parking Garage
N 39° 11.488 W 106° 49.066
Paid

07/03/2019 By fishercacher
Had a few minutes after our lunch to walk down here and solve this virtual cache. Thanks for the fun!

06/20/2019 By Tervtrekker
Absolutely amazing and beautiful. Weather was rainy and sunny. If it had been a little drier we would have stayed here all day. Thank you thank you. The cache in this location was an added bonus.

05/27/2019 By Buster4Cat
We came here last month and fell in love with this park. We listened to John Denver songs all the way to Aspen. Thanks so much for this cache. We would never have found it on our own.

05/17/2019 By BG2015
Beautiful location, can’t wait to come back when everything is blooming. Another place I never would have seen if not for the new virtual. Thanks.

05/11/2019 By ChipTheChuxk
5-11-19 Found It!!

08/21/2018 By wing6rider
Nice to find a "newish" virtual in this spot. These were highly sought after I recall! And a great spot it is too. Well worth bringing us to. Thanks GrayFinders2

08/12/2018 By JWalkerJr
So Beautiful

08/11/2018 By jmsantafe
Nearby for the Duck Derby, so I stopped to find this Virtual on the way to the starting line.
Thank you for placing this cache!

08/08/2018 By eecfun
We came to Aspen for the day to hike and wander and log this cache. Thank you! JDBG was lovely!!!

08/03/2018 By Team MacGruber
This was our only visit in Aspen, and it was the best stop ever. What a beautiful place, and the mist and rain added even more to it! Sent cache owner a msg to complete this cache. Thank you!