Those Were the Days: Memories of an Aspen Hippie Chick

Think Aspen, Colorado in the 1970s. Picture a care-free ski town where the rich and famous meld in with the ski bums just trying to make a living so they can ski fresh powder on a bluebird day. Jill Sheeley was the ski bum in this scenario, leaving college with a couple of months left till graduation to move to Aspen and follow her passion to become a real skier and be free. She lived in an old mining shack way up in the mountains with her boyfriend and dogs–no electricity and no running water, but affordable at $20 a month. Sheeley relates stories of Aspen characters who became her family. Remember when Ted Bundy was loose in Aspen? She relates a personal, fearful story that had Bundy in her front yard trying to steal her car. How about when Spider Sabich was shot by Claudine Longet? Yes, there’s a story here, too. Just about anyone who lived in Aspen in the 70s has a John Denver story–she relates hers. Interspersed with recipes (Sheeley also wrote three cookbooks) from Aspen, this memoir will take you back to a freer time.

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