After high school I went to Chico, California to attend college. My major was biology and I found out that I had no interest in studying that subject or ANY subject... I spent a lot of time smoking marijuana, drinking and playing music with my friends. After two years I flunked out. However, I did get to experience swimming in Upper Bidwell Park where the Black Lava Flows from Mount Lassen are. I really enjoyed swimming at One Mile Pool, Day or Night. Not many Parks are open all night long but Bidwell is so long and thin that a fence is impractical. Plus, a fence is, like, totally rude! I remember riding my bicycle everywhere. I also got to go on a Bus Ride with a many other students to go hear The Grateful Dead in Reno. My friend Jimmy played his guitar and I played the Harmonica while everyone else sang along... Then we stayed at a cabin on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and the next day I ate some LSD and went to hear the legendary "Wall of Sound" at the University of Nevada football field. The Dead had a lot of trouble making that absurdly large public address system work but... we all had fun anyway... Especially playing slot machines after the show and driving down that street where they have giant sculptures of Showgirls.
In the springtime Chico State has a week long celebration called "Pioneer Days". My friends and I decided that the last place we wanted to be was in town when it was invaded by drunken strangers. We went camping at Yosemite, took LSD and climbed the trail to the top of Yosemite Falls. The higher we got in elevation the Higher We Got... By the time we arrived on top of the mountain it appeared to be moving wildly... as if the granite was dancing. I lay down on my belly and crawled to the edge... That's a great view but really dangerous because it's a tall cliff with no guard rail. We walked down to the valley floor and rode the double-decker bus around... sitting on the top, with no roof... bliss... we also walked to the base of Vernal Falls on the mist trail. I looked at my arm and it looked like a bear, with claws... I went fishing in the river and slapped a fish out onto the shore... just like a bear would. That evening we were playing guitars and my harmonica around the campfire when a ranger ran out of the darkness and tackled me... We were passing around a joint and I was holding it. He gave me a ticket for "Disturbing the Peace" and told us that we had to leave the park the next day or he'd change the charge to possession... In my humble opinion, The Ranger was the one "disturbing the peace" by tackling me...
The next Year we took a camping trip to Hetch-Hetchy reservoir. Another beautiful granite mountain near Yosemite. We took LSD and went free-climbing up a chimney and then hiked around above the tree line. I went down to the edge of the river to admire the bubbling water and accidentally slipped in. Could have died as there was a large waterfall downstream. The water out powered me and took me to the bottom of the pool. I gave up, accepted death and bubbled up to a place on the far shore where I climbed out. A cosmic near death experience... Hey Kids, Don't Do This!
I lived in Chico in 1973 and 1974 and then for a few years in the late 1990s early 2000s. I Joined AA and quit drinking Alcohol. Chico has a big active AA community. Going to meetings at Campfire Council Ring behind Caper Acres, Bidwell Park is an experience I will always treasure. I spent one summer "Rent Free" camping outdoors at Picnic Area 37 in the grove of 13 Redwood Trees.
In the springtime Chico State has a week long celebration called "Pioneer Days". My friends and I decided that the last place we wanted to be was in town when it was invaded by drunken strangers. We went camping at Yosemite, took LSD and climbed the trail to the top of Yosemite Falls. The higher we got in elevation the Higher We Got... By the time we arrived on top of the mountain it appeared to be moving wildly... as if the granite was dancing. I lay down on my belly and crawled to the edge... That's a great view but really dangerous because it's a tall cliff with no guard rail. We walked down to the valley floor and rode the double-decker bus around... sitting on the top, with no roof... bliss... we also walked to the base of Vernal Falls on the mist trail. I looked at my arm and it looked like a bear, with claws... I went fishing in the river and slapped a fish out onto the shore... just like a bear would. That evening we were playing guitars and my harmonica around the campfire when a ranger ran out of the darkness and tackled me... We were passing around a joint and I was holding it. He gave me a ticket for "Disturbing the Peace" and told us that we had to leave the park the next day or he'd change the charge to possession... In my humble opinion, The Ranger was the one "disturbing the peace" by tackling me...
The next Year we took a camping trip to Hetch-Hetchy reservoir. Another beautiful granite mountain near Yosemite. We took LSD and went free-climbing up a chimney and then hiked around above the tree line. I went down to the edge of the river to admire the bubbling water and accidentally slipped in. Could have died as there was a large waterfall downstream. The water out powered me and took me to the bottom of the pool. I gave up, accepted death and bubbled up to a place on the far shore where I climbed out. A cosmic near death experience... Hey Kids, Don't Do This!
I lived in Chico in 1973 and 1974 and then for a few years in the late 1990s early 2000s. I Joined AA and quit drinking Alcohol. Chico has a big active AA community. Going to meetings at Campfire Council Ring behind Caper Acres, Bidwell Park is an experience I will always treasure. I spent one summer "Rent Free" camping outdoors at Picnic Area 37 in the grove of 13 Redwood Trees.
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