The next morning we hooked up with Mr. Fenn, Irene Rawlings and her partner, David Foxhoven, for breakfast. Then we went with Mr. Fenn to check out the Collected Works Bookstore where the book signing was to be held that night. On the short drive to the bookstore I popped my CD of "The Thrill Of The Chase" into the car system and got a thumbs-up on the recording from Mr. Fenn.
Later we all gathered at The Shed for lunch. There we met Mr. Fenn's friend, Barry Peterson (a CBS new correspondent) and his partner Mary Nell, who were also guests for the weekend. After lunch we followed Mr. Fenn out to his home and met his lovely wife, Peggy for the first time.
As an amateur archaeologist, Mr. Fenn has collected ancient artifacts from all over the world, but his specialty is Southwest Native American culture. In fact, he owns a dig site south of Santa Fe that encompasses an ancient Indian village and the remains of a Spanish fort. His office is filled with history, the walls covered with relics of all sorts, from stone axes to bows and arrows, pottery, Indian clothing, beads, etc.
He also has a walk-in vault (as big as a bank vault) where he keeps his most valuable treasures. In the garage is a work-room where he restores pottery and catalogs the bones and other artifacts that he finds. Everywhere throughout his house are priceless works of art, including paintings valued at over 1 million dollars.
The grounds include a very large pond surrounded by bronze sculptures as well as an out-building where Mrs. Fenn does weaving. Mr. Fenn pointed out a depression running through the ground in one area and identified it as part of the original Santa Fe trail - running right through his property!
After a tour of the house and the grounds, Mr. Fenn sat us down at the kitchen table and brought out a wrapped gift for Meri. With great wonder she opened it up and found an antique tin tobacco box. Inside was an amazing array of valuable trinkets including rare old coins, Indian jewelry and beads, arrow heads, an Egyptian ring that's over 1000 years old and a variety of other interesting items. Mr. Fenn gave us an explanation of every item in the box and we later determined that the contents are probably worth well over $1000.00!
After our very pleasant visit, Meri and I returned to the hotel to get ready for the evening. The book signing was well attended (over 100 people) and afterward Mr. Fenn's family and friends returned to the hotel for a nice reception. The hotel had prepared a special drink in his honor, (called The Thrill of The Chase - now on the hotel's drink menu) and a dessert that was a chocolate treasure chest. The sides, bottom and top were squares of chocolate. The top was a lid that opened up to reveal a yummy mousse topped with little candies to give the impression of pearls and jewels. Also attached was a gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coin. I played a few tunes for the guests and then we called it a night.
On Sunday morning we all met at the Fenn home for breakfast and conversation. Mr. Fenn presented Irene, Mary Nell and David's sister, Marty, each with treasure boxes like the one he'd given to Meri the day before. Everybody emptied the contents of their boxes onto the kitchen table and Mr. Fenn proceeded to identify each item. The contents of each box was different, but everything was valuable to a greater or lesser degree. The thing of greatest value, though, was the generosity and friendship of this most amazing man, Forrest Fenn. We could have sat for hours listening to his fascinating and endless stories.
At one point, someone asked if we could get a tour of Mr. Fenn's old art gallery downtown. The gallery is now under new ownership, but he still has access. In fact, part of the building that houses the gallery is the former living quarters where the Fenn family lived for many years. There's also a guest house (where Barry and Mary Nell were staying) that has many stories to tell. Some of the famous people who've stayed there include Jackie Onassis, Cher, Steve Martin and now, Barry Peterson.
We all caravaned down to the gallery and after touring the living quarters and guest house, Mr. Fenn took us outside to a fenced area with a huge pond surrounded by beautiful bronze sculptures from famous artists (most worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.) Mr. Fenn informed us that he used to keep two pet alligators in this pond that he would hand-feed. He had a special rock that he'd stand on to call the gators up for lunch and he claims he never got bit.
One day he hosted a fund-raiser in this beautiful garden for a gentleman who was running for Governor. The candidate was addressing the crowd from the very rock where Mr. Fenn fed his alligators, and the critters, perceiving the figure on the rock as the source of lunch, approach the rock with mouths a-gape, to the great shock and astonishment of the guests, as well as the candidate. The gators are long gone, but this little park still retains the charm of imagined days-gone-by.
Finally, the road was calling Meri and me, as we wanted to get back to Denver before dark, so we said our goodbyes. The trip home was very easy and pleasant - great weather all the way and hardly any traffic. Meri and I spent the whole trip home talking about what an amazing adventure we'd had.
As you may know, I'm writing my own memoirs in a book called "Tales From The Roadside." The hard part about this project is trying to decide when to stop writing and publish the book. As stories like this keep entering my life, I want to include each one in it's own special chapter. And this story ranks right up there with the very best adventures of my life!
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