Denver was no saint. Ex-wife Annie Martell said Denver choked her and cut their bed in half with a chainsaw near the end of their marriage (they were divorced in 1982). Denver owned up to that — sort of — in his autobiography “Take me Home,” confirming but toning down the events. He racked up DUIs, including one after crashing his car into a tree in Aspen. Before he died in a plane crash in 1997, he had defied a court order that kept him from flying his plane. (To be sure: there was no evidence of alcohol involvement in his death, according to NTSB public meeting notes.)
Regardless, fans of the song and Denver can mark the 50th anniversary in their owns ways by hiking his newly, so-named trail, learn more about him via the Colorado Music Hall of Fame (cmhof.org), or check out the exhibit on him at Red Rock’s Trading Post (free and open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day), where his stately “Spirit” statue now resides. It never stops looking forward.