Sheep Shack on the Arkansas

Smelter Town Colorado .... a suburb of Salida In the fall of 1972 , I was living up on the mountain at Slaughter House Creek, Colorado. The metaphorical wolf was at the door, so I went down to Salida to get food stamps. The nice lady there informed me that Richard Nixon was well aware of people like me, and that I would need to apply at least 3 places to try and gain employment. " No Problem " ... I thought, so around the corner to the employment office I went. Secure in the knowledge that a guy that looked like this, wasn't about to get a job in the "Banana Belt of the Rockies". And sure enough, those folks sent me to The Mill and Cabinet Shop, owned by a little fellow named Picie {Pie See} Hilton. Suddenly I found myself bullshitting Mr. Hilton about my carpentry skills, and on the road to gainful employment. Knowing zero people in Salida, my next problem was a place to live, and after leaving the cabinet shop I asked around and was directed to a man named Johnny, that managed the above property for his mother. I rented the place for $5 a month and I was on my way.