jack | Boulder Community Media

They say life comes full circle, but I prefer to think of mine as a five-part mini-series with each episode set during Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD).

By the time I hit Phase 5, I wasn’t just riding in the parade or hawking ice-cold soda pop, I was behind the scenes, calling the shots through a camera lens.

Media passes were my golden tickets that got me into all kinds of events. Organizations and events that issue passes all have different criteria. CFD required that I send a letter on official letterhead with a synopsis of the project.

Like most high-profile events, organizers want to weed out the freeloaders who want to get in for free.

Since my projects generally included shots of the rodeo, I also had to get permission from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).

Speaking of CFD photographers, in the background is the Wyoming State Tribune, and Wyoming Eagle photographer Francis Brammar, who is pictured taking in the action.

They were more concerned that I wasn’t going to make a movie that was anti-rodeo, like about the abuse of animals.

The PRCA should be more concerned about the bootleg smartphone camera operators in the crowd recording the broncs, steers, and bulls being ridden or thrown to the ground.

I got to know the members of the CFD Public Relations Committee and didn’t have to go through the formal process, and was issued day passes.

My camera crews are always a mobile magnet for the curious. In a small town like Cheyenne, as well as other places around Wyoming, a guy with a boom mic and a clipboard might as well be Spielberg. Venues and cities rarely require permits to shoot.

5. Movie Making: I’ve made a couple of short movies in Cheyenne using CFD as a backdrop. In 1947, beat writer Jack Kerouac made a road trip from New York City to Denver. He was dropped off in Cheyenne.

On the Trail: Jack Kerouac in Cheyenne (2010) is about the night Kerouac’s alter ego, Sal Paradise, spent in Cheyenne during Wild West Week, an homage to CFD. Watch the movie by clicking the image.

I imagined the locations where he may have stopped, and went to the Mayflower, the Crown Bar, and the Plains Hotel, where I grabbed random people to read the script.

I covered the audio with 1940s images of Downtown Cheyenne and CFD. A Colorado PBS producer, Josh Hassel, may you Rest In Peace, introduced me to John Cassady, son of Kerouac’s friend and colleague Neal Cassady. He was the narrator.

The Rose Garden (2012), directed by Pamela Cuming, is a short narrative that had a cast and crew of thousands. The CFD parade and the carnival at Frontier Park are the backdrops. Watch the movie by clicking the image.

I was working on a documentary about the wild horse race, but I’m having a little trouble coming up with a story. It’s not really a race, but more of a battle between man and beast. A team of three men (I’m not sure if women have been involved) must steady, saddle, and ride a rough-stock horse around the arena.

I also worked on a few projects for the CFD Old West Museum and created the CFD Volunteer Crisis Fund’s annual tribute video until the COVID-19 pandemic. Wyoming Lifestyle magazine also produced short CFD videos featuring local businesses.

I’ll be in Cheyenne for Cheyenne Day on Wednesday. I doubt I’ll wear jeans, boots, a long-sleeved shirt, or a hat, which are the required uniform items. I won’t be swinging by the media trailer to pick up credentials. My guess is that all my cronies have aged out, and my colleagues won’t be around.

Incidentally, my CFD handle is “Bud,” which is one of my best-kept secrets derived from John Travolta’s character, Buford “Bud” Davis, in Urban Cowboy (1980).

This phase taught me that filmmaking isn’t just about what’s in the frame. It’s about showing up, staying curious, and knowing when to record life’s unscripted moments.

Even after moving to Boulder, I kept my Wyoming connections strong, proving you don’t have to live in Cheyenne to live for Frontier Days.

Besides, when you’ve got a camera on your shoulder and a story to tell, the world becomes your set, and Cheyenne always gives you willing, spontaneous actors and great lighting.

If you have questions or comments, message the ALAN-BCM BOT. We learn more and more every day!
<br />

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

When Jack Kerouac set out from New York in 1947 on his now-famous cross-country road trip, he chased freedom over pavement.

That adventure became the heart of On the Road, published a decade later in 1957, and immortalized his alter ego, Sal Paradise.

What many people don’t know is that one of the key stops along that existential highway was a gas station in Longmont, Colorado, at the time, a dusty outpost on U.S. Highway 287. The old gas station was transformed into a cafe and music venue at 1111 Neon Forest Street in Prospect Village.

It’s a little-known landmark that holds the soul of a restless America, the kind we might just need to revisit.

In the summer of 1947, Kerouac’s odyssey carried him from Nebraska into Wyoming, where he landed in Cheyenne during Wild West Days (an homage to Cheyenne Frontier Days), an irony not lost on the aspiring writer.

Then came Colorado. He caught a ride south, eventually getting dropped off at the gas station in Longmont. He spent the night on his way to Denver, where he met Dean Moriarty (Neal Cassady’s alter ego.

That unremarkable station at the time became a fleeting but pivotal waypoint in his pilgrimage westward.

Today, that station is gone from the highway, but not from memory. Moved and restored in the artsy, planned Prospect Village neighborhood, Johnson’s Gas Station now hums with espresso machines and live music.

The neon sign glows not just with light, but with ghosts of jazz, of youth, of daring hitchhikers and broken-in boots. You can almost hear the beat of bongo drums and the soft shuffle of typewriter keys if you listen long enough.

What if places could remember us? What if that gas station still remembers the kid who would become the voice of a generation? That kind of reckless optimism pulls you across the country with no plan but a thumb and a dream. Is that what we’ve lost in our rush for certainty?

Check out “On the Trail: Jack Kerouac in Cheyenne,” a short movie that imagines where Sal Paradise stopped before he headed down the road to Longmont.

Click on Neal and Jack to watch “On the Trail: Kerouac in Cheyenne.”

In an age of navigation apps–not paper maps, tight schedules–not leisurely drives, and curated digital lives, maybe we need places like Johnson’s again, not just to fill our tanks, but to empty our minds.

Maybe we need roads with no clear destination. Maybe the ghosts of the road still have something to teach us.

Next time you’re in Longmont, take a detour to Neon Forest Street. Have a coffee at the old Johnson’s station. Listen to the music. Let the past whisper to you. The road is still there, and maybe it’s time to take it.

If you have questions or comments, message the BCM-ALAN-BOT. We learn more and more every day!
<br />

← Back

Boulder Community Media – BCM

Creating the New Creative Economy One Story at a Time

Tag Archives: jack

Thank you for your response. ✨

Share this:

Like this:

Thank you for your response. ✨

Share this:

Like this: