Final Farewell

Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes were sent skyward via gonzo Cannon

Leaving Aspen and driving along Highway 82 toward Woody Creek in late August, motorists who happened to look east would have noticed a large, red, six-fingered fist clenched around a peyote button. The fist was the top of a 153-foot cannon, pointing skyward over Owl Farm in Woody Creek.

On August 20, exactly six months after legendary gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, 67, ended his life, his ashes and green, white, red, and blue fireworks were blasted out of the cannon, just as Thompson had requested. Attendees looked on, then paid tribute to this icon of American letters in true Thompson style-until 5 a.m.

The private, invitation-only (and heavily guarded) memorial service was attended by approximately 250 of Thompson's family members and friends, including actors Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, and Bill Murray; singer Lyle Lovett; and U.S. Senators John Kerry and George McGovern. Depp picked up much of the tab for the memorial and cannon which some estimates pegged as costing upwards of $2 million.

Before the cannon was fired, Thompson was eulogized, and video clips from a BBC documentary were shown in which Thompson, with illustrator and longtime friend Ralph Steadman, gave detailed information about what he wanted to happen when he died-including the exact construction of the cannon and its location on his property.

Jon Equis, based in LA, produced the memorial service according to Thompson's wishes as put forth in the documentary. "It's significant and it's what he wanted," says Equis. "It was a tribute to someone who made an impact on the American literary scene and on our culture."

Aspen magazine contributing photographer Daniel Bayer attracted national media attention when he attempted to gain access to a neighboring property days before the memorial service to photograph the cannon. A gunshot was allegedly fired into the ground by neighbor Jimmy Ibbotson-of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame-as Bayer left the property following an exchange of words between the two.

According to Bayer, the incident was a misunderstanding: Ibbotson didn't recognize Bayer, whom he'd spent time with previously. "Jimmy forgot who I was when I showed up at his place," says Bayer. "But I saw him a week later at the Woody Creek Tavern and we laughed it off. I told him, ‘Dude, you need to buy a bigger gun.'"

In the days following the memorial service, Thompson's widow, Anita, and son, Juan, allowed Bayer access to the Owl Farm property. Bayer spent an entire night at the base of the cannon, using time-lapse photography to capture these photos. "The Thompsons were happy that something creative and nonsensationalistic was going to document the cannon," says Bayer.

For now, the cannon rests in storage until its fate is decided. There is talk around town that a more durable public memorial to Thompson will be constructed and placed in Las Vegas, the setting for his best-known novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, or in Kentucky, where Thompson was born.