(Photo: Novelist Ken Kesey with what looks like the redwoods behind him).
Several round-trip adventures from La Honda to New York followed and the remarkable school bus was immediately recognized in cities and towns across the nation.
On one trip, the Pranksters shot 40 hours of film for a movie called “Intrepid Traveler and the Merry Band of Pranksters Look for a Cool Place.” (Where is that film today? Let’s get up on youtube!).
When Ken Kesey and the Pranksters returned to their home base in La Honda to edit the film, it became evident that the lcoals were greatly disturbed by their new neighbors. There were reports of unfriendly rifle shots breaking the still of night and bullet holes in Kesey’s mailbox (which stood beside the road).
Many La Hondanas in those days were conservative anti-social types who never wanted to understand Kesey. They were suspicious of this counterculture hero. Perhaps they had good reason to be wary when Kesey invited the Hell’s Angels to La Honda for a party. The never low-key Kesey publicized the event to the dismay of locals by posting a sign on his gate that read, “Welcome Hell’s Angels.”
(Actually that was pretty funny).
…To be continued…