For the awesome truckers out there, the lifeblood of our country. Convoy - CW McCall (1975)

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Bil Fries, Jr ( his real name) was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado, ultimately serving for six years. He opened a multimedia (multiple slide projectors/screens with narration by Fies backed by symphonic music by Aaron Copland and the London Symphony) presentation of pictures of the surrounding mountains and takes you through the 4 seasons, called "San Juan Odyssey". The portion of the Rockies there are named the San Juan and Uncompahgre mountains.

The projectors are dark, the speakers are silent ... packed away with the screens and the slides. Gone but never to be forgotten. The San Juan Odyssey was Bill and his family's tribute to the incredible majesty and beauty of the San Juan Mountains.

It all began when Bill and his family visited Ouray for the first time in 1961. The beauty of the mountains captured their hearts, and they began the journey that ultimately produced San Juan Odyssey. The 1967 worlds fair provided the technological impetus for the project. Bill and his son worked in advertising, and were fascinated by the use of computer controlled 35mm projectors to display panoramic, multi-image presentations. Soon, they had incorporated this technology into their advertising work, but it was destined to serve a higher calling.

In the early '70s, Bill and his sons, Bill Jr. and Mark assembled the forebear of the Odyssey entitled Our Mountains. It was shown for free for three weeks at the Ouray school, and then went on a tour around the country.

A thousand miles to the east, back in Omaha, Bill was unknowingly laying more of the foundations of the Odyssey. The Old Home Bread advertisements, that led to the birth of C. W. McCall. It was the success of C. W. McCall that paved and paid the way for the Odyssey.

All the while that C. W. had been truckin' all over this land, Bill and his family had been working on finding a permanent home for Our Mountains, and it's successor, The Odyssey. In 1975 they signed a lease for the second floor theater in Wright's Opera hall. Bill and his sons spent all of 1976 in Ouray, photographing the San Juans in all four seasons. Once the pictures were in the can, the new show needed music and narration. The whole family loved the music of Aaron Copland, and so it was that Appalachian Spring and Billy The Kid were selected to provide the musical backdrop. Bill's creative story-telling talent had been brought to the fore by his writing for the C. W. McCall albums, and the expressive story of San Juan Odyssey was a natural extension of that work. The soundtrack was put together by American Gramaphone and Sound Recorders, the same folks Bill was doing C. W. McCall with.

San Juan Odyssey officially opened its doors in 1977. It featured fifteen computer controlled and synchronized 35mm slide projectors, and five screens connected in a 50 foot wide panorama. Bill wanted to use the equivalent of surround sound for the show, but it didn't exist in 1977, so he built his own system. Bill's sons were continually taking new photos to update the show, so that, although it always told the same story, there were always some new scenes from year to year. Over the twenty year run of the Odyssey, more than 30,000 slides were taken.

I've been there many times and once he was there and played a few songs before the show. He's passed now and last I heard the family had built their own theater and modernized the show, but still retains the spirit of the original. If you've never been up Highway 550 from Durango up to Silverton, it is some of the most awe inspiring area in the US, and probably the world.

Bil Fries, Jr ( his real name) was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado, ultimately serving for six years. He opened a multimedia (multiple slide projectors/screens with narration by Fies backed by symphonic music by Aaron Copland and the London Symphony) presentation of pictures of the surrounding mountains and takes you through the 4 seasons, called "San Juan Odyssey". The portion of the Rockies there are named the San Juan and Uncompahgre mountains. The projectors are dark, the speakers are silent ... packed away with the screens and the slides. Gone but never to be forgotten. The San Juan Odyssey was Bill and his family's tribute to the incredible majesty and beauty of the San Juan Mountains. It all began when Bill and his family visited Ouray for the first time in 1961. The beauty of the mountains captured their hearts, and they began the journey that ultimately produced San Juan Odyssey. The 1967 worlds fair provided the technological impetus for the project. Bill and his son worked in advertising, and were fascinated by the use of computer controlled 35mm projectors to display panoramic, multi-image presentations. Soon, they had incorporated this technology into their advertising work, but it was destined to serve a higher calling. In the early '70s, Bill and his sons, Bill Jr. and Mark assembled the forebear of the Odyssey entitled Our Mountains. It was shown for free for three weeks at the Ouray school, and then went on a tour around the country. A thousand miles to the east, back in Omaha, Bill was unknowingly laying more of the foundations of the Odyssey. The Old Home Bread advertisements, that led to the birth of C. W. McCall. It was the success of C. W. McCall that paved and paid the way for the Odyssey. All the while that C. W. had been truckin' all over this land, Bill and his family had been working on finding a permanent home for Our Mountains, and it's successor, The Odyssey. In 1975 they signed a lease for the second floor theater in Wright's Opera hall. Bill and his sons spent all of 1976 in Ouray, photographing the San Juans in all four seasons. Once the pictures were in the can, the new show needed music and narration. The whole family loved the music of Aaron Copland, and so it was that Appalachian Spring and Billy The Kid were selected to provide the musical backdrop. Bill's creative story-telling talent had been brought to the fore by his writing for the C. W. McCall albums, and the expressive story of San Juan Odyssey was a natural extension of that work. The soundtrack was put together by American Gramaphone and Sound Recorders, the same folks Bill was doing C. W. McCall with. San Juan Odyssey officially opened its doors in 1977. It featured fifteen computer controlled and synchronized 35mm slide projectors, and five screens connected in a 50 foot wide panorama. Bill wanted to use the equivalent of surround sound for the show, but it didn't exist in 1977, so he built his own system. Bill's sons were continually taking new photos to update the show, so that, although it always told the same story, there were always some new scenes from year to year. Over the twenty year run of the Odyssey, more than 30,000 slides were taken. I've been there many times and once he was there and played a few songs before the show. He's passed now and last I heard the family had built their own theater and modernized the show, but still retains the spirit of the original. If you've never been up Highway 550 from Durango up to Silverton, it is some of the most awe inspiring area in the US, and probably the world.

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