Rising Stars: Meet Richard Linnett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Linnett.

Hi Richard, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was an LA-based filmmaker who arrived in Naturita in 2007 to film events surrounding Energy Fuels’ attempt to build the Pinon Ridge uranium mill in Paradox Valley, which would have been the first uranium mill in this country since the Cold War. Friends in Telluride who were against the mill told me about the project and encouraged me to cover the story. I started putting together a documentary and moved to Naturita to embed myself in the community.

I fell in love with the area and the people and I changed my perspective from anti-uranium mining to support, realizing that nuclear power could indeed help save the planet as well as create jobs in the West End. The documentary received start-up funding from Mountainfilm’s first round of Commitment Grants in 2010 but I was unable to raise completion money after Energy Fuels abandoned the mill project, and the film remains unfinished. The upside – instead of finishing the film, I bought the old Blake House Inn in the center of Naturita. Built in 1900, the Blake House had fallen into disrepair and resembled the ghostly Bates Motel from Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” a spooky dive an eyesore in the middle of Main St. in downtown Naturita.

I rebuilt it and opened it as the High Horse Inn in 2019. My signage out front, picturing a laughing horse, was criticized by some locals as promoting cannabis use, as the Inn is directly across the street from a cannabis shop. Fortunately, the cannabis tempest blew over and the Inn became very popular. The High Horse Inn is always booked, at the moment long term with work crews, and in tourist season with mountain bikers, gravel rush riders, adventure and touring motorcyclists, off-road enthusiasts, and bus tours looking for a pitstop in their long journey across the colorful and historic Colorado plateau. Room rates are $75 to $100 a night. Long-term rates are negotiable. I then purchased the Old Miner’s Cafe across the street, an old bar that had been shuttered and abandoned for years, rebuilt that, and opened it as the Motherlode Bar in 2021.

The Motherlode was a popular local hangout and raucous pool hall with very popular Friday-night pool tournaments. But running a bar was not in my DNA, so I sold the bar to a young couple from Moab who just recently reopened the place as the Flying Bear Pizza, Beer & Wine restaurant. There is only one other restaurant in town, Blondies, and locals and visitors were starving for another eatery, so The Flying Bear is taking off and becoming very popular. And now other businesses will be opening on Main St. Wild Gals food store is relocating from Nucla moving next to the Flying Bear, and Paradox Cycle recently opened as well, serving as the go-to bicycle shop in the West End and beyond. The High Horse Inn meanwhile is thriving.

After all, it’s in the heart of Colorado’s hottest new outdoor adventure and biking destination, on Colorado’s Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic Byway and nearly halfway between the ski and mountain resort of Telluride and the red-rock mecca of Moab. Spectacular Gateway Canyon, stunning Paradox Valley, sublime Disappointment Valley (the home of wild horses), and the highly acclaimed CampV glamping, art, and music venue are all just down the road. The High Horse Inn boasts 6 kitchenette rental units on the first floor and my residence is upstairs, a 2 Bed 2 Bath residential suite on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

I served on the Naturita Town Board where I launched their “Little Nature” project that remade an unused reservoir into a local swimming hole and recreation park, and served briefly on the Mustang Water Authority Board, as well as served as an EMS volunteer ambulance driver. I’m glad to have contributed in a small way to the revitalization of Naturita, a beautiful river town and wonderful community.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a fun ride, with bumps and potholes, but negotiable. The biggest challenge was running the Motherlode bar and pool hall in town. Naturita hasn’t had a bar in town for many years. The old 141 Saloon was converted into a cannabis shop a few years ago, and now we have two weed stores. Back in the days of uranium mining, there were six bars in town. The Motherlode quenched a mighty thirst in town when we opened.

We had lots of loyal customers, good friends, and locals, but after a certain hour and many drinks, personalities changed and things went south pretty quickly. Lots of drama. I just didn’t have the fortitude to keep it going. Fortunately, the new owners sold the pool tables and now the place is a respectable eatery, which is much needed.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a former filmmaker, currently a writer/journalist, publicist, and author. I wrote, “The Eagle Mutiny” (Naval Institute Press 2001), a true story about a dramatic mutiny on an American ship during the Vietnam War and its tragic aftermath, written with Roberto Loiederman.

I’m also the author of “In the Godfather Garden: The Long Life and Times of Richie the Boot Boiardo” (Rutgers/Rivergate Press, 2013), a biography of the New Jersey gang lord who inspired David Chase to create the hit HBO series “The Sopranos.” (visit www.godfathergarden.com). I also wrote a series of articles about McKinley Nolan, an American soldier who joined the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War and whose story was featured in the documentary “The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan,” directed by Henry Corra, produced by Danny Glover, and based on my original research.

I have written about Sean Flynn, a combat photographer and son of Errol Flynn who disappeared in Cambodia during the Vietnam War; Chet Baker, the jazz artist who died of a heroin overdose; and Dee Farmer, a transsexual who was raped in prison and won a landmark judgment in U.S. Supreme Court. My work has appeared in the Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Weekly, Penthouse, and others.

I was a reporter for United Features Syndicate, New York, a contributing film critic with Cineaste Magazine, and a media reporter and columnist with Adweek and Advertising Age.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eaglemutiny.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GodfatherGarden
• Other: www.highhorseinn.com