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Sunshine “Daydream” McCloskey and her partner, “Tennessee” Jed Duncan, rode their bicycles from their home near Stanley to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in Hailey on Sunday morning, hoping to score some lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD.
The pair, both 26, believed the psychedelic drug was being offered at a “special, sacred church” in Hailey that had been granted permission to administer it in religious ceremonies. That, as they learned, was not correct.
Instead, Daydream and Tennessee found a temple full of devout Latter-day Saints. But what the parishioners lacked in LSD, they more than made up for in welcoming spirit.
“Yeah, turns out we were way off base and we, like, totally interrupted them and harshed their mellow,” Tennessee said. “But after some wide eyes of mega confusion, we sorted it out and we all enjoyed a really good laugh.”
The young couple, originally from Asheville, North Carolina, spent last summer living on public land near Stanley in their 1993 decommissioned school bus, which is painted purple and green and accented with vibrant butterflies, Amanita muscaria mushrooms and dozens of 13-point lightning bolts.
They left home just after 4 a.m. and cycled 78 miles to Hailey, arriving shortly before 9 a.m.
“We had a little rocket fuel left, so we were cruising pretty good,” Tennessee said, referring to their last few doses of liquid acid. “The sunrise was marvelous. We had no idea there were giraffes here.”
Though they felt awful about interrupting services and apologized repeatedly, worshippers waved off their concerns. Instead, the couple were invited to enjoy refreshments including cookies, cake, ice cream, milk and more milk.
“They were, like, the kindest, coolest people I have ever met,” Tennessee said. “I wish they were my family.”
Daydream said many churchgoers even hugged them — impressive, she noted, considering they were drenched in sweat and, having not showered since early October, smelled “like water buffaloes.”
“I’d never really met any Mormons before, but they were totally different than I thought,” she said. “They were really down to earth and chill and none of them had more than one wife.
“And I’m pretty sure some of them smoke herb, and one dude even looked like Albert Hofmann.”
Hofmann was a Swiss chemist who inadvertently created LSD in 1938 and later intentionally dosed himself with the drug in 1943.
Tennessee and Daydream spent the entire day at the church before members Tom and Janet Benton invited them to their home for Sunday supper and family game night.
“They were so good at Jenga,” Daydream said. “They were also wizards at pingpong, but they would not play beer pong.”
Tennessee said he soon discovered that the Bentons’ four children at home — two others are away at Brigham Young University — were “incredible athletes.” The teens were skilled at basketball, wiffle ball, soccer and football, he said, but nothing compared to their trampoline skills.
“They did things on the trampoline that I’ve only seen in the Olympics,” he said. “They could do triple backflips. That’s gold-medal material right there.”
Tennessee and Daydream then introduced the family to ultimate frisbee.
As the sun set, the Bentons offered the couple two empty bunks for the night.
“We slept so well,” Tennessee said. “They gave us more milk and cookies before bed. We didn’t even do bong hits before we went to sleep.”
Daydream said that when they woke up Monday morning, Janet Benton made them a towering stack of chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries.
“I love them so much,” she said. “And I’m not talking about the pancakes. I mean, they were insane, but the Bentons are the coolest, nicest people we have ever met.”
Tennessee and Daydream, who are still staying at the Benton home, both plan to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I mean they stand for everything that we do — family, spiritual devotion, being super kind — so it’s a really organic process,“ Tennessee said.
He added that he just wished the church “would consider switching around two letters in LDS—then we would have everything we have ever wanted.”
Janet Benton shook her head.
“Kids,” she said with a chuckle.
