After the night tour at Stanley hotel, we decided to grab a drink at the infamous bar, with an incredible list of whiskies, gin, and various amounts of bourbon in stock. We had a very informative bourbon-type gal as our barmaid. Charlotte went with the red wine, and I went with Johnny Walker Blue label straight. Soon after our drinks came, a couple noticed us from the tour. By being the only person with a professional camera of the group, it was hard to miss. Especially when a Canon 580IIx flash goes off. The couple asked if I was able to catch anything, and I replied, “I honestly don’t know yet.” I haven’t looked, but I sure will when I get back home.” We are believers of the paranormal, and we had a great conversation with them talking about our experiences and amongst other things including where they were from, what are drink choices are and about the road trip.
After an hour, or so we decided to go to a local bar and grab some food and drinks. The bartender was super cool and friendly. After ordering, we noticed on the chalkboard above his nickname was Big Sexy. Which was hilarious! Remembering that there was a scene in Pineapple Express where Seth Rogan’s character was caught by the police, and the cop said, “Oh big sexy with them glasses.” Chucking for a minute about the scene. As the bartender came around, we called him by his nickname and he was laughing. A short conversation followed, and then mentioned he was moving to Fort Collins, and on this shift was his last night. He asked where we were from. We told him Philadelphia, because he definitely noticed our accents. The way we say certain things here on the northeast part of the country is definitely noticeable. For example, Philadelphian’s pronounce coffee, “Cuaw-fee.” I think it was when we ordered the BBQ cheeseburger with coleslaw and the mushroom and sautéed onion burger with sweet potato fries. Might sound as basic as burgers go, but they were so good, prepared with care, and with love. The owner/chef came out, and asked how our meal was and we told him, “It was excellent.“ His eyes lit up, and a huge smile followed. He then said thank you very much. Once we were done, we congratulated the bartender, and wished him luck in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Leaving the bar, it was very quiet and no one was on the road. Driving a couple minutes back to The Ponderosa Lodge, I noticed three coyotes crossing the road! I was like, “OH, OH, OH!” It is something you do not see on the east coast. Arriving back to Lodge, I decided to see if I could shoot the stars above the hill. With a full moon above, it illuminated too much and the stars were not coming through as planned. This shot to the right is the best one I was able to pull off that night.
