Much needed Zero Day in Leadore

Day 112

Date: 21.08.2022

CDT Mile: Mile 2'236.4

Miles hiked: 0 miles / 0 km

Camping at: Mustang Inn Leadore, Idaho

Due to the post office being closed today, we are kinda forced to stay in Leadore. But also we much needed a zero day here. All of us are rupert tired and worn out after the last stretch from Mack's Inn to Leadore. Sadly, the restaurant is closed today too. While sleeping in, sawing wholes in my clothes, fixing the zipper on my sleepingbag and doing other chores in the morning, Happy and T-Bone cook Spaghetti with meat sauce for us for lunch. After lunch a bunch of other hikers turn up. There is Vista, Soccermum, Shotgun, Almost and Tiempo, now called Meat Paws.

In the late afternoon Soccermum and I go to a bar which was open to get more wine. We enter the bar and it seems as if they are closing. Two women are in there. Both look kinda filthy. Greasy hair, dirty clothing and the atmosphere is not very friendly. We go in and say 'Hello, are you still open? '

The women behind the bar replies: 'Ask the boss'. Soccermum: 'Oh ok, we were anyways just wondering if we could by wine to take-out?'. The women behind the bar seems to be annoyed: 'Ask the boss, I told you. I am just cleaning here.'

"The Boss" seems to be the other women, talking on the phone. She doesn't notice us at all, she doesn't care. We take a seat, when we see a parrot behind the bar. A big green parrot. He is not in a cave, but sitting there and eating something. This is the weirdest bar I've been to so far... Finally "the boss" has finished her call, doing something behind the bar and without looking up she goes: 'What do you want?!' Wooow, so friendly here, amazing! Again we repeat if we could buy a bottle of wine to take-out. 'We don't have botteled wine.', she replies. 'Mmhh ok, do you sell wine in plastic glasses?', we don't give up. Finally she looks at us, 'We have boxed wine, you wanna buy a box?' Well I guess yes then... She has one nicer looking wine box, all the other boxes are very cheap wine. I point at the nice looking box, cabernet sauvignon. This box has been opened already, but it's the only one of that wine she has. It would be a three liter box, but I guess only about 1L is left. I don't care, I wanna grab the wine and leave this freacking bar. 'How much do you sell this box for?', I ask. '5 bucks', she replies and disappears in another room. What a deal, a liter of wine for 5 bucks??! Hell yes I'm buying that! I scream 'thanks, I put the money for ya on the bar.' We grab the wine and leave as fast as we can! The parrot is screaming something from the back, while we leave! What an experience!

We return to the hotel and all of us hikers are sitting outside, drinking beer or wine and chatting. I'm in bed around midnight. What a nice evening, I really needed that after all the rather stressful days we had, in order to reach our goal before the cold hits us.

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