There came a point in time when we were nearing Steamboat and realizing that it was getting on in the day and that we still hadn't stopped anywhere for food for the actual camping. The first outfitter store we came upon after we got off the highway was a bust. We went inside, looked all around for freeze-dried food in bags, and when we couldn't find any, Ryan asked the clerk for help. She showed us to a shelf that was full of food but Ryan took one look at it and said, "Whataya say, go somewhere else?"
"Got somethin' against this here food?" I asked.
"I don't know. You'd just think they'd have more selection probably somewhere else," and with that he asked the clerk if there were any more stores in the area that might have more food.
"On down at Steamboat there's a store. . .hold on," she said and walked us closer to the door. "Go out here and take a left, follow that road on down to the right and turn right on," some road which none of us remembered the name of 10 minutes later, " and go down about 2 miles. On the left hand side is a store called," another name we soon forgot. "They MIGHT have some food. It's a little late in the season and so our selection's not that great. They might be the same there. They're wrapping up their tubing season. They're right on the water."
We thanked her and left and drove in the direction she sent us in and then realized we'd forgotten much of what she'd told us.
"Do I turn right or left here?" Dawn asked and we all sat at the light.
"Right," Ryan replied.
"I don't know, Ryan," she said.
"No, I'm pretty sure, Dawn. You're gonna have to trust me. Turn right."
And she did and it was correct and Dawn appeared amazed and she told Ryan, "Wow. I have to admit, I wasn't real sure you were right, Ryan. Maybe it's Kevin I have to watch out for," and she looked in the rear view mirror and smiled at me.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's still Ryan," I told her and grinned.
A few miles down we pulled left into the parking lot of a small shack of a store touting the Steamboat touristy-kitschy sign and Dawn tried to park in the shade for the dogs and we went inside. A young woman in the back behind a wooden counter greeted us as we came in. Next to her on the wall was a door which led out to a creek out back with a sign next to it advertising inner-tube rentals. The three of us split up and went to looking about the store for food and whatever else we might need. I watched the young woman behind the counter for a minute, looked at a few things, and then found Dawn standing at a wall of shelves full of freeze-dried food in bags.
"See anything you like?"
"Yeah, what do you think?"
I thumbed through some of the merchandise. Kung Pao Chicken, Lasagna, Spaghetti, Shepherd's Pie. "I think I'm going for Kung Pao Chicken. It's not every camping trip you get Kung Pao Chicken in a bag."
"Yeah, I know," she said. "I don't know what to get. What do you think Ryan wants?" and at that moment Ryan came over.
"What do you think? Shepherd's Pie and Spaghetti?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so," said Dawn and I grabbed all three and made my way to the counter with a map that Ryan had grabbed. Ryan picked through some things behind me and talked to Dawn.
"Kinda quiet in here, huh?" I asked the young woman behind the counter.
"Yeah, it's getting close to the end of the season. Where are you guys going?"
"Right here," I said and pointed to the folded up map. "Your guess is as good as mine, I'm just following them."
"It's going to be cold. It's been getting down into the 30's at night."
No comments:
Post a Comment