MY JOURNEY TO WOODY CREEK TAVERN
Being a huge fan of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, making a trip to his old drinking hole was #1 on my......things to do before I die list (I almost wrote "bucket list" a term I fucking hate and the movie sucked on top of it). So even though I moved to Denver in January I waited until June for the snow to clear to go up into the mountains and visit WCT.
The drive from Denver is absolutely beautiful and we actually saw a herd of mountain goats - I had never seen a mountain goat other than in a zoo so that was quite a treat. The drive took about three hours from Denver & the GPS blew us right by the turnoff we needed to take and we wound up in Aspen where within seconds we discovered that everything is more expensive than anywhere else in the civilized world. The airport was right alongside the main highway and I've never seen more private jets in my life.
Finally we got the GPS on one of our two phones to work and we pulled into Woody Creek, which seems to consist of a post office, a few houses & trailers, and the Tavern.
The place was virtually empty inside but the outdoor patio was packed with mountain bikers. The booth we sat in I suspect may have been the booth where HST use to sit in because the walls were covered with photos of people sitting in that booth, grinning like idiots & pointing to the a black sign that said "Hunter Thompson." When I asked the waitress if that was his booth, she smirked and said "I don't know, I didn't work here then." There went a portion of her tip right down the shitter.
Our charming waitress - who by the way was wearing real short shorts - then asked if we would like chips & salsa, which we did. Be careful of that - they charge 5 bucks for a small portion of chips and they don't let you know that. We didn't find out until the bill came. We ordered the Huevos Rancheros which were delicious and while we waited for our food, I wandered around the bar and took in the sights. I wanted to buy a t-shirt to commemorate my visit but the quality was absolute shit! One wash and an small boy would be wearing that 25 dollar shirt that was picked up at Goodwill for a buck by one of his parents.
Another thing you want to make sure you have on you is cash! There are no signs that I could see that they took cash only but you'll find that out when they bring the bill (along with the fact they charged you 5 bucks for some bad chips and salsa). And if you drink, bring a ton of cash because the prices are insane for booze. I wonder if the good doctor drank for free? I couldn't imagine that he'd put up with paying 6 bucks for a beer.
Overall, it was a beautiful drive, the tavern was real cool, the food was tasty, the prices are way to high, and the waitresses are rude as hell. But if you're a fan of HST don't let that stop you. It felt cool just sitting in that booth even though it may not of been his.
Do you think Hunter took a leak in this urinal? I sure hope so!
