Belle is an active little Maltese. The pearly pooch was making friends with everyone on the patio at the Trail Head Tavern on July 4 around 10 p.m., and as her owner awaited the town’s nearby fireworks with a boy and a beer, Belle made fast friends with me, leaning against my leg and making pretty puppy eyes in an attempt to seduce me out of a french fry or two.
Belle’s mommy cooed, “Go ahead, but at least make her dance.” So I held the fry a foot above Belle’s curly head, and sure enough she rose to her hind legs and struck a ballerina pose, pawing a perfect circle while never taking her eyes off the greasy prize.
A few fries later, Belle disappeared, and we craned our necks to watch the fireworks, which we could barely see between the big tree at the intersection and the South Mason Street sign.
Life was bizarrely solemn on this Fort Collins patio, given the fire in the sky. Business was unusually slow, and the staff was kicking back with us and telling stories of crazy customers – there are many – as evidenced by the six students in front of us who were crammed into a red SUV with windshield wipers a-swipin’ (it wasn’t raining) and driving like they were 15 and learning a stick shift.
The Trail Head is the kind of bar people live at. It feels like home, and people act like they’re in their living rooms, with feet on tables and dogs running free. Last time I was at this bar, we were drinking before a Matson Jones show at the Surfside. The band walked in and we did shots.
But this time, Belle’s owner was inside looking for her dog. And just then a loud female co-ed came out of the bar laughing. I overheard her telling her friends, “… and then the dog ran under the partition and into my stall. I was sitting there like, ‘Oh, hello there.’ And the girl was like, “Blue Belle, where did you go?’ ”
And that’s the kind of thing that happens at the Trail Head.
Trail Head Tavern
148 W. Mountain Ave., Fort Collins; 970-221-5757
Funky: Try the menu’s Survival Kit – two beer-boiled brats with all the fixings.
Skunky: Watch out for Belle. She’s an adventurous sort.
