I was invited out last night, but had too much on my plate. So, tonight, I called the person to see if the offer still stood. Yes!

We started off the night at Gerties, then we drove to the home of one of her new friends so she could introduce us. By the time we were passing Bonanza, it was only 9:30, so we decided to go back into town for another drink.

Since we were in chat mode, going back to Gerties didn’t make sense. Bombay Peggy’s, the cozy pub, would have been nice, but it was jam packed. The next nearest bar was the Sluicebox Lounge at the El Dorado hotel, a block away.

It was a charmless place, unless you consider 70s decor and formica tables ‘charming’, but it was clean, open, and reasonably quiet. A pint was a full seventy-five cents less than at Gerties!

The gal I was with is a French national who has been in Canada for several years. We met briefly last fall as she was moving in. Imagine what sort of courage it must take, even after spending a year in Whitehorse, to pack up for a remote location like Dawson in the winter!

She had both positive and negative things to say about winter in Dawson and seemed to have generally found the experience to be pleasant and worthwhile. A part of me wants to try it, just once, but another part of me knows that she doesn’t do well in a world of constant twilight and inclement weather.

Her winter gave her a chance to get to know the Dawson establishments that stay open late into the fall and even through the winter. I ribbed her about how casually she led me to the Sluicebox Lounge when I know that the gal I met last fall wouldn’t have imagined herself in such an establishment. It just goes to show how a place can slowly mould you into the kind of person it needs you to be to survive there. She hasn’t changed, she still doesn’t drink, but she’s comfortable in locales she never was comfortable in before. I experienced a similar transformation during my month in Scotland.

It turned out to be a fun night and I’m glad I found a more quiet place than Gerties to go to when I’m in a chatty mood!