Ridgway, Colorado: True Grit Cafe

Interesting place, but terrible service, even though we were there during off season. Decent bowl of homemade chili before we started the drive into the mountains. Although we couldn't bring our dog inside, he liked the park in front of the porch!

Dennis Weaver display at the True Grit Cafe: Dennis Weaver and his wife Geri built and lived in an earth ship west of Ridgway on their ranch, using used tires, cans, bottles, mud, etc. It was easy to forget that he was a well-known actor -- he was just part of the community.

This isn't actually the place where John Wayne used to drink while filming True Grit, but it's a cafe that pays homage to the Duke and the movie. It has some posters and photos, but its real connection to the film is the inclusion of a brick wall with a grocery store sign painted on it that supposedly is behind the Duke when he makes his first appearance in the movie. It's suitable for posing in front of if you are a real fan.

The proprietor mentioned his brother owned the bar, "The Outlaw" in Ouray, where John Wayne used to hang while filming True Grit. He said his brother even claimed to have Wayne's cowboy hat, but he'd never seen it.

There's also a wall of photos depicting Dennis Weaver, but I didn't catch the reason for it.