2012 West Coast – Page 2 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

The Devil’s Punchbowl, Beverly Beach & Moolack Beach, Oregon Coast (8-25-12 & 8-26-12)

Days 18 & 19 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.

It was early when SPHP woke up. Sleeping sitting up in Lanis’ Honda Element hadn’t been much fun. Lupe was ready to get out, too. Lupe and SPHP stretched their legs wandering around a little park near a bay of the ocean in Seaside, Oregon. Well, just last night the little park had been near a bay of the ocean, but the ocean had disappeared!

Lupe and SPHP went down to a river that had been flowing into the ocean the evening before. This time, SPHP made certain Lupe did NOT repeat her Dead Fish Dingo performance. The river, which had been pretty wide the previous evening, was now only a tiny stream flowing over mud flats. The entire bay the river had flowed into was now a mud flat, too. The mud extended to the horizon.

The tide had gone out. It had gone out so far, Lupe and SPHP couldn’t even see the ocean anymore! It had followed the moon, and fled the scene. Interesting. Not the sort of thing one expects back in South Dakota, but no doubt an ordinary event for those used to living near the ocean. It didn’t take Lupe and SPHP long to get bored staring at mud. Lupe and SPHP left what was left of the river, and wandered through the rest of the little park.

The park was partially wooded with stands of trees separated by wide mowed pathways. The previous evening, SPHP had seen a plaque on a rock back in the woods, but it had been too dark to read it. Lupe and SPHP went to see what was written there. The plaque said Lupe was at a 20 acre site dedicated to Rueben Snake, the 1st President of the American Indian Movement back in the early 1970’s.

Lupe and SPHP explored the most densely forested part of the park, and were surprised to find a grave. A headstone indicated a Kathleen somebody, who had passed away in 2003, was buried there. Finding a grave in a park also seemed rather odd, but it was the end of the oddities. Lupe and SPHP returned to the Element. Lanis was awake.

The plan for the day was to drive S along the Oregon coast as far as the Devil’s Punchbowl. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP headed S on Hwy 101. It was a beautiful sunny morning and a lovely drive. Sometimes the Pacific Ocean was in view. Lupe’s home in the Black Hills of South Dakota is a very long way from any ocean, so seeing the Pacific was a rare treat.

The Pacific Ocean along the Oregon coast.

Just a few miles before reaching the Devil’s Punchbowl, the sunny morning disappeared. A dense fog bank rolled in, and the mood of the day changed completely. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went to see the Devil’s Punchbowl in the fog.

Fog rolled in just a few miles N of the Devil's Punchbowl, and changed the mood of the day completely. — Fog rolled in just a few miles N of the Devil’s Punchbowl, and changed the mood of the day completely.

The Devil's punchbowl seems to be a collapsed cave hollowed out by the sea. The sea washes in and out of the Punchbowl, with every wave. The Punchbowl is big enough to hold an awful lot of punch, especially since it would all leak out into the Pacific. — The Devil’s punchbowl seems to be a collapsed cave hollowed out by the sea. The sea washes in and out of the Punchbowl, with every wave. The Punchbowl is big enough to hold an awful lot of punch, especially since it would all leak out into the Pacific.

Despite the fog, SPHP wanted to stay in the area. One thing was for certain, neither Lanis nor SPHP wanted to spend another night sitting upright in the Element. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left the Devil’s Punchbowl to line up a place to set up Lupe’s tiny house. The first place S of the Devil’s Punchbowl was Beverly Beach State Park. There was a big forested campground there. It looked pretty crowded with people, so it was probably a good idea to secure a campsite there right away.

There weren’t any vacancies. Every site in the entire campground was occupied or reserved for the night. Fortunately, a Mr. Toma came along while SPHP was still talking to the state park personnel. He and his wife wanted to cancel their reservation and go elsewhere. The park personnel refused to refund his prepaid reservation, but were perfectly fine with Mr. Toma making a separate deal with SPHP.

So, it all worked out great! Mr. Toma and SPHP worked out a deal. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP couldn’t actually take possession of Mr. Toma’s reserved site until the current occupant vacated the site at 1:30 PM, but that was OK. With a place to stay secured for the evening, it was time to go back to the Devil’s Punchbowl. Lupe was going to check out the beach just to the S!

A long set of stairs led down to the beach from the parking lot near the Devil’s Punchbowl. It was still foggy out. Lupe still wasn’t too used to the ocean. She explored the mysterious foggy beach cautiously, at first.

Before long, Lupe was got brave enough to go wading in the ocean. She didn’t go very far, and retreated from each incoming wave, but she was getting her paws wet. SPHP waded with her. Even though it was late August, the water was pretty cold. It seemed even colder than up at Beach 4 in Washington. No wonder the people out trying to surfboard on pathetically small waves were all wearing wet suits!

Lupe grew brave enough to wade in the Pacific Ocean, but was careful to stay in shallow water.

Lupe really started having fun when someone brought a Dalmatian dog down to the beach. The Dalmatian wanted to play, and Lupe was soon having a blast with her new friend!

Lupe had a blast playing on the beach with her new Dalmatian friend.

At 1:30 PM; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP returned to Beverly Beach State Park to take possession of site F15, which was the site Mr. Toma had reserved. Soon Lanis and SPHP had Lupe’s tiny house pitched.

By now the fog had dissipated, and it was sunny out. Like SPHP, Lanis hadn’t slept well sitting up in the Element last night, either. He wanted to take a nap in Lupe’s tiny house. Lupe stayed with Lanis, while SPHP enjoyed the luxury of a hot shower at Beverly Beach State Park’s nice facility.

After SPHP emerged all crisp and clean from the shower, Lupe and SPHP took a walk around the campground while Lanis snoozed. Lupe soon discovered it was possible to go directly from the campground under a Hwy 101 bridge on down to the ocean. Lupe and SPHP had a great stroll along the Pacific, heading N back towards the Devil’s Punchbowl. Lupe and SPHP had fun wading in and out of the water, watching the waves and seagulls, and hearing the roar of the ocean.

By the time Lupe was 3/4 of the way to the Devil’s Punchbowl, it was time to go back and check on Lanis. Lanis hadn’t slept well, even in Lupe’s tiny house. The campground was just too crowded and noisy in the middle of the afternoon. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP got in the Element and cruised S on Hwy 101. At the first little town, Lanis and SPHP stopped to pick up some Chinese take-out.

After eating at a viewpoint over the Pacific, Lanis drove back to the Devil’s Punchbowl again. SPHP was fine, but Lanis started feeling queasy. He stayed in the Element while Lupe and SPHP went back down to the beach. SPHP hoped to get some photos of a brilliant Pacific sunset, but it would be a while before then. Lupe and SPHP played on the beach, wading in the water again, while heading S now toward Beverly Beach.

The beach where Lupe played between Devil's Punchbowl and Beverly Beach State Park. Photo looks S. — The beach where Lupe played between Devil’s Punchbowl and Beverly Beach State Park. Photo looks S.

Lupe came to some guys who were digging a big pit in the sand. They were stacking up driftwood for a bonfire. Eventually they tried lighting the bonfire, but it was slow to take. Sometimes there were other dogs to go sniff with. Lupe ran around having a great time.

The bonfire smokes before really getting going.

Lupe discovered a new ocean beach sport! She started racing along the beach at top speed beneath seagulls flying overhead. She barked enthusiastically at them with her head tilted up to see where they were flying. However, Lupe couldn’t really see where SHE was going doing this.

Sometimes the seagulls flew out over the ocean. Often this caused an unsuspecting Lupe to dash at top speed smack into an ocean wave, from which a completely drenched and surprised Carolina Dog emerged a moment later. Her spirits weren’t dampened, though. Lupe was really beginning to like the ocean!

The brilliant red, orange and gold sunset SPHP was hoping for never developed. Instead, it became clear the sun was going to sink into a cloud bank. As the sun went down, everything was all silvery, black and white. It was still a beautiful way to end the day. Lupe and SPHP stayed on the beach until the sun was down.

Sunset near the Devil's Punchbowl on the Oregon Coast. — Sunset near the Devil’s Punchbowl on the Oregon Coast.

The next morning, Lupe and SPHP were up early. Lanis was finally sleeping soundly, so Lupe and SPHP slipped off back down to the beach to enjoy the ocean again. This time Lupe and SPHP made it all the way to the end of the beach next to the Devil’s Punchbowl.

A couple with two Labrador retrievers were throwing tennis balls into the ocean for their dogs to retrieve. Lupe stole a tennis ball to get into the game. The Labs gave chase, but Lupe was much faster. She zoomed around zig-zagging this way and that. The Labs couldn’t catch her.

Eventually Lupe dropped the ball, and chased the Labs while they ran with it. That game was too easy, though. Lupe had no problem catching them. The Labs wore out, and gave up on catching or escaping from Lupe. They returned to retrieving tennis balls from the ocean, and the game was over.

SPHP and Lupe made the long trek back to Beverly Beach State Park to check on Lanis. He was up and feeling much better. There wasn’t really a plan yet for the rest of the day, so Lanis and Lupe packed up Lupe’s tiny house just to provide freedom of action.

After checking out of Beverly Beach State Park. Lanis drove up to the Devil’s Punchbowl once again. Right next to the Devil’s Punchbowl is Mo’s West restaurant, which was going to open up in just a few minutes at 11:00 AM. Lanis wound up getting Mo’s Clam Chowder Bread Bowl, and SPHP got Mo’s World Famous Clam Chowder. Both Lanis and SPHP really thought it was delicious!

Lupe had another opinion. As it turns out, Carolina Dogs don’t like seafood. At least they don’t like anything with clams in it. Lupe wouldn’t touch the stuff. Oh, well! Lanis and SPHP were happy with that. It just left more for them.

While Lanis and SPHP were enjoying the food from Mo’s, the weather outside the Element was deteriorating. It had been kind of a dark and cloudy morning before, but now the wind started blowing and it started to mist. Lanis played with his phone, SPHP watched the tide going out, and Lupe snoozed while waiting for the weather to improve again.

It didn’t. It was a good thing Lanis and SPHP had packed up Lupe’s tiny house. It wasn’t tenting weather any more. SPHP began to realize the weather wasn’t going to improve. It was time to leave the Pacific Ocean. SPHP realized it might be a very long time before Lupe ever got to see the ocean again. Despite the weather, before leaving, Lupe was going to get one more chance to enjoy the magnificent Pacific Ocean.

Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left the Devil’s Punchbowl for the last time. Lanis drove a few miles S on Hwy 101 to Moolack Beach. There was hardly anyone else on Moolack Beach. The wind was blustery, and the waves were getting bigger. The mist became rain. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went wading in the ocean and wandering along the shore. The water felt colder than ever.

Lupe enjoyed her seagull chasing, and crashing into the big waves. As it started to rain harder and the waves grew bigger, the beach started to feel like a remote and lonely place. The power of the ocean grew. Lupe ran far down the beach, until she was just a tiny brown speck next to the crashing waves. SPHP began to get concerned for her. The waves looked huge compared to the tiny Dingo. SPHP yelled for Lupe to come back, even though she was so far away, even with big Dingo ears she couldn’t have heard SPHP over the roar of the ocean.

A minute or two later, the tiny brown and white speck started streaking toward SPHP. She never stays away long, no matter how much fun she’s having. SPHP realized Lupe was having her last run as a young doggie along the mighty ocean. It was fun to watch her. She arrived panting hard, soaking wet from ears to tail, with a gigantic grin on her face. The ocean was soooo much fun!

SPHP was glad she had enjoyed it, but with the weather deteriorating, the ocean might get pretty dangerous, too. It was raining harder all the time. Time to leave the ocean.

So, reluctantly, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP said goodbye to the glorious Pacific Ocean. As a young American Dingo, Lupe really had made it all the way to the West Coast on her 2012 Dingo Vacation! She’d had marvelous adventures on the Washington and Oregon coasts she would always remember. Now it was time to start heading home.

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Mt. St. Helens, Dismal Nitch, & the Dead Fish Dingo, Washington (8-24-12)

Day 17 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.

Once again, Lupe and SPHP were up before Lanis. Lupe soon found the Loop Trail, which runs entirely around the Iron Creek campground, NE of Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Iron Creek campground is located in an amazing mossy forest of huge Douglas firs. Before it was time to head to Mt. St. Helens, Lupe and SPHP wanted to explore the Loop Trail, and see it all.

Iron Creek campground, Washington state.

The trail was in good condition. Lupe, as always, was an enthusiastic explorer. She sniffed ferns, and jumped up on giant mossy logs laying on forest floor, using the logs as her own private green-cushioned Dingo trails. If there were any squirrels, Lupe wasn’t finding them. They may have been up in the stratosphere of the towering tree tops.

The N and NE sides of the Loop Trail went along a lovely blue river, the Cispus. The water of the Cispus sparkled in the morning light. Not far from the Cispus, on the W side of the Loop Trail, were signs next to two huge Douglas firs. The little tree was 280 feet high, had an 8 foot diameter trunk, and was 600 years old. The biggest one was 285 feet high, had an 8 foot 2 inch diameter trunk, and was also 600 years old.

These trees were already 80 years old when Columbus set sail for America! It was hard to imagine they had been standing here all that time. Both trees were still alive, and looked to be in good condition. The forest was full of Douglas firs that looked almost as huge and ancient as these two. Iron Creek campground was a pretty amazing place!

Lupe and SPHP completed their journey around the entire Loop Trail. Lanis was up, when Lupe arrived back at her tiny house. It was time to leave for Mt. St. Helens (8,333 ft.)! A long, winding paved road took Lupe up through a dense forest to the E entrance of Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Lanis parked the Element at the first overlook in the monument with a view toward Mt. St. Helens.

Lupe, sporting big soft Dingo ears, with Lanis at the first overlook in Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Mt. St. Helens is poking up in the distance. Yeah, thinking maybe Lanis would look better sporting big soft Dingo ears, too! They'd probably be useful for his music, too. — Mt. St. Helens is poking up in the distance. Yeah, thinking maybe Lanis would look better sporting big soft Dingo ears, too! They’d probably be useful for his music, too.

From the first viewpoint using a telephoto lens.

Lanis and SPHP started reading some plaques at the overlook showing pictures of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980. Amazingly, the man who took those very photos, Gary Rosenquist, showed up while Lupe was at the overlook!

Gary Rosenquist, Lanis and Lupe. Gary had taken the photos of Mt. St. Helens' cataclysmic eruption on May 18, 1980 featured on the plaques Lanis and SPHP had been reading! — Gary Rosenquist, Lanis and Lupe. Gary had taken the photos of Mt. St. Helens’ cataclysmic eruption on May 18, 1980 featured on the plaques Lanis and SPHP had been reading!

Lupe got to meet Mr. Rosenquist. Lanis and SPHP got to chat with him for a while about his experience photographing the Mt. St. Helens eruption, and then fleeing for his life from the falling ash. Mr. Rosenquist said he still likes to visit Mt. St. Helens fairly frequently.

Lupe, Lanis and SPHP continued on the road toward viewpoints closer to Mt. St. Helens. From one of them, there were some great views of Spirit Lake. The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens was so powerful, it created a wave of water from Spirit Lake that went as high as 850 feet up the mountains on the N side of the lake. Debris blocked the outlet to the lake, and the water level rose about 200 feet above its prior elevation. The surface area of Spirit Lake is now about 2,200 acres compared to only 1,300 acres before.

Spirit Lake is N of Mt. St. Helens. The outlet from the lake was blocked by debris from the collapsed mountainside. The water level was stabilized by engineers at a level 200 feet higher than before the May, 1980 eruption.

The eruption of Mt. St. Helens stripped away 230 square miles of forest. Many thousands of trees were flung into Spirit Lake. More than 32 years later, thousands of tree trunks were still floating in giant mats on the lake.

The road ended at a final viewpoint, still quite a distance from the volcano. From here it was possible to get a very good view of the huge debris flow extending down to Spirit Lake formed by the collapse of the former N slopes of Mt. St. Helens as the volcano erupted.

Shown here is the debris flow that blocked Spirit Lake at the part of the lake closest to the mountain.

Mt. St. Helens as seen from the last viewpoint at the end of the road coming in from the E side of the national monument. The May 18, 1980 volcanic eruption reduced the elevation of Mt. St. Helen's summit from 9,677 feet to 8,363 feet when the N side of the mountain collapsed. — Mt. St. Helens as seen from the last viewpoint at the end of the road coming in from the E side of the national monument. The May 18, 1980 volcanic eruption reduced the elevation of Mt. St. Helen’s summit from 9,677 feet to 8,363 feet when the N side of the mountain collapsed.

At the last viewpoint, there was a set of stairs climbing up a steep hill above the parking area. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went up to the top of the hill for a better view.

From the hill, it was possible to get a better look not only at Mt. St. Helens, but also see Mt. Adams (12,276 ft.) and Mt. Hood (11,239 ft.) in the distance. Lupe even got to see Mt. Rainier (14,411 ft.), after all, despite having missed seeing it due to cloud cover the day before. The summit of Mt. Rainier was peaking up over the ridge beyond Spirit Lake.

Mt. Adams, seen here, is 34 miles E of Mt. St. Helens. Mt. Hood is 60 miles SSE. Lupe could see Mt. Hood, but it was too far away to show up well in a photograph under the prevailing light conditions while Lupe was near Mt. St. Helens. — Mt. Adams, seen here, is 34 miles E of Mt. St. Helens. Mt. Hood is 60 miles SSE. Lupe could see Mt. Hood, but it was too far away to show up well in a photograph.

Lupe did get to see the summit of Mt. Rainier after all! Here it is poking above the mountain ridges beyond Spirit Lake. — Lupe did get to see the summit of Mt. Rainier, after all! Here it is poking above the mountain ridges beyond Spirit Lake.

At the top of the hill above the final viewpoint, there was a trail leading one mile back to the best viewpoint over Spirit Lake. The trail was high up on the side of the mountain facing Spirit Lake, so it was bound to be a very scenic path. Lanis didn’t feel like taking the trail, but Lupe and SPHP did.

The one mile trail was very scenic, and did have great views of Spirit Lake, but at one point there was a stretch of trail a few hundred feet long that was a bit scary. The trail was very narrow with cliffs directly above, and a very steep slope leading to more cliffs below. Lupe and SPHP made it through easily enough, but it sure wouldn’t be a place to take little kids.

Lanis was waiting with the Element at the best Spirit Lake viewpoint along the road at the other end of the trail. Lanis said there had been signs saying the trail was for experts or advanced hikers only. SPHP had not noticed them.

Going back down the paved road heading back out of St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was interesting, too. There were some pretty big drops off the side of the road, and no guardrails.

More concerning was that the road itself was cracking, and in many places had already slumped creating troughs in the road several feet deep. The pavement was still smooth, these weren’t abrupt cracks, but after seeing a whole mountain that had collapsed, it was easy to envision a 50 or 100 foot section of the road failing, and plunging down the cliff!

Looking back at Mt. St. Helens as Lupe leaves the area.

Of course, nothing actually happened; the road did not fail. (Some day it will!) Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left Mt. St. Helens behind.

Lupe was heading back to the West Coast! She traveled through the little towns of Cougar, Yale and Ariel on the way back to I-5. She turned N on I-5, and then W on Hwy 4, which followed the N bank of the Columbia River. Along Hwy 401, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP stopped at Dismal Nitch, a cove along the Columbia River.

It was beautiful at Dismal Nitch! The Columbia River is almost to the Pacific Ocean by the time it reaches Dismal Nitch. The river was so wide, it was hard to tell if it was still even a river, or a bay of the ocean. Seagulls were swirling around over the river. The long bridge over to Astoria, on the Oregon side of the Columbia, could be seen just a few miles ahead.

Lupe & Lanis at Dismal Nitch on the N bank of the huge Columbia River, at this point almost as much ocean as river.

Lupe had just missed seeing Lewis & Clark! Well, not quite “just” missed. Lewis & Clark first reached Dismal Nitch on November 10, 1805, so Lupe was 206 years, 9 months and 14 days late. It was a good thing, really. Lewis & Clark had taken shelter here from a severe winter storm. The storm forced them off the river for 6 days, causing them to miss their supply boat. It was Captain William Clark who had named the place, calling it in his journals “that dismal little nitch”.

It was getting late enough in the day to start thinking about finding a place to camp. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left Dismal Nitch, and continued W on Hwys 401 & 101 all the way to the Pacific Ocean at Cape Disappointment.

Cape Disappointment is located at the very SW tip of Washington state on the N bank of the Columbia River. It was named by a British fur trader, John Meares, who had been sailing S in search of trade and the Columbia. On April 12, 1788, he sighted Cape Disappointment, but had to turn his ship around due to a storm, thereby failing to discover the mouth of the Columbia. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP were also disappointed – the campground at the Lewis & Clark State Park was full.

Lupe saw the Pacific Ocean here, just N of Cape Disappointment in Lewis & Clark State Park, WA. Lupe was disappointed, too. The campground was full.

Lupe, Lanis and SPHP drove all around the general area, stopping at all the campgrounds. Every one was full. People were flocking to the area for some kind of big kite flying contest. SPHP’s road atlas did show a “World Kite Museum & Hall of Fame” on the coast a little way N of Cape Disappointment State Park. Well, no problem. Lupe would just take the Astoria bridge over the Columbia River to Oregon, and find a place to stay over there.

When Lupe crossed the bridge, Oregon became the 6th Lupe state to join her Dingo Nation! Unfortunately, the story was both different and the same in Oregon. Just like in Washington, all the campgrounds were full. So were all the motel rooms, except for a few luxury suites priced well beyond budget. The reason was different, though. People were flocking here for a big Mt. Hood to Seaside relay running event that was in progress.

Lupe, Lanis, and SPHP gave up finding a place to stay in Astoria. Lanis drove S on Hwy 101 towards Seaside. Suddenly, Lanis spotted a black lab on the very busy 4 lane highway. The black lab was clearly lost. He was running back and forth right on the highway looking at each car as it whizzed by, hoping to find his owner. The poor black lab was doomed to cause an accident, and die within minutes doing this!

Lanis stopped the Element. Lanis and SPHP intended to rescue the black lab, but time was of the essence. Fortunately, someone else in a pickup truck also saw the dog’s plight, and stopped closer to where the dog had run to. In just seconds, he had the dog safely in his truck. The black lab was saved!

At Seaside, unsurprisingly, it soon became clear there were no campground vacancies here, either. However, there was a little park right along the highway, and a large pullout parking lot for it. The park had a big open field, with scattered stands of trees. Beyond the field was a view of a bay of the ocean. No tents allowed. It wasn’t dark yet, but it soon would be. Looked like car camping in the Element again.

As twilight was fading, SPHP and Lupe went for a walk through the park down to a little river flowing into the bay. Very high, thick, coarse grass grew next to the river. Lupe sniffed around in the grass forest, while SPHP gazed out over the river down to the ocean bay. SPHP didn’t notice anything was wrong until getting into the Element for the night.

Within a few seconds, the Element just reeked. The source of the stench was quickly identified as Lupe. She must have found some dead fish along the shore of the river, and rolled in them. Dogs, even Dingoes, sometimes love to roll in the nastiest, most awful things. An instinctive way of hiding their scent from prey? Well, it was true no sensible prey animal would likely suspect it was being added to the menu by an extraordinarily obnoxious dead fish.

Lupe was very happy curled up in the Element wearing her Eau-du-Dead Fish perfume, and wondered what all the fuss was about? Lanis and SPHP were far less thrilled. The smell was horrid and overwhelming. Lanis refused to stay. He took a sleeping bag outside, and tried to sleep on the ground next to the Element. The air was much better, but the traffic roaring by on the highway did not bring sweet dreams.

After Lanis had suffered outside, and SPHP had suffered inside, for about an hour, neither could take it anymore. Take your pick – traffic noise, or the stench of a Dead Fish Dingo – it was impossible to sleep. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went for a long walk in the darkness, just wandering around Seaside.

The walk helped. By the time Lupe, Lanis and SPHP returned to the Element, it had aired out somewhat. Somehow, Lupe had, too. She was still no rose garden, but the worst was clearly over. For Lanis and SPHP, sleeping in the Element still wasn’t going to be a treat. With the back loaded with gear, the front seats didn’t recline. Sleeping in the Element always meant sleeping sitting up.

High up on her pile of blankets and pillows, Lupe curled up and drifted peacefully off to sleep, soothed by the aromatherapy of the hint of Eau-du-Dead Fish she was still wearing.

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