American Dingo – Page 135 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

2020 – The Year of Perfect Vision!

12-31-19, 11:00 PM at home –

Looks like we’re going to make it to the Year of Perfect Vision, Loop. 2020 in another hour.

Oddly, that actually did sound like some sort of accomplishment.

Lupe snuggled closer, staring at SPHP with worried, mournful eyes. SPHP petted her. For 2 hours, she had been able to hear fireworks now and then. Ever since a terrifying experience with fireworks when Loop was a puppy, even distant gunfire, or any sort of bang or explosion made her want to hide.

The early New Year’s fireworks were making the Carolina Dog nervous, but they weren’t why she was mournful. Life had become dreadfully dull. SPHP didn’t do anything with her anymore. Maybe it was time for a new SPHP? Apparently the old one was about shot.

It had all started a few days before Lupe’s birthday. Nothing much, just a tickle in SPHP’s throat. By the time Lupe turned 9 on December 14th, the tickle was a “chest cold”. Some days SPHP seemed to get better, but the overall trend was worse. More and more coughing, choking up more and more ghastly phlegm.

Even so, until recently SPHP had been up and about almost like normal. The only real difference was that Lupe hadn’t been on a single Black Hills Expedition since November. On Christmas Day there had been a short trip to visit Felix and Asher, but the next day SPHP felt chilled and had taken to bed.

Could barely eat or drink anything at all. Everything sounded terrible, or made more phlegm. For days now, SPHP had just slept or laid there coughing. Meanwhile, Lupe suffered almost completely ignored, waiting endlessly for SPHP to get better.

Surely SPHP would get better! SPHP was hardly ever sick. Confidence had been at least slightly shaken, though. Ever since the 26th, SPHP had been coughing up more and more blood.

Made it to 2020, but the Year of Perfect Vision was about to get off to a rough start.

1-2-20, Urgent Care – Everyone had been wrong. Doctor said both lungs clear. SPHP didn’t have pneumonia. Merely “acute bronchitis”. No big deal. Zithromax was going to do the trick. 6 pills over 5 days. Easy!

1-7-20 – Lo and behold, the Zithromax actually did work! Nowhere near 100% yet, but definitely much improved. Not coughing so much. Far less blood. Still some pretty dull days for the American Dingo, but SPHP was up and about at least part of the time now. Everyone had been wrong about the pneumonia thing, but they’d been right about going to see the doctor.

Lesson learned! Eh, maybe.

1-25-20 – Still no new adventures in the Black Hills, even though SPHP was almost completely well now. The Carolina Dog never did get to visit New Year’s Eve Peak (6,046 ft.) this year. At least today was going to be better. SPHP said she was going to get to go to Grandma’s house. Lupe hadn’t been there in more than a month. She was all excited!

Mush and David were at Grandma’s house when Lupe arrived. Christy, a friend of theirs was, too! The more, the merrier! Except it wasn’t. Strange things had been happening out at Grandma’s house ever since 2018. Now that 2020 was here, something was definitely wrong.

Mush and David’s pickup and big horse trailer were in the driveway. Hours of commotion. Lots of Grandma’s things were being loaded into the trailer. Even SPHP was in on it. Two trips. By the end of the day, Grandma wasn’t at home anymore. She had moved to a big building where Dingoes weren’t allowed in, a “senior living center”. No fun at all!

The only good things today were riding in the truck, and a trip with SPHP to the cul-de-sac.

1-27-20 – Guess we better get at it, Looper. Pretty much up to us now.

What did that mean? Turned out it meant a trip to Grandma’s old house every single day. Suddenly Lupe was getting to go out there 7 days a week, unless there was a big snow. Sadly, Grandma was never there. No one was. It was adventures in getting Grandma’s house ready for sale! Cleaning, painting, various projects and repairs, new carpets, disposing of everything still in the house or garage – all of Grandma’s treasures that she no longer had room for and couldn’t keep any more.

Dullsville! Most of the time literally adventures in watching paint dry.

Oh, there were some good things about it. Better than acute bronchitis, that was for sure. Riding in the G6 was fun! Every day Lupe got to bark at the gas pipeline, cows, and deer on the way out there and back. Sometimes there were trips to stores for supplies.

Every morning Loop got to go around the house to sniff the air and see the canyon out back. Usually at least a couple more times during the day, too, just as a break from the paint drying drudgery. Sometimes SPHP threw the squeaker ball for her.

2-5-20 – Out by the propane tank while going around Grandma’s big old house.

*Sometimes there are squirrels or deers or wild turkeys out here!*

SPHP worked on the rooms one at a time. The first one done was the big family room in the basement.

*Does look a lot better, SPHP, but 2 weeks to finish one room? You’re gonna have to pick up the pace, or this is going to take forever and a day!*

*Why don’t we go out, and go around the house again to celebrate finally getting one room done?*

2-11-20. Up on the deck during the big “one room done” celebration!

The red rock walls of **Spring Creek Canyon** with help from the telephoto lens.

Some of Grandma’s things had to be sold. SPHP washed her car. Lanis helped by placing the ad for it. Lupe got to star as Adventure Used Cars sales representative. On Valentine’s Day, two men came to look at it. They bought it the next day.

*Hi, I’m Lupe with Adventure Used Cars! Today we’ve got a great deal on a clean, low-mileage **1996 Buick Park Avenue**! Been in it many times myself. Runs great!*

Sometimes it snowed. The canyon looked especially beautiful then.

Whenever the weather turned nice, SPHP switched to outdoor projects. Those were more fun! Loopster could roam around.

3-4-20. Taking down part of an old fence. 2020 was so messed up! March came in like a lamb.

Gradually rooms were getting done. In early March, men came to install new carpets in the 2 N bedrooms. Most other rooms had already gotten new floor coverings in 2019. Grandma had known all along that sooner or later she would be moving. She just hadn’t known exactly when.

The house still wasn’t done, though. 2 more weeks went by. The living and dining rooms were the last ones SPHP painted.

3-19-20. In the dining room with a rawhide stick and a squeaker ball for entertainment. “Before” color still on the walls.

3-19-20. “After” color on the living room walls.

For nearly 2 months now, the grand highlight of every day had been at least one walk up to the cul-de-sac at the end of the road. Lupe had been up to the cul-de-sac almost every time she’d visited Grandma ever since she’d been a tiny puppy.

Naturally, when the last of the painting was done on 3-19-20, she went up to the cul-de-sac yet again.

On the way to the cul-de-sac. Not too far now from where the Most Beautiful Christmas tree is every year.

A romp at the beloved cul-de-sac, 3-19-20.

The house still wasn’t done. A few more days, though, and it would be.

The next to the last day was dark and snowy. As Lupe headed up to the cul-de-sac again near the end of the day, the frozen scene fit in with the general mood. Nearly 2 months spent on this house project. Perhaps it had all been for naught?

In those 2 months, the world had changed. The coronavirus had come to America. People were getting sick and dying. Millions more were losing their jobs as states deliberately started shutting down their economies. The stock market was plunging. Talk of not only a recession, but maybe a depression. Grandma might have been better off sticking a for sale sign in the yard the day after she moved while the market was still strong.

Or maybe never moving away at all. A month after she’d made the move, the senior living center clamped down. Precautions against the virus. No outside visitors allowed. Only staff and residents. Lately the residents had been confined to their apartments. No more socializing in the big dining room, which had been one of the reasons to move in the first place. Once a day, someone brought Grandma a big meal. Other than that, she was a virtual prisoner of the coronavirus.

Of course, Looper didn’t know any of this. This dark trip to the cul-de-sac was just a fun walk at the end of another otherwise dull day!

3-22-20. Loop ready to return to the cul-de-sac.

The next day was sunny and bright. The snow was melting fast. Beneath the pines, it felt like it was raining. By noon, Grandma’s house was all done. That afternoon, SPHP obtained permission from the senior living center to take Grandma back to see the house she’d lived in for more than a third of a century for the last time.

*It’s done? Really? Seemed like this would never end! What’s Grandma going to think?*

3-23-20. Grandma’s inspection tour begins.

Grandma thought the house had never been so beautiful! At least that was something good.

The preparation was done. Now to sell the home! A Realtor had been in touch with SPHP. She said she had clients who were very interested in Grandma’s house. Over the course of several days, a market analysis was prepared. A fair price was set. Permission was granted to show the property. The Realtor got her buyer clients out there the very next day.

A day later, the Realtor emailed SPHP. Her clients loved the view, but the house was dated. They didn’t want to remodel it. No offer.

Well, it was true. It was an old lady’s house. It did need remodeling. Grandma was too old to want to do it.

4-1-20 – The Year of Perfect Vision, and everything was crazy! Should have been the perfect time of year to put a home on the market, yet this year maybe it was the worst? No one really knew what was going to happen. Most of the nation, but not South Dakota, was enduring mandatory shutdowns and stay at home orders. As the economy got worse, the Federal Reserve was spending trillions of dollars. Congress and the President, too. More people dying, millions more losing their jobs every week. The stock market, which had just collapsed, was now soaring.

Grandma wanted the house sold, not just “for sale”. Cut the price 10% and get rid of it. April 1st, but she wasn’t fooling. It was cold, windy and tiny snowflakes were flying when Lupe and SPHP met with Realtor Walt out at Grandma’s house this afternoon. First sign of the approaching blizzard. The paperwork blizzard! Walt soon left, and Lupe insisted on going to the cul-de-sac.

4-10-20 – Grandma’s house had been entered into MLS on April 6th at the new lower price. Tons of showings! Feedback all the same. Everyone loved the canyon view, big yard, size of the home, and 3 car garage. Everyone hated the old cabinets, countertops and fixtures. “Potential”, but too much work. No interest.

Until today. An offer! Even lower than Grandma’s new price, but a cash offer. Grandma said yes. 4 days on the market! That was fast!

Of course, the sale still wasn’t done. Another paperwork blizzard. Inspections, more repairs, title insurance, a deed, questions about this and that, but gradually it was all falling into place. Still trips out to Grandma’s house and the cul-de-sac, but fewer and fewer of them. SPHP started working on The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe again. The American Dingo finally had new posts coming out for the first time many weeks.

4-13-20. At home, now waiting for Grandma’s house deal to close. Supposed to happen mid-May.

A present from Realtor Walt’s wife, who loves dogs and made this special pad for Lupe.

4-29-20 – The closing date had been moved up to May 1st. Lupe and SPHP returned to mow the lawn.

4-30-20 – Almost the end! SPHP had to read a gauge on the propane tank. Of course, that meant another trip to Grandma’s house and the cul-de-sac.

*I know you always think of me climbing mountains, but I’ve been to this cul-de-sac 1,000 times, easy!*

Once back at Grandma’s house, Lupe went to see the canyon again.

*It’s all looking good! I love being at Grandma’s house! Why did she ever move?*

5-1-20 – Last chance to see it all again! In a few more hours, Grandma’s house would belong to someone else. Lupe arrived very early in the morning. No work or projects to do this time. For the last time, Loop and SPHP walked up to the cul-de-sac. Hard to believe this was it.

*5:20 AM! We’ve never been to the cul-de-sac this early before!*

Today a special adventure was waiting for Lupe back at Grandma’s house. Over the years, she had occasionally ventured down into Spring Creek Canyon all the way to Spring Creek. Not every year, maybe half a dozen times in all.

Going down to Spring Creek and back wasn’t a long adventure. An hour would be enough.

Usually Spring Creek is underground in this part of the canyon. It only flows for a few weeks in the spring in wet years. Some years it never surfaces at all. However, Lupe found it running this morning. In fact, Spring Creek was looking great!

Lupe spent 10 minutes down by the creek. Fun to be here one last time! Soon the American Dingo was on her way back to Grandma’s house.

Back at Grandma’s, it was once around the yard, before a final inside tour. Lupe went briefly to every room. Everything was clean. It all still looked as good as SPHP had been able to make it.

*The big front yard is good for chasing squeaker balls!*

*Nice and clean, but I liked it better when Grandma was here!*

Lupe had spent so many happy times here! Yet Grandma had moved on. Everything was gone. The moment had come. It was time for Lupe and SPHP to go, too.

Outside the front door for the last time.

By noon, Grandma didn’t own a house any more. SPHP stopped by the title company to pick up her check from the sale. Grandma was allowed out of the senior living center to go deposit the check at the bank, so Lupe got to see her for a little while.

Already the merry month of May! SPHP was well. Grandma’s house was sold. The world was still going nuts, and Lupe hadn’t been on a Black Hills Expedition in more than 5 months now. Yet SPHP said she probably wouldn’t get to resume her adventures until sometime in June. With all that had happened, SPHP was way too far behind on writing up her 2019 adventures!

5-24-20 – The grass was green! The air was sweet! New leaves on the trees. The world was as beautiful as ever. Summer was coming soon, but day after radiant day had drifted by. Six months now since the American Dingo’s last Black Hills Expedition. Grandma’s house and the cul-de-sac were but a memory. Lupe’s sole consolation was a daily trip to the park.

*Come on! Let’s have an early morning romp doing the “Geyser Loop”.*

*Remember to keep an eye out for squirrels!*

*Most people don’t know about this place. We’re at the “Puppy Thief Hideout”!*

*The Geyser Loop only takes about 45 minutes.*

*April snows make these grows. Well, something like that.*

*No actual geyser at the park this year, because this stream isn’t overflowing. Still looking good, though.*

*Almost back to the G6 already! Hope you enjoyed our stroll through the park. Apparently it’s all we’re going to get these days!*

Adventures in watching paint dry really hadn’t cut it. Lupe was missing her old life of adventure, yet the Carolina Dog’s problems were nothing compared to the rest of the world.

Disease! Death! Shutdowns! Poverty! Murder! Protests! Riots! Arson! Looting!

2020 – The Year of Perfect Vision, and no one had seen what was coming.

Ready for action in the Year of Perfect Vision!

Social distancing! Hah! Finally something we’re good at Loopster! Don’t you worry, if they open Canada and Alaska up again, you’ll soon be showing them some world class anti-social distancing! Even if they don’t open, there’s always Montana and Wyoming! Summer is upon us, Sweet Dingo!

Links:

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Along the Racing River & the Long Road Home, Canada (9-12-19 thru 9-15-19)

Days 39 – 42 of Lupe’s Summer of 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!

9-12-19, 7:34 AM, 35ºF, S Klondike Hwy just S of Carcross – Pavement at last! It had taken the G6 nearly an hour to creep a little over 4 miles down stony, steep Montana Mountain Road. No worries now! Smooth sailing for the next 2,200+ miles. Lupe was on her way home.

Yes, there was still some thought of climbing Mount White (5,016 ft.), but Montana Mountain had been a big day. SPHP really didn’t feel up to it, and a glance over at the American Dingo said she wouldn’t have any objections if it didn’t happen. So SPHP skipped the turn S off Tagish Road onto Hwy 7, waiting instead to head E on the Alaska Highway at Jake’s Corner a few miles later.

So it was over as far as mountain climbing on this Dingo Vacation. That didn’t mean Loopster couldn’t do a little sightseeing along the way. By mid-morning she felt up to her traditional stop at Teslin Lake for a look at the Dawson Peaks.

**Dawson Peaks** (Center) from **Teslin Lake**. Photo looks SSE.

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon E of Watson Lake that things started to get more interesting. First up was a pleasant 30 minute walk on a dirt road leading into a forest that a sign said was part of the Kaska Nation. Lupe found a squirrel to bark at. That excitement was followed by a short stop at rapids along the Liard River.

**Liard River** from the Alaska Highway.

The squirrel had been just a warm-up. Far more exciting things were ahead. Bears and bison!

Lupe barked herself into a complete frazzle! So she didn’t mind relaxing in the G6 when SPHP stopped in at Liard River Hot Springs for an hour long pleasant soak. By evening the Carolina Dog had made it all the way to Muncho Lake Provincial Park.

**Muncho Lake** with **Peterson Mountain** (L) in the distance. Photo looks SSW.

Approaching **Peterson Mountain** (Center). Photo looks SSW.

9-13-19, 6:15 AM – It was barely light out when Lupe hit the road again. On the way out of Muncho Lake Provincial Park, 2 moose got the day off to a rousing start. The sun was just coming up when the American Dingo reached the Racing River. Time to keep a promise!

Just before the bridge, a dirt road left the Alaska Highway on the R. SPHP pulled in and parked.

The great day has finally arrived, Looper! Wha’dya say we have that romp we’ve always been meaning to take up the Racing River? See what we can find?

Loopster was all in! Bursting with energy after a day of rest, she could hardly wait. For years now, the Racing River had been a favorite quick stop between Muncho Lake and Stone Mountain Provincial Park. She’d always spent a little while looking for squirrels in the forest, but had never really gotten to do much exploring. This was her big chance!

9-13-19, 7:35 AM, 38ºF, Racing River – Chilly, but a gorgeous morning! A short trot through the forest on the dirt road took Loop past some superb dispersed camping sites, then on to the Racing River itself. The river was a fabulous glacial blue! Downstream, the first rays of sunlight were just hitting Peak 4388.

*Someday we ought to climb **Peak 4388** (L), SPHP!* Photo looks NE.

Lupe was heading upstream. For a little while yet, the river valley in that direction was still in shadow. Open ground up on the river bank made progress easy as Loop followed the Racing River S. She soon veered off into a big field, which was as far as she’d ever made it on a quick initial reconnaissance last year.

A quick glance downstream at the spreading sunshine. **Peak 4388** (R). Photo looks NNE.

Loop already about as far as she got in 2018. Photo looks SW.

Lupe continued upstream, sometimes exploring away from the river, but often returning to it, since the Racing River was so stunningly beautiful. As soon as the sun peeped over the mountains, the day started warming up nicely. Peak 7203, the high point of a long light-colored ridge, was in sight farther up the valley.

**Peak 7203** (Center). Photo looks SSW.

A glorious morning! **Peak 7203** (R). Photo looks SSW.

Checking out the downstream view again. **Peak 4388** (L). Photo looks NE.

*The **Racing River** is so beautiful!* Photo looks S.

*Of course, the forest is mighty nice, too, fellow squirrel fans!*

45 minutes into her journey, the Carolina Dog came to a side channel that had enough flow in it to keep her from continuing along the Racing River’s main course. Lupe followed the side channel upstream hoping either to find a way across, or that it would rejoin the main channel at some point.

Along the stony, mucky side channel. Photo looks SW.

She wound up sniffing in the forest quite a bit, returning only now and then to the side channel.

At least the main course of the **Racing River** wasn’t too far away. Photo looks S.

No luck! The side channel did not rejoin the main course. The farther Lupe followed it, the muckier and less appealing prospects for crossing it became. The American Dingo was forced to spent more and more time in the forest, which was becoming taller and thicker as she pressed on. This wasn’t too much of a problem, since there were plenty of animal trails to follow.

*Muckier than ever, SPHP!* Photo looks S.

Just when it looked like the situation was about to improve, a swampy region forced Lupe even farther from the main river. She soon came to an ancient beaver pond blocking the way forward.

Blocked by a long abandoned beaver pond. Photo looks SW.

The dam was old and decrepit, clearly no beaver had been here in ages.

*No beaver in ages? You sure about that, SPHP? This looks mighty fresh to me!*

OK, so maybe there was a live beaver around here somewhere, but it couldn’t have been a terribly ambitious one, or its dam and pond would have been in better shape. At any rate, it looked like Lupe’s Racing River adventure had come to an end.

*Follow me, SPHP! Let’s just cross this beaver dam! Looks like its going the right way.*

An attempt to cross the beaver dam lead only to what was either the last remains of the side channel, or a swampy pool. Hardly mattered which. Lupe had given it her best shot. She had enjoyed a marvelous, fun trek along the Racing River, but with no way to get back to the main channel, it was time to turn back.

*The dam keeps going, SPHP! You left it too soon!*

The retreat was about to begin, when SPHP suddenly had a brilliant idea. Maybe Looper had left the beaver dam too soon? Perhaps it kept going across the rest of this swamp, too? Returning to the beaver dam, it turned out it did go farther! The Carolina Dog continued across it.

Hey! Hey! The manuever worked! Lupe got past the swamp in nothing flat. Back in business! A short trek through the forest brought Loop to the lovely Racing River again.

*Good job, SPHP! Told ya it would work!* Photo looks NE.

As Lupe continued upstream, the forest grew denser and extended all the way to the riverbank. Still animal trails to follow, but with fewer and fewer opportunities to actually see the river, how much farther did it make sense go?

Looper had no concerns at all about that. She pressed on, having a grand time in the forest.

Two hours after leaving the G6, it didn’t look like the situation was about to change anytime soon. Maybe this was far enough? As wonderful as the Racing River was, the long road was calling Lupe home. Happy as she could be, the American Dingo enjoyed a few minutes relaxing by the incredibly blue Racing River. This was her point of furthest advance.

*Let’s keep going forever, SPHP! ….. I’d like nothing better, Loop!*

Of course, the fun wasn’t over. Lupe had the whole return trip to enjoy, too. The American Dingo retraced her forest wanderings back to where she’d reached the river after crossing the beaver dam.

**Peak 4388** with help from the telephoto lens.

*Hey, SPHP! When we get back to the G6, look in the trunk and see if we have a raft! Who knows where this might go?*

After crossing the beaver dam again, Lupe wanted to explore more of the territory away from the river. Sure. Why not?

Toward the end, where the forest was thinner and the ground more open, it was back to the Racing River for the final, easy downstream stroll. What a perfect day!

Back to the **Racing River**. Photo looks NE.

Similar view with help from the telephoto lens.

All too soon, the Alaska Highway bridge was in sight again. Lupe went all the way to it. Still 2.5 long days of driving left to get home. Oh, there would still be stops along the way, but this marvelous trek along the Racing River way up in northern British Columbia was the last really “big” adventure of Lupe’s Summer of 2019 Dingo Vacation. Once Lupe crossed this bridge, it would all pass into history.

What a grand time it had been! So many adventures that hadn’t panned out, but plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and great successes, too!

9-13-19, 11:08 AM, 68ºF, at the G6 near the Racing River –

Terribly sorry, Loop, but I’ve looked everywhere. We don’t seem to have a raft with us.

That’s a pity, SPHP! Such a perfect day for rafting the Racing River, too!

It sure is, Looper! We’ll have to come back another time, I guess.

Well, next time make sure to bring the raft. And a map of Peak 4388, too, so we can climb it before we sail away.

I’ll do it Loop! Some day we’ll stand together on the top of Peak 4388.

Promise, SPHP?

I promise.

By noon, Lupe was at Summit Lake in Stone Mountain Provincial Park with another unfinished project in view. Beyond the lake stood Mount Saint George (7,402 ft.). In 2017, Lupe had succeeded in climbing Mount Saint Paul (6,985 ft.) here. She had nearly made it to the top of Mount Saint George, too, but fog rolled in and a storm had chased her off the mountain.

Great times! Fun to be here and think about them again.

At **Summit Lake**. **Mount Saint George** (L). Photo looks SW.

An hour later, the Carolina Dog was out of the mountains. Although she could still see the northern Rockies, she wouldn’t be back in them again. For hundreds of miles S of Fort Nelson, the G6 rolled through a region of big flat-topped ridges separated by deep river valleys.

Looking back at the northern Rockies. Photo looks W.

Unknown peaks with help from the telephoto lens.

Getting farther from the mountains. Photo looks SW.

Same view with help from the telephoto lens.

Definitely autumn. The drive was gorgeous! So many yellow leaves! Now and then even more brilliant colors, too.

S of Fort Nelson in the land of big ridges.

Last bear of Lupe’s Summer of 2019 Dingo Vacation.

It was nearly dark by the time Lupe crossed the Peace River at Taylor.

9-14-19, 5:44 AM, 50ºF – No more messing around! Lupe hit the road at first light. Hundreds of miles to go, so not going to be many stops today. One did come fairly early on, though, shortly after reaching Alberta. The Carolina Dog wanted to pay a visit to Valhalla Centre, which turns out to be located on Hwy 59, a fact even SPHP had been unaware of before. Since Valhalla has a fabulous reputation, and was basically along the way, SPHP had no objections to dropping in for a few minutes.

Maybe it was the off-season? After all, it was already after Labor Day. A Saturday, too, so maybe Valhalla was simply closed for the weekend? Whatever the reason, the sky was gloomy and gray when Lupe arrived. The only thing happening was a bit of dreary drizzle. Instead of being Epic, Triumphant, & Glorious, Valhalla Centre was distinctly ho-hum.

Not at all what I thought it would be, SPHP.

Me either, Loop.

Not even a lone gleaming ray of sunlight breaking through towering clouds, or a single trumpet blast! Where are the cheering crowds, rose petal-strewn streets of gold, the shining city and mighty fortress? I was hoping to partake of the victory feast.

Doesn’t look like they were expecting us Looper. Maybe we haven’t done enough epic stuff yet?

What are you talking about, SPHP? We’re just finishing up our Grand Summer of 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska! We made it to the Arctic Circle, climbed countless mighty mountains, braved smoke, wind, rain, and snow. Isn’t that epic enough?

Oh, you know how it is, Loop. No matter what one does, someone else has done it faster, stronger, higher, longer. We might not be anywhere close to having earned a spot in Valhalla. Maybe we’re just on some waiting list, way down near the bottom?

Oh, pooh! The least they could have done is have a few Dingo treats around. Not even a cat is here to welcome us.

Well, maybe we were supposed to fill out an application before showing up. You know how it is, times change. The bureaucracy wants all its i’s dotted and t’s crossed these days.

Bureaucracy! It isn’t Valhalla, if there’s bureaucracy!

Loopster had a point, but she was here now, so she might as well get out and have a quick look around. The most impressive building in Valhalla Centre was an old-time style white church.

The white church. Most impressive building in Valhalla Centre, Alberta.

SPHP had scarcely let the American Dingo out of the G6 when she pooped on the lawn.

Lupe! Really? Did you have to do that? Here in Valhalla, no less!

As a matter of fact, I did. When you gotta go, you gotta go!

I suppose. And here I was thinking that someday we might be moving to Valhalla permanently, but it’s never going to happen, if you’re busy racking up demerits every time we drop by.

Move here? Now that I’ve actually seen Valhalla, I think I’d rather stay at home in the Black Hills. Or if you want to move, remember that cute Dingo bunkhouse in Keno City up in the Yukon Territory? Maybe it’s still for sale?

Maybe. We’ll worry about that later. Let’s clean this mess up and get outta here before anyone notices.

A nice break at a little park in Marshall, Saskatchewan was the only other significant stop of the day.

Long after sunset, the G6 finally rested S of Chamberlain beneath a full harvest moon. An 831 mile day. Ugh!

9-15-19, 4:33 AM, 50ºF – The harvest moon was pioneering in the W. Still dark. Breezy and comfortably cool. A few minutes to stretch outside, and Lupe was on the road again. Within minutes, the American Dingo was all riled up! Oh, it was going to be a glorious day! Lupe knew that scent anywhere. This was cattle country!

Loopster couldn’t see the cows she was barking at, but sniffing them was good enough; her enormous enthusiasm for the project was undeterred. SPHP finally pulled into a rest area along Hwy 6. This was the same rest area Lupe had first been to exactly a year ago.

Morning in Saskatchewan! As long as the Carolina Dog was still in Canada, it didn’t feel like her Dingo Vacation was over quite yet. A tour of the premises, breakfast, then a little while spent picking up trash. Not nearly as much of it this time around. Maybe last year’s efforts really had made a difference?

9-15-19, 7:45 AM, Saskatchewan, at the rest area along Hwy 6 –

Come on, Looper! No more prolonging the inevitable. Time to say good-bye to Canada!

Lupe hopped into the G6, and settled comfortably on her pink blanket as always. Still almost an hour’s drive to the Montana border at Regway. The border wouldn’t be a problem. Plenty of cows to bark at both before and after.

70ºF, clear and calm in Sidney, Montana, but it was 93ºF by the time Loop made it to Baker. A quick stop at Reynold’s market for a box of mint chip Eskimo pies to share on the road. They were gone in a jiffy.

Middle of September! Why does it have to be so beastly out? Always seems like we’re coming back to Mordor!

Don’t look at me, SPHP! You’re the one who was in such a rush to get back!

Eastern Montana was beautiful in an Old West high plains sort of way, but it sure looked and felt parched. Clouds of grasshoppers and yellow butterflies blew across the highway, swept along on a blazing hot SW breeze.

9-15-19, 4:40 PM, Black Hills of South Dakota – Home again. 94ºF! The house was even more of an oven than that. All closed up and sweltering hot! Must have had a bunch of rain sometime, though. Instead of dead and brown, the lawn was exceptionally green and long.

A few more weeks, and we’d need a machete to get to the front door! Guess we’re going to have to get back to chores before they condemn this joint, Looper.

It’s over, isn’t it, SPHP?

Your 2019 Dingo Vacation? Yeah, I’m afraid so. Feels like we left Alaska way too soon, doesn’t it?

Lupe didn’t say anything, just sighed and laid down on the carpet staring out the living room window. Oh, to be back again in the chill mountain air among the pom-poms and wild forests along the banks of the glacial blue Racing River!

Along the **Racing River**, British Columbia, Canada 9-13-19

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