Days 9 & 10 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.
On the morning of 8-16-12, Lupe woke up not in Lanis’ Honda Element or in her “tiny house” (tent), but on a comfy soft bed in a motel in Bozeman, MT. Ahhh! This was the life American Dingoes were meant to live! Lupe was clearly enjoying motel life.
Of course, the soft life lasted only until Lanis woke up. Then it was time to get back to the other life American Dingoes were meant to live – exploring and adventuring in the big, wide world! For Lupe, it was going to be a pretty passive day of exploring from a pile of blankets and pillows in the back of the Element, though. Day 9 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation was spent traveling.
From Bozeman, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went to Helena, and then on to Flathead Lake and Kalispell. By evening, Lupe’s tiny house was set up at Whitefish State Park in Whitefish, MT. The state park was quite a popular place. There were lots of other campers around. It was a pretty spot, but felt more like being in a small community than a wilderness experience.
Whitefish State Park featured a scenic lake where people were boating. The lake even had a small dog beach where Lupe could sniff around and wade in the water. Whitefish State Park had another interesting feature. It was situated right next to the railroad tracks. Trains rumbled by regularly during the night, each event causing Lupe some excitement, and SPHP some trouble trying to keep her from rousing the neighbors.
The next morning, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left Whitefish State Park, and headed for Glacier National Park. To be certain to have a place to stay for the night, Lupe’s tiny house got set up almost right away at the Sprague Creek Campground on the E shore of Lake McDonald.
Once the tent was set up, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP drove E on the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road. Lanis parked the Element at one of the higher viewpoint turnouts for a chance to take some photos.
The intention was to stop up at Logan Pass to explore some trails, but when Lupe got there, the parking lots were completely full. Lanis had to continue driving E beyond the pass. Down at Saint Mary Lake, SPHP had Lanis stop to check out the prices on the boat tours.
It was $23.75 per person for the standard 1.5 hour boat tour on Saint Mary Lake, but the last tour of the day at 6:30 PM was a shorter 1.0 hour tour for only $16.00. Best of all, Lupe could ride along for free! Lupe had never been on a boat before in her entire life. Instantly, the plan became for Lupe to return at 6:30 PM for a spectacularly beautiful introduction to getting her sea legs!
There was still a lot time left in the day before then, though. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went on to the Many Glacier Hotel on Swiftcurrent Lake. Lots of beautiful trails into the backcountry leave from the Swiftcurrent Lake area. Lanis and SPHP were looking forward to doing some exploring with Lupe!
Before hitting any of the trails, it was time for lunch. Lanis went in to the Many Glacier Hotel to buy a couple of box lunches containing hamburgers and French fries. Lupe got to share, too, of course. American Dingoes love hamburgers! They will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today! Lupe, Lanis and SPHP ate the lunches down by dazzling Swiftcurrent Lake.
After lunch, which didn’t take long with a Carolina Dog helping, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP drove around to the opposite side of Swiftcurrent Lake. The plan was to spend the afternoon exploring the trail up to Iceberg Lake with Lupe.
Disappointment awaited Lupe at the trailhead, though. Park regulations prohibited dogs (even American Dingoes) from going on any trails into the backcountry. Even on a leash, Lupe couldn’t go to Iceberg Lake, or pretty much anywhere else in Glacier National Park. It was just like Yellowstone National Park!
The light finally dawned on SPHP. It was going to be the same at every U.S. National Park! Dogs weren’t going to be welcome at any of them. Regulations were going to prevent Lupe from really experiencing or fully enjoying any of the National Parks that SPHP had planned to take her to on her Dingo Vacation. All she would be able to do would be sit in the Honda Element, or be on a leash in parking lots and campgrounds.
There was nothing that could be done about it, either. It was a major blow. Glacier National Park is full of trails that look so promising on the maps. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP had been looking forward to exploring some of them. Now it seemed the only alternative was to avoid U. S. National Parks. It wouldn’t be fair or safe to leave Lupe stuck alone in the Element while Lanis and SPHP spent long hours away in the mountains.
Well, at least Lupe could still get her first ever boat ride on Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park. There was still time to kill before then, though. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP drove E out of Glacier National Park intending to take a look at Duck Lake on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The road to Duck Lake proved to be dusty and full of rocks. Lanis very reasonably wanted to avoid subjecting the Element to it. Lupe got close enough to see Duck Lake from a distance, but that was about it.
After Lupe’s rather pointless glimpse of Duck Lake, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went to the little community of St. Mary at a highway junction just E of the Glacier National Park Entrance. Lupe and SPHP stayed in the Element, while Lanis went in to kill a little time checking out the merchandise in an upscale tourist shop.
At least it was a very nice looking building, but apparently even upscale tourist shops aren’t above selling such delicacies as Moose Poo. Naturally, Lanis was intrigued even before entering the shop.
Lanis eventually returned with a humongous soft drink, but Moose Poo-less. There was still some time to go before the 6:30 PM Saint Mary Lake boat tour. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went over to the lake, anyway. SPHP bought the boat tour tickets. Lupe and SPHP then went on a little stroll along the lake shore. Finally, it was Saint Mary Lake tour time!
There were quite a few people on the tour, but the boat wasn’t entirely full. Once underway, Lupe wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. Cruising on a lake was something she had never experienced before. She liked it, but seemed to want to get out there and explore the lake, perhaps without the aid of a boat. She threatened to leap overboard on several occasions. SPHP had to keep Lupe on the leash and hang on to her.
It was great time relaxing on the beautiful lake listening to the tour guide, who was also the captain of the ship. The views were magnificent, the people friendly, and price was quite reasonable. Lupe and SPHP highly recommend the evening cruise on Saint Mary Lake!
It was only 7:30 PM and still light out, when Lupe returned from the boat tour having earned her sea legs. Lupe, Lanis, and SPHP returned to Logan Pass. The visitor center was closed. Most of the crowds were gone. There were plenty of places to park now, even though a large section of the parking lot was cordoned off for people who were setting up telescopes to view the expected Perseid Meteor shower after dark.
SPHP stayed with Lupe at the parking lot while Lanis took a stroll along the Hidden Lake trail. After a little while, SPHP noticed a trail across Going-to-the-Sun Road that didn’t have the usual no pets sign. Lupe and SPHP started crossing the road to take a look at the view from over there, and see if the trail looked promising. Instantly, a ranger came running over to make certain Lupe wasn’t going to set a single paw on the trail.
SPHP asked the ranger if there were any trails at all in Glacier National Park where dogs could go? The ranger said the only exception to the no pets policy was the Trail of the Cedars nature trail. Dogs could go there, but it was miles away close to Avalanche Creek. (Not true, as it turned out the next day! Sadly, there were no pets signs there, too.)
Lanis returned. SPHP was disappointed to learn he hadn’t gone far enough to get to the Hidden Lake viewpoint, but Lanis was happy with what he’d seen. He did have some photos of the Logan Pass area.
As the sun set behind the mountains, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP returned to the Sprague Creek campground at Lake McDonald for the night. Glacier National Park was gorgeous, and Lupe did have a good time on her first boat ride ever on Saint Mary Lake. However, since Lupe couldn’t explore the trails in the park, it was clear Lupe’s stay was going to be short. SPHP resolved to at least take Lupe to the Trail of the Cedars nature trail the next morning.
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