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.
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.
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 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!
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.
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.
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.
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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