{"id":842,"date":"2015-05-30T21:29:47","date_gmt":"2015-05-31T03:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=842"},"modified":"2019-03-16T10:42:13","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T16:42:13","slug":"the-elysian-fields-of-puppy-happiness-a-night-on-bald-mountain-7-10-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=842","title":{"rendered":"The Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness & A Night on Bald Mountain (7-10-13)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Early on\u00a0the gorgeous summer morning of July 10, 2013, Lupe and SPHP set out on their 2nd Annual Great Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 Unlike 2012, this time\u00a0they were alone.\u00a0 Once on the road, SPHP could hardly\u00a0remember ever feeling so free.\u00a0 Although SPHP had told everyone that Lupe was headed for the Beartooths and Canadian Rockies, the truth was that Lupe and SPHP could have gone anywhere and done anything in the next 3 or 4 weeks and no one would have been the wiser.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
What a cutie pie!\u00a0 Lupe in the G6 ready to hit the road on her 2nd Annual Great Dingo Vacation 7-10-13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP turned off the cell phone shortly after leaving town.\u00a0 It and the radio would not be turned on again until dingo vacation was over.\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0had the windows on the G6 partly down so Lupe could sniff the wonderful cool morning air.\u00a0 Lupe was riding shotgun and kept a close eye out for cows to bark at.\u00a0 It was plenty noisy in the G6 with the frantic dingo sounding off every 30 seconds.\u00a0 There were big beautiful clouds over the Black Hills, but the clouds were smaller by the time Lupe was crossing into Wyoming on I-90.<\/p>\n

The plan for the first day was to head to the\u00a0glorious Bighorn Mountains in N central Wyoming.\u00a0 There was plenty of time to get there.\u00a0 In 2012, when Lanis had been along, SPHP had wanted to see some new territory and had Lanis turn N on\u00a0Hwy 14\/16\u00a0at Gillette, WY\u00a0to go see Spotted Horse.\u00a0 There\u00a0had proven to be\u00a0just one little store there, but there was a spotted horse!\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0thought it would be fun for\u00a0Lupe to go see it again this year.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at Spotted Horse, WY\u00a0 7-10-13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP took the northern route into the Bighorns on Hwy 14A through Ranchester and Dayton up to Burgess Junction.\u00a0 Near Burgess Junction, SPHP turned N on a gravel road for a\u00a0couple of\u00a0miles.\u00a0\u00a0The road led\u00a0to the North Tongue River and SPHP\u00a0parked the G6 near it.\u00a0 A huge gorgeous field of wildflowers stretched unbroken upstream.\u00a0 Young Lupe, only 2.5 years old, had arrived at the Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness!<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe in the Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness, 7-10-13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe cools off in the North Tongue River, Bighorn Mountains, WY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Flowers<\/a><\/p>\n

Lupe & SPHP\u00a0roamed upstream.\u00a0 Lupe sometimes got into the crystal clear\u00a0North Tongue River to cool off and drink.\u00a0 Colorful butterflies flitted through the air, dragonflies zoomed around, and bees buzzed among the infinity of blossoms.\u00a0 Lupe raced, bounded and sniffed her way through the Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness.<\/p>\n

SPHP wandered up onto a nearby small ridge and followed it to a forested hill.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP climbed up onto the rocks from where\u00a0there was a view of the surrounding open fields, forests and mountains.\u00a0 Black and brown cows grazed near the river below.\u00a0 The scene was typical of the beauty of the Bighorns.\u00a0 It was great to be alive and free!<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe went as far as the nearby forested hill at the right of this photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bighorn<\/a>
Bighorn Mountains from the rocky hill Lupe climbed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe surveys the scene from above the North Tongue River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Exploring<\/a>
Exploring among the rocks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The afternoon wore on.\u00a0 Sadly Lupe’s time in the Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness drew to an end.\u00a0 SPHP headed the G6 W on Hwy 14A from Burgess Junction.\u00a0 Just E of Bald Mountain near the W end of the Bighorns, SPHP turned the G6 onto a side road.\u00a0 The\u00a0only clouds\u00a0were far on the\u00a0western horizon.\u00a0 Very fortunately, the weather was going to be clear this evening.<\/p>\n

Despite not really being very well equipped for it, SPHP managed to lug 2 sleeping bags, and a pillow or two up to the summit of Bald Mountain<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(10,042 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 From there, Lupe and SPHP continued on along the gently rounded ridge to the slightly lower SW part of the mountain.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe just E of Bald Mountain, Bighorn Mountains, WY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There Lupe & SPHP spent the evening with a sweeping view from the E around to the S and W.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0searched the mountain.\u00a0 SPHP almost despaired of finding them, and then suddenly stumbled\u00a0upon\u00a0the names.\u00a0 Very happily, SPHP fixed them.<\/p>\n

After the sun went down, SPHP\u00a0persuaded Lupe to lay down in a sleeping bag for a little while.\u00a0 That wouldn’t last.\u00a0 The stars came out and the universe was on display.\u00a0 Far below and away on the prairies to the S and W, gradually the distant lights of little Wyoming towns started to shine too.\u00a0 A sliver of a moon was about to set in the W.<\/p>\n

There was no tent.\u00a0 Lupe was going to spend the night under the stars.\u00a0 Her amazement and excitement\u00a0eventually proved uncontainable.\u00a0 She slept well for a few hours and then SPHP\u00a0awoke to\u00a0suddenly realize\u00a0she was gone.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe hadn’t gone far though, SPHP\u00a0soon heard\u00a0the tinkle of the little tag on her collar as she ran around beneath the stars.\u00a0 Lupe could not be persuaded to lay down again.\u00a0 SPHP tried to sleep.<\/p>\n

\"Shortly<\/a>
Shortly before sunset on Bald Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Looking S from Bald Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Looking<\/a><\/p>\n

\"But<\/a>
But I’m not sleepy!!!!\u00a0\u00a0 Lupe with a big night of sniffing and racing around beneath the stars\u00a0ahead of her.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For hours, SPHP dozed fitfully, while listening every few minutes for the tinkle of the little tag on Lupe’s collar.\u00a0 Lupe raced back and forth in the darkness sniffing at top speed the\u00a0open ground on top of Bald Mountain.\u00a0\u00a0She returned to check in with SPHP every 10 or 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP were\u00a0at nearly 10,000 feet.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Milky Way blazed spectacularly above as the rest of the universe sped away as it has been doing for billions of years.\u00a0 The silence and solitude of being totally alone on a high mountain were primal and magnificent.\u00a0 Sometime in the wee hours of the night, Lupe was finally willing to lay down on her sleeping bag and SPHP passed out.<\/p>\n

\"Morning<\/a>
Morning on Bald Mountain looking W towards the mountain where the Medicine Wheel Historical Site is located. 7-11-13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe immortalized in stone on Bald Mountain 7-11-13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Morning<\/a>
Morning on Bald Mountain looking SE, Bighorn Mountains, WY 7-11-13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A chilly breeze was blowing in the morning.\u00a0 The fuzzy white heads at the tops of the stems on some kind of plant that covered the area were waving in the breeze, somewhat like dandelions whose seeds didn’t fly away.\u00a0 The effect was beautiful.\u00a0 SPHP looked for the place of names again and\u00a0found it.\u00a0 SPHP added Lupe’s name to the collection.\u00a0 Then Lupe and SPHP returned to the summit of Bald Mountain, an easy stroll up a gentle rise to the east.<\/p>\n

After a pause at the top of Bald Mountain to absorb the glory of the scene spreading out in every direction, Lupe & SPHP headed down to the G6, a tiny red dot below.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Sweet Lupe in the Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness 7-10-13. May it always be so!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond the Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness to the Garden of the Gods & The Crack of Doom! (6-11-18)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2013 Beartooths & Canadian Rockies Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early on\u00a0the gorgeous summer morning of July 10, 2013, Lupe and SPHP set out on their 2nd Annual Great Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 Unlike 2012, this time\u00a0they were alone.\u00a0 Once on the road, SPHP could hardly\u00a0remember ever feeling so free.\u00a0 Although SPHP had told everyone that Lupe was headed for the Beartooths and Canadian Rockies, the truth … Continue reading The Elysian Fields of Puppy Happiness & A Night on Bald Mountain (7-10-13)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[76],"tags":[105,149,106,26,150,104,151,275],"class_list":["post-842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2013-beartoothscanadian-rockies","tag-american-dingo","tag-bald-mountain","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-elysian-fields-of-puppy-happiness","tag-lupe","tag-spotted-horse","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/P1040839.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=842"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20778,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842\/revisions\/20778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}