Day eleven

Our second day in Glacier 
This day was the lowest of the trip for me so far.  Everywhere we went it was crowded and people were in the way. I mean the mall at Christmas crowded. I actually saw a woman standing in a parking space to hold it for her whoever that was coming. I wanted to run her over just on principal. It was so crowded, everything you try to do takes eight times longer than it should. We found an old logging road that was rough and 7 or something miles into the wilderness and took it just to get the hell away from all the people.  Today, this is not my favorite national park. The logging trail was really beautiful though. 

This was also the day I really regretted bringing Leo. I mean we can’t do much of anything because he’s with us.  We can’t hike any trail with a pet. You can’t leave him in your car if he barks plus it’s so damn hot anywhere in the park and there’s no parking anyway. We tried to go to one of the lakes and swim but Leo was absolutely nuts around the tiny waves of moving water. It was the Indiana Dunes all over again. He was a complete lunatic lunging and biting at the waves combined with making noises that were somewhat like he thought something is trying to kill him and a wild animal caught in a snare. 

It made me question everything about dog ownership. We are here in “the Crown of America ” and we can’t do even the simplest thing because this animal can’t behave like he had any sense. I tried to put him in the back of the suburban backed into the shade where I could see him from where the children were swimming. He was barking like crazy. Loralea went to sit with him and a lady came by with a dog as they were sitting there and he started barking so loud and fell or lunged out of the suburban and scared the woman. Now we look like the owners of some maladjusted crazyDog, people are so judgmental you can immediately see disapproval and or disdain in their glares. Of course he was secured to the suburban so he couldn’t go anywhere, but he made a scene. Meanwhile people left and right are stopping to tell us how pretty he is. If it wouldn’t break Loralea’s heart they could have had him today. Finally late in the afternoon I thought I would take him to a more remote area of lake, put a longer leash on him and just let him exhaust himself attacking the waves until he realized there wasn’t a danger. It didn’t work. Like two hours later he was just as neurotic and had lost no steam. He was attacking the waves scratching at them so hard he was casting golf ball size rocks 20 feet out the back. Finally, I brought him in closer and made home lay down. He was constantly complaining and even tried to get up while I was telling him “down”. I’m not proud of how that played out but I’m certain he understood Alpha when we were done. That night after we had spaghetti then we left Leo in the running car and had a really nice walk by the lake, that was beautiful. It didn’t salvage the whole day but it salvaged some hope for me. 

Carlea was making “Dirt Angles”.

We all needed showers. When we spoke to the volunteer at Apgar campground she said that there is usually a line for the showers from six to sever or seven-thirtyish so we waited until eight fifteen to get there. That should have made it doable to get everyone showered and into bed by a reasonable time. Although it doesn’t get dark until 10:00pm here, seriously it’s dusk out at 9:30. 
We get to the showers at the Apgar campground as those seem to be the closest I send the three girls to go and the George and I will wait with Leo because you can’t leave him unattended or he’ll see a dog an bark his head off or some Dudley Do-Right with see him in there and freak out never minding the fact that it’s a temperate 72ºF. in there. 
George and I will wait for the girls. A couple minutes go by and Loralea comes back and tells me she has “some good news and some bad news” que internal eye roll ok, what is it. “Well there’s a line and were EIGHTH but we all are perfectly willing to wait in the line.” This is one more time the crowdedness of this park is aggravating the hell out of me. The long dirt road today was cool and it was pretty and not populated but this is craziness. What’s a guy supposed to do, you gotta have clean children. I mean at least once or twice a week right? Like dishes, you gotta get em cleaned up every once and again. So, we wait and wait and wait then its been too long I walk over to the showers, with a flashlight if that tells you anything, some lady sees me and immediately says “you’re looking for the three sweet girls?” Inner dialogue- well I’m glad they’re well behaved, outwardly “yes ma’am”. They’re in that middle one there. Ok. Have they been taking an excessively long time? “No not at all they just went in a little while ago”. 
Checked in with the girls they’re fine and say they’re almost done. 
A few minutes later, waiting back at the Suburban and they trickle back. I leave them locked in the suburban with a 2-way radio to playing Uno while George and I get a shower. We’re in and out and we all head back to the campsite for straight to bedtime.