Avalanche (Second and Third Days)
I tried fishing at a few places with no luck then decided I would like to try the Trout Lake hike because it was pretty far away from the major road and I thought its description of descending 2100 feet in altitude then ascending the same height in 4.2 miles would discourage most hikers. It was discouraging to me. After driving about a mile down a dusty gravel road to the trailhead it became obvious to me that this was a trail forr people to ride horses on. So I headed back to camp.
I spent all afternoon reading PKD and relaxing in the sun. At one point a man went by cleaning the ashes out of all the fire pits. He had on a radio that was apparently connected with the Rangers as I heard the end of a broadcast where they nabbed another inconsiderate dog owner trying to bring their dog on the trail. I guess what bothers me most is these people put their relationship with their mutt above the comfort, enjoyment and safety of human beings.
Later in the evening I noticed one couple across the way reading books and the ones that were reading books the night before. I have also noticed a lot of people just out in their normal passenger vehicles camping in a tent they stored in their trunk. I pride myself on not being egotistical (is that a contradiction? Is anyone who knows me not going to laugh when they read that?), but I have realized that what I am doing is not so special. Somehow other people (some with families I might add) find a way to take a month or more off during the year and drive around the country camping. The only difference may be is they have a home and a life to go back to. I wish I knew how they got that much time off and how they can afford it.
I had been thinking I should go back to those $5 a night campgrounds near John Day, Oregon when the next PKD story I started reading opened with a scene from that city. I did not take that as an omen, but started thinking about Butte, Helena, and Great Falls, Montana and how I really enjoyed driving in those areas. I know it snows in the winter. I started looking throught papers I had bought inthose areas and there were a lot of general help and professional jobs in the classifieds. Butte has montana Ttech university and Helena has the state government all of which were hiring. Also, there were a lot of houses for sell cheap. A lot under $30,000 but mostly in the outlying areas. I need to suck it up and go rent an apartment in the area for the summer to see if I can acclimate myself to the area and maybe do some writing also.
I went to bed around 10pm convinced I would be leaving for Spokane the next day. I was out of food, needed a shower, andout of clean clothes. I woke up at 7:30 am and after starting to tear down my tent, I decided to stay at least one more day. I made it through the fourth and figured it would be better to wait and try to find someplace new on Sunday when everyone would be heading back home from the long weekend.
By 7:45 am I was on the road to West Glacier to try to find a laundromat. I stopped atthe general store and was directed to the laundromat by a very nice lady. I started my clothes, walked back to the general store and bought some groceries from the same nice lady, went back and put my clothes in the dryer, then walked back to the retaraunt next to the general store for breakfast. That is where things fell apart.
I seated myself as instructed by the sign, then waited 10 minutes for my waitress to show up to at least give me a menu. Meanwhile other people were being catgered to immediately after sitting down a few tables away. "Don't you have a menu?" my waitress asked when she finally showed up, then frowned and walked away before I could answer. She came back a few minutes later with a menu and caraffe of water, then abruptly left. Five minutes later she came back to take my order which I could have given here 4 minutes and 30 seconds earlier. Twenty minutes later while people who had arrived after me were half way through their meal she came back and asked if I wanted coffee then answered her own question and said no it was the guy behind me who had sat down not 30 seconds earlier. After she took their order and had such a lovely conversation about her "flair" I had to raise my voice as she ran by to ask her to check to see if my order was ready.
She came back just a few minutes later and said "just up" as she slammed the plate on my table and ran away. "Just up," my bleep. The french toast and bacon were both cold and I am sure had been sitting waiting for her to pick up for quite some time. I should have complained. I should have got up and left. I ate the meal which was OK and not too expensive and left without leaving a tip. I had given her such a glare when she went by while I was eating she was very timid when she presented me with the bill and choked on the question of whether everything was alright.
When I got back to the laundry, one dryer was still going even though the clothes were dry and the other had stopped even though its clothes were still wet. So I put in another $1.25 and waited. A motorhome parked right behind my car blocking me in. I went out and acted like I was leaving and he made some kind of gesture then parked a few feet away where he should have in the first place. After a wasted 1/2 hour. My clothes were done. As I walked out to the car a van pulled up behind my car blocking me in. The driver got out and started working on the back of his van. I very impolitely informed him I would like to leave. He said, "I knew that would happen as soon as I parked there," he said as he backed up. Then why did you do it (I wish I had said that). I spun my front wheels leaving the parking lot in a cloud of dust and gravel, maybe that would get somebody to recognize I exist.
The rest of the day was spent pleasantly fishing with a new rooster tail I bought and reading a book by an author named Clifford Simak about time travel. I had finished all the PKD stories I had brought with me. I really need to start writing some stories just to see if I could do it. But how would I know if they were any good? Who could I get to read them objectively?
I bought a topographical map of the Park while I was at the store earlier in the day. It turns out that what I thought was Curly Bear Mountain is actually Red Eagle Mountain. Curly Bear is behind Red Eagle. It was disappointing to discover the real name, but it could have been worse: two mountains over is "Almost A Dog Mountain." Tomorrow is another day. Another day I have to decide what I will do and where I will stay.