#3 travelogue …..the HOWLING DOG 1/26/06

That noise you hear isn’t what you think it is. It’s not some K-9 baying at the moon. It’s a place, a saloon. I tried telling a friend about this new joint but the adjectives were not to be found. So I thought I’d bore you in descriptive details. You have to do a bit of traveling to get there that’s why this is a travelogue.

Every town has it’s joint where people go to hang and get the goods on fellow citizens.
Our area is comprised of many small towns and way too many joints to pass the time of day - make that evening. Some towns are blessed with more that one of these places and it takes hours to make the rounds having a round at each.

That’s not our little town’s problem. We just have one joint, Whitman’s. To make the rounds you just sit there and listen and listen and listen. Because of my delicate condition, a front zipper and rerouted plumbing, I can only stand an hour or so of listening. Then I have to get into the car, drive miles, and go listen at a few other places down the road. Until recently the other places where not up to my high standards but then along came the Howling DOG. It’s a long haul to the DOG but it’s worth the trip.

A nice couple took over a very old saloon and made it homey, if you call a saloon homey.
The DOG is an old log building with a floor and roof that sags more than my tummy. Yet they used elbow grease and an artist’s touch to bring it up even to my wife’s standard. What makes the place are the smiles and the welcome you receive walking into the Howling DOG.

It’s on Hwy 51, Manitowish Waters, and you’d better slow down or you could miss the place. Belly up to the bar and I’ll buy you a beer.