July 10, 2010

From Great Falls, MT, N47°29.386’ W111°19.942’

Day 37

I started the day early since we planned to go to the Farmer’s market. We got there and were surprised how large it was. Besides produce there were food and craft booths. Most of the produce and baked goods were being sold by families from nearby Hutterite colonies. Gerri bought some gifts and we signed up for a drawing. She also bought a vegetable that looked like a green turnip. The seller called it a Kohlrabi and said it tastes something like a turnip. Another vendor compared it to a small cabbage. We will see. I googled kohlrabi and there are several articles on it. 

After the farmer’s market we went to visit Glenna. Shortly after we got there the nurse came with her pain medicine. She got Glenna sitting up to take the pill and then helped her to the bathroom. After the bathroom it was into a wheel chair and off to the dining room. In the rehab unit they prefer patients eat in the dining room instead of in bed. True to form Glenna ate only a small portion of her food. After she was finished and everybody else had left we wheeled her back to her room. She was tired and a nurse helped her back into bed. We left so she could rest.

Earlier we had stopped by the visitor’s center to see if there was a map of the painted buffalo statues we have seen around town. There wasn’t a map. One of the lady’s at the center told us generally where some were located. The buffalos were sponsored by the Russell Museum and many were sold as a fund raiser and taken away by the owners. Others were bought by local businesses and are scattered around town. We were also given some restaurant advice.

After visiting with Glenna we went back to the park and I cleaned up the Jeep. We visited with Alan and Joan till a little after five, when we decided to go to supper. It started to rain, remember I said I cleaned up the Jeep. Alan and Joan followed us to the restaurant, the Skyline near the airport. We drove through a thunderstorm on the way, wind, thunder, lightning and driving rain which rocked the Jeep. The rain slackened as we arrived at the Skyline. The restaurant sits on a bluff overlooking a large part of the valley. We sat near a window and could see the storm cell moving off to the north east. The food and company was good.

After dining we said our goodbyes to the Howeth’s. They are planning to leave early in the morning.

We went to visit Glenna again. There were more storm cells visible and we got rained on some more. Glenna had already eaten dinner when we got there. We visited until the nurse came to give her a shot and then take her to the bathroom.

We decided to check out the locations where the visitor center lady told us there were buffalos. We spotted six and plan to return when the sun is out.

Backing up a little to yesterday and news from Las Vegas: Gerri talked to her mother on the phone and learned that she had punched one of her fingers with an ice pick. She was making holes in an avocado seed to insert tooth picks when it slipped and it stabbed her. This happened on Monday or Tuesday and the finger still hurt and was red. Gerri told her she should go have it checked. She went to the hospital on Friday evening and was admitted to Centennial Hospital. She had blood poisoning and they put her on intravenous antibiotics. She may face an operation to drain the wound. Gerri has talked to her mother a couple of times checking her condition. Neva thinks her finger is better but is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow.

We now have a mother each in hospitals nearly 1000 miles apart.