August 7, 2010

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

Day 65

I started the day by dusting off the Jeep and then cleaning the front of the coach. I hadn’t cleaned the part above the windshield since we were in Coeur d’Alene. I would like to think that is a ¼ done because there are four sides. The truth is that the front and back are less than half of one of the sides and they are easier to get to, no slides to duck under.

I called Glenna to remind her that bowling was scheduled at 10:30. When I got there during the lunch hour she told me she went to the rehab area but there was no one there for bowling. I don’t know if it is in a different place or just cancelled. I stayed until about 1:45 and gave Glenna directions to the area where a movie was scheduled. I did check on location and made sure it would really be shown.

I did three more caches on the way back to the park.

When we went to visit Glenna after her supper I asked about the movie. All she remembered was that Mel Gibson was in it. I printed out cousin Lael’s report on Curtis Ford’s knee operation. Curtis is Glenna’s brother-in-law, married to her youngest sister, Gloria. They live in Corpus Christi, TX.

We went back to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Fiesta en Jalisco for our supper. We got back to the RV Park about 9, the sun had almost set. The sun was very red but no clouds were around it. The days are getting noticeably shorter. I checked the GPSR and decided to do another cache before it got dark. Gerri had to get on her scavenger hunt. The route to this cache took me a little way north on I-15 and I saw the sun going down below the horizon. It was even a brighter red then. I bagged the cache and tried another one, but I don’t do well hunting at night. Well ok, sometimes I don’t hunt well in the day light either.
This is a view from a hill on the west end of Geat Falls.  I din't have my camera, only my cell phone.  The bright spot near the center is the Ferris Wheel at the Montna State Fair.

After church tomorrow we plan to go to the Montana State Fair, it’s the last day of the fair.

August 6, 2010

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

Day 64

Today was Glenna’s appointment with the surgeon for follow up. They took x-rays. Dr. Pike wants to continue partial weight bearing for another two weeks. We have another appointment on 9/3. Otherwise everything is healing well. He did give us copies of the before and after surgery x-rays.

After getting back to the care center a CNA got Glenna soup and sandwich, she had missed lunch.

I went geocaching and bagged five more. This brings my total caches found to 3062, 83 in Montana this year and 80 in the Great Falls area.

Gerri and I went back to see Glenna at about 6 and stayed until about 8:30 before we went for supper at the Prospector Saloon. Good prime Rib and atmosphere inside, looks good outside except it is right across the street from the refinery.

This is another view of the Missouri River at Fort Benton and some old buildings in town.

Grand Union Hotel 1882

MisouriRiver at Fort Benton

Front Street

August 5, 2010

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

Day 63

I thought I had talked to Gerri about going to Fort Benton today. Apparently I hadn’t. I did go and find the cache that the owner had sent me pictures. I can’t believe it was there as other times I had looked for it.

We did go to Fort Benton. It was only about 40 miles. We stopped at a scenic overlook of the Missouri River before getting to the town.

We looked at several historic markers and buildings and had lunch before heading back to Great Falls. The actual fort is undergoing restoration so we didn’t see inside.

 

I found one cache and missed two others.

We got back to Great Falls at about 4:15. I went to see Glenna at about 5:30. She was finishing her supper. We visited for awhile but when we went back to her room she kept dozing off. I decided to do a few caches before going back to the RV. I did five before it got dark

August 4, 2010

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

Day 62

I went to meet another cacher at a cache I didn’t find. He didn’t make it so I went to see Glenna. She was finishing lunch so we visited until time for her therapy.

I did five caches and tried another that I didn’t find.

I spent a little time at the RV before going back to see Glenna at about 6PM. I got an e-mail from the cacher I tried to see earlier. He attached some pictures. I’ll go back and see if I can find it.

Gerri and I had a late supper after my visit with Glenna.

August 3, 2010

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

Day 61
It was gray and overcast when we got up and it stayed that way most of the day.

We drove to Helena this morning. it's about 85 miles south.  A pretty drive with the Missouri River in sight most of the way.  We took a city tour on the Last Chance Train. It’s really a truck dressed out as a locomotive and pulled several trailers. Although the sun was out there was a haze that kept us from seeing the mountains around Helena clearly.
I have seen more impressive state capitol buildings, but it makes the Nevada capitol building look small.

After the tour we walked to a nearby cache. Before heading back to Great Falls we drove around and took pictures of some of the buildings.  St. Helena Cathedral.

A house in Last Chance Gulch and the fire tower.

We went to see Glenna at about 6:00. We went to Bingo at 6:45. It was free for residents and a dollar for the rest of us. Gerri got one Bingo and I got three. Prizes were mostly snacks from the Cantina. Glenna has quite a cache of chocolate now.
The overcast is still with us.  The news says it's a cloud of smoke brought in by air currents from fires in Washington.  Maybe so but there is no smoke smell.

August 2, 2010

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

Day 60

Because I was up so late and with nothing planned for the morning we slept in. About 11:00 a park employee came by and told me our new space was ready. Dead branches trimmed and the previous occupant’s propane tank moved.

I started unhooking and Gerri got the inside ready to move. By 12:30 we were set up in the new space, 139. The space has an asphalt drive and is fairly level, no big stretch to reach the door. There are still too many trees to get satellite TV so we have park cable. We are also in range of the park’s WiFi system. We are also backed into the trees so I can’t put up the large flag pole.

I went to a lumber yard on River Road North to check on a painted buffalo calf they had sponsored. I got the same blank stares as I had at other places and they didn’t know they had sponsored one, let alone where it is now. I then walked over to a cache long the river trail and down the trail for another one that I didn’t find..

I went to see Glenna at about 6 and she was asleep, this may explain her not sleeping much at night. I sat there, she didn’t wake up until the nurse came with her medicine. She wouldn’t believe I had been there for 40 minutes. Jeannette had called earlier; they were on the way home from a running camp at Shasta Lake. I called Todd and Glenna spoke to both Todd and Jeannette for awhile. I stayed with her until 8. She complained she wasn’t feeling good. But typical Glenna she couldn’t describe it more than that. She didn’t seem to have a fever. On the way out I asked the nurse to check on her and found out she had been given a pain pill earlier, which could explain her not feeling well.

Tomorrow we plan to drive to Helena for some sightseeing.

August 1, 2010

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

Day 59

One of the troubles with counting the days is that I sometimes miss a day.

Gerri is still doing research on the painted buffaloes. She got a lead on one at a lumber supply company. After Church I went there, no luck. I guess we go hungry tonight.

I went by the Missouri River Manor to see Glenna at about 4, she was asleep. I went and found two caches and came back about 5:30 while she was eating supper. I tried to get the webcast from the Oaky Blvd. Church of Christ but they are still having difficulties. We visited until about 9:00 and I went back to the RV Park.

A lot of dull tasks continue even if we are on the road. I balanced the check book and took care of a few other things and all of a sudden it was 1:30 AM.

We have some work to do in the morning. We are moving to a different space in the park. No more nose bleeding climb to the front door.