August 30 and 31, 2016 Tuesday and Wednesday Cultural Day then Nature Day

Tuesday 

Ok, well it started off with another call to the VA Pharmacy. They said the shots had not been renewed yet. OH BOY! I called the SCI clinic, and left my number, they called me back and said - yes they were renewed, but the renewal had to be approved. OK, I said how long does that take? It takes 24 to 72 hours - Oh great! 

Well I decided to forget it for the time being and check on it after lunch. Next -we call a realtor at Belt, MT. He had a place that we wanted to look at. So he said come on down. We drove to Belt (only about 20 miles from here) and he showed us two places. One had 6 lots in town that already had water, electric and sewer - nice - but would need a concrete pad or some leveling - Price = $50,000.

  WOW! Next he showed us 3 acres - no improvements, $20,000. It was up on a hill, without trees or anything, it would take a lot of work. 

 We told him we would be mulling it over. We drove around the town and found the old campground we stayed at before - it is closed for repairs - Fort Ponderosa. 

Here is a shot of a neat old Grainery!

I re-checked with the VA and they had renewed Steve's shots so I gave them the address.  We'll see what happens. 

We returned to Great Falls and went down to the Paris Gibson Art Museum. We loved the building and some of the art pieces.

 We appreciate how much time and effort it took to create some of the items - but we weren't there too long. We really liked the Native American drawings on ledger paper and the sculptures made of tree limbs and found items. All in all I'm sure we improved our culture! Ha Ha! 

We got back to the RV and had supper. Then we loaded up the dogs and went to the west side of the River trail.

 It was quite nice walking and other people were out on bikes, and roller skates and walking. So nice to have these trails to walk and for the weather to be not so hot - then you can enjoy it! 

 Wednesday 

Today we got up a little earlier. I had a big day planned. I drove from Great Falls to Lincoln, MT. 

Nice Rest Stop on I 15

 There we had lunch. 

 We bought our lunch at the Bushwhacker Saloon and took it in a to-go container to a little park to eat.

 In Montana, tons of places are casinos, bars, food establishments. It seems to be the norm here. I continued to drive until we got almost to Seeley Lake, MT. The drive was so interesting and beautiful most of the way. We really enjoyed it. When we got to Salmon Lake (first) - we just oohed and aaahhed. Very pretty. 

 We drove around and took some pictures. 

 We investigated the forest campground and decided it would be a great place to be camp hosts, maybe someday.

 It is a long ways from a town of any size though - about 65 miles I think from Missoula, long ways from Great Falls and quite a ways from Helena also. Then Steve drove back and I enjoyed the scenery. 

 We were pooped when we got home. We had some soup and yogurt and fruit and pretty much called it a night. A wind came up and spooked us for a little bit - but it died down. Then we had a beautiful sunset. We sure are enjoying the sights here!

August 28 & 29, 2016 Sunday & Monday

Sunday 

We didn't do a whole lot today. After we got around - we went to the commissary and bought groceries. Steve kept looking a little pooped out, like he was fading fast. About the time we checked out, he was light-headed, so I drove us back to the RV. We unloaded the groceries and took it somewhat easy. I expect we took a short nap. I also worked on a new blog post for my website: Dietitian Delivers. . Check it out! 

 Monday 

First order of business today was to see how to go about getting Steve's shots delivered here. First I call the Outdoor Rec ofc - where it was posted you could have mail sent. They said it would be better to have it sent Gen Del to the Maelstrom AFB Post Office. OK then. Next call the VA - shots were out of refills. Oh Boy! Call the SCI clinic - they will call back. And they did call back - before noon. The nice nurse said she would get things going. Okie Dokie.

 Then we decided to go for a walk on the trail at Giant Springs State Park, along the Missouri River. It was a really nice walk - and we weren't going to go too far - but kept seeing stuff we wanted to look at. It is a great trail - they even have a paved trail for bikes and walkers. We used it and the dirt path both.

 The River is magnificent. So hard to imagine how it must have looked before dams - when Lewis and Clark were here. 

Probably very wild.

 We headed back to the pickup, by then it was feeling pretty hot - even though the temperature was below 80 degrees - the sun was blasting us with heat. Poor little Poopsie- she was panting so hard we rested several times on the return trip and I carried her a few times to give her a break. Anyway we made it back to the pickup - and I give her a Buster some of my iced tea. That made them happy. Of course we forgot to bring extra water for us or the dogs. Duh! When will we learn? We had lunch back at the RV and then I read a book and worked on mail chimp. Steve took a nap and I think I had a short nap also. After supper we went to K-Mart and Target - looking for different things. That about finished off Monday!

August 26, 2016, Friday It's My Birthday! and August 27, Saturday - Fort Benton, MT

Friday 

 Well I got a call early this morning from Kristi and the kids singing Happy Birthday to me! Later I heard from Marsha, then Tony, then Pam and then Nancy. I also talked to Linda and Hazel a wee bit today. We drove around some and did a little more sightseeing. I checked the progress on my website - no news there. Then we got cleaned up and had a nap.

 We went to the car Races to celebrate my Birthday! We just got a hamburger there, since we have eaten out and got too full the last two nights. It was a very pleasant evening - had to put on my jacket as the sun went down. We came prepared with a sleeping bag too in case it got really cold, but we didn't need it. Saturday 

Today we got around (no small feat) and after walking the dogs and making ourselves somewhat presentable, we got on the road. Today we drove Northeast to Fort Benton, Montana. It is about 35 miles from here. It was a pleasant drive, Steve drove up and I drove back. The countryside is HUGE! Lots of big fields, huge barns and grain bins. Then there was a great scenic overlook where we took a lot of pictures. They tell the story of the area. 

 You get a great view of the Missouri River from this viewpoint. 

 Of course I love it because Lewis and Clark were here! I am so fascinated by their epic journey, I love to read about them. I also like to read about the Nez Perce Tribe and Chief Joseph. His final stand was north east of this spot - Battleground of the Bear's Paw. I will visit that someday also. 

We really enjoyed Fort Benton, it has a great trail along the Missouri River and if our dogs were more sociable - we would have walked more of it. We got a pretty good hamburger and an Excellent Huckleberry Shake for lunch. Then we returned back to the RV and guess what! We took a nap! When we got up I searched the internet for some property listings and sent some emails. So far, only one reply to my email. We sat outside and enjoyed a beautiful evening.

 When it got nice and dark, Steve and I went for a drive to the Great Falls International Airport to take pictures of all the city lights. 

 I took a picture of the bridge that is lit up blue at night. Then back to the RV for bedtime. All in all a very nice day!