It was a really great trip. It was wonderful to be back on the old familiar streets of Chester and it was so good to reconnect with Grandma and Grandpa.
We went for the occasion of Grandpa's 90th birthday. We ate several meals with the grandparents at Wheat Country Estates where they live. They came to the green house on a couple of occasions to visit with us too. We sat in on the Bible study lesson Grandpa's gives at Wheat Country and then again to the one he does on Sundays at his church.
We went to Fort Benton one afternoon on a quest for huckleberry milkshakes and to have supper with Pam Lambott at her home. (Mom's first cousin, our cousin once removed.) Joseph sighted three white pelicans just as we were leaving Pam's house to return to Chester (which was his dearest wish ever since we first saw some pelicans flying overhead in Great Falls.)
I didn't get to go to the Art Center as I had hoped, but I did visit the Liberty County Museum for the first time and I thought it was fantastic! It is chock-full of all sorts of old artifacts from Chester's and Liberty County's past, and it's not all behind glass like most other museums! I also got a personal guided tour from one of the docents. (Seeing as how they weren't too busy with other visitors.) There is even a little room/alcove dedicated to the medical history and it has Grandpa's and Great Grandpa's picture in there (and several of the other doctors who have worked there over the decades) and the t-shirt from the year Grandpa won Rural Health Practitioner of the year plus many other things like some old medical equipment and a doctor's bag from a doctor who predates Grandpa's time there. There was actually way more stuff at the museum than I could see in one visit. I sincerely hoped to be able to go back, but we managed to fill up the rest of our time pretty easily.
On our first morning in Chester, I went on a walk with Joseph and Rebecca and Sam. We walked toward the high school and saw that they have an "Outdoor Classroom" behind it which I wasn't familiar with, although it was established in 1975. As we were walking, Joseph said, "That's a red-winged blackbird." Rebecca asked if he had seen it. Joseph replied that he hadn't seen it, he heard it. Sure enough, a few paces further and we saw a red winged black bird perched on a tree in front of us! (Joseph had never seen a red-winged blackbird before.) We got to see all sorts of birds that we don't see around us and of course Joseph just loved that. He also correctly identified a northern flicker, in flight. Another species he'd never before seen in person.
On Saturday we took a little excursion to what is referred to as the "Sewage Lagoon" which was suggested by Candace's friend Susan. The Sewage Lagoon is a water treatment facility on the edge of town that has three reservoirs of water in different stages of treatment which attracts a lot of birds. Despite the strong winds, we sighted lots of birds and with Susan's help and her birding app were able to identify some uncommon species. Joseph actually said to me a couple of times that he wished he could live in Chester. When I asked him why, he said because of the birds. Joseph's interest in and knowledge of birds impressed Grandpa and endeared Joseph to him. I'm so glad they had the opportunity to get to know each other a little bit.
Grandma and the other residents seemed to enjoy seeing little Sam running around Wheat Country... even if he was getting into a little bit of trouble. The people who work there are so kind and dedicated to the residents. There is one woman in particular, Dee, who takes special care of Grandpa and Grandma (and is the only person Grandma will allow to bathe and dress her.) She told us that she also took care of Great Grandma and Grandpa when she worked in the nursing home years ago.
I am so glad I made the trip, and I hope to again in the future, but not seven years from now. It was also a huge blessing to have Rachel with us the entire way and Rebecca most of the way because it would have been very difficult to manage the children and our stuff all by myself.
Here is a link to photos on my Shutterfly share site: https://woodyoubelieve.shutterfly.com/pictures/1392
We also recorded Grandpa telling some stories, and I recorded some of his Bible study lesson. I will try to get it uploaded on YouTube, but I am not very savvy and I don't have tons of time to figure it all out. I got one track uploaded so far.
Love the pictures! I thought the ones with Grandma and Samuel were so precious.
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