I have a few tales from Montana to tell that don't really fit into either 'race report', so this is the 'Between Race Reports' Report!

 The first story to tell is Surge's. After a lovely day of shopping in Whitefish, we headed out for Lincoln. Once we got all settled in there, I phoned home to see how things were going their and to give everyone a contact number for me.

Gabi Husch answered the phone and as soon as she heard it was me, launched into a story about Surge. Turns out she had been trying without luck to reach Mark at work. She reported that Surge was in trouble. His breathing was laboured, his gums pale and his heart rate high. My stomach flipped, Surge had had a bad run with Gabi and Anna a few weeks before, but quickly recovered. In the time before we left for Montana, I kept a close eye on him and he seemed completely back to normal, so I wrote it off as 'nothing to worry about'. Turns out I was very mistaken.

Luckily, the Husch's oldest son's girlfriend, who happens to be in school about to graduate as a vet tech was around and took all of Surge's vitals before they contacted the vet.

A bit of time, a few more phone calls and the decision was made to get Surge into the Clinic that evening. I spent an anxious hour and a half or so waiting to hear from the vet. When I did, the news was good. While Surge did have a case of pneumonia, it looked like it was caught before it went too far. Dr. Lewis took the time to tell me what an excellent crew I had at home caring for the dogs while I was gone. I already knew that, but it was nice to hear anyway!

Surge spent 2 days in the Clinic and is now home and doing very well. He is still on antibiotics and will go in for another check when they are done, but it looks like he is recovering like the trooper we know him to be. He is loving the bologna and cheese (and pill - but don't tell Surge that) 'sandwiches' that Kathryn makes him every morning.

The other story to tell is about our "Montana Moms". With no slight intended to either Doug Daniels or Jim Watt, who were both very kind and gracious to us all too, but the ladies really tucked the NorthWapiti Team under their wings.

I am speaking of Marlene Daniels and Barbara Watt. Both ladies heaped delicious treats and great meals on us for the week and a half we were in the state. From elk sausage to fantastic cheese to to die for brownies to incredible chocolate bars to homemade cinnamon buns.the list goes on. When we set up our room in Seeley, our clothes stayed in our suitcases and the 2 drawers in the room were dedicated to food storage!
The Daniels and Watts were also the greatest cheering section anyone could ask for. We were honoured to have them around.

One of the nicest things about both couples was that they seemed to be right there whenever we needed something, but quietly vanished into the background when we were busy. It is a tricky balance to achieve and "The Wenches" (aka Anna and Colleen) and I really appreciated that.

It is folks like that that take a good trip and make it great! Many thanks ladies (and gentlemen!!!).

I posted some pics from the Montana trip. You can find them at http://picasaweb.google.com/northwapiti/Montana

Karen