A few of you may know this about me but most folks probably do not. Yes, you know I am a passionate about hiking but did you know that I volunteer at the North Mountain Visitor Center? This is the all volunteer center that is at the trail head of the 2 mountains and Mountain Preserve that is behind our home. The Visitor Center is an absolutely fabulous place to hang out, interact with really cool and interesting people as well as learn a lot of new & interesting stuff. The volunteers are amazing! They are all there because they want to give back to their community and that's my kind of people.
I normally work the front desk on few Saturday mornings a month along with my husband Mr Banana. It's fun to 'guide' hikers around the miles and miles of trails and to be sure they have enough water. We normally end up sharing hiking stories which is always fun. I also have been guiding people on the hiking trails for over 20 years. Many folks get lost - and I can always tell as they have the 'bewildered' look on their face and are trying to make sense of the map. I really enjoy helping them and we typically spend time chatting and sharing stories. Many of the folks I have seen hundreds of times over the year and we've become 'hiking buds'.
2 Saturdays a month a 'coffee house' event is held and that brings even more people. Normally there are multiple events going on during the coffee so it's at times a lot to keep track off. We have musicians playing beautiful music, sometimes there is an art show and there are always other folks that come in just to learn the history of the area, learn about the plants and animals, birds and rocks. Oh and the kids - this is cool. We have a little library at the center. When the kids come in they pick out a book, read a chapter and give one of us a 'book report" and then they get to pick out a special rock! Each time they give a report they get to pick out an even more 'important' rock! The kids love this and it's fun to see them learn at the same time.
I can see us volunteering at the center for many years to come! We love it and all the wonderful people too!
The Human Side of Anna Banana!
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