2 Backpacks, 2 Bikes, a Van and a plan..: A Day in the Life (Andre)

This entry is an homage to the adage that a frog that jumps into a pot of boiling water will jump right out, whereas a frog in a pot of cool water will hang out and die while the temperature is slowly increased. I have always taken this tale to mean, among other things, that it is important to fully explain oneself because what might be so clear to one person can appear to be very different to another!

What follows is the typical routine for us as volunteers in a visitor center at Big Bend National Park. (We work three days a week in the visitor center – the other day is a project day in the park and we will describe that later.)

Part 1: We leave our apartment about 7:50 and walk to headquarters – about 10 minutes away, to check for messages, supplies, and to get a park vehicle to drive the 10 miles up the mountain to the visitor’s center.

Part 2: We open the visitor center. This includes turning on the lights and video program, raising the flag, changing the dates on the passport stamp, opening 2 cash registers – one for admission fees and one for bookstore items, calling in the weather readings, posting the daily weather, and making sure everything is in place for the day.

Part 3: We unlock the doors by 8:30, close for lunch from 12- 1, and then close for the day at 4:00. During the hours we are open, we do all of the following: answer questions about the park, provide recommendations for good hikes and camping spots, issue back country camping permits, record wildlife sightings, sell items in the bookstore, and be a general positive presence for the park. We average about 100 or so visitors a day. When it is slow in the visitor center, one or both of us also walks around the grounds and short trails around the visitor center. We also will occasionally walk and drive to near-by trail heads and make sure there are maps, re-supply as needed, and look out for trash.

Part 4: We close the visitor center. This includes taking down the flag, turning off the lights and video machine, closing out the registers, and locking the doors and windows.

Part 5: We return to headquarters where we return the park vehicle, place the daily receipts in a safe, and turn in all the permits that were written during the day. We then walk back to our apartment smiling for the good work and things we had done that day!