by Phil Wanz

Docent training at South Fork on May 2, 2015 was a day filled with the most pleasant of times. I arrived a tad early, a fire was already blazing and hot coffee on the camp stove. It was a chilly morning and the fire felt good. Blackberry cobbler was cooking in a cast-iron dutch oven, with coals on top to maintain it correct temp, (at least Don hoped so!) The cobbler was superb and I think everyone agreed with me on that.

We started the day with a circle of chairs around the fire. Exciting news was discussed including very cool future plans that sounded fantastic. I will let others tell of these plans as they become set in stone. As usual, I was very impressed with all those who spoke during this session.

We moved on to the many microscopes set up on the table. Don taught a class on flowers, including the parts of a flower, which was an open discussion, hands-on stuff…it was teaching the teachers so they can go on and teach others. We had fun with the microscopes, at one point it got a bit exciting, “look at this crazy looking bug”… “Wait a minute, no fair,” Don yelled, “this is about flowers, not bugs!” We quickly resumed our flower looking.

For our next adventure we got on one of South Fork’s many hiking trails for more instruction and some fun. We hiked to the creek and waterfall area, which is so beautiful.

After that it was on to one of the docent’s house for a s u p er lunch and great fellowship. We hiked the short way back to the cabin where we discussed how important it is to journal one’s experiences.

I really enjoyed this, thinking to myself that perhaps this is for me. Then we went through all that was in the cabin for future-lead hikes and such. This was a great day, a day for the docents to reform and reboot ideas and thoughts. I urge you to bring your groups, classes, families and yourselves, to our planned activities. If you happen to be a person with training in some particular field, in which our activities exist, you would be welcome to join the group of docents that we have. South Fork is a rewarding place for all those who visit here and leading a hike or tagging along is always a grand time, which is filled with wonderment and education!!