Remember when I wrote in one of my first columns here that I'm excited to learn about the area so I can show it off to visitors?
Well, I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I was informed last week I have been nominated to play host for a couple of days for family friends from Australia. How do you boil down the area in a few hours while still trying to impress people from such a wondrous part of the world?
Well, thankfully, they're avid outdoors people and fall colors around here pretty much do the heavy lifting as far as tourism goes.
I plan on bringing them up to Black Elk Neihardt Park and over to DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge for a couple of hikes before touring the backroads of the Loess Hills. One of them is a native Iowan, so he's requested we find some harvest action, too. That plan has been ran past them and they're all on board.
Relieved, I got to thinking about my silly anxiety about what I was going to show them. Visiting a new place is all about perspective. I never travel to a new place thinking, “Boy, I bet this is going to be boring.” Most trips I've taken, I've learned new things about an unfamiliar place, seen things I wouldn't see anywhere else and have met interesting people.
I should carry that same mindset when I host people. Once I had the plan made for my visitors from Down Under, I thought about how what I'm going to show them are things they can't see back home. The mosaic at Black Elk, the Steamboat Bertrand exhibit and the ever-fascinating Loess Hills are unique to our area and being able to share that with people from across the world is a wonderful opportunity.
It's easy to become familiar with where you live to the point where the best restaurant or the one-of-a-kind attraction seems second-nature and a part of every day life. But to someone who is just in town for a few hours, it can be a memorable and maybe even life-changing event. So, don't look at it as pressure to impress. Consider a chance to share a unique piece of your world with someone who would be more than happy to show you theirs.
