Bandelier National Monument volunteer George Best who turns 100 years old today, seen here in Frijoles Canyon at Bandelier. Photo Courtesy NPS

BANDELIER NEWS

George has provided assistance to staff at the Bandelier Visitor Center in Frijoles Canyon since 2009, and has volunteered around 2,500 hours.

Over the years, George has answered questions and greeted visitors as they disembarked the shuttle buses, walked the trails to answer questions as well as pointed out archeological features and kept an eye out for anyone in need of help.

George has a lot of history with Bandelier. He arrived in Los Alamos in 1949 and worked for 33 years as a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

He first traveled to the park in 1950 when the roads were winding and made of gravel. Besides working at Bandelier, he has also volunteered at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM where he conducted tours of the different locations where Georgia O’Keefe painted and occasionally worked at the Valles Caldera Preserve during special events.

“I’ve always enjoyed the National Parks. I felt like I would like to give back a little and help people enjoy them,” Best said. “I enjoy meeting people from other parts of the country and other parts of the world, too. Many organizations depend on volunteer help to perform whatever their objectives and functions are, I just want to help them.”