Dec 28, 2021
Ada
In 2000, I retired from the telephone company in Chicago,
Illinois where I worked as a computer programmer and business
systems analyst.
In the ensuing years, I’ve developed a passion for painting and
drawing (who knew!); herb and flower gardening and, of course,
hiking. I find spending time in the mountains with the Trail Dames
or on my own in nature to be rejuvenating and creatively inspiring.
The best part, the very best part is time spent in our gorgeous
Georgia /North Carolina mountains with my awesome daughter.
One of the greatest joys of my life here in Georgia is hanging out
with my Melissa and our sister Trail Dames. I love this
organization and it’s underlying principles. It is so empowering to
encourage one another - one step at a time - and sit around the
fire at night listening to one another’s experiences. We’ve laughed
together until we cried and cried together until we laughed and
watched our precious friendships deepen.
I was delighted at our annual Standing Indian
Campout to receive my official trail name, Falling Star (and, yes,
there is an exciting story behind it!)
I recently took my granddaughter and 3 great grandchildren on a
weekend camping trip to Fort Mountain with my daughter, Melissa;
something I would never have tried until I received camping
knowledge from the Trail Dames and hiking experiences with them.
(And, yes, there are juicy stories we can tell!)
At Fort Mountain, I spent an afternoon hiking with my 5-year-old
great grandson. We stopped at every puddle, twig, bug and snail to
touch, discover and question as only a 5-year-old can. I was
completely captivated by that precocious little boy and felt very
grateful for him and the gift of nature. 🙂
Melissa
I was born and raised in southern IN in a very small town called Huntingburg. It was the BEST childhood. I had a horse, was in the marching band and color guard, had a huge circle of the same friends literally from kindergarten to well after high school (and some, still to this day) and spent my summers riding my horse, camping, walking in the woods, listening to the tree’s and taking in the smells of nature. My Pawpaw was a huge part of that growing up. They lived in a perfect little log cabin, he built with timbers from my great grandfather’s barn. They had about 22 acres with a lake, which of course we swam and fished in often. My mom did a lot of home cooking, spent her whole life making sure I knew who I was, had the confidence to not allow anything or anyone to derail me and made me believe I could do anything, if I just worked hard enough in life. She was, and still is, the best…..my best friend!
I moved to Chicago, IL when I was 21, and that is where I met my
husband Mark, the love of my life for nearly 30 yrs now. We got
married the next year and then moved to FL right after. That’s
where we raised our beautiful daughter, and I began what has been
the most amazing career for myself. We were there until 2006 when
my job transferred me to the Atlanta area. We now have 3 adorable
grandchildren (2 girls and 1 boy) who are the joys of our life. We
love to travel, spend time just hanging out as a family and
laugh….Mark literally makes me laugh every day, out loud, at least
once!
I really enjoy traveling (as mom puts it, “wheels under us”) and
especially cruising, hiking, camping, listening to music (all kinds
and I sing and dance, when no one is looking of course!), reading
and just being with family. I lead a small group bible study at my
church, which is such a source of grounding and inspiration in my
life and have made the dearest of friends in my adult life with
them.
The Trail Dames have given mom and I the most wonderful memories
and inspiration already and we’ve only just begun! We have met the
most amazing, fearless, supportive, kind and loving women in the
Dames. We have been welcomed with open arms and always made to feel
like family. Pam & Kim were a huge part of that as they were the
first Dames we met and got to know. We are so blessed to be part of
this community and although we won’t ever be those hikers doing
extreme, long hikes, we so enjoy the relaxing saunter we’re able to
do at times and take in nature the way we’ve always loved to
do!
Guest Links-
Melissa on LinkedIn:
http://linkedin.com/in/melissa-d-lagoo-084b7613
Melissa on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/melissa.r.lagoo
Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at info@traildames.com
You can find the Trail Dames at:
Our website: https://www.traildames.com
The Summit: https://www.traildamessummit.com
The Trail Dames Foundation: https://www.tdcharitablefoundation.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traildames/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/traildames/
Hiking Radio Network: https://hikingradionetwork.com/
Hiking Radio Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hikingradionetwork/
Music provided for this Podcast by The Burns Sisters
"Dance Upon This Earth"
https://www.theburnssisters.com