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January 28, 2025 • 18 mins
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Unknown (00:00):
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay,
Virginia is a mecca for outdoortravel and adventure. Virginia
outdoor adventures Podcast isyour local guide for hiking,
camping, kayaking, travel and somuch more. Get the information
and the inspiration to plan yourown adventure right here in

(00:21):
Virginia. I'm your host. JessicaBowser,
Virginia Outdoor Adventures issponsored by the Virginia
association for parks, V, A, F,P, champions parks across the
Commonwealth. What's yourfavorite memory from a Virginia
Park? Help ensure that everyonecan experience our parks for
generations to come. Join VA FPtoday by clicking on Virginia

(00:45):
association for parks in theshow notes of your listening
app.
Hello friends. Welcome toanother solo episode. If you
can't already tell by the soundof my voice I am sick, and I
really hate to record while I'msick. I haven't needed to do it
before in the four and a halfseasons of this podcast, but

(01:07):
this time, it's necessary. Ihave been waiting for this head
cold to clear up, and it hasn'thappened yet, and now I'm up
against a deadline. So if I wantto get this episode out on time,
I need to get the audio file tomy editor so I've got my box of
tissues and my hot tea. And forbetter or for worse, I am doing
this, I do feel fortunate that Idon't get sick very often. I

(01:31):
have had situations where someof my guests have had to cancel
recordings because they caughtCOVID or they got the flu. And
you know, once you getcongested, sometimes it takes
weeks for that to go away. Andso I've had situations where I
haven't been able to reschedulerecordings with guests for a
very long time, until theystarted to sound normal again. I
have not had a cold in nearly 15years, and I know that's hard to

(01:54):
believe. I almost can't believeit myself, but it's true, and I
almost forgot what it feelslike. But this is all coming
back to me now, unfortunately,and I guess I've just been
lucky. Maybe it's healthylifestyle, but I will tell you,
the last few weeks, I have notbeen living a healthy lifestyle.
In fact, I've been runningmyself ragged since January 2, I

(02:16):
believe. And the biggest projectthat I have taken on in the last
few weeks is parks Advocacy Day,which happened at the General
Assembly in Richmond just a fewdays ago, and maybe that's where
I picked up the germs. I havebeen volunteering with the
Virginia association for parksfor several years now, but this
is the first time that I havetaken on planning parks advocacy

(02:38):
day on my own. Well, actually,it's not entirely on my own. I
also planned this project withMichelle Shope, who you will
know if you listened to theepisode that came out the first
week of January about parksAdvocacy Day. Michelle and I
took on this huge undertakingall on our own, but I think we
did pretty darn good. There's alot that goes into planning. I

(03:00):
mean, there's the logistics, thesending out the invites, making
appointments with legislators,getting everyone organized. But
well, before anybody shows up inRichmond, I spent the last
several weeks tracking bills,talking to legislators, talking
with other leaders in theconservation community, all to
create a legislative agenda. Anda legislative agenda is a list

(03:23):
of talking points and bills thatwe support, that we bring
forward to legislators when wemeet with them, and these are
all about issues that impact ourstate parks. And in the middle
of all that planning, I had tofly to Atlanta for the college
football national championship,I got to watch my Ohio State
Buckeyes take on the Notre DameFighting Irish. If you don't

(03:46):
follow college football, I don'tblame you, but being an Ohio
State graduate, they threatenedto revoke your diploma if you're
not a fan, or so I'm told, notreally, but, but close. And so I
flew into Atlanta, where he wasthree degrees. And also, I will
just go ahead and say that therewere a lot of very sad Notre

(04:07):
Dame fans at that game. And Iget it, there have been many
years that I've watched OhioState come very close to winning
a national championship and justbarely not making it. I
understand that feeling. But tobe honest, I don't feel that
bad.
It was a great game, but I thinkthe best experience was flying

(04:28):
in and out of the Richmondairport. I just got to say, this
was my first time flying in andout of Richmond, and it was so
easy. And I'm thinking like, Whydo I even bother with Dulles and
Reagan when Richmond airport isso much simpler. I drove right
into the airport, parked my carin the garage next to the

(04:50):
terminal, got through securityin a hot minute, and I was at my
gate in I'm not kidding,probably 15 minutes from the
time I parked my car to the timeI got to the gate.
And so I was sitting in arestaurant getting some lunch,
and there was hardly anybody inthe restaurant. There was hardly
anybody in the terminal. And I'mthinking, I need to do this more
often. It's only an hour and ahalf drive from Northern

(05:11):
Virginia to the Richmondairport, and it was so easy. I
got a direct flight to Atlanta,got a direct flight back. I
don't know why. Nobody told methis before. I need to start
doing this much more often, butI flew back into Richmond so
that I could be there for parksAdvocacy Day. The very next day
after the national championship,we had a very successful day at

(05:32):
the General Assembly. Ourmorning started in the House
Committee on Agriculture,Chesapeake and natural
resources, where several of thebills that we were supporting
were being heard. A niceunexpected surprise was delegate
Lopez, who chairs thatcommittee, recognized our group,
and so he asked us to stand andthanked all of us for being

(05:52):
there and for being parkadvocates, and also mentioned
how important it is to advocatefor our parks. So that was nice
to be formally recognized. Andthen after that committee, we
broke out into small groups, andwe met with over 35 legislators,
and all of the legislators werevery friendly. They were all in
support of parks, and we've beenhaving this conversation with

(06:14):
many of these legislators yearafter year about the need for
sustainable funding for ourstate parks, and the message is
starting to sink in. So the workis paying off, and there are
more and more conversationsbeing had about how to address
this issue of our parks beingunderfunded. We felt like we
made a lot of progress there.
And then in the afternoon, wewent and sat in on the

(06:35):
Appropriations, commerce,agriculture and natural
resources subcommittee, which iswhere another one of our bills
was being heard, and that wasthe Virginia's Great Outdoors
act, and that was acomprehensive bill for funding
for trails and state parks andother public lands. So there was
a long line of people who rosein support of that bill, some

(06:58):
people representing themselves,many people representing
different organizations. I wasone of the people in that long
line of folks who rose tosupport the bill, which I did as
a member of the Virginiaassociation for parks. If you
would like to support our stateparks, there's still time to do
so this legislative session. Thebest place to start is in your
show notes, where you can clickon Virginia association for

(07:21):
parks. From there, you can jointhe association, and vafp will
send you updates on bills thatimpact our state parks. So
there's likely going to beseveral opportunities to contact
your legislators in support ofour state parks, and vafp will
email you as those opportunitiesarise. And if you would like to
join us for a parks AdvocacyDay, we do this every year. So

(07:44):
once you join vafp, we will makesure to let you know when the
next one comes up, and then youcan join us in Richmond. So with
all that has been going on, nowonder I got sick with how busy
and how stressed I have been, Idon't think the weather helped
anything. But also being in andout of airports, being in and
out of a large stadium, in andout of the General Assembly

(08:07):
Building, things have beenreally wild, so no wonder the 15
year streak of not having a coldhas now ended.
Adventure seekers will findendless opportunities in Grayson
County, where many of Virginia'siconic trails and landmarks
excite hikers, cyclists,paddlers and happy campers

(08:29):
alike. Imagine this. You'rehiking on one of the most scenic
sections of the entireAppalachian Trail through the
George Washington and JeffersonNational Forests, summiting
mount Rogers or white topmountain, the two highest peaks
in Virginia, or strollingthrough the valley of elk
garden, where the now extinctEastern elk once roamed. Or

(08:49):
maybe your perfect day is on thewater. Grayson County is home to
the New River, one of the oldestand most scenic rivers in the
world. Enjoy a leisurely classone float with the family or
adrenaline packed class threerapids. Navigate the waters
using the New River floatcalculator to plan your trip.
The app factors flow rate, waterlevels, weather conditions,

(09:12):
vessel type and more tocalculate flow times from point
A to point B. Prefer two wheels.
You won't want to miss the graceand gravel traverse a 72 mile
mixed surface gravel bike routethat connects the Virginia
Creeper trail and new rivertrail over well maintained and
remote roads featuring a varietyof challenging climbs in the
foothills of Virginia's highestpeaks. This overlooked gem of

(09:35):
Virginia presents some of thebest gravel cycling in the state
mostly unwritten andundiscovered after a day of
adventure, there's nothing likegathering around a campfire
under a sky filled with stars.
Grayson County offers plenty ofspots to pitch a tent like the
New River campground or cozy upin a rustic cabin at the buck

(09:58):
wild reserve. De.
Discover why Virginia is foroutdoor lovers. Start your
Grayson County adventure at thehistoric 1908 courthouse and
visitor center, or access thevisitors guide online by
clicking on visit Grayson Countyin the show notes of your
podcast listening app.
Next up, I've got some fan mailto share both of these messages

(10:22):
came in after the last soloepisode, and if you remember, in
that episode, I sharedeverything that I pack with me
for a state park cabin stay. SoI got a message, actually, one
from out of state. I was kind ofexcited about this. It always
surprises me when I find outthat people outside Virginia.
Listen to this podcast. But thisis from gene from New Jersey,

(10:45):
and Gene says, great podcast onwhat to take with you, staying
at a cabin, not only was thelist thorough, you explained why
you would want to take some ofthose items with you. We have
bicycled and hiked to falsecape, through the Back Bay
Wildlife Refuge twice and onceall the way to North Carolina,
it is definitely a recommendedhike. Hope to stay in a Virginia

(11:06):
state park one day with ourcamper. Since we have four dogs,
we will need to stay in privateparks for now. Happy travels
from New Jersey. Gene, whilegene, I've got good news for
you. You can stay in a VirginiaState Park with your four dogs.
Virginia State Parks does allowdogs so and I double check just
to make sure, because I don'thave dogs. So sometimes I'm not

(11:29):
always aware of what the rulesare with dogs, but I did go onto
their website and double checkbefore I read this aloud. And
yes, you can bring your dogsonto the campground. Thank you
so much. Gene for your message.
And then the other message isfrom Ann in Fredericksburg, and
she says, I enjoyed your latestepisode. It gave me a few ideas
for sure. We keep a checklistfor each type of adventure and

(11:52):
print it off when we pack andmark each item off. Now I need
to make a cabin list. We didn'thave that one before. We have a
list for car camping, beachtrips, winter, day hiking,
summer day hiking, bike packingand backpacking. We also keep a
box in the car with seasonalitems like hats, gloves, spikes,
bug spray, extra first aid, etc,looking forward to your next

(12:14):
episode. Well, and you've gotsome lists in there that I don't
so now you've got me thinkingthat maybe I need to start
making some extra lists. Yeah,I've done that before too. Like,
I create these lists and then Ilaminate them. Oh my gosh. I
didn't actually laminate them,but I put them in like, these
clear folders. I think I justgave away my age. I put them in
clear folders, and I keep themin the bags, and then I use

(12:37):
those as the checklists, andevery now and then I update it,
because you're always findingsomething else to add to the
list. So thank you for that.
Anne. For anyone who wants tosend me a text message, you
could do so by going to yourshow notes and clicking on Send
Jessica a text message. Andthat's how I will get your fan

(12:57):
mail coming straight to my phonein that last solo episode, I did
say that in the next soloepisode, I would share what I
packed for a campsite stay. AndI am gonna do that, but I think
I'm gonna hold off on it for alittle bit. It is January, after
all, and I don't know how manypeople are really thinking about
packing for a campsite stayright now. I'm gonna hold off on

(13:19):
that, maybe till a spring soloepisode. So keep an eye out for
that in the spring. Somethingthat Anne said in her message
made me just think of somethingelse that I want to mention. She
was talking about things thatshe keeps in her car, and one of
them was a first aid kit. And Ihave here a first aid kit that
you can get a discount on. Andthis is called Keep going. And

(13:42):
this thing is awesome. I'm notgonna lie, it's also super cute.
They sent this to me. Theoutside of it is like all this
cute like mountains and jeepsand tents and water bottles and
lanterns and all the cute stuff.
And then you open it and it hasgot every single thing you can
possibly imagine, everythingfrom let's see. We've got cotton
swabs, we've got scissors,tongue depressors, every size,

(14:06):
Band Aid, you can imagine, StingRelief Pad, triple antibiotic
lip balm, hydrocortisone cream,burn gel. I mean, really like
there. I don't think there'sanything they forgot about here.
What is this gauze pad?
And then, actually, nosebleedplugs, really, they've got

(14:29):
everything in here. They've gotmedical tape. And then I know
it's in here somewhere, but I'mnot seeing it right now. I know
there is a tick remover in heretoo, which, if you do not have a
tick remover, my friends, whatare you doing? Get yourself a
tick remover to put in your packor on your key chain all the
time. But yeah, this thing hasgot everything, and it comes in
really cute designs, and you canget a discount for being one of

(14:52):
my listeners. And the way youget that discount is by signing
up for my newsletter, byclicking on newsletter sign up
in your show notes.
That'll take you right to theVirginia outdoor adventures
website. And on the bottom ofthe home page, there's a space
to fill out your information, orthere's a pop up box that will
pop up too. And you can sign upfor the newsletter, but I've

(15:13):
added something new that Iwanted to bring up, starting
just this week. For anybody whosigns up for the newsletter, you
will also get a free listenerresource guide. And what is
that? It is a guide thatincludes my top podcast
episodes, a Virginia bucket listcurated by me, and exclusive

(15:34):
discounts and so much more. Andso one of the discounts that is
there is this keep going, firstaid kit. And every time the
newsletter comes out, I try toput in a new discount for a new
product. So I've got some reallygood offers on outdoor gear,
things that if you don't alreadyhave, you need to get. So if you

(15:55):
sign up for the newsletter,you'll get that resource guide,
and in that resource guideyou'll get a link to all of the
discounts from past emailnewsletters that you might have
missed, and that link will beupdated as more discounts are
added. I think this is where I'mgonna end things for the day,
with part one. Normally, I wouldknock out an entire episode and

(16:15):
then break it into two parts,but with me being congested like
I am now, I think I'm gonna giveit a few days before I attempt
part two, and hopefully I willsound better. So thanks for
bearing with me, considering allthings. I hope you enjoyed part
one of the solo episode. Parttwo will be coming out next
week, and I will see you thenfriends adventure on

(16:38):
escape to the heart of Virginiawine country for a four day,
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(16:59):
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wines, from wine hour to yogaflow every moment is designed to
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winery is the perfect getawayfor outdoor lovers after a hike

(17:20):
on the Appalachian Trail, chooseto indulge in a massage or take
a cooking class with thefarmhouse chef, whether you're
craving rejuvenation or simplysome well deserved fun, this
retreat is your invitation tosavor epicurean delights and
embrace the great outdoors. Viewupcoming dates and book your
farmhouse retreat today byclicking on Veritas winery

(17:43):
farmhouse retreat in the shownotes of your listening app
Virginia Outdoor Adventures isinspired by and supported by
listeners like you, which is whyyour messages and feedback mean
so much to me. You can text medirectly by clicking on, send me
a text message in your shownotes. I answer questions,

(18:04):
respond to comments and shareyour feedback on the show never
miss an update. Get even moreinformation and inspiration by
signing up for my newsletter.
Click on newsletter, sign up inyour show notes or visit
Virginia outdoor adventures.com.
Thanks for listening until nexttime. Adventure on you.
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