Start planning your next epic winter adventure like whale watching in Virginia Beach, stargazing in one of Virginia’s Dark Sky Parks, wild caving in Virginia’s Karst Region, Ice Climbing in the Blue Ridge, or winter wildlife watching in person or on a wildlife webcam. Also, in Part 2 of this solo episode, I share where you can find me live and in person this month, and how to get my new Listener Resource Guide with the top podcast episodes, a Virginia Outdoor Bucket List, and exclusive outdoor gear discounts for my listeners.
In case you missed Part 1, be sure to tune in to hear a recap of Parks Advocacy Day when I was touched to meet so many of you who came out to support our state parks. I also answered your Fan Mail and shared my recent adventures. Let’s Go!
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Mentioned in this Episode:
Winter Adventure Episodes
Ep 40. Whale Watching in Virginia Beach
Ep 42. A Glimpse Into the Wonderful World of Virginia’s Wildlife
Ep 41. Stargazing in Virginia’s Dark Sky Parks
Ep 39. Ice Climbing in Virginia’s Blue Ridge
Ep 36. Caverns and Caving in Virginia’s Karst Region
Ep 25. Good Fire
Ep 9. Bird is the Word
Nova Parks Naturalist programs
Winter Waterfowl Count
Artist Precious Burger @treehouseartva
VAAEC conference
Fan Mail - Send Jessica a Text Message
Contact show host, Jessica Bowser:
jessica@virginiaoutdooradventures.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica Bowser (00:00):
John, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the
Chesapeake Bay, Virginia is amecca for outdoor travel and
adventure. Virginia outdooradventures Podcast is your local
guide for hiking, camping,kayaking, travel and so much
more. Get the information andthe inspiration to plan your own
adventure right here inVirginia. I'm your host, Jessica
(00:23):
Bowser, start planning your nextEpic Winter adventure, like
whale watching in VirginiaBeach, star gazing in one of
Virginia's dark sky parks, wildcaving in Virginia's karst
region, ice climbing in the BlueRidge, or winter wildlife
watching in person or on awildlife webcam. Also in part
(00:44):
two of this solo episode I sharewhere you could find me live and
in person this month, and how toget my new listener resource
guide with the top podcastepisodes, a Virginia outdoors
bucket list and exclusiveoutdoor discounts for my
listeners. In case you missedpart one, be sure to tune in to
hear a recap of parks advocacyday when I was touched to meet
(01:05):
so many of you who came out tosupport our state parks. I also
answered your fan mail andshared my recent adventures.
Let's go Virginia OutdoorAdventures is sponsored by the
Virginia association for parks.
VA FP champions parks across theCommonwealth. What's your
favorite memory from a VirginiaPark? Help ensure that everyone
(01:27):
can experience our parks forgenerations to come. Join VA FP
today by clicking on Virginiaassociation for parks in the
show notes of your listeningapp.
Welcome. To part two of thissolo episode. It's been less
than a week since I recordedpart one, and if you listen to
(01:48):
that, you know that I was rightat the beginning of catching a
cold, and it is still with me,but I'm past the congestion
point mostly, and now I'm inthis nagging cough stage that,
and I have a constant headache,so every time I cough, I feel
like my head is going toexplode, but I'm pushing
forward. Yesterday, I gotoutside for the first time in a
long time. I participated in theannual winter water fowl counts
(02:11):
over at pohic Bay Regional Park,and that was with Matt felperin.
And if you have been listeningto this podcast for a long time,
because I think this goes backto Season One. Matt was a guest
in episode nine about birding.
And I have a tendency tobefriend most of the people who
are guests on this podcast, andI keep in touch with most of
them. Matt is in NorthernVirginia, so I see him quite
(02:33):
often. We do a lot of birdcounts, so the winter waterfowl
count, the Christmas bird count,and then also, Matt's job is to
put on a lot of outdoorprogramming, and he does some
really cool stuff. So I've donea couple of Sunset paddles with
him. I think I did an owl prowlonce, like he's he's always got
something cool happening. Ishould probably link it in the
(02:53):
show notes, in case you want tocheck it out. So that was a lot
of fun. It was interestingbecause the shad are washing up
on the beach right now. I guessit's a part of their natural
life cycle, I'm told. But Iguess they spawn, and then they
die, and then all of these fishwash up on the beach. And so the
birds were having an absolutefield day. It was really cool to
(03:14):
see how many hundreds of gallsand vultures and eagles were
coming out to take advantage andfeast on all of these washed up
fish that were like everywhere.
I've never seen it like thatbefore, so I guess we were just
there at the right time. It wasdefinitely cool. And if you
don't know about bird counts,all of this is for science. It's
(03:38):
all part of a community scienceproject in which birders go out
and they count the birds, andthen they submit it to eBird,
where it's all tracked, andthen, over years, they can track
changes in bird migration or intheir range, and it's it's all
for science. So it's a reallycool thing to do, but it's also
just a lot of fun. I wasrecently tagged in one of my
(03:59):
listeners Instagram posts, andit gave me an idea for something
I want to share in this episode.
But traveling for four postedsome really great photos and
videos of a whale watching tripthat her family took, and she
wrote in the caption, longweekend trip to virginia beach
during MLK weekend. Main goalwas to do whale watching after
listening to a podcast about itfrom Virginia outdoor
(04:22):
adventures. It was a foggy day,but we actually saw a fin whale.
And I love getting tagged inposts like this, because first
of all, I love it when peoplelisten to this podcast and then
actually go out and have amazingadventures. As a result, I
started this podcast because Iwanted people to get outside and
(04:42):
to explore more and to discoverall of the cool things there are
to do right here in Virginia.
When people actually share thoseadventures with me, it just
brings me such joy. But alsofrom a business perspective,
when I'm talking to potentialadvertisers. Visitors and
sponsors, they want to know ifthey're going to invest their
(05:03):
money in the podcast, what theirreturn on investment is going to
be. And sometimes it's hard forme to prove that I can't really
track if somebody listened to anad or an episode and then acted
on it, either by going out andvisiting a place or buying a
product like those things can bevery difficult to track but when
somebody shares their experiencewith me, being able to show an
(05:24):
advertiser that anecdotalevidence is sometimes even
better. For example, a couple ofmonths ago, I was invited to
speak at an Appalachian Trailclub meeting down in Richmond,
and quite a few people in theroom are listeners to this
podcast. And one person came upto me and she told me that she
was really enjoying the Virginiaadventure town series, and that
she had actually visited everytown that I did an episode on.
(05:48):
So she's been to St Paul and toFarmville and to Urbana. And I
told her there was an episodecoming out about Oh nancock, and
so she was excited to do that,too. And those are things that I
don't know about unless somebodytells me, in the case of the
Virginia adventure townsepisodes, oftentimes it's the
local tourism board that'ssponsoring those episodes. So
(06:11):
they want to know, like, who'sgoing to listen to this episode,
and then who's actually going toshow up. So it's really helpful
when I hear from listeners.
Sometimes I even hear from thelocal businesses, for example,
the store manager at the bikeshop on Main Street in Farmville
emailed me a week after thatepisode came out and told me
that people were coming into theshop and running bikes to ride
(06:32):
on the High Bridge trail becausethey had heard about it on the
podcast. And so he was reallygrateful for being featured in
that episode. It's great forsmall local businesses. It's
also great for those townseconomies, and it brings me a
lot of joy to know that I'm apart of that. But also then I
get to tell the town or thesponsor, like, hey, look, this
(06:54):
is the result of investing inthese episodes and helping me
continue making these episodes,so please do share your
adventures with me, but gettingback to whale watching, so I was
thinking it might be a goodidea, since we're in winter, to
share some past episodes thatfeature winter adventures, and
whale watching is one of them,because you can really only see
(07:17):
the whales off of Virginia Beachin the winter, because that's
when they're migrating. And soI've got some really great
episodes about other winteradventures. And if you're new to
this podcast, maybe you haven'tlistened to them. So I'm going
to mention them briefly so thatyou can if you want skip back
and prioritize listening tothose first so you can start
planning some winter adventures.
(07:39):
Whale watching in Virginia Beachwas episode 40 and then wildlife
watching is really great in thewinter, and I have an episode on
it's called a glimpse into thewonderful world of Virginia's
wildlife. And it's episode 42and it actually focuses on the
live cams, the webcams that arehere in Virginia that you can
(08:01):
watch in case you actually don'twant to get outside or you feel
a little more limited in thewinter. The Virginia Department
of Wildlife Resources has fourwebcams. There's elk cam, Marsh
cam, Shad cam, and then thesuper popular Richmond Falcon
cam. The Falcon cam is going tobe coming on pretty soon. I
don't think it's on right now,but it usually comes on like
(08:23):
February, March, if I remembercorrectly. And that camera is
focused on a pair of peregrinefalcons that returns to the same
site every year. It's at the topof one of the high rises in
downtown Richmond, and they comeback to the same place, so that
they can build a nest and layeggs and incubate the eggs, and
(08:45):
then, of course, the eggs hatch,and then the babies get bigger,
and then they fledge. It's areally adorable and fascinating
process to watch, and you canwatch it all live on Falcon cam.
So check out episode 42 thenepisode 41 is about stargazing
in Virginia's dark sky parks.
Now, stargazing is something youcan do any time of the year in
Virginia, but it's especiallygood in winter, because you
(09:08):
don't have that humidity and thehaze in the air. So the sky is
especially clear. Just lastnight, I was bringing in my bird
feeder after dark, and I glancedup and the sky was so beautiful,
it stopped me dead in my tracks.
If you can tolerate beingoutside in the cold at night in
winter, I would definitely saythis is a great time of year. I
(09:31):
was just on the Virginia StateParks website the other day and
noticed that there are severalastronomy programs happening
right now, so go on there andsee what might be near you, or
someplace that you can plan avisit to, because we have
several designated dark skyparks in Virginia, and several
more coming too. Then episode 39is about ice climbing in
(09:55):
Virginia's Blue Ridge. And Iremember when I released this
episode, wondering. If anybodywas going to be interested in
this, because I could see somepeople thinking ice climbing
like, I'm not going to do that.
But it ended up being reallypopular, and I think that's
because people were intriguedand also surprised to learn that
there is ice climbing in thesouth. And one thing that I
(10:15):
really enjoy doing with thispodcast is letting people know
about things that they wouldotherwise not know anything
about. Whale Watching was one ofthem. In fact, I got lots of
messages after that whalewatching episode from people who
even live in Virginia Beachtelling me that they've lived in
Virginia Beach for a long time,and they had no idea you could
(10:36):
see whales right off the coast.
So that was one, and then thisice climbing one was definitely
one too. That surprised a lot ofpeople. And in Virginia, it's
kind of hit or miss, like itreally depends on the weather.
Every winter, this winter hasbeen especially good. So far,
I'm on the listserv for BlueRidge mountain guides, and I've
(10:57):
gotten quite a few emailsalready this year saying that
the conditions are right to goice climbing. So check out
episode 39 it's very beginnerfriendly, because I assume that
most people have never iceclimbed before. So it talks
about how to find a guide andwhat kind of gear you'll need,
and how to dress and where togo, and all the things. So all
(11:18):
the information you need is anepisode 39 then episode 36 is
about caverns and caving inVirginia's karst region, and why
wild caving in winter? Becauseour caves are warmer than the
outside air in winter. Caves inVirginia typically are a
standard 52 ish degrees all yearround, which makes it great for
(11:42):
both winter and summer, becauseit'll be warmer in the winter
and then in the summer, whenit's hot out, it's very
refreshing to be in a cave, butthis comes with a warning,
please, please, please, do notgo into a cave by yourself. If
you want to experience wildcaving, the best way to do it is
to join one of your localgrottos, or to go on a field
(12:05):
trip that is being organized byexperienced guides, or to find a
guide who has the permits andthe correct gear and knows how
to do it safely. Going into acave on your own could be a life
or death situation if you getlost or injured or somebody or
nobody knows where you are orother things that could go
(12:26):
wrong, but if it's done safely,it's a truly amazing experience.
So that's episode 36 and then Ithrew in Episode 25 which is
about prescribed fire, alsoknown as good fire. And the
reason I threw this one in here,it's not necessarily something
to do, but I also received amessage from a listener this
week who is at Stanton RiverState Park, I believe, also
(12:50):
happens to be one of our darksky certified parks, but she was
there visiting, and there was aprescribed fire that was
happening while she was in thepark. And if you happen to see a
prescribed fire, it's mostlikely going to be this time of
year. This is the best time toburn, because plants are
dormant, and so they burnbetter. And this episode covers
(13:11):
all the reasons why we doprescribed fires in Virginia.
And spoiler alert, it's mostlyfor habitat restoration, but it
goes into details about why, andit's really interesting. So the
next time you come acrossprescribed fire in progress,
you'll know all about why. Sothat's episode 25 and then the
(13:31):
last one I'm going to mentiongoes all the way back to season
one, episode nine. Bird is theword, and that's an episode
about birding with Mattfelperin, who I mentioned
earlier, winter birding isreally fantastic in Virginia,
just for the same reasons thatwildlife watching is great. But
winter birding means you get tosee species that you wouldn't
(13:52):
see other times of the year dueto migration. And one of those
species that comes to mind thatis super popular is the tundra
swans that come here from theArctic. And if you visit any
marshy areas in Virginia thistime of year, you might see
tundra swans. But one locationwhere they show up reliably year
after year is the Mason NeckNational Wildlife Refuge, which,
(14:15):
if you've ever been to Mesa neckState Park, you actually have to
drive through the refuge to getto the state park, and so the
Rangers at the state park havesome great programming this time
of year. You can meet them atthe observation platform at the
end of the trail, and they willbe there to talk to you about
the tundra swans. So I wouldsuggest going on Mason next
(14:36):
state parks website and seeingif there are any ranger programs
in the near future. But even ifthere's not, you can still go
see the Tundra Swans on yourown. You can hike the trail by
yourself, and there is a scopeon the platform out there so
that you can get good looks ofthem. And if you do any of these
adventures, please let me knowabout them. I would love to hear
(14:59):
about your. Enter adventures.
Adventure seekers will findendless opportunities in Grayson
County, where many of Virginia'siconic trails and landmarks
excite hikers, cyclists,paddlers and happy campers
alike. Imagine this. You'rehiking on one of the most scenic
sections of the entireAppalachian Trail through the
(15:21):
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
maybe your perfect day is on thewater. Grayson County is home to
the New River, one of the oldestand most scenic rivers in the
(15:42):
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,
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You won't want to miss the graceand gravel traverse a 72 mile
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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
Virginia presents some of thebest gravel cycling in the
state, mostly unwritten andundiscovered after a day of
(16:28):
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 rusted cabin at the buck
wild reserve. Discover whyVirginia is for outdoor lovers.
Start your Grayson Countyadventure at the historic 1908
(16:51):
courthouse and visitor center,or access the visitors guide
online by clicking on visitGrayson County in the show notes
of your podcast listening app.
Yesterday, when I was at pohicfor the winter waterfowl count,
one of the other birders in thegroup brought a box of donuts
from Dunkin Donuts to share withthe rest of us, and half the
donuts in the box were heartshaped, and somebody else in the
(17:14):
group said, it must be February.
Well, indeed it is, andValentine's Day is coming up, so
it seems like a good time for meto mention that the Virginia
outdoor adventures merch storehas this really cool love design
that you might want to checkout. It's the word love in big
block letters. Inside theletters is the Blue Ridge
(17:35):
Mountains. And it's the sameBlue Ridge mountain design from
the podcast cover artwork. Thatdesign was made by my friend
precious, who I met when we wereboth teachers in Fairfax, and
she is a retired elementaryschool art teacher and very
talented. If you want to checkher out, her Instagram handle is
Tree House Studio VA. Shecreated this design for me, and
(17:57):
it's been really popular becauseit's like a play off of Virginia
is for lovers, but with anoutdoorsy fame, every time I
wear my hoodie out, somebodystops me and asks me where I got
that. And I'm like, Well, let metell you, you can find it in the
merch store, and the link tothat is in your show notes. Just
click on shop the Virginiaoutdoor adventures merch store.
(18:20):
It's available on eco friendlysoft tees and on hoodies. And
you'll find other things in themerch store as well, such as
beanies, which is great for thistime of year, water bottles,
insulated mugs and other things.
And every purchase that you makefrom the merch store does go
back into helping me pay for theexpenses that this podcast
requires in order to produce,you're showing off your love for
(18:43):
the Virginia outdoors at thesame time that you're supporting
the podcast. So go to your shownotes and click on shop the
Virginia outdoor adventuresmerch store. I've heard from a
lot of folks recently whoreached out to let me know that
they will no longer be followingme on social media, not because
they're ditching me, but becausethey're ditching social media.
The world feels like a crazyplace right now, and some people
(19:06):
are choosing to delete theirsocial media accounts or to just
take a social media break. So ifyou're one of those people, but
you still want to keep in touch,just a reminder that the best
way to do that is by signing upfor my email newsletter. It only
comes out two times a month, soyou're not going to get
bombarded with emails, and Iwill never, ever share your
(19:27):
email address with anyone else,but the email newsletter is
packed full of information, andyou'll get notified when new
episodes come out. So if that'ssomething that you'd like to
receive, you can either click onthe link in your show notes, it
says email newsletter sign up,or you can go to Virginia
outdoor adventures.com andthere's a sign up box at the
bottom of the home page, or thepop up box. I also got messages
(19:50):
from people wanting to know ifthey could get the new listener
resource guide. And I justwanted to let. Know that if you
are already signed up for theemail newsletter, you will get
an email with that new listenerresource guide linked. I
recognize that a lot of peoplewho are seeing the posts right
(20:10):
now about the resource ListenerGuide are excited about it and
they want to get it, but thenthey realize they're already
signed up for the emailnewsletter. So never fear that
is going to come to you. But ifyou are not signed up for the
email newsletter yet, the onlyway to get the new listener
Resource Guide is to sign up forthe email newsletter. So check
(20:30):
your show notes for the link. Ifyou are still following me on
social media, you may havenoticed that at the beginning of
every month, I've startedsharing where I'm going to be in
the upcoming month, so that ifthere's an opportunity for folks
to come out and meet me, liveand in person, you have that
information and can do so. SoFebruary is kind of a slow
(20:52):
month. You know, it's winter.
There's not a lot of outdoorfestivals or fairs going on.
However, there are quite a fewconferences between now and
spring that I have been invitedto keynote, and one of those is
the Virginia adventure educationconference, which will be in
Harrisonburg on February the21st and the Virginia adventure
(21:14):
education conference bringstogether Virginia's outdoor
adventurers, educators, guides,collegiate programs, businesses
and leaders to network anddiscuss industry trends, while
also giving students fromVirginia's colleges and
universities an affordable dayof professional development and
an opportunity to leadworkshops. So if you know of
(21:35):
somebody who this might be rightup their alley, then definitely
let them know. I'll drop a linkto the conference in the show
notes. I believe that thisconference is in a different
location every year, and thisyear is going to be at James
Madison University. And I alsojust wanted to mention that if
you would like me to come outand speak to your group or at a
(21:56):
conference, definitely drop me amessage and let me know, because
I do try to do that, usuallywhen I'm invited, if I can make
it work with my schedule, and ifI don't have to drive seven
hours for one hour of speaking,then I do try to fulfill those
requests as much as I can. Solet me know if you know of an
(22:17):
upcoming event that you'd likeme to attend or speak at, and
I'd be happy to discuss it withyou. I want to give a very
heartfelt thank you to somelisteners who have supported the
podcast recently in the form ofa membership. And those friends
are Matt from Roanoke, Kevinfrom Richmond, Barb from
Chesterfield, Lori from Norfolkand Allison from clear Brook,
(22:40):
they have all recently becomemembers of Virginia outdoor
adventures, and so they haveaccess to special features that
are available just to members.
And then I also wanted to give aspecial shout out to Jim from
Powhatan, who's not yet amember, but who is a regular
contributor on buy me a coffee.
Thank you to all of you who havesupported the podcast, because
(23:02):
without you, I wouldn't be ableto do this. Now, a friend of
mine earlier this week, whoknows that I've been sick, told
me that I should change buy me acoffee to buy me a cup of soup.
So if you would like to buy me acup of soup, please go to your
show notes and click on Buy me acoffee, and that will take you
to my buy me a coffee page,where you can be a one time
(23:25):
contributor and buy me a cup ofcoffee slash soup. Or you can
become a member. And there aredifferent membership levels with
different benefits for eachmembership level, so check those
out. That is a wrap for thissolo episode. Don't forget that
you can send me a text messageby clicking on Send Jessica a
text message in your show notes,and I will see you next week
(23:47):
with a brand new episodeadventure on escape to the heart
of Virginia wine country for afour day, three night experience
that will reset, restore andrenew. Veritas, wineries,
farmhouse retreat is yourperfect blend of adventure,
relaxation and indulgence. Hikethe breathtaking Blue Ridge
(24:08):
Mountains, practice yoga in theserene garden house and tour the
renowned Veritas vineyard andwine cellars each day. Delight
your senses with chef preparedmeals paired with award winning
wines, from wine hour to yoga,flow every moment is designed to
inspire joy and connection. Thefarmhouse retreat at Veritas
(24:29):
winery is the perfect getawayfor outdoor lovers. After a hike
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
(24:52):
farmhouse retreat today byclicking on Veritas winery
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
(25:13):
a text message in your shownotes, I answer questions,
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.comthanks for listening until next
time. Adventure on you.
John, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the
Chesapeake Bay, Virginia is amecca for outdoor travel and
adventure. Virginia outdooradventures Podcast is your local
guide for hiking, camping,kayaking, travel and so much
more. Get the information andthe inspiration to plan your own
adventure right here inVirginia. I'm your host, Jessica
(00:23):
Bowser, start planning your nextEpic Winter adventure, like
whale watching in VirginiaBeach, star gazing in one of
Virginia's dark sky parks, wildcaving in Virginia's karst
region, ice climbing in the BlueRidge, or winter wildlife
watching in person or on awildlife webcam. Also in part
(00:44):
two of this solo episode I sharewhere you could find me live and
in person this month, and how toget my new listener resource
guide with the top podcastepisodes, a Virginia outdoors
bucket list and exclusiveoutdoor discounts for my
listeners. In case you missedpart one, be sure to tune in to
hear a recap of parks advocacyday when I was touched to meet
(01:05):
so many of you who came out tosupport our state parks. I also
answered your fan mail andshared my recent adventures.
Let's go Virginia OutdoorAdventures is sponsored by the
Virginia association for parks.
VA FP champions parks across theCommonwealth. What's your
favorite memory from a VirginiaPark? Help ensure that everyone
(01:27):
can experience our parks forgenerations to come. Join VA FP
today by clicking on Virginiaassociation for parks in the
show notes of your listeningapp.
Welcome. To part two of thissolo episode. It's been less
than a week since I recordedpart one, and if you listen to
(01:48):
that, you know that I was rightat the beginning of catching a
cold, and it is still with me,but I'm past the congestion
point mostly, and now I'm inthis nagging cough stage that,
and I have a constant headache,so every time I cough, I feel
like my head is going toexplode, but I'm pushing
forward. Yesterday, I gotoutside for the first time in a
long time. I participated in theannual winter water fowl counts
(02:11):
over at pohic Bay Regional Park,and that was with Matt felperin.
And if you have been listeningto this podcast for a long time,
because I think this goes backto Season One. Matt was a guest
in episode nine about birding.
And I have a tendency tobefriend most of the people who
are guests on this podcast, andI keep in touch with most of
them. Matt is in NorthernVirginia, so I see him quite
(02:33):
often. We do a lot of birdcounts, so the winter waterfowl
count, the Christmas bird count,and then also, Matt's job is to
put on a lot of outdoorprogramming, and he does some
really cool stuff. So I've donea couple of Sunset paddles with
him. I think I did an owl prowlonce, like he's he's always got
something cool happening. Ishould probably link it in the
(02:53):
show notes, in case you want tocheck it out. So that was a lot
of fun. It was interestingbecause the shad are washing up
on the beach right now. I guessit's a part of their natural
life cycle, I'm told. But Iguess they spawn, and then they
die, and then all of these fishwash up on the beach. And so the
birds were having an absolutefield day. It was really cool to
(03:14):
see how many hundreds of gallsand vultures and eagles were
coming out to take advantage andfeast on all of these washed up
fish that were like everywhere.
I've never seen it like thatbefore, so I guess we were just
there at the right time. It wasdefinitely cool. And if you
don't know about bird counts,all of this is for science. It's
(03:38):
all part of a community scienceproject in which birders go out
and they count the birds, andthen they submit it to eBird,
where it's all tracked, andthen, over years, they can track
changes in bird migration or intheir range, and it's it's all
for science. So it's a reallycool thing to do, but it's also
just a lot of fun. I wasrecently tagged in one of my
(03:59):
listeners Instagram posts, andit gave me an idea for something
I want to share in this episode.
But traveling for four postedsome really great photos and
videos of a whale watching tripthat her family took, and she
wrote in the caption, longweekend trip to virginia beach
during MLK weekend. Main goalwas to do whale watching after
listening to a podcast about itfrom Virginia outdoor
(04:22):
adventures. It was a foggy day,but we actually saw a fin whale.
And I love getting tagged inposts like this, because first
of all, I love it when peoplelisten to this podcast and then
actually go out and have amazingadventures. As a result, I
started this podcast because Iwanted people to get outside and
(04:42):
to explore more and to discoverall of the cool things there are
to do right here in Virginia.
When people actually share thoseadventures with me, it just
brings me such joy. But alsofrom a business perspective,
when I'm talking to potentialadvertisers. Visitors and
sponsors, they want to know ifthey're going to invest their
(05:03):
money in the podcast, what theirreturn on investment is going to
be. And sometimes it's hard forme to prove that I can't really
track if somebody listened to anad or an episode and then acted
on it, either by going out andvisiting a place or buying a
product like those things can bevery difficult to track but when
somebody shares their experiencewith me, being able to show an
(05:24):
advertiser that anecdotalevidence is sometimes even
better. For example, a couple ofmonths ago, I was invited to
speak at an Appalachian Trailclub meeting down in Richmond,
and quite a few people in theroom are listeners to this
podcast. And one person came upto me and she told me that she
was really enjoying the Virginiaadventure town series, and that
she had actually visited everytown that I did an episode on.
(05:48):
So she's been to St Paul and toFarmville and to Urbana. And I
told her there was an episodecoming out about Oh nancock, and
so she was excited to do that,too. And those are things that I
don't know about unless somebodytells me, in the case of the
Virginia adventure townsepisodes, oftentimes it's the
local tourism board that'ssponsoring those episodes. So
(06:11):
they want to know, like, who'sgoing to listen to this episode,
and then who's actually going toshow up. So it's really helpful
when I hear from listeners.
Sometimes I even hear from thelocal businesses, for example,
the store manager at the bikeshop on Main Street in Farmville
emailed me a week after thatepisode came out and told me
that people were coming into theshop and running bikes to ride
(06:32):
on the High Bridge trail becausethey had heard about it on the
podcast. And so he was reallygrateful for being featured in
that episode. It's great forsmall local businesses. It's
also great for those townseconomies, and it brings me a
lot of joy to know that I'm apart of that. But also then I
get to tell the town or thesponsor, like, hey, look, this
(06:54):
is the result of investing inthese episodes and helping me
continue making these episodes,so please do share your
adventures with me, but gettingback to whale watching, so I was
thinking it might be a goodidea, since we're in winter, to
share some past episodes thatfeature winter adventures, and
whale watching is one of them,because you can really only see
(07:17):
the whales off of Virginia Beachin the winter, because that's
when they're migrating. And soI've got some really great
episodes about other winteradventures. And if you're new to
this podcast, maybe you haven'tlistened to them. So I'm going
to mention them briefly so thatyou can if you want skip back
and prioritize listening tothose first so you can start
planning some winter adventures.
(07:39):
Whale watching in Virginia Beachwas episode 40 and then wildlife
watching is really great in thewinter, and I have an episode on
it's called a glimpse into thewonderful world of Virginia's
wildlife. And it's episode 42and it actually focuses on the
live cams, the webcams that arehere in Virginia that you can
(08:01):
watch in case you actually don'twant to get outside or you feel
a little more limited in thewinter. The Virginia Department
of Wildlife Resources has fourwebcams. There's elk cam, Marsh
cam, Shad cam, and then thesuper popular Richmond Falcon
cam. The Falcon cam is going tobe coming on pretty soon. I
don't think it's on right now,but it usually comes on like
(08:23):
February, March, if I remembercorrectly. And that camera is
focused on a pair of peregrinefalcons that returns to the same
site every year. It's at the topof one of the high rises in
downtown Richmond, and they comeback to the same place, so that
they can build a nest and layeggs and incubate the eggs, and
(08:45):
then, of course, the eggs hatch,and then the babies get bigger,
and then they fledge. It's areally adorable and fascinating
process to watch, and you canwatch it all live on Falcon cam.
So check out episode 42 thenepisode 41 is about stargazing
in Virginia's dark sky parks.
Now, stargazing is something youcan do any time of the year in
Virginia, but it's especiallygood in winter, because you
(09:08):
don't have that humidity and thehaze in the air. So the sky is
especially clear. Just lastnight, I was bringing in my bird
feeder after dark, and I glancedup and the sky was so beautiful,
it stopped me dead in my tracks.
If you can tolerate beingoutside in the cold at night in
winter, I would definitely saythis is a great time of year. I
(09:31):
was just on the Virginia StateParks website the other day and
noticed that there are severalastronomy programs happening
right now, so go on there andsee what might be near you, or
someplace that you can plan avisit to, because we have
several designated dark skyparks in Virginia, and several
more coming too. Then episode 39is about ice climbing in
(09:55):
Virginia's Blue Ridge. And Iremember when I released this
episode, wondering. If anybodywas going to be interested in
this, because I could see somepeople thinking ice climbing
like, I'm not going to do that.
But it ended up being reallypopular, and I think that's
because people were intriguedand also surprised to learn that
there is ice climbing in thesouth. And one thing that I
(10:15):
really enjoy doing with thispodcast is letting people know
about things that they wouldotherwise not know anything
about. Whale Watching was one ofthem. In fact, I got lots of
messages after that whalewatching episode from people who
even live in Virginia Beachtelling me that they've lived in
Virginia Beach for a long time,and they had no idea you could
(10:36):
see whales right off the coast.
So that was one, and then thisice climbing one was definitely
one too. That surprised a lot ofpeople. And in Virginia, it's
kind of hit or miss, like itreally depends on the weather.
Every winter, this winter hasbeen especially good. So far,
I'm on the listserv for BlueRidge mountain guides, and I've
(10:57):
gotten quite a few emailsalready this year saying that
the conditions are right to goice climbing. So check out
episode 39 it's very beginnerfriendly, because I assume that
most people have never iceclimbed before. So it talks
about how to find a guide andwhat kind of gear you'll need,
and how to dress and where togo, and all the things. So all
(11:18):
the information you need is anepisode 39 then episode 36 is
about caverns and caving inVirginia's karst region, and why
wild caving in winter? Becauseour caves are warmer than the
outside air in winter. Caves inVirginia typically are a
standard 52 ish degrees all yearround, which makes it great for
(11:42):
both winter and summer, becauseit'll be warmer in the winter
and then in the summer, whenit's hot out, it's very
refreshing to be in a cave, butthis comes with a warning,
please, please, please, do notgo into a cave by yourself. If
you want to experience wildcaving, the best way to do it is
to join one of your localgrottos, or to go on a field
(12:05):
trip that is being organized byexperienced guides, or to find a
guide who has the permits andthe correct gear and knows how
to do it safely. Going into acave on your own could be a life
or death situation if you getlost or injured or somebody or
nobody knows where you are orother things that could go
(12:26):
wrong, but if it's done safely,it's a truly amazing experience.
So that's episode 36 and then Ithrew in Episode 25 which is
about prescribed fire, alsoknown as good fire. And the
reason I threw this one in here,it's not necessarily something
to do, but I also received amessage from a listener this
week who is at Stanton RiverState Park, I believe, also
(12:50):
happens to be one of our darksky certified parks, but she was
there visiting, and there was aprescribed fire that was
happening while she was in thepark. And if you happen to see a
prescribed fire, it's mostlikely going to be this time of
year. This is the best time toburn, because plants are
dormant, and so they burnbetter. And this episode covers
(13:11):
all the reasons why we doprescribed fires in Virginia.
And spoiler alert, it's mostlyfor habitat restoration, but it
goes into details about why, andit's really interesting. So the
next time you come acrossprescribed fire in progress,
you'll know all about why. Sothat's episode 25 and then the
(13:31):
last one I'm going to mentiongoes all the way back to season
one, episode nine. Bird is theword, and that's an episode
about birding with Mattfelperin, who I mentioned
earlier, winter birding isreally fantastic in Virginia,
just for the same reasons thatwildlife watching is great. But
winter birding means you get tosee species that you wouldn't
(13:52):
see other times of the year dueto migration. And one of those
species that comes to mind thatis super popular is the tundra
swans that come here from theArctic. And if you visit any
marshy areas in Virginia thistime of year, you might see
tundra swans. But one locationwhere they show up reliably year
after year is the Mason NeckNational Wildlife Refuge, which,
(14:15):
if you've ever been to Mesa neckState Park, you actually have to
drive through the refuge to getto the state park, and so the
Rangers at the state park havesome great programming this time
of year. You can meet them atthe observation platform at the
end of the trail, and they willbe there to talk to you about
the tundra swans. So I wouldsuggest going on Mason next
(14:36):
state parks website and seeingif there are any ranger programs
in the near future. But even ifthere's not, you can still go
see the Tundra Swans on yourown. You can hike the trail by
yourself, and there is a scopeon the platform out there so
that you can get good looks ofthem. And if you do any of these
adventures, please let me knowabout them. I would love to hear
(14:59):
about your. Enter adventures.
Adventure seekers will findendless opportunities in Grayson
County, where many of Virginia'siconic trails and landmarks
excite hikers, cyclists,paddlers and happy campers
alike. Imagine this. You'rehiking on one of the most scenic
sections of the entireAppalachian Trail through the
(15:21):
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
maybe your perfect day is on thewater. Grayson County is home to
the New River, one of the oldestand most scenic rivers in the
(15:42):
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,
vessel type and more tocalculate float times from point
A to point B. Prefer two wheels.
You won't want to miss the graceand gravel traverse a 72 mile
(16:05):
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
Virginia presents some of thebest gravel cycling in the
state, mostly unwritten andundiscovered after a day of
(16:28):
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 rusted cabin at the buck
wild reserve. Discover whyVirginia is for outdoor lovers.
Start your Grayson Countyadventure at the historic 1908
(16:51):
courthouse and visitor center,or access the visitors guide
online by clicking on visitGrayson County in the show notes
of your podcast listening app.
Yesterday, when I was at pohicfor the winter waterfowl count,
one of the other birders in thegroup brought a box of donuts
from Dunkin Donuts to share withthe rest of us, and half the
donuts in the box were heartshaped, and somebody else in the
(17:14):
group said, it must be February.
Well, indeed it is, andValentine's Day is coming up, so
it seems like a good time for meto mention that the Virginia
outdoor adventures merch storehas this really cool love design
that you might want to checkout. It's the word love in big
block letters. Inside theletters is the Blue Ridge
(17:35):
Mountains. And it's the sameBlue Ridge mountain design from
the podcast cover artwork. Thatdesign was made by my friend
precious, who I met when we wereboth teachers in Fairfax, and
she is a retired elementaryschool art teacher and very
talented. If you want to checkher out, her Instagram handle is
Tree House Studio VA. Shecreated this design for me, and
(17:57):
it's been really popular becauseit's like a play off of Virginia
is for lovers, but with anoutdoorsy fame, every time I
wear my hoodie out, somebodystops me and asks me where I got
that. And I'm like, Well, let metell you, you can find it in the
merch store, and the link tothat is in your show notes. Just
click on shop the Virginiaoutdoor adventures merch store.
(18:20):
It's available on eco friendlysoft tees and on hoodies. And
you'll find other things in themerch store as well, such as
beanies, which is great for thistime of year, water bottles,
insulated mugs and other things.
And every purchase that you makefrom the merch store does go
back into helping me pay for theexpenses that this podcast
requires in order to produce,you're showing off your love for
(18:43):
the Virginia outdoors at thesame time that you're supporting
the podcast. So go to your shownotes and click on shop the
Virginia outdoor adventuresmerch store. I've heard from a
lot of folks recently whoreached out to let me know that
they will no longer be followingme on social media, not because
they're ditching me, but becausethey're ditching social media.
The world feels like a crazyplace right now, and some people
(19:06):
are choosing to delete theirsocial media accounts or to just
take a social media break. So ifyou're one of those people, but
you still want to keep in touch,just a reminder that the best
way to do that is by signing upfor my email newsletter. It only
comes out two times a month, soyou're not going to get
bombarded with emails, and Iwill never, ever share your
(19:27):
email address with anyone else,but the email newsletter is
packed full of information, andyou'll get notified when new
episodes come out. So if that'ssomething that you'd like to
receive, you can either click onthe link in your show notes, it
says email newsletter sign up,or you can go to Virginia
outdoor adventures.com andthere's a sign up box at the
bottom of the home page, or thepop up box. I also got messages
(19:50):
from people wanting to know ifthey could get the new listener
resource guide. And I justwanted to let. Know that if you
are already signed up for theemail newsletter, you will get
an email with that new listenerresource guide linked. I
recognize that a lot of peoplewho are seeing the posts right
(20:10):
now about the resource ListenerGuide are excited about it and
they want to get it, but thenthey realize they're already
signed up for the emailnewsletter. So never fear that
is going to come to you. But ifyou are not signed up for the
email newsletter yet, the onlyway to get the new listener
Resource Guide is to sign up forthe email newsletter. So check
(20:30):
your show notes for the link. Ifyou are still following me on
social media, you may havenoticed that at the beginning of
every month, I've startedsharing where I'm going to be in
the upcoming month, so that ifthere's an opportunity for folks
to come out and meet me, liveand in person, you have that
information and can do so. SoFebruary is kind of a slow
(20:52):
month. You know, it's winter.
There's not a lot of outdoorfestivals or fairs going on.
However, there are quite a fewconferences between now and
spring that I have been invitedto keynote, and one of those is
the Virginia adventure educationconference, which will be in
Harrisonburg on February the21st and the Virginia adventure
(21:14):
education conference bringstogether Virginia's outdoor
adventurers, educators, guides,collegiate programs, businesses
and leaders to network anddiscuss industry trends, while
also giving students fromVirginia's colleges and
universities an affordable dayof professional development and
an opportunity to leadworkshops. So if you know of
(21:35):
somebody who this might be rightup their alley, then definitely
let them know. I'll drop a linkto the conference in the show
notes. I believe that thisconference is in a different
location every year, and thisyear is going to be at James
Madison University. And I alsojust wanted to mention that if
you would like me to come outand speak to your group or at a
(21:56):
conference, definitely drop me amessage and let me know, because
I do try to do that, usuallywhen I'm invited, if I can make
it work with my schedule, and ifI don't have to drive seven
hours for one hour of speaking,then I do try to fulfill those
requests as much as I can. Solet me know if you know of an
(22:17):
upcoming event that you'd likeme to attend or speak at, and
I'd be happy to discuss it withyou. I want to give a very
heartfelt thank you to somelisteners who have supported the
podcast recently in the form ofa membership. And those friends
are Matt from Roanoke, Kevinfrom Richmond, Barb from
Chesterfield, Lori from Norfolkand Allison from clear Brook,
(22:40):
they have all recently becomemembers of Virginia outdoor
adventures, and so they haveaccess to special features that
are available just to members.
And then I also wanted to give aspecial shout out to Jim from
Powhatan, who's not yet amember, but who is a regular
contributor on buy me a coffee.
Thank you to all of you who havesupported the podcast, because
(23:02):
without you, I wouldn't be ableto do this. Now, a friend of
mine earlier this week, whoknows that I've been sick, told
me that I should change buy me acoffee to buy me a cup of soup.
So if you would like to buy me acup of soup, please go to your
show notes and click on Buy me acoffee, and that will take you
to my buy me a coffee page,where you can be a one time
(23:25):
contributor and buy me a cup ofcoffee slash soup. Or you can
become a member. And there aredifferent membership levels with
different benefits for eachmembership level, so check those
out. That is a wrap for thissolo episode. Don't forget that
you can send me a text messageby clicking on Send Jessica a
text message in your show notes,and I will see you next week
(23:47):
with a brand new episodeadventure on escape to the heart
of Virginia wine country for afour day, three night experience
that will reset, restore andrenew. Veritas, wineries,
farmhouse retreat is yourperfect blend of adventure,
relaxation and indulgence. Hikethe breathtaking Blue Ridge
(24:08):
Mountains, practice yoga in theserene garden house and tour the
renowned Veritas vineyard andwine cellars each day. Delight
your senses with chef preparedmeals paired with award winning
wines, from wine hour to yoga,flow every moment is designed to
inspire joy and connection. Thefarmhouse retreat at Veritas
(24:29):
winery is the perfect getawayfor outdoor lovers. After a hike
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
(24:52):
farmhouse retreat today byclicking on Veritas winery
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
(25:13):
a text message in your shownotes, I answer questions,
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.comthanks for listening until next
time. Adventure on you.
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