Last Week of Spring Programs

We've had a blast this spring and are sad to see our Spring Programs come to an end!  We had lots of fun playing in the James River Parks this week and can't wait for summer!

Monday

First Fish Ever!

Monday we took a group of 18 Good Shepherd Episcopal School kids out to a private pond to fish.  The kids had a great time catching around 60 fish on the day!  We had lots of first time catches and I think the new fishermen and women were hooked.  Thank you Good Shepherd for making us a part of your "field trip" we look forward to many more!





Tuesday

Tuesday was our last day of our Fox and Tuckahoe Elementary Spring Programs.  The kids enjoyed 5 weeks of biking, hiking, fishing, swimming and lots of exploring!

With the Tuckahoe group we headed back down to the Wetlands since our biking the week before got washed out.  This week we ran into a little storm at the beginning but then the skies cleared and we were able to bike, swim and the new favorite activity...vine swinging!  We hit the trails on the bikes at the beginning and rode all over the wetlands.  Once finished biking we decided to check out the river to see if we could find a spot that wasn't too high or fast.  We found a little cove we could wade around in and it was the perfect cool down after the long bike ride!  On the way back to the van we found the perfect vines to swing on.  Only catch was having to jump up and grab the vine...it was great fun seeing the kids get so excited when they would finally latch on to the vine!

With Fox we decided to head down to Texas beach. We got lucky by the time our program started the storms had already passed, so we were ready to roll!   We had a great time seeing lots of wildlife, hiking and climbing all over rocks!   It's so much fun to see the kids explore the area and find lots of frogs, turtles and other wildlife we may not be able to see!

Thanks for exploring the James River Parks with us this Spring, we're already excited for our programs in the Fall!

If you would like for us to offer a fall program at your child's school please email our Afterschool Director Emily Ocheltree at eocheltree@virginiaoutside.com  We would love to offer our programs to other students around town and let them explore the James River Parks with us!


To see other pictures from our programs please friend us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Virginia-Outside/168025059887802

Rain Can't Stop Us!

We had a week of high water on the river and a few sprinkles along the way, but that didn't stop us from having a fantastic week!

Tuesday

Tuesday's weather was the craziest of all so we took our Tuckahoe group to the Wetlands to hike around and see what wildlife we could find!  We found lots of frogs in the huge mud puddles, a couple ducks and geese and a box turtle!  The kids loved jumping in the puddles to catch the frogs as well as getting to told the box turtle!

We decided to head down to Maymont with the Fox group since it is so close to school!  The kids loved it.  They got to see Bears, hike around, and climb over anything and everything along the way!












Thursday 

This was our last week with St. Christopher's groups.  The kindergarten group was ready to roll as soon as we pulled up!  We loaded up the bus and headed to Forest Hill Park for another day of zip lining with Riverside Outfitters!  The kids had a blast helping pull the zippers up the line and loved the "Special Camera Helmet."  Richmond Magazine was out with us filming the zip line and would put the camera on the kids as they zipped down. 




Friday


For the last program with our St. Christopher's older group we decided to head back down to Maymont!  This group loves to run so we thought it was the perfect place to let them explore and run around!  They had a blast taking in the sights of the animals and climbing on every rock in the park!

Saturday

Saturday Tee and Adam headed down to a private pond to help out with a group from Wounded Warriors.  They loved getting out to the pond and catching some nice size fish.  It's always great to listen to their stories and being able to thank them for everything they do for our country!

Sunday

Sunday we had a table set up at the 3rd Annual Round Up for Full Circle Grief Center at Innsbrook.  We had a couple rods at our table that people could use to fish the ponds!  We had a great time and enjoyed helping out for a great cause!

We would also like to introduce everyone to our new Shop "pet" Henry the Turtle.  Henry is a paint turtle that was found by the river and now resides in our Shop!  Next time you stop by be sure to tell Henry hello!

We have one more week of programs until a little down time before getting ready for summer to kick into full swing!  We are very excited for a great summer and hope to see some new and old faces out at camp!  Check out our websites www.virginiaoutside.com or www.virginiafishingadventures.com for all of our summer camp dates!  

Polar Bear Plunge and Zip Lining

We had a perfect week in the Parks!  With great weather, water levels and temperatures finally at a tolerable stage we hit the river, lakes, and trees for some great fun! 

Tuesday

Chilly water!

This past Tuesday we took our TES and Fox groups down to Pipeline to do some Cat fishing and some “polar bear plunge” swimming!  The water is starting to warm up a bit so we found it to be the perfect opportunity!  The kids had a blast floating in the rapids and we heard lots of squeals as they entered the water for the first time.  The cat fishing wasn't the best but we still managed to catch a few 5 pound blue cats!

Thursday

On Thursday we have a big group of St. Christopher Kindergartener’s.  With this group we have been trying to focus on a lot of wildlife and hiking.  This week we took them to University of Richmond Lake.  While at the Lake we split into 3 groups and would rotate.  We had a group fishing, hiking and one group was fish printing!  We saw lots of wildlife and caught a ton of bluegill.  The kids loved feeding the ducks and watching out for the large snapping turtle as we were fishing!

 

Friday

Lifting the Zip-liner up the rope!

 

Friday’s group went zip-linning with Riverside Outfitters this week.  We headed over to Forest Hill Park where everything was perfect for the ride of their lives!  They had it set up so the kids not zipping would be helping pull the zipper up the rope.  Once they were too the top the RO guide would lower them down at their requested speed.  At the beginning the speed most requested was super slow, but towards the end of the day we heard lots of “faster, faster” screams as the zipped down!

Trying out the balance beam

Saturday

On Saturday we had the privilege of setting up a table at the Dominion Riverocks on Brown’s Island.  There is fun for every age with kayaking races, ultimate air dog competitions, music and much more.  We set up our fishing target and our new biking balance beam to let kids and adults try it out!  The beam looks a little scary at first sight but once you get the hang of it, you usually never want to stop riding over it!  We had a great turn out despite the crazy weather!

Sunday

Not a bad catch for his first fish!

Sunday we had one of our famous fishing birthday parties.  For the parties we will take groups out to a private pond to fish or sometimes we will even raft down the river if it’s warm enough!  This weekend we had a group of boy’s head out to a private pond in Hanover.  They had a great birthday and had one of the boys catch his first fish EVER!  

 

 

Biking at Rockwood Park



Group picture during a quick break from pedaling!



Last week a group of enthusiastic, Chesterfield County campers came out for an afternoon of adventure at Rockwood Park in Chesterfield.  For anyone unfamiliar, Rockwood park is the oldest park in Chesterfield county and is a great place for all levels of outdoor enthusiast.  Today's adventure, though, was of the two-wheel variety!  Seven campers came ready for some biking and the group was eager to ride.  After some initial instruction on safety and basic bike mechanics, the riders warmed up on 1.3 mile paved outer loop.  This was a great way for each camper to get comfortable on their mountain bike before venturing off onto dirt.   



The group starting off on another loop from the parking lot



The park offers a variety of trail options including wider paved trails, gravel/dirt paths, and more rugged mountain bike trails.  The campers quickly warmed up to the idea of taking some more adventurous trails so we veered off onto the Yellow Diamond trail.  The campers had a lot of fun navigating the roots and rocks all the while keeping their balance.  The occasional "hoot" and "holler" of satisfaction let everyone know we were having fun.  We then worked our way back to the Rockwood Park Nature Center via the Purple Square trail.  The campers also enjoyed stopping at the many posted maps along the way to hone their orienteering skills and decide on what trail to conquer next.

Two campers earning the uphill before going back down!

The Nature Center is centrally located amongst the trails making it the perfect place to stop for a quick water break between loops.  At each stop for water, campers were comparing each trail we rode and debating which trail to ride next.  After everyone was warmed up and comfortable we decided to take some of the more challenging (and fun!) trails.  We started off on the Orange Circle trail which is 1.5 miles of smoother gravel/dirt that is a lot of fun to ride.  There is the occasional root thrown in for something fun to maneuver around or jump off of.  At the bottom of the first hill there are spectacular views of Gregory's Pond.  All the campers stopped at some point to examine the pond's edge for critters.  The orange trail ended up being the highlight and we decided to ride this a few more times.  On our last loop a quick moving rain cloud rolled in over the park and we ducked onto the trails to use the tree canopy as cover.  The campers didn't let this stop them from riding so we all enjoyed a little cool refreshing rain on our last loop.  All in all it turned out to be a perfect day to enjoy the great outdoors on two wheels.  The campers had a blast and we can't wait for our next outdoor adventure at Rockwood Park.

Heading down the Yellow Diamond trail!



The girls having fun on the dirt!  This crew was loving the off road trails and did a great job!



A big thank you goes out to all the campers for having such a positive, adventurous attitude (as well as being great listeners).  Also a big thank you to Kristi Ocrutt and the wonderful people of Rockwood Park for hosting and providing such a beautiful place for young people to get away from the TV/laptops/cellphones and enjoy the outdoors!

For more info on Rockwood Park (and other Chesterfield parks) visit theirr website... http://www.chesterfield.gov/content2.aspx?id=5921.   

In the meantime...GET OUTSIDE AND PLAY!!! 

Last week in the park

It was a beautiful week in the James River Park last week. We got kicked off at Belle Isle on Tuesday with our groups from Fox and Tuckahoe Elementary. It has been really cool to see how some of the kids from different schools have really bonded with each other in such a short amount of time. We caught some fish in the quarry and spotted a couple snakes along the way! Check out the right hand corner of the picture below. Don't worry...It's just a common water snake.

We found our way back down to Belle Isle on Tuesday with a group of Kindergarteners from St. Christopher's. The highlights included balanacing on railroad ties and touching a big catfish a guy had caught from the river.

On Thursday, our afterschool mountain biking group did some riding in the James River Park. Friday was a big day with a group from Collegiate heading to Goochland for some pond fishing and another group from St.Christopher's going back to the Wetlands for some exploring and mountain biking. One lucky fisherman caught the nice bass below! And I learned that it's hard to take a focused photo of mountain biking with your phone while you are leading the group!

We will be posting more photos of last week's activities on our Virginia Outside Facebook page. Check it out and "Like" us while you are there.

For anyone looking to get in some fishing this weekend, we have a trip planned to a private pond on Sunday. All parents and kids are welcome to attend. Please email me for details and to sign up. tsclarkson@virginiafishingadventures.com .