Kayaking in Virginia

My father took me fishing some when I was a girl and I found it a nice, relaxing time spent with my dad in the outdoors. We made fishing poles out of a stick and string, added a hook and some bait, and stuck the pole in a small lake or pond. I was just as happy to not catch anything.

I have been to a bass tournament and I have seen videos with folks reeling in giant fish after a long fight with the fish. But, I never imagined fishing could be called "extreme." Well, that was before I discovered Kayak Kevin and kayak fishing. Kevin often uses Kiptopeke State Park as a base camp for his Chesapeake Bay Kayak Fishing. He recently spent a few weeks in December at the park finalizing his latest video: "Kayak Fishing the Chesapeake Bay."

Here is a piece Kevin did promoting our park and the fishing opportunities.


That video gives you a tiny taste of what kayak fishing is all about. This trailer for his new video gives you an even better idea.

I know it's almost spring because a glance at our events database show the beginning of our canoe and kayak programs.

Belle Isle State Park, Lancaster, Virginia

4/10/10 Grand Ole Osprey Canoe Trip
4/24/10 Sunset Canoe Trip
4/24/10 Full Moon Kayak Trip
4/30/10 Full Moon Canoe Trip

False Cape State Park, Virginia Beach, Virginia

4/04/10 Afternoon Kayak Paddle
4/11/10 Afternoon Kayak Paddle
4/18/10 Afternoon Kayak Paddle
4/24/10 Afternoon Kayak Paddle

Holliday Lake State Park, Appomattox, Virginia

4/03/10 Canoe Tour
4/10/10 Canoe Tour
4/17/10 Owl Call Canoe Tour

Sometimes I marvel at how I get my ideas for blog posts. I get an email with the "Lens of the Day" from Squidoo (neat stuff by the way). Today's title was "Purple Star Awards." I confess I haven't read the post yet but it made me think of Lucky Charms Cereal. Then I thought, "Hey it's almost St. Patrick's Day" and then I decided it was time to do a blog about Fairy Stone. Not sure what this says about my creative process.

The connection between St. Patrick's Day and Fairy Stone is a little more obvious. Fairy Stone State Park is located in Patrick County. Okay, so Patrick County has nothing to do with St. Patrick. Once in Virginia there was a giant county called Patrick Henry County named after that famous Virginia forefather. In 1791 they split the county into Patrick and Henry counties.

In addition to the tenuous "Patrick" connection, the story behind the park's name sake involves fairies and wee people right out of Irish folklore. Fairy Stones are naturally formed staurolite crystals that form cross-like shapes. The Captain John Smith/Pocahontas legend talks about Pocahontas giving Captain John Smith a necklace of lucky fairy stones. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as well as Charles Linberg and Thomas Edison reportedly carried the crosses for luck. If you have jewelry made out of the crosses (and we sell some at the park), a lot of work went into making the rough stones into crosses appropriate for jewelry.


While nothing beats a good fairy stone hunt, the real magic of Fairy Stone State Park is the more than 4,600 acres which makes this park an outdoor paradise. The park is situated on Fairy Stone Lake which was created by damming Goblintown Creek. The Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the park infrastructure and Fairy Stone opened June 15, 1936 as one of the six original Virginia State Parks.


Today the park features a campground with great views, twenty-five cabins with some lakefront, a family lodge that sleeps 16 people, Fayerdale Hall Conference Center, and a seasonal swimming beach. There are nine miles of multi-use trail for hiking, biking and horseback riding as well as about six miles of hiking only trail. The 168 acre lake offers great fishing (no gasoline powered boats allowed). The park rents rowboats, paddleboats, kayaks and canoes on a seasonal basis.


For camping and cabin reservations, call our reservation center at 800-933-7275 or book on line.

Girls weekends are one of my favorite adventures because you never know where you’ll end up or who’ll you’ll meet, which is the fun of the weekend anyway.  My mom has decided to surprise me with a weekend getaway in March and I cannot wait to travel.

One weekend that is a “can’t miss” is going to be the Fairy Stone State Park Women’s Wellness Weekend in Stuart, Va. starting April 23 through 25, 2010.  I’m a true believer the best time in life is spent with family and friends, and we all need a little pampering sometimes and we just have to do it ourselves.

This will be the third Women’s Wellness Weekend in Virginia State Parks and it is going to be a huge success.  We have sessions already scheduled throughout the weekend such as kayaking and hiking for the women who can’t get enough of the outdoors, and aromatherapy and natural skin care for the women who want to indulge a little.

The best part about this Women’s Wellness Weekend is there is no thinking involved.  You get an opportunity to rejuvenate yourself and recharge.  A weekend getaway with your best friends or family away from the men – what’s there to think about?  This is the best kind of weekend to relax and meet new friends or spend much needed time with your old friends.

For complete details and program listings, see our web site at www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/wwwellness.shtml or call our reservation center at 800-933-7275.

Today is ‘Go Red for Women’ Day.  It is a day set aside by theAmerican Heart Association to draw awareness to the effects of heart disease in women.  People are asked  to wear red to show support of the on going fight against heart disease.

On its website, the American Heart Association lists ‘Life’s Simple 7’.  These are changes that any person can make to improve health.  These changes are not extreme or expensive but created to empower individuals to change their own heart health.

In 5 of the 7 categories, healthy activity was listed as a key to improvement.  Only in the categories ‘Eat Better’ and ‘Stop Smoking’ was activity not listed as a practice to obtain the goal of better heart health..  The benefits of general healthy activity can not be denied.  It helps you lose or maintain weight, control blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure.  And one thing not listed but I know from personal experience is the help activity can be in handling stress. 

So today as you notice people wearing red, think about your own health.  Do you get enough activity to improve your health?  If not, what could you do to improve your health? 

Since you are reading this on the Virginia State Park’s blog, you can probably anticipate one suggestion would be to get out to a park.  There are many activities to participate in  at your local.  Hiking is the obvious activity but what about biking, canoeing, kayaking, or even playing.  Just remember, something is better than nothing especially if it is play.  We do suggest a visit to your doctor to discuss major exercise changes. 
The choice is in your hands.

From our Park Visitor, Patricia Leonard Higgins, Gordonsville, Virginia

Several years ago (before the Great Recession of 2009-10), Santa left Naturally Yours Life Passes in each of our two children's stockings. Now young adults, they have reported that this really was one of the greatest gifts Santa ever left on Christmas Eve. Their parents certainly hope they enjoy this privilege for many long and happy years with wonderful family outings and vacations to come. As a family, we have been to most Virginia State Parks, and our favorites include Grayson Highlands, Foster Falls at New River Trail and False Cape. We have walked, hiked, biked, canoed, kayaked, picnicked, camped and stayed in CCC cabins. The staff has been nothing short of wonderful and we are eternally grateful for the many happy hours that our family has enjoyed in the State Parks. Our lives have truly been enhanced because of them and we are so grateful. Thank you!

False Cape State Park is hosting Wild Women Weekend on March 5-7, 2010 at their Environmental Education Center.  This three day/two night program features early morning hikes, canoe/kayak programs, beach walks, and wild foods programs.  Enjoy a late afternoon on the EEC balcony, watch the sunset glint on the waves, and listen to the gentle evening sounds while you make new friends. 

Registration is limited to 20 women who are at least 21 years of age.  Cost is $200/person and is due at registration.  Register by calling the park's reservation center--be sure to specifiy you want to register for False Cape's WILD women weekend since Fairystone State Park is offering a Women's WELLNESS weekend in April.  Information on the Fairystone event can be found at www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/wwwellness.shtml

Program brochures for the False Cape event can be requested from False Cape State Park at 757-426-7128 or falsecape@dcr.virginia.gov.

You may have read my post earlier this week about the Virginia State Parks Youth Conservation Corps (or any of the probably 20 posts from last year). OK, so I have a real weakness for the program.

The Virginia State Parks Office of Volunteer Services is part of the Operations Section that I manage. I have taken a personal interest in the program since the beginning and the Director, Gaston Rouse, and I try to visit as many of the crews we can each summer.

Part of the success of the program is Gaston's hands on management and love of the program and probably mine too. Gaston is also responsible for the basic program design. While he will tell you that he did a lot of research and copied what he found in other successful programs, there is still an art to knowing what the right things to copy are and putting it all together.

But the other key is the wonderful people we have found to be Supervisors for the program.


Typically we have three college aged or older supervisors for ten youth. Finding the right people and sometimes even enough of them and enough of the right sex (since we have all female or all male programs) can be a challenge. In the beginning we thought we would recruit teachers interested in working six weeks of the summer for $3,700. That hasn't really happened and mostly we recruit college students.

We do "grow" our own. Last summer I blogged about Casey Duvall a young man who has the distinction of being in every program we have had. But there have been others. Just today I was thinking of one, John Wargo, because he found me on Facebook. John started out as a youth in the program and then served as a supervisor as he got older. John is making a career in outdoor recreation. John is working as a Recreation Assistant with the US Forest Service Job Corps. He works with disadvantaged youth facilitating canoeing, kayaking, fly fishing, rock climbing, horseback riding, skiing/snowboarding, snowshoeing, paintball, and other activities.

We have now had a number of our most senior supervisors graduate college and go on to their careers or graduate school. So, we are looking for a few good men and women to take their place this year as Supervisors for the YCC.

If you have never been part of our YCC program, you must be at minimum a rising junior in college and over 18 years of age. We have two three week sessions and successful applicants either work one or the other or both. We also require a training session which will be held June 10-13, 2010 at Bear Creek Lake State Park. All of the details can be found on our webpage and the application is on line. The deadline is noon on February 15th. We provide a program completion stipend of $1,500 and a travel stipend of $350 for each session.

The supervisors work along side the youth on the projects and also coordinate logistics, shopping and menu planning. It is a physically demanding position since you are responsible for the youth 24/7 for the three weeks of the program. But nearly every supervisor we have had would tell you that it's a rewarding experience.

For more information, call (703) 583-5497 or email vspycc@dcr.virginia.gov

This is the second of a four-part series about what we do in parks during the off-season.

Virginia State Parks' campgrounds close in early December and re-open in early March.  However, during the off-season many of our cabins, trails, and visitor centers are open for visitors.  In addition to supporting the services that stay open year-round, our staff takes time to make sure the "busy season" is chock full of fun activities for our visitors.

One of the most important things we offer at Virginia State Parks are interpretive programs.  Interpretive programs are the guided hikes, craft programs, Junior Ranger programs, bird watching events, canoe/kayak trips, fishing clinics, etc. that we host to help you interface with the natural, cultural and historic resources in the parks.  During the off-season, we plan our programming, inventory our supplies, work on finding grant funding and sponsors, and train our Park Interpreters.  

If you are interested in volunteering or if your company/employer is interested in sponsoring some programming please contact the park in your area or email staci.martin@dcr.virginia.gov.

As schedules get sorted out, you will see our events posted on the www.virginiastateparks.gov website under "Park Events" and listed in the Virginia State Parks E-News.  You can sign up for the E-News through our website.  Remember some programs have limited space and require reservations so sign up early!! 

Don't forget--we also schedule private programs.  If you see an activity that you are interested in, but want to bring out a large group like a classroom or scout troop--call your local park so they can get your group worked into the schedule.  Private programs do have a cost, but the fee is very reasonable.

We look forward to seeing you at a Virginia State Park!!

Everyone knows what rocks and whoppers are, don’t they? Did you answer a rock is a stone and a whopper is a juicy hamburger? Normally you would be correct, but we’re not talking about the same things now.

Around the Chesapeake Bay every year about this time, their meanings change. Rock means striped bass, we’re talking the big ones and whoppers are the tales that come from these fish being caught by people from all over the Mid-Atlantic States. Some people fish from piers, others from kayaks, but most fish from boats. Kiptopeke State Park is an excellent base for rock fishing.

You see, fishing is a way of life on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and this time of year brings out both the avid fishermen and the novice. Why? Because rocks are huge, strong fish that can pull even the strongest man over, making them look like the hunchback from Notre Dame.

The state record for Virginia was caught in 2008 by Frederick Barnes; the 73-pound striper measured 52 inches in length and had a girth of 31-1/2 inches. Yes, rocks like this quickly become whoppers and make for interesting stories by the campfire at night.

Photo courtesy of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-Virginia State Record with Frederick Barnes

Another story shared by a Virginia State Parks lover

by Shellie Anne, Rocky Mount, Virginia

You can do this any time of the year – not just summer months when Philpott Lake is a warm 82 degrees. Nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains is a very special place called Philpott Lake and Fairy Stone State Park. Besides the hiking, biking, swimming, fishing, hunting, camping, kayaking etc at this state park, you can also search for buried treasure called Fairy Stones. The only requirement is that there are no digging tools or implements used as you dig for these mythical stones as personal treasures.

The legend of the Fairy Stone from the Virginia.gov DCR website says Fairy Stones are known to be in the shape of a cross and come in three main variations; St Andrew, Roman and Maltese. Many hundreds of years before Chief Powhatan's reign, fairies were dancing around a spring of water, playing with naiads and wood nymphs, when an elfin messenger arrived from a city far away. He brought news of the death of Christ. When these creatures of the forest heard the story of the crucifixion, they wept. As their tears fell upon the earth, they crystallized to form beautiful crosses. For many years people held these little crosses in superstitious awe, firm in the belief that they protected the wearer against witchcraft, sickness, accidents and disaster.

Fairy stones are staurolite, a combination of silica, iron and aluminum. Staurolite crystalizes in twin form at 60 or 90 degrees fahrenheit, which accounts for the stone's cross-like structure. Found only in rocks having been subjected to great heat and pressure, the mineral was formed long, long ago, during the rise of the Appalachian Mountains. The stones are most commonly shaped like St. Andrew's cross, an "X," but "T" shaped Roman crosses and square Maltese crosses are the most sought-after. Staurolite stones are also found in the mountains of North Carolina and in Switzerland, but nowhere else in the world are they found in such abundance and shaped so nearly like crosses as in the vicinity of Fairy Stone State Park.

Fairy Stones can be made into jewelry like a necklace, ring or bracelet. Even put onto a keychain. Those pictured are three different Fairy Stone crosses we found. What great family fun in season or out, make an adventure of it like we did! Go to the visitor station at the park and they will give you a map to show you where you may dig for these little crosses. HINT – To find these stones the best method is to just simply sit right down in the red clay and start scratching around in the dirt. You will be surprised with what you find!

Another Virginia State Parks visitor story

By Shellie Anne, Rocky Mount, Virginia

You can spend so much money on junk, but for $100 each we got these kayaks and brought them with us to Bear Creek State Park. What a super investment in fun! The beauty of Bear Creek is it is a very small lake – more like a large pond, so there is plenty of up close wildlife to see from the kayak and around the lake. You can see turtles sunning themselves on logs around the lakes edge – from daddy, to mommy to baby turtle. You can see ducks paddling along, and cranes tip toeing through the water. Plenty of fish, even a hog snake curled up on the grass. Best of all you can see smiling faces and hear plenty of laughter when you visit Bear Creek State Park. The campground, the cabins, the picnic areas – all manicured and perfectly kept for families to enjoy.

Another park visitor contributed story

By Shellie Anne, Rocky Mount, Virginia

The highlight of our vacation after enjoying the warm sun, swimming in the lake, kayaking to see the turtles, riding bikes til our buns ached and walking the trails around Bear Creek Lake State Park was S‘mores. Every kid, no matter how young or how old cannot resist making S‘mores.

The task is simple: 1. Dad carefully builds an approved fire 2. Mom preps the picnic table, swatting at kids who are eager to divulge in some Hershey’s chocolate or soft marshmallows ahead of said time 3. Kids wander off to find worthy sticks to roast marshmallows and not burn up in the process, most come back with a forked twig revealing that this way they can cook two at a time, to which Dad says “No, too dangerous it will end up in somebody’s eye!” and sends kids off again to find single sticks.

Now half the fun of eating S‘mores is playing with fire – something kids normally are not allowed to do! Flaming concoctions of sugar and high degree melting chocolate – the perfect combination for two things – disaster or the greatest treat on earth! Let your hair down, leave the stress at the office, turn off your cell phone and make some memories and S ‘mores with your family at a Virginia State Park! (and yes, it will get in their hair, ends of their noses and on their clothes - not to worry you're on vacation!)

Another one of our "Share your Virginia State Parks story" posts from our park guests!

By Shellie Anne, Rocky Mount, Virginia

There is only one place that I know that allows dogs on the beach and that is at First Landing State Park on The Chesapeake Bay. There is one member of our family who usually misses out on all the fun, but this time was the center of attention, our dog Junie, the Irish Jack Russell. She rode the miles bike trails, walked the dunes, cruised around in the kayak and even had fun in the sun right there in the sand with her favorite people - her family. Virginia State Parks - All About Family and Fun!

This is the first of what we hope will be many stories shared by our Virginia State Park visitors!

By Yvonne Shepherd

It was a beautiful October evening as we set up our campsite at Occoneechee State Park. We watched the sun slowly slip below the horizon of Kerr Lake turning the sky a pumpkin orange. This was our last family camping trip for a while. Our daughter and her family were moving to Florida, and we didn’t know when we would be able to camp together again.

Since early spring we had chosen a different state park to visit. Our season began at Douthat the week after Memorial Day. Despite the fact it rained- make that poured- the entire week we were there, we had a good time. Our grandchildren caught rainbow trout from the children’s fishing area earning them both a citation and we took a day trip along Skyline Drive.

We made our first visit to beautiful James River in June and admired the plentiful equestrian camp sites available. The weather conditions prohibited kayaking along the river but we found entertainment at the Amhurst-Nelson Summer Solstice Wine and Farm Festival. We also took in the Owls by Wagon and Feeding Frenzy programs offered by park interpreters.

Hot humid weather took us to the water park at Pocahontas. We had hours of fun slipping and sliding throughout the day at the family friendly facilities. We were also close to the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds for the fireworks display celebrating the 4th of July.

August kept us close to home anticipating the arrival of a new grandson. We took a Sunday afternoon bike ride into False Cape to see the construction of their new contact station. The primitive beauty of False Cape is always worth the trip.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary at Smith Mountain Lake. It fell on the same weekend as the Big Lick Triathlon held at the park and the Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival. We mountain biked through the park enjoying the first signs of fall and the plentiful deer population. A nearby orchard provided us with ½ bushel of crisp mountain apples to take back home.

By the time we ended our year at Occoneechee, we had outgrown a single campsite. Our daughter’s family stayed in one of the park’s beautiful cabins and we camped on a waterfront site. Our four year old granddaughter had learned how to cast her own fishing rod and we had improved our smores making skills.

Each Virginia state park offered us the opportunity to do as much or as little as we liked. Each one had their own uniqueness and qualities that set it apart from the others. It would be hard to pick a favorite. Our 2009 camping season gave us the memories that will stay with our family for a lifetime- no matter how far apart we are from one another.

Each year State Park employees, some family members, volunteers and friends of parks get together on the Eastern Shore at Kiptopeke State Park for a very important event, The State Parks Benevolence Fund Fishing Tournament and Raffle.  The fishing tournament began at 8am on Tuesday, Oct. 6 and concluded at noon on the 7th, followed by a cookout, awarding of placques to the big/most/ugliest fish winners and the annual drawing for raffle winners.  

The Fishing

This year 55 people signed up for the fishing tournament, which may be a record.  Those in attendance ranged in age from around 10 to 70, but deep down we were all kids at heart when you put a fishing pole in our hands.  I believe fish were caught by all, unless you tried fishing from inside your cabin, trailer or tent.  There were a vast variety of fish caught during the tournament in all sizes.  A few sharks were caught around 24”, some decent keeper flounder over 20”, spot, croaker, gray trout, black bass, pig fish, oyster toads, sea robins, eels, and weird things to be catching on a hook, like, oysters, live blue crabs, shells, fishing line and other people fishing.  Although most fished from the pier (some day and night), there were also some that went out in boats or used kayaks and went out to play around the concrete ships.  

The Fun

Although this is a “fishing tournament” it really isn’t about fishing as much as it is about getting together with park family after a long summer.  I see some of my closest friends once a year at this event.  Folks like Geoff Hall, Glenn Moorer, Tony Widmer, Ann Zahn, Forrest Atwood, Bruce Widener, and so many others.  It is a time to relax and catch up with what’s going on in their lives and share a few laughs.  There were other regulars we missed that couldn’t make it this year, like that familiar face of Anne Reeder on the pier, or Danette Poole and her family, or Charlie Conner and his wonderful family, or some of the boys from Leesylvania and Mason Neck that usually make their way to Kiptopeke.  It was also fun to see some of the kids make it who enjoyed not only fishing, but some football and what was described as “home schooling” on the pier.  



The Fund

There is a very important reason this all takes place above and beyond the fishing and the fun.  It is for our State Park Employees when life throws them an unexpected curve ball.  As State Park Employees we don’t really make a lot of money, thus when unexpected bad luck hits, it can be very devastating on a family.  I like to bill it as the “Fund for our employees with the hope that they will never need it.”  It is our one big fund raiser for the fund that is held each year.  This year’s tournament and raffle raised over $3,000:

-$910 for sign up for fishing tournament
-$119 in donations
-$2,550 in raffle ticket sales
 $3,579 TOTAL minus $532 in expenses

WOW, that is impressive.  What’s even more impressive is where this money ends up, helping fellow employees down on their luck.  This past year money has been contributed to employees with very serious health issues, an employee who lost almost everything in a house fire and employees that have lost loved ones.  Benevolence Fund Board of Directors members who manage the fund are Tony Widmer, Forrest Gladden, Dave Collett, Theresa Duffey and Ann Zahn.

Thanks

When coming together for such a great cause and raising a substantial amount of money, it is important to thank all those that made this possible.  First of all it all starts with great planning, marketing and implementation by a wonderful committee consisting of our leader Tony Widmer, with supporting cast of Glenn Moorer, Forrest Atwood, Fred Hazelwood and Geoff Hall.  There is so much that goes on behind the scenes so when you show up, you really can just relax and enjoy a few days with family and friends.  I would also like to thank Joey Widener for her assistance in keeping Tony straight and keeping track of who won what during the raffle drawing.  I’d like to thank our hosts, Kiptopeke State Park staff who are always so wonderful, friendly and helpful.  Patty Hazelwood is also always present and jumping in to help where needed, thank you so much.  I am sure there is likely an individual or two I am missing and I apologize.  It is important to thank the Board for getting the money to those that need it the most. 

Finally THANK YOU, to those that participated in so many ways, those in the fishing tournament, those that bought $2,550 worth of raffle tickets, those that made or donated prizes for the raffle, those that just outright donated money to the cause and everyone that in one way or another made this possible.  For anyone out there that didn’t come out for the  tournament, or didn’t buy a raffle ticket or if you have a talent and could make a prize for the raffle but didn’t, think about what you just read and I hope next year you too will be part of the “fishing & fun, for the fund.”  

Raffle Winners (the prize and who donated it appears first on the left, with the winner and their representing park on the right).


[Editors' note - for the more cynical reader, no state funds were used to support this event, and staff all take personal leave.]

I just returned from a trip that took me to our 5 parks on the far Western side of the state, Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park, Wilderness Road State Park, Natural Tunnel State Park, Grayson Highlands State Park and Hungry Mother State Park.  It has been a while since I’ve been to any of them and for one of them my first visit ever.  Over the next few weeks I’d like to take time to share highlights of my visits and some pictures I took while at each park in a 5 part series.  This is the last in the series.

Hungry Mother State Park

Just the name of this park has caused drivers to detour off I-81 to check it out.  Once there they find an incredible park tucked into the mountains.  Hungry Mother State Park is a park I have spent a portion of my career at, as I worked here from 1989-1991 as Assistant Park Manager.  I’ve been back on numerous occasions since for various training and recreation. 

It is always one of my favorite parks with the beauty of the 109 acre lake at the base of the mountains surrounding it, the 1936 log cabins and lodge, the beautiful new Discovery Center, the incredible restaurant with views of the lake, extended campgrounds throughout parts of the park and so much more.  I stayed in Cabin #1 during my visit, one of the original cabins built by the CCC boys in the 1930’s.  I love the feel of these cabins, rustic, but with upgraded modern conveniences to make your stay relaxing and enjoyable.  My only disappointment was that it was too warm to start a fire in the fireplace. 

If you get a chance to stay in one of these cabins, take some time to just admire the craftsmanship that the Civilian Conservation Corps used during a time when the modern tools like laser levels weren’t available to them.  The park was busy with activity during my visit and it was great to see several kayaks and peddle boats on the lake.  This is a great park to take the family, no matter what the season.  During the summer months though, there is a great sandy beach for swimming, playgrounds and plenty of other activities.  There are some great interpretive programs held at the park, including evening programs at the amphitheater in which you cross a bridge to get to the island it is on. 

One of the premier events at this park includes the Arts and Crafts festival held every July.  If you have a family reunion coming up, I strongly suggest staying at the lodge that sits up on the hill overlooking the lake.  The interior renovation we did a few years back has made this one of our very best overnight accommodations.  A stop in the beautiful Discovery Center gave me a chance to see some old friends, Glenn Moorer and Chris Doss.  Glenn was at the park when I was working there and is now about to retire.  What a great asset to Hungry Mother he has been over the past 30 years.  He is a great fisherman that loves “hooking” kids on fishing.  You wonder how many children he steered in a positive direction with all the fishing clinics he led at Hungry Mother. As for Chris Doss, I hired him as a seasonal worker to clean toilets when I was at the park and he has now risen all the way to Park Manager.  It’s nice to know he was paying attention to all I taught him.  Chris’s entire staff is a great reflection of his values at providing quality service to our visitors.  Great job everyone! 

I would also like to mention Jim Kelly who was the Park Manager at the park when I was there and then was promoted to District Manager.  I caught up with Jim at Wilderness Road State Park at Community Appreciation Day, which was fitting since Jim has always been an important part of the community at Hungry Mother and wherever he has ventured.  He too will be retiring at the end of this year after 38 years of service with our park system.  So if you get a chance, stop by and wish both Glenn and Jim a happy retirement and enjoy all the beauty that is Hungry Mother State Park.    


Did you miss any of the other posts in this series? Here they are:

I have seen studies related to the age old dilemma of whether you are a morning person (lark) or a night person (owl). Hands down I am an owl. I do not like to wake up and once I get out of bed it seems like hours before I am fully functioning. I stay late at the office a lot because I do my best work then. It was fortunate that I was never a "high maintenance" female who took a long time to get put together in the morning.

So what does this have to do about Virginia State Parks you're asking? Well, regardless of whether you are a lark or owl, False Cape State Park has a kayak program right up your alley during the month of October. They offer an early bird paddle and a sunset paddle.

Early Bird Kayak Paddle
Saturday, October 17, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Explore Back Bay and its marshes by kayak and observe birds and other wildlife in and around the bay. Kayaks and equipment are provided – no paddling experience is necessary. Trip meets at Little Island City Park in Sandbridge. Reservations are required; please call the park at (757) 426-7128 to sign up
Cost: $16/person

Sunset Kayak Paddle
Sunday, October 18, 4:00-7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 24, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 25, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Explore Back Bay and its marshes by kayak at False Cape State Park as the sun is setting over the bay. Kayaks and equipment are provided – no paddling experience is necessary. Trip meets at Little Island City Park in Sandbridge. Reservations are required; please call the park at (757) 426-7128 to sign up
Cost: $16/person

I might be a night owl but there is one coping mechanism if you also like sunrises - just wait and go to bed AFTER the sunrise!