Tuesday started cloudy with forbidding forecasts of rain and thunder storms. It was a gloomy start to Virginia State Parks' Capital Campout. But Richmond weather is always a surprise and as the kids arrived mid day, the sun was shining and the weather held for whole event.

Governor Terry McAuliffe and First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe hosted 26 youth from the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Richmond at the mansion for the second annual Capital Campout.

This year Virginia was one of eighteen state park systems now hosting these events in their capitals or other locations. The Capital Campouts are part of Great Outdoors Month, an initiative of the American Recreation Coalition with Coleman as a major sponsor. Coleman provided the tents and some gear for the kids. Virginia State Parks participates in Great Outdoors Month and felt the Capital Campout was also a great tie in to one of our favorite annual events, the National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Campout.

The kids started the day at Belle Isle Park (not to be confused with our State Park of the same name) where they enjoyed fishing, rock climbing, ziplining, and outdoor skills thanks to our partners James River Park System, Bass Pro Shops, REI, and Passages Adventure Camp. Our thanks to Richmond City Schools for the bus transportation.
 

After the fun, everyone returned to the Governor's Mansion for dinner and visiting with the Governor. AWARE animal rescue team delighted the group with an assortment of snakes, mammals and birds which had been rescued and rehabilitated. Afterwards, everyone toasted marshmallows, made s'mores and played basketball with the Governor.  Last year thunder storms sent the campout into a state office building for the night but this year the kids enjoyed their first experience sleeping in a tent. Well, as one of the staff on hand mentioned, we are not sure how much sleeping went on.

After breakfast Wednesday, the kids headed out to Tredegar Iron Works for some programming by the National Park Service. As Virginia State Parks celebrates our 80th anniversary, the National Park Service is celebrating their centennial. We have been partnering with them this year on some events and the #findyourpark initiative.

A big shout out to the Mansion staff and the Chef. We know they handle a myriad of events for a variety of special people and they did an outstanding job providing meals for the Capital Campout. Our Virginia State Parks AmeriCorps members also went above and beyond to help us with the set up and take down.
 

Read the complete article from WTVR Channel 6. Our thanks to them for their coverage and support. Thanks also to WCVE for their podcast and to Venture Richmond.