Richmond VA

Map of this blog's locations click this link to open the map

We have spent the last 4 weeks traveling place to place from Maine to Maryland with only one reservation for a campsite at a state park in Rhode Island.  Most of those nights were spent at 7 different Elks Lodges along the way. But now we head to another state park near Richmond Virginia that we reserved back in August. We have actually stayed at Pocahontas State Park once before but it has been 6 years. Back in October of 2018, we spent 4 nights on our way to Florida for the winter and had enjoyed the area enough to put it on our list for a return visit. This time we will fit in a 5 night stop. It’s only is a 193 mile drive from Hagerstown to Richmond and mainly on expressways so it is a fairly easy drive.

It’s been several weeks since we had really taken a day off from hiking, biking or sightseeing so we spent our first full day here simply chilling. But the following day we head into downtown Richmond to check out the state house and some of the other attractions in the area. Tours of the capitol building take place most days between 9AM and 4PM. We head there for an early afternoon visit. This statehouse is kind of unique in that the tour entrance is about 300 feet from the actual building and comes in to a large building that sits underneath the ground on the south side of the main capitol. This expansion was completed in 2007 to provide for much needed additional office space and meeting rooms. The new visitor center is quite nice and we didn’t have to wait long for our tour to start.

Virginia State Capitol

Thomas Jefferson - Architect of State Capitol

We had a rather small group with just a handful of others. The tour guide was able to rattle off all sorts of facts about the history. He makes a big deal about this state touts the oldest elected legislative body in North America. Our tour leads up a staircase into the main building where we get to see lots more of the inner workings of Virginia’s government.

House of Representatives Room

Below the Dome

The tour lasts roughly and hour and was quite informative. Since they were not in session, we were able to get into all the various rooms that may be off limits during certain times.

Ceremonial Mace

Senate Chambers

We spend more time checking out some of the many monuments and buildings that are on the capitol grounds including a virtual geocache.

Monument to George Washington

Civil Rights Monument

Oliver Hill Building

Great Seal of Virginia

Next we work our way a few blocks south to explore the riverfront canal walk. For this we have an Adventure Lab to tour us around. It is a pretty area with lots to see. It may not be quite as nice as the riverwalk in San Antonio but it was still fun to explore. We even managed to find a few geocaches along the way.

Along Richmond Canal

Canal History

Looking Down the Canal

Monument Honoring Original Founding in 1607

We eventually ended up along the western end of the walk on Brown’s Island. There was preparation going on for some sort of event but it wasn’t clear what the event was. We started to get a few sprinkles and decide that we should try to get back to the car before it decides to rain in earnest and make the day less enjoyable. Obviously there is way more to see in downtown Richmond but we decide that this visit will need to suffice for our stay in the area this time.

Monument to the Boatmen of the River and Canals

Downtown Richmond

Since we had come back to camp in Pocahontas SP because of the excellent hiking in the park, we head out to tackle one of the trails north of the campground. The Co-op Trail is listed as a 4.3 mile out and back hike that generally follows the edge of Swift Creek Lake starting near the boat launch. There are some nice views along the way and the trail is a nice walk.

Swift Creek Lake

Co-op Trail

We enjoyed the first two miles along the water. There were lots of signs that beaver are very active in this area with a few trees looking like they had just been felled. The trail then it cuts into the woods and would loop around before returning on the same trail. At the 2.5 mile mark, we hit a side trail and after looking at our maps, we decide to follow this up to the Forest Loop Trail. It will add a little distance to the hike but will also give us a different route back. Some of the trails we followed on the way back are ones where bicycles are permitted. It doesn’t look like we will have time to try them out but might need to consider yet another stay sometime in the future. There was trailhead with a sign we have never seen before - “handcycle friendly”.  We got back to the car with about a 5 mile hike. So our alternate return route didn’t add substantially to the overall length of the hike. We even managed to find several geocaches along the way.

Result of a Busy Beaver

Possible Biking Trail

Handcycle Friendly

We have one full day left in the area and while we could have easily found another hike or bike ride to do in the park, we decide to do a little more historical sightseeing since this area is somewhat famous for those types of things. Colonial Williamsburg is probably the most famous spot around here but it is over a 60 mile drive. Plus, Chris had been there years ago and knows I don’t have a long attention span for those types of places. Instead she finds someplace that is only 16 miles from camp. Henricus Historical Park is east of camp and south of Richmond. The last couple miles of the drive there leads through some heavy industry with an energy plant, water treatment plant and some sort of huge dump. We are definitely outnumbered by all of the large trucks barreling along the roads. It really didn’t seem like a location where we would find an historical park but our GPS did lead us to the large parking lot at Henricus.

Henricus Visitor Center

This is the site of an English settlement founded in 1611 by Sir Thomas Dale. It is definitely the type of place that we would likely see a bus load of schoolchildren. And sure enough, the buses were in the parking lot and there was a swarm of kids in a small picnic area next to the visitor center. We head in to pay our admission fee and get the scoop. The woman working the desk told us the kids had toured this morning and were just finishing up with their lunch before heading out. Another school group was expected but not until later in the afternoon so maybe we will get a chance to explore in peace and quiet. She has us watch a 20 minute video explaining the history of Henricus before sending us on our way. We head out of the building and she points us towards the gate on the other side of the parking lot and tells us to enter there. As we walk away, we hear her get on a walkie talkie and informs the staff that two adults were entering.

We had gotten a map and sort of expected that we would just walk around the grounds and read all the various information signs. But as soon as we entered the gate, one of the volunteers stepped out of a building and greeted us. He was dressed in period clothing and really looked the part of a 17 century resident. We chatted with him briefly, telling him we are RVers that travel the country but originally from western New York. We expected to go on our way, but he told us to step into his building and pull up a seat.

Fire to Warm Us During Our Lesson

For the next 15 minutes or so, he told us more things than we would have even thought to ask. Since it was just the two of us, there was no hiding when he stopped to ask us a question or wanting to know if there were things we had questions about. It was clear that most of the time he speaks to groups of people way younger than us but he did a good job of tailoring his talk to adults. At one point he asked us about our knowledge from the early colonial days and I think he realized that we might not be that versed in colonial history. He said he just assumed we must be big history buffs because the only adults that usually stop to visit Henricus want more know than is provided by the much more popular Colonial Williamsburg. I think he was a tad disappointed that we only picked this place because of its proximity to our campground. As we leave, he point us to our next stop and he gets on his walkie talkie to let the next person know we are on our way.

Church and Meeting Hall

Out next stop was the church/meeting hall. This is a very large and nicely constructed building. The man at this location continued with the history lesson but with a different topic which included a more religious bent for obvious reasons. So far this place was way different than we were expecting but we were somewhat enjoying the way the volunteers explained things. We also talked with him about our lifestyle living fulltime in our RV which he seemed to like. As we left the church, he directed us to our next stop and let that volunteer know 2 adults were on their way.

Impressive Timber Construction

Royal Coat of Arms

The only problem with how the tour is designed, there really wasn’t time to wander around on our own between stops. More importantly, we hadn’t eaten yet even though our sandwiches were in the small bag Chris had with her. We managed to sneak in a few bites in between stops.

Our next stop was to the farm area of the grounds. A woman dressed in what appeared to be very heavy clothing came out to greet us and introduce us to the various animals that live on the farm.

Chris and Our Well Dressed Host

Oink, Oink

Plymouth Rock Chickens

Of course the hit of the day were the goats. Chris loves goats so we were forced to stop and get to know them before heading into the house for our lesson about living in this are in the 17th century.

Goats!

Chris Makes a Friend

Heading in for Our Lesson

She invited us into the small barn and had us sit on some stools while she described all about everyday life 400 years ago. We got asked lots of questions that we didn’t know the answers to. She was patient with us, but I fear that the fifth graders she usually speaks to are smarter than us on many of these historical matters. As we leave, she gives the next stop a heads up on our imminent arrival. The man sitting on the porch was actually in the process of making period clothing. It was clear that he didn’t just have props, but he was actually sewing buttons and putting the finishing touches on the jacket he had made. We head into his building and tour around the inside. At this stop we learned all about Pocahontas - the namesake of our state park. This Indian woman was captured in 1613 and cared for here and instructed in Christianity.

Our last stop would be to the hospital known as Mount Malady. It was a large building and actually has working electric lights so it was easier to see some of the details that were tough to make out in the other building with minimal lighting or windows. Another 15 minute talk here gives us a good idea about the dangers of living in this part of Virginia in the early 1600’s.

Mount Malady

Inside Hospital

After we finished at the hospital, we were turned free to wander around on our own and check out a few buildings we hadn’t checked out earlier. I was impressed with the authenticity of the buildings. The thatched roofs were intriguing to me. As we finally walked out towards the front gate, we ran across the man that we had first talked to over 2 hours earlier. He was at one of the outbuildings working to repair one of the buildings. As we approached, he looked startled since he thought we had left the grounds. He was also a bit embarrassed since he had pulled out his modern day circular saw to more quickly cut the piece needed for the repair. We laughed and told him we didn’t fault him for not doing all his work with 17th century tools. Henricus Historical Park was unlike any of this style of place we have visited. Even though I likely went well beyond my limit in terms of learning about history here, I think they do an excellent job of bringing the place to life.

Looking at Thatched Roof Edge

We walked down to the small public park that is just beyond the walls of Henricus to log a virtual geocache. It’s a pretty spot right on the bank of the James River. All that remains of an old lightkeeper’s house is the very tall brick chimney. Just a short distance away is the Varine-Enon Bridge that carries I-295 over the river.

Old Brick Chimney

I-295 Bridge

We enjoyed our 5 night stay at Pocahontas SP. giving the number of hiking and biking trails here that we did not get to explore, this stop will likely go back on the list of places to return someday. We head out tomorrow to visit some locations in North Carolina we haven’t explored previously.