Balloon Festival Weekend in Virginia

Air quality in the Pacific Northwest has been so bad because of wildfires all around us. Some in British Columbia, Canada, some in California and many right here in Washington State in the Olympics and in the Cascades. It is really a bad wildfire year.  But I was planning on going to Virginia for a Balloon Festival long before the wildfires hit, but the wildfires have derailed much of my hiking at home in the Seattle area for hike-a-thon.

So while in Virginia, I got in a short 2.1 mile hike on the Greensprings Trail in James City County, Virginia near Williamsburg.

It was crazy hot and humid in Virginia, so I wanted a hike in the shade! 

So much Colonial History in this area

see the deer?

The next day we were off to the Balloon Festival and I did not get in any hiking on trails.

This is a "chair balloon" and the owner is a dentist

The biplanes were flying all around the balloons It was amazing

Barnstorming antics

wing walkers

flying in formation and parachutes

Chatting with Rick Conn (AA pilot) while he takes a break from aerobatic rides

Then on Sunday, we went out to Chippokes Plantation State Park. We were there primarily for kayaking and beach-combing for sharks teeth, but I got in a mile of hiking on the College Run Trail while we put in the kayaks.

 Lots of interesting History at Chippokes Plantation

The College Run Trail goes along the James River

an easy hike along the College Run Trail

Access to the beach

Looking for Shark Teeth

Lots of cool stuff to find on the beach

My hike-a-thon total is now 17.9 miles and we have raised $452 dollars! But there have been no new donations this week. And just a reminder to you guys, a donation of 1 dollar or 5 dollars is just as important as a donation of 25 or 50 dollars. It is the accumulation that makes all the difference. If the dollar amount was all it was about, I would just ask one person to donate $500. But that is not the point. The point is for all of us to come together and help a little bit as a group. Thank you to EVERYONE who donates !! Instead of getting that $3 latte today, think about donating $3 to help Washington Trails. We will definitely need it after this wildfire season destroys bridges and other trail structures in the back country.

Visit my fund-raising page and make a donation. And if you have any suggestions on where I should hike this August, please let me know!! Does anyone have a favorite trail near Asheville, NC? Let me know about it, because that is where I will be this coming weekend. 

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/1515911

You can also mail a check or money order or even cash ! (make out checks to WTA or Washington Trails Association )  Send to: Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116