well we had to travel 2,300 miles to find it but clear clean beautiful water
good sunny summer day to y'all guys it's beautiful out here we've got the Black
River out here near Margaret McKinney campground that's where I'm camping
uh-huh I'll be uploading this video later with my Nomad internet if you need
a mobile internet solution check out the video description below they're
currently doing a $25 discount and I love it
keeps me connected on the road it's not very deep through here that's definitely
gonna feel nice to soak my feet here we go
oh yeah it's pretty darn cold okay it feels oh so refreshing I hope you guys
are staying cool wherever you're at actually right there it's up to my knees
but looking downstream it just gets even more shallow and I'm still trying to
plan a a to being trip for this summer somewhere on the Deschutes or somewhere
else and I am glad that I found a dnr campground that's open here in the
northwest because I needed it I needed my nature fix you know and the trails
through here are really accessible they are horse trails so you really do got to
watch your step you will step in some horse pies if you're not careful
but very nice clean trails and lots and lots of miles of trails through the
woods here at marker at McKinney it's beautiful here in the capital State
Forest time for your Northwest history lesson
you know what this is right here this is this is driftwood as it drifts on down
the creek down the river uh-huh no actually let me turn over some
rocks see if we can find a periwinkle yeah let's turn over some rocks see if
we can find any hey not on that one that guy right there nothing nothing
what's striking out here guys nothing there's one finally right there see that
little rock little pieces of rock this creature in there called the periwinkle
but I'm gonna find a bigger one to show oh wow yeah so look at this one there's
a bunch of little ones here on the underside of this one bunch of them you
can see how they make their little rock cocoons here's one up close here this is
kind of a bigger one actually so they are the true nomads of the Northwest
River as they build these rock cocoons that blend in with the rest of the rocks
around them and then here I'll put this guy back in here and we'll wait for him
to move it usually takes about 30 seconds before they get back on the move
there he goes see he is back on the move getting ready to go back in the water
that cool how how well he blends in that's a periwinkle there you go
all right gonna go back to camp check in on Jax see how he's doing one of the
cool things about our being dry camping in the summertime is that you don't have
to use your propane and heat up the water to take a shower
it's just naturally going to be a comfortable temperature and even if it's
not that warm the coolness of it is really going to feel nice we'll get back
to camp look at this river though we got the western sword fern here man
yeah the Black River empties out into Black Lake uh-huh and then goes to the
ocean but let's hike back through the jungle up this hill and go check in on
base camp this is my campsite I got c6 one of my favorite little sites here at
Margaret McKinney kind of tucked away in the back corner there is a lot of tree
cover but I get solar for about three hours and it's almost enough depending
on how much I use my solar might stuff inside the RV it's almost enough so that
I don't have to run my generator at all while I'm out here as long as I can get
that three three and a half hours a solar which it's book charging right now
I'm usually pretty good it's just incredibly quiet and peaceful out here
yeah I did have some hood dropped off so we can have a nice campfire here and
first thing I do it pretty much arrival at any campsite in the country is start
picking up trash cigarette butts that are left behind because you always want
to leave it cleaner than when you got there right yeah rocks are just covered
in moss some of these rocks don't see a whole lot of Sun and you know people
told me when I got my class a RV that I was not gonna be able to bring it to
Margaret McKinney Erik class A's aren't gonna fit they're so strange yes they
fit just fine in fact I eight feet in front eight feet in the back what is the
difference between Class A in a Class C not fitting here I don't get it it's not
like they're wider or taller the group sites are reserved yes you can reserve
sites here some a murder McKinney not all
I love colors here the Northwest makes me feel like I'm home yeah and besides
the two group sites that are right next to me this place is full it's summertime
you know Washington State is currently open for recreation but as you've
probably heard some some states around the country are locking back up again
I'm not hurting anybody out here by myself in the woods that's why you don't
see me wearing a mask out here talking to you I have social distancing just
like I normally do however that won't always be the case this summer no no
don't know if I'm gonna stay don't know what I'm gonna do but right now I'm
really really enjoying the Pacific Northwest we wake
hear the birds and see you son sigh beside our face it done oh the
girls just begun
we're not but we have that whole time found well
call us crazy but things are finally ready
you know the future is right
we got it
we don't need no
whether
before I sleep here the bed gets either salve aside
limit
but you know but we have us hold on tight
my bus crazy but things are finally right you and I have a future as bride
we don't know
well
even
and good afternoon everybody you know obviously I don't know what the next
chapter in my life is gonna be like or even what next week is gonna be like
because we live in a world that is constantly changing and there's a lot of
uncertainty going on right now so I am definitely just making up things as I go
right now as far as the immediate future however I'm still on path to do exactly
what I want to do long term don't worry the only thing I can count on and then I
have control of somewhat is is nature and only to an extent
obviously I saved this for the end because I didn't want it to sour the
video but if you've been following me over the years every time I come back to
the northwest where I'm born and raised and went to college and got my degree
and everything something always drastically changes
around here usually one of my favorite campgrounds close closes and while liar
River has chosen not to reopen this year for Coe bed I stopped at another
favorite I guess you'd call it number two in the state and ladies and
gentlemen I have to report the sad news that ryf lake is officially closed
forever now I'm talking about ryf Lake the DNR campground not ryf Lake the
State Park with the boat launch but the one that I go to you guys you guys have
been with me I've been there four or five times in my life I've made some
incredible memories a trifle like camping with solar we filmed the bald
eagles swimming kayaking everything on ryf lake so the fact that the gates have
been closed and DNR and Tacoma Power has determined that the area needs to be
preserved a lot like Sherman Valley some seven years ago and when they shut that
one down and bulldozed it back to its natural state yeah they need ryf Lake
Campground to go back to natural and so that's what they chose to do and what
can we really say every time I go there I I would have picked picked up garbage
and left it cleaner than when I got there I did my part I know a lot of
people did their part we'll never know why they're closing it but it doesn't
matter it always happens I'm sad obviously I'm sad guys but it's it's
it's a done deal it'll it'll never be back so we have
rife lake in our memories we'll have to go find another lake
somewhere else in the country to make up for rife Lake okay anyway guys like I
said I do not know where Jax and I will be next all I know is that you will see
me in at least three days no more than three days you'll hear from Jax and I
again somewhere okay you guys be well I love you all thanks for being here
bye guys