Waterfalls, Raccoons, and "The Snip": Motorcycle Camping in a Cabin at Silver Falls State Park

This time we're going to stay in a cabin at Silver Falls State Park. And this is my cabin. Don't crash, don't crash. Is there going to be a point where you guys get tired of making comments about Coors Light not being real beer? It's not as gross as it looks. It looks like dog food. I don't know if that's ever been seen before. The old snip. He's coming towards me. What's up dude? 400 foot cliff so I wouldn't. Check that out. Unbelievable. Hello friends and welcome back to the dork side. I'm the Dork in the Road and today we're going winter camping again. This time we're going to stay in a cabin at Silver Falls State Park. I'm the Dork in the Road and I want to be your internet riding buddy so please consider subscribing. It is still February and I'm trying to find ways to go motorcycle camping even though it is winter. And so I've been exploring some of the local campgrounds and areas that are open and landed on Silver Falls State Park and they have a campground that's open all year and in that campground they have cabins. So kind of like the yurt camping video we did in December which I'll link for you. We're going to go out check out the campground stay in a cabin maybe see some waterfalls because there are 10 I think gorgeous waterfalls out there but I'm just about ready to suit up and get out of here. Catch up with you guys and get a little closer. Let's roll. Here we are. Silver Falls the campgrounds here. I'm about half an hour early but I'm gonna go see if they'll let me get checked in because I'd love to get my firewood and everything situated as soon as possible. This is fun. That's number two. This is us down here at the end by the creek. This is it. This is us. It's open. Oh there's the key. Okay we're good. We're here at our cabin at Silver Falls State Park. It is cute. Adorable. This is neat. Check it out. There's water down there. I think it's a creek. You can hear it. A little fire pit area and this is my cabin. So the closest neighbor is over there. They have a much nicer deck but that's fine. I don't, I'm not jealous. There's my helmet. We can go inside. I'll give you the tour. Okay there's a table and there is a bedroom with bunk beds and there's a bed there. The other cabin is pretty visible through the window. Nice and then a futon out here and that's it. That's the whole cabin. So I'm gonna get my stuff, throw it in here and then I'm gonna go try to find some firewood and then we're camping. We're cabin camping. It's awesome. Let's go find that campfire wood person. I forgot my belt so my pants are gonna be falling down all night. Have fun noticing where I edited that out. Have fun noticing it when I leave it in, you perverts. Overnight facilities, cabins, cabins. Now the camping area is this way. Oh you have to buy it at the self-registration booth. What's that? Oh it's right over there. Okay. Man it's all self-service. I dig that. That's too easy. Okay, that'll get us through the night. Oh yeah, a little tight. Won't make it. Literally have wood digging into my back but that just means it's tied up. Don't crash, don't crash. We're back, home sweet home. Look at that, successful as always. Nailed it. I'm gonna unload this firewood, set up my bed and then have a beer and cook dinner. Gotta go with the Bigfoot Bushcraft Firestarters. It's a tradition these days. Link to these in the description if you want to check them out. This wood is pretty dry so I didn't put much effort into making kindling. I think we'll be able to just get this to go. Nice part about buying firewood. Wow, that's smokier than I expected. Is it not that dry? It's supposed to be kiln dried. We'll see how that goes. Yep, that was really smart. All right, well while we wait for that, it's time for step two. I couldn't get the correct size cans. There is a correct size of beer can. You'll notice I tend to prefer the Tallboys, but they don't fit in my little cooler that I brought today. This town is not nearby, so regular size cans. Is there going to be a point where you guys get tired of making comments about Coors Light not being real beer? Because they're not very original, I have to say. There's probably 20 to 30 on every video. So I know how to drink good beer. I know this isn't good beer, but I like it. So you do you and I'll do me. Sounds dirty. Now we're camping. So dinner is going to be interesting. I'm going to make barbecue chicken sandwiches, but I have canned chicken that I'm going to heat up. Some of you may remember the infamous pulled pork incident where I collapsed the pan. And total panic moment that Travis and I had in the fall. We're going to try not to repeat that this time. We'll see what happens. It is beautiful here. And as of yet, I have no neighbors. So that bodes well. The Jetboil, you can buy this potholder thing for it and just use your Jetboil as a regular camp stove. So I have that. I see the Summit X pot. And I'm just going to take these two cans of chicken and put them in here and try to just heat this up and then drain it off and I'll mix it with some barbecue sauce. Yeah, and it is a little gross. Yeah, it definitely smells like chicken juice. Same for cooking. It's already cooked. Just for heating it up. This is Costco chicken. You can buy it in cans. It's not bad. It's not as gross as it looks. It looks like dog food. I'll give you that. The only thing about the Jetboil is it doesn't simmer well. So you just got to stir it a lot. That's what we're working with. You just got to watch it. That's cooking itself. Here we go. That'll do the job. That's pretty hot. So it was boiling a second ago. I just turned it down. So I'm going to drain this off and make some barbecue chicken. After all that, we're left with some tolerable looking, if a little moist, boiled chicken. Shredded chicken. This stuff is very cold because I had it in the cooler. Could use more sauce, I think. That is tolerable. I do wish I had more sauce. Just like that, soup is on. I brought two buns. Is it the greatest barbecue chicken of all time? No. Don't wish I had more sauce. Yes. Is it the best chicken consistency of all time? No, but it beats the hell out of any mountain house meal I've ever had. And it was easy and cheap. So we're looking for cooking ideas. Canned meat, as gross as it sounds, can do a lot of good for you. You can get a lot done with that. Cheers. You don't really need to watch me eat, so catch up with you in a bit. Oh my god, you guys. You're not going to believe this. You're not going to believe what landed on my KLR. I thought they were all dormant this time of year. Unbelievable. Okay, well, if it's here, we should take advantage of it. I'm going to try to sneak up on it and get some juice to do the dishes, okay? Don't make any noise. The Pacific Northwest Green Manta Ray, right on my motorcycle in February. I don't know if that's ever been seen before. Amazing. Dinner's done. Bed is set up. Beers are flowing. And yeah, they're beers, technically. That could only mean one thing, right? Mr. Puff Puff time. Appreciate all the support on my comments in the last video with the Mr. Puff Puff in it. You know, I know that's not for some of you, and that's fine. I don't encourage people to partake in this habit, but I choose to. And, you know, it's not an endorsement. It's just something I enjoy. So this is a Cinco Vegas Gold. I have a bunch of these, and, you know, you guys see me with them a lot. And I have never once, like, been like, I gotta get some Cinco Vegases. But they're just always a good deal, and cigar bits always end up with them. You know, if you can find them for $2 a cigar, that's pretty good. I'm getting no heat off this fire. I hate these really tall fire pits. They just contain all the heat, unless you're standing directly over it. Like, I get it, you're trying to not have a wildfire, but the thing could be half as tall and still function. I'm going to try to make it my mission to get out as much as I can this winter and spring, because I'm very concerned about how dry this winter has been. It should be raining right now. It should have been raining this whole time, and we've barely had any rain in the last three weeks. And so that means no snow on the mountains. It means the forests are just going to dry out very quickly, and we are, if not outright, going to be banned from them. We're definitely not going to be able to have campfires and stuff. Last year we couldn't have campfires from May until September, and that sucked. Even in campgrounds, it used to be they never got banned in the campgrounds. I just hate camping without a fire. It's like half as good. So I'd rather camp in the cold and know I'm going to be able to have a fire as much as I can, because when wildfire season hits, and we had a wildfire warning in March last year. Like, the season's just getting longer and longer, because we're just not getting any precipitation. I'm just worried that we're not going to be able to camp as much, in the way that we'd like. This is almost I'm trying to get out now. Got something else I want to talk to you guys about. This is our fireside chat for the video. And if you're squeamish or don't want to hear about parts of the male reproductive system, that makes it sound worse than it is, I would just skip this part, the fireside chat part. But I went to a urologist this week, two days ago? Two days ago, for a consultation for the surgery. That guys our age often get. The old snip. You know what I'm talking about. Lasectomy. And I made an appointment and it's happening in April. And I just wondered if any of you have had it done, or have thought about having it done. Particularly if you have, I'm curious about your experience. I have no qualms at all about the decision. I have no qualms about, you know, it being done. If I could take a pill right now and have it done, I would do it. I have no interest in having any more kids. I love little Dork. She's going to get all my love for the rest of her life. Wife has no interest in any more kids. Not worried about that part. It's the actual procedure. It's the half an hour that I'll spend on the table, as it were. That concerns me because I had a buddy who had it done. And he told me, it's kind of like going to the dentist. So you go to the dentist and they numb up your jaw, right? And so you can't feel what they're doing. But you can tell when they're like pulling a tooth or like pushing down or drilling or whatever. Like the vibration and the sort of movement is there. And so that's sort of how my buddy who had it done described it. And that makes me uncomfortable, you know? We're not supposed to talk about being uncomfortable or dare I say it, afraid of things. But let's just say I'm not looking forward to those 30 minutes. And I guess what I want to know is, is it as bad as I think it's going to be? It's worth it and I'm going to do it. Like it's going to happen. I'm just not excited about the actual procedure. I understand that I'm going to be sore. It's fine, you know? They'll give me pain pills. I'll sit on the couch. Not worried about that. Just worried about the 30 minutes that I'll be sitting there. I would go into more detail about the prep. But I won't because this is a family channel. I'm saving the word vasectomy. It's probably going to get me demonetized as it is. I just know that a lot of you are people with testicles around my age or older. And so my guess is some of you have experienced this. And I'm just curious how your experience was. And if you have any words of wisdom or advice for me going into it, that would be really helpful. Anyway, that's your fireside chat. Not as uplifting as normal. But I was trying to give you all a lot of encouragement. I could use some. I guess that's what I'm saying. So give me some encouragement in the comments. According to the thermometer that I keep on my little possibles pouch, a little tiny one I have, it's about 35 degrees right now. It's 6.07. It's already colder here at six o'clock than it was at all the night I stayed at River Bend last week. So I had to get my other jacket. It's a stupid tall fire ring. You're not getting real heat off the fire unless you stand right over it. So I don't have internet here. No cell phone service. Can't text or anything. So I normally bring my Kindle just so I have something to do. Put it in my backpack, my hydration pack. And I moved it off the bike when I moved the bike to leave and I never put it on. So I have literally nothing to do to pass the time. That's not a bad thing. I like chilling out by the fire and sipping a beverage and playing a cigar. That's good stuff. Nice way to spend the evening. But if it gets cold and I have to go in the cabin, I'm just gonna have to stare at the walls, I guess. It's pretty cold, see? Six o'clock. It is winter. So it's not that surprising. But what are you gonna do? I don't even have like a magazine. Tomorrow morning I'm hoping to film a video while I'm here on my little possibles pouch that I take on every trip that I mentioned in the gear video, which I'll link for you on my camping gear. But I always just say this is my possibles pouch, but I never have gone through what's in it. So that's like gear that I take on every camping trip, moto camping or no. So I'm probably gonna make a video on that, which I will link for you. If it's done. Here, I'll link it when it's finished. Check it out. I appreciate you all watching a ton, seriously. It's the reason that I find the motivation to get out and do this thing that I love. So thank you for watching sincerely. Everybody, if you're watching right now, for me that this far, you're awesome. Thumbs up to you. Look at this guy. He's a ballsy little bastard. Look at him. He's right there. What's up, raccoon? The GoPro footage of the raccoon doesn't look very good, but I got a bunch of footage on my phone. So I'm gonna switch to that because it looks better. Apologies in advance for the vertical video. What's up, dude? What are you even eating over there? There's no food. You are not afraid of me at all. Unafraid. He's coming towards me, bro. Yeah, I don't think so. This is insane. What's up, raccoon? That was crazy. The raccoon just came right up. He was 10 feet away from me. I hope I got it on this camera. But if not, I got some cell phone footage that I'll put in. They are not afraid of people out here. He went back into the bushes. I'm so glad I had my camera handy. I don't know if you guys would believe me if I hadn't got it on film. Crazy. Anyway, I'm just hanging out drinking, looking at raccoons. He's back. It's been like 10 minutes. He's right over there. What's up, guy? What are we doing? We having a wildlife encounter? He does not care. Bro. I understand that I'm in your home, but I cannot believe how unafraid of me you are. Raccoon is right by me. Bye, dude. He's going back to my cabin. He doesn't care. Raccoon. Oh, he's in the tree. He's in the tree. What's up, dude? I would climb a tree too if I were you. I'm gonna leave you alone, but I can't believe how close you're getting. Wow. I'm sure you can't see him, but he's coming back down the tree. Face first. I can't believe how much this raccoon doesn't care that I'm here. He does not care. The futon bed seems a lot cushier than the one in the bedroom. The one in the bedroom feels like it's been sat on and slept on a thousand times, which it probably has. So it's pretty compressed. So I decided on the futon in the living room instead. It's about nine. I might stay up a little bit longer, but with nothing to read, nothing to do, I'm gonna go to sleep pretty soon. So I'm gonna say good night now, and I'll catch up with you all in the morning. If you're enjoying the video or you like motocamping videos, consider subscribing. Or if you're liking this one, if you like raccoons, hit the like button. That was crazy. How crazy was that? I've never seen anything like it in the woods not that close. So it's a hell of a thing. Anyway, I'm gonna go to sleep here soon, and I'll catch up with you in the morning. So good night, and thanks for watching. Good morning. The sun is coming out. It's very bright. I got up and there's frost on the bike. Picking table has a layer of ice on it, so it was definitely a lot colder last night than I thought it was gonna be based on the forecast I looked at. It must have been near freezing or right at freezing. I slept fine. That Travel Pack 4 sleeping bag sucks. I had the heat in there set to like 50, thinking a little cold is good. I was cold. I had to crank it up to like 65 to even sleep comfortably. So even in that bag, I couldn't stay warm. That's not a 19 degree bag. I'm gonna hang out, enjoy some coffee this morning. You know, it's time for a coffee and contemplation. So you all know I don't normally eat breakfast, mostly coffee, but my friend Ryan from Giant Loop, who you might remember from the Giant Loop camping and riding video I made in the, I don't know if you saw the videos that I did for the Giant Loop channel of how hard can you ride with a full set of luggage? That's Ryan. He's an awesome rider. But anyway, he took a job at Layered Superfood and sent me like a care package. And so there's this Peabars oatmeal. Figured I'd give it a shot. Gonna boil some water first. He's a cool dude. And it's boiling. All right. I like it a little solid. It's like whole oats. Look at that. I like this no bowl required action. It's been three minutes. Should we try it? A neat little setup. I like the package a lot. It's not bad. This is apple, cinnamon, chia seeds, almonds, and ginger. Superfood is like food for athletes. So it's got like a lot of energy stuff in it. But anyway, thanks Ryan. Just realized I haven't kind of shown you guys around the cabin very much. So let me show you what it looks like now before I pack everything up. Here's the door. Cool bench out here. Table. It's kind of became a catch-all for everything as I was unloading and bringing stuff in after the raccoon encounter last night. I decided to sleep on the futon. There's my boots. There's a heater with a thermostat, which is nice. Riding gear. Nice little framed picture about the falls we're at. Old old-time historical photo over there. And in the bedroom, where I didn't sleep, just a few things that I was storing to get them out of the way. That is not a bed. It's very clearly labeled. And then out the back window, you can see the neighbor's cabin pretty clearly. Think about maybe going over to the waterfall so you guys can see it. Since we're at Silver Falls, we should go to the waterfall. Probably not gonna put my riding gear on because it's just right across the street. Let me just put my helmet and gloves on. Ride over there. Walk down. Get some footage for you. There are 10 waterfalls here, but it's like a seven or eight mile trail. So I'm not gonna do that today. It's about 10 a.m. And I'm gonna run across the street and show you guys the waterfall because it's gorgeous and you need to see it. There's the drop box. Need that for later. Chilly. A little chilly. And we're here. Ta-da! There she is. Let's go for a walk. Beautiful morning. I cannot believe it's winter. The place has been here for a long time. That is the top of the falls. It seems unimpressive from this angle. Wait till you see the other one. Okay, I'm starting to see. It's starting to make more sense. Do you see those people all the way down there? You probably can't. Yeah, there's a, you know, 400 foot cliff, so I wouldn't recommend it. It's a very astute sign. Check that out. Unbelievable. This is South Falls. This is one of 10 waterfalls out here. You can even hike to all of them in the same day. See the trail that goes down underneath? You can go behind the waterfall and you can even go down to the very bottom of the pool. And this is five minutes from the parking lot. Anyone can walk it. I promise you a waterfall. There it is. You'll have to come here and camp to check out the rest. You see there are 10 waterfalls here. This is the trail. Some very close together. Really cool place to hang out. Great park. This has been a very fun, very eventful overnight adventure. To stay in a sweet cabin, check out a waterfall. Make friends with a raccoon. I hope you enjoyed coming along. If you did, please consider subscribing to the channel. I also want to take a minute to give a shout out to my channel members and patrons. Without whom content like this wouldn't be possible. Channel members and patrons get early access to videos, merchandise, discounts, and other perks. And there are links in the description below. If you want to support the channel without committing to a monthly investment, which I totally get, you can use my links to Rocky Mountain ATV, Amazon, RevZilla, and Motocamp Nerd. If you click on those links when you're buying the gear that you were already going to buy, I get a small commission. You help me feed my family. Your gear costs you nothing extra. It's a win-win-win. I think it's about time for this winter cabin camping adventure to come to a close. So I'm going to pack everything up on the bike and get out of here. But for now, and as always, I just want to say thank you very much for watching. And please do not forget to be excellent to each other. Thank you.