Hiking Mammoth Cave and Scheduling RV Repairs

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[0:02] I hereby call this meeting to
[0:04] order I've been wanting to do that since
[0:06] I got here on Wednesday I don't know I
[0:08] just had the thought cuz we've been here
[0:11] before and we talked about that like way
[0:14] back in April I think so I think what
[0:17] we'll do is we're going to go towards
[0:19] Mammoth Caves I want to try to hike a
[0:20] trail there we'll visit the visitor
[0:23] center again cuz I want to get another
[0:25] map put this one up on my
[0:27] fridge so I can look at it it's this is
[0:30] where I just I I love things like that I
[0:33] love Maps so um you know I got the Lake
[0:35] Cumberland went over there and that
[0:38] one's got a little different
[0:40] significance to me but this one while
[0:41] we're here you know I want to explore as
[0:43] much of that as I can so we're going to
[0:45] hike a trail there today and on the way
[0:48] is the RV repair well both of the RV
[0:50] repair shop so I'll stop at those and
[0:53] get an assessment from them and then
[0:56] we'll just go hiking we're going to take
[0:57] the big battery with us I love this
[1:01] thing to use that to power my GoPro when
[1:04] it's in my
[1:06] Jeep back here all by ourselves so
[1:11] wonderful oh I love this thing this
[1:13] thing is
[1:15] amazing so my GoPro which I'm using
[1:18] right now um it won't stay up anymore
[1:21] because the adhesive is wearing off
[1:23] which I knew that happened we're just
[1:24] going to tape it up because I don't know
[1:26] where I'm positioning it permanently
[1:28] that yet so we're just going to going to
[1:30] try taping it up and see how this looks
[1:32] I'm using reflectiv because I love this
[1:34] stuff it is remarkably hot outside it's
[1:37] going to be 95 today so that's hot but
[1:42] we're going to make the best of it I
[1:43] don't want to be stuck in doors my GoPro
[1:46] shut off before I could actually take a
[1:48] look at it and see what this angle
[1:50] looked like I think that's probably
[1:51] better it was showing too much of the
[1:53] roof now it's showing join me hello it's
[1:56] not actually
[1:58] recording hello
[2:00] humans so we got a view basically at the
[2:03] front and the side you just me over here
[2:05] you can watch me shifting gears I love
[2:07] manual
[2:08] transmission so I just absolutely love
[2:10] it every Jeep I've had has been like
[2:11] this I I I taught myself so very proud
[2:14] of
[2:15] that so we're off hello humans so we got
[2:20] a view basically at the front and the
[2:22] side and just me over here you can watch
[2:24] me shifting gears I love manual
[2:27] transmission so I just absolutely love
[2:29] it every Jeep I've had has been like
[2:30] this I I I taught myself so very proud
[2:33] of
[2:34] that so we're off we're going to dump um
[2:37] I got some trash to put in the dumpster
[2:38] and then we're going to go
[3:01] [Music]
[3:17] spe
[3:32] all right is this on yep okay so um I
[3:36] noticed from my video yesterday that I
[3:38] think that that one part that was just
[3:40] had this weird screeching going on I'm
[3:42] wondering if it was my air conditioner
[3:44] or the wind and I also noticed a lot of
[3:46] noise from my tires because they're
[3:48] special kind of tires um I think we can
[3:50] solve that I have a DJI mic system it's
[3:54] got a receiver and then it's got two
[3:57] mics I'm wondering if I can hook one of
[3:59] the mics up to the GoPro and maybe one
[4:01] of them up to my phone or something that
[4:03] I might just put up on my Dash over here
[4:06] um I'm not sure what you do with the
[4:08] receiver though two different things I
[4:10] don't know you know I need to experiment
[4:12] with all that we won't do that today
[4:14] it's too much I'm not you know trying to
[4:16] overwhelm myself it's an iterative
[4:18] process but I do think over time we're
[4:21] going to come up with the system that
[4:22] works and we haven't talked about it but
[4:24] this is called extended cognition and
[4:27] I'll explain that concept later but not
[4:29] today um I'm trying to create a system
[4:32] that extends my cognition for multiple
[4:36] reasons and it has to be efficient it
[4:39] has to work for me and that's a process
[4:41] and it's a process we'll be working on
[4:42] for a while this is going to be so hot
[4:45] as long as we're in a tree canopy while
[4:47] we're hiking shouldn't be too
[4:51] bad got to deal with that in a minute
[5:01] no Tyler today I don't know why I like
[5:03] him so much he's just an interesting guy
[5:05] like I get a vibe from him I just think
[5:07] he's cool and he has a Jeep and you know
[5:09] that's always part of it it's just a
[5:11] Jeep
[5:12] thing so I'll be right
[5:19] back all right so it's booked up and
[5:22] there's going to be visitors coming
[5:23] Thurs today I'm going to have more
[5:24] neighbors again unfortunately and
[5:27] they're going to be here for over a week
[5:28] the whole time that time
[5:30] here um yeah it is what it is you know
[5:35] I'll take advantage of the time I have
[5:36] until
[5:38] then
[5:40] um so yeah we're stuck where we're at
[5:44] it's fine though also she told me there
[5:46] is laundry there still it's just that
[5:48] the locks are broken and um I don't know
[5:53] I guess there's laundry there I could
[5:54] have saved some money at least I know so
[5:57] that I can do laundry on goinging while
[6:00] I'm
[6:01] here going to stop and get something to
[6:04] drink I didn't have anything
[6:06] cold and then we're going to head to
[6:09] Mammoth Caves or we're going to head to
[6:11] the RV places they're along the way to
[6:13] Mammoth Caves
[6:15] so um I got a whole plan
[6:20] here adaptive thinking
[6:38] I didn't mean to stop you sorry get out
[6:41] of the
[6:46] way okay there was this semi behind me
[6:50] and I I didn't cut him off but he was
[6:52] closer than I
[6:54] realized all right so I am going to get
[6:56] something to drink
[7:02] I was going to get some orange juice but
[7:04] they didn't have any that sucks I need
[7:07] coffee not fully awake yet let's get
[7:10] this plugged
[7:11] up get our day
[7:14] going we'll stop at I think it's called
[7:17] Blue
[7:20] compass and the other one I'm not sure
[7:23] but it's on the way we'll pass it I
[7:25] don't know if anyone is there or not but
[7:27] we I know there was a phone number on
[7:29] the side fine we're going to Blue
[7:32] Compass
[7:37] RV even my phone is hot and it's not
[7:40] even doing
[7:42] anything this one I
[7:46] think
[7:52] okay
[7:57] okayo it is hot
[7:59] it is Fox
[8:03] wow I think it's the um it's not just
[8:07] hot it's the humidity too I got in
[8:10] trouble for that song I love that song
[8:14] it's a new one I just learned about
[8:16] we're going we're going the wrong way
[8:20] there oh how we doing we're good on gas
[8:22] we're good to go I think I go right yes
[8:26] cuz we're going to Scottville I went
[8:27] there last night to get something to eat
[8:30] cuz I was starving and I didn't think
[8:32] about food soon enough so I went pretty
[8:34] late at night this one though I hadn't
[8:36] been driving at night in a long time
[8:39] enjoyed
[8:41] that I am loving my lifesty truly L
[8:48] needs so we got 17 miles to go
[9:00] I learned why they call them River Lakes
[9:02] by the way i' had been wondering about
[9:04] that this is Baron River Lake it's
[9:07] because it is a river but then when they
[9:10] Dam it up like at a CO a Coe makes a dam
[9:13] you know they turn it into a Leake so
[9:15] it's a river
[9:17] lake I once did this on a highway when I
[9:19] was really young and I ended up in the
[9:22] um in the ditch or whatever it's called
[9:25] and that was a bad experience it was a
[9:27] friend's vehicle I really messed it up
[9:30] police came out I was so embarrassing
[9:33] yeah I don't know what I was
[9:36] thinking I was so young I must have been
[9:38] like 19 at the
[9:42] time so I'm a little cautious with those
[9:48] things
[9:51] always use your experiences to inform
[9:53] your future
[9:58] ones Pro propane tanks filled oh my God
[10:00] we found a place to fill my propane
[10:04] yes
[10:06] finally I know I can do it
[10:09] here
[10:11] yes 6 months no
[10:15] propane all right so I'm going to go in
[10:17] here and talk to these guys what I was
[10:20] trying to say is you know I'm not real
[10:22] experienced at this part so it makes me
[10:23] a little uncomfortable but we'll deal
[10:24] with it you know I got to deal with it
[10:26] so um then this is how you get better at
[10:28] it so so we're fine I'm going to shut
[10:32] this down so it don't
[10:35] overheat all right I'm done that was a
[10:37] very long cat I like these guys um so
[10:40] I'm going to bring it in Tuesday morning
[10:43] just after the holiday they're going to
[10:44] need it for maybe 2
[10:46] days long list of things to do it's
[10:49] going to cost me a couple
[10:51] thousand um but
[10:53] it's that's including like um they're
[10:56] going to put in a new power Inlet
[10:58] because of the arcing they're going to
[11:00] put in a new
[11:03] um um surge protector that's integrated
[11:07] into the system and they're going to fix
[11:10] all the things I talked about so very
[11:13] very excited they told me I a good they
[11:15] gave me a pretty good idea of what's
[11:17] going on with my slide and it makes a
[11:19] lot of sense um maybe we'll talk about
[11:21] that later because it's kind of a
[11:23] complicated situation but it shouldn't
[11:24] be a huge problem to fix so I'm very
[11:28] happy to hear that
[11:31] we're going to head out to Mammoth Caves
[11:33] now to The Visitor Center so that I can
[11:35] get a new map and we're going to go try
[11:37] to find this trail that I saw
[11:42] yesterday so we're just going to go have
[11:44] some
[11:48] fun wow we're an hour away 45 minutes
[11:55] away wow that guy is Towing this giant
[11:59] Giant RV with
[12:02] a I don't even know what that is those
[12:04] things that you pick crates up with you
[12:07] know
[12:08] those
[12:11] wow that thing's beautiful holy crap
[12:14] that's
[12:16] beautiful part of me wishes I had a
[12:18] different RV but I'm not going to stress
[12:20] about that oh they're even going to
[12:23] mount my solar equipment for me I'm so
[12:26] happy man am I happy
[12:30] we're finally dealing with the
[12:33] problems can you see it it's a little
[12:35] loader machine let me just come this way
[12:37] so you can see I can't I don't want to
[12:40] bother what is that the pallet things
[12:44] they look pallets he's Towing an RV with
[12:47] it how the it's a big RV by the way
[12:51] it's
[12:51] big I'm shocked did
[12:55] I to this road goes both ways
[13:01] okay I am glad we came here I feel very
[13:04] comfortable with these
[13:06] guyss so which way are we going hey why
[13:09] aren't you
[13:12] working okay yeah
[13:21] turn
[13:23] Okay so freaking hot oh my God we're
[13:26] going to die
[13:27] today going to be it's so hot out
[13:32] there so we got a long drive ahead of us
[13:35] I'm just going to shut this down for now
[13:36] so I can listen to
[13:38] music um I don't want to get myself in
[13:40] trouble with
[13:42] YouTube
[13:44] but it's a process we're going to keep
[13:46] working on
[13:49] it Hello friends that's probably a weird
[13:53] angle looks like it's
[13:56] not not centered
[13:59] so we're at Mammoth Cave Visitor Center
[14:02] we're just going to pick up a map cuz I
[14:04] put the other one on my wall in my
[14:07] fridge oh I was curious how busy they've
[14:09] been given it's a
[14:11] Monday just as busy as
[14:14] yesterday fascinating I like it
[14:17] here we are going to explore the hell
[14:21] out of this place not all of it today of
[14:23] course but I'm thinking maybe I actually
[14:26] want to spend more time here like I I
[14:29] want to see this place in the Autumn I
[14:30] want to see the Natural Bridge in the
[14:32] Autumn before I leave Kentucky so maybe
[14:35] we will hop around between the two
[14:36] campgrounds I
[14:37] found maybe for like an extra month or
[14:40] something I don't know um I need to
[14:44] think through the the timeline there on
[14:46] when autumn will get here but I really
[14:49] do want to explore this
[14:51] place so we're going to do that I
[14:56] think what's this guy doing
[15:00] is he struggling or
[15:03] what we're just going to go
[15:07] over there I
[15:12] think they're not as busy um cuz
[15:16] basically every spot was taken before
[15:20] so um it's not that
[15:25] bad he was parking
[15:29] wondering what I was doing I
[15:32] guess yeah they're not near they're not
[15:34] as busy but they're they're busy there's
[15:36] lots of cars
[15:40] here all over Pennsylvania Rhode
[15:43] Island do we have over
[15:48] here um I don't know what that one is
[15:52] can't
[15:53] tell
[15:56] Maryland just all over I see New Jersey
[15:58] played over there I know what that one
[15:59] looks
[16:01] like some of them just look foreign to
[16:03] me but I don't think that can be right
[16:05] like they just must be like I don't know
[16:07] I'm thinking they're probably the
[16:08] northeastern states or something they
[16:11] just have a vibe to
[16:12] them so I'm going to go get a map and I
[16:16] will be
[16:17] back guys I finally got a ducky I
[16:20] finally got one I met you this person
[16:23] left it let's give them a ducking
[16:30] I don't know when this stopped I'm going
[16:31] to give him this one I think it's just
[16:33] cute it's like a chicken just just came
[16:36] out of a t they got all these really
[16:38] cool things on there Jeep I don't have
[16:41] those they got all those Ducks there
[16:43] they've got two little American ones
[16:45] interesting so they put it on my
[16:48] door that obviously makes a lot of
[16:52] sense let's do
[16:55] that oh I put it in my pocket I was like
[16:57] where's my ducking
[16:59] now I don't know where
[17:01] my keys
[17:07] are
[17:12] good I finally got my second duck I'm so
[17:16] happy I was about to start cheating I
[17:18] was going to put my ducks up here so
[17:19] that people knew I participated but my
[17:22] need for authenticity was stopping me we
[17:25] have a ducky oh and it's wrapped in like
[17:28] what is that it looks like it's wrapped
[17:30] in a bunch of bandages it's so
[17:32] cute that is so cute oh my God I love
[17:36] this one I have a ducky that came from
[17:39] Mammoth Caves I will remember it forever
[17:42] that is so cool for some reason I have
[17:46] to unplug it and plug it back in every
[17:48] time in order to make it start recording
[17:51] again to press the button cuz it won't
[17:53] work if I don't do that it's so annoying
[17:56] but I'm going to keep working on it
[17:59] so I just got my first ducky you'll see
[18:02] that already from my other video but I
[18:04] got a ducky I'm so happy so I just got
[18:07] to visit the national parks and stuff if
[18:10] I want to get them we're going to so I
[18:13] asked about the caves you have to go in
[18:15] groups you have to do it as tours you
[18:17] can't go in on your own
[18:19] anywhere so I don't know like I don't
[18:23] like crowds so I don't know if we're
[18:25] doing that ever I do I guess we'll do it
[18:27] once cuz I want to see the
[18:29] caves but we are here for the trails and
[18:33] I don't want to take a long trail cuz
[18:34] this is super hot I am dying
[18:37] actually let's get some air
[18:41] going
[18:44] um but I'm not really sure like what we
[18:48] should hike today there was a
[18:52] pond where did it
[18:56] go there was near here there's some kind
[18:58] of a Pond Trail there it is
[19:02] Sloan Crossing
[19:04] Pond very small that's going to be a
[19:07] small
[19:09] Trail we need at least something like
[19:14] reasonable how are we going to find this
[19:16] this is
[19:19] like man there are so many cool ass
[19:21] Trails like holy I we have to hike
[19:24] them
[19:27] all well let's let do an easy one
[19:31] today oh this is
[19:37] exciting so let's see here there's one
[19:40] that's near the Green
[19:42] River but that's long cuz you got to
[19:45] take one Trail to another Trail to
[19:46] another
[19:48] Trail and based on the scale down here
[19:51] this is 2
[19:53] miles so let's see
[19:56] here might might be too bad maybe we
[20:00] should do it we need to figure out how
[20:03] to get
[20:06] to I think we should Big Hollow Trail
[20:10] Head wonder if I can pull that up like I
[20:13] don't know let's find
[20:15] out do you make things easy for me
[20:18] Google Big
[20:21] Hollow Trail h
[20:31] can you guide me
[20:38] there internet's not so great at the
[20:46] moment oh my God it
[20:52] can I think it can let me
[20:56] check I don't know if it's I'm not 100%
[20:58] in here but I mean it's only half a mile
[21:01] away it must
[21:03] understand
[21:06] yes my map Reading skills have eroded
[21:10] over
[21:12] time
[21:14] so I didn't
[21:16] find
[21:17] [Music]
[21:18] um
[21:21] like why can't think of worse today I
[21:24] couldn't find anywhere to get any cold
[21:26] drinks like a vending machine
[21:29] and we were in the park and I didn't
[21:31] bring a lot I do have some water in my
[21:35] my backpack I guess we're forced to
[21:37] drink water cuz I'm not going to go
[21:39] looking we got a duck I'm so happy oh we
[21:43] got a duck somebody left me a duck I
[21:47] love that person by the way I think I
[21:49] know who it was and I think cuz the jeep
[21:52] was right next to me de always Park
[21:53] together I
[21:55] think um their license plate was from
[21:57] Florida and it said disabled veteran a
[22:00] disabled veteran gave me a ducky and I
[22:03] gave them a
[22:07] ducky all right let's go I wouldn't
[22:10] think the visitor center would had
[22:12] something to drink in there I need you
[22:16] know what they have a big Campground
[22:19] here let's go check
[22:21] it I need like cold
[22:25] drinks May area the lodic okay a lodge
[22:29] that'll have a vending machine let's do
[22:31] that first this thing's taking us there
[22:34] so that can't be right I don't think
[22:36] that's right um for the trail hat I
[22:38] guess we'll find out so we're really
[22:41] going this way
[22:46] okay I love this place ooh I see a place
[22:49] with it's got ice there's stuff going on
[22:52] over
[22:54] there we got to go over there all right
[22:58] let's first check out if there's a trail
[22:59] head
[23:02] here authorized vehicle only and it's
[23:04] tell me to go that way I'm not allowed
[23:07] to
[23:08] [Applause]
[23:11] Google that's confusing I don't think I
[23:13] found the trail head for
[23:15] us I don't believe it I don't think it
[23:18] found the trail head we're going to have
[23:20] to
[23:21] have we're going to ask all right let's
[23:24] go
[23:25] around this place is huge what what's
[23:28] going on in
[23:30] here what's going on in
[23:33] there we must
[23:37] know they're building something
[23:41] new I wonder what they're
[23:45] building I love seeing work on our
[23:48] national parks and stuff so
[23:54] cool is this a road
[23:59] does not feel like a road to
[24:02] me what is going on over
[24:06] here that jeep doesn't have any
[24:09] Ducks I mean I'd be stopping every 5
[24:13] Seconds oh it's got a duck maybe we
[24:16] should stop I am so tempted we're
[24:23] stopping we got to give him a
[24:26] duck let come over here
[24:31] they have a doctor we got to give them a
[24:36] doctor it is just how it
[24:42] works all right let's give these people
[24:45] a
[24:46] ducky they only have they got a few
[24:50] actually they seem to come in different
[24:52] sizes I didn't know
[24:55] that o a pirate one pirate one let's
[24:58] give him a pirate
[25:00] one don't know what kind of equipment
[25:03] that is it's very interesting oh I know
[25:06] what that
[25:07] is okay oh that's nice I wish mine had
[25:11] that now they got a
[25:15] pirate we're
[25:19] off we gave him a pirate so cool I want
[25:23] a pirate I'm not cheating though I'm not
[25:26] doing it see I
[25:30] will I will like I'm just so ethical
[25:34] like I've been wanting to put my duckies
[25:36] up here and I'm like no you will get a
[25:37] ducking just wait you will get a ducky
[25:40] I'm the same way with my channel I don't
[25:41] want to manipulate on this
[25:43] channel so I
[25:45] don't be
[25:50] patient I always play the long
[25:53] game all right let's go see if we can
[25:55] get some cool drinks and figure out
[25:57] where that tra
[26:10] that I mean we went to The Visitor
[26:13] Center and they is in like
[26:19] what some kind of a I don't know what
[26:22] that one over
[26:26] here I think
[26:29] I don't know what it is I'm not going to
[26:30] speculate but there's oh it's the post
[26:32] office Mammoth gave I did see that they
[26:35] had a post office so that's not pop
[26:38] that's just
[26:40] ice man I need cold
[26:45] drinks we're just going to end up
[26:46] driving around trying to figure stuff
[26:48] out I
[26:51] gu Mammoth Cave Railroad Company how
[26:55] cool
[27:01] is that a vending
[27:03] machine yes it is oh a camp store
[27:09] cool Hello Camp store you are exactly
[27:12] what I was looking for you have
[27:15] sandwiches I am
[27:18] hungry I don't have a lot of cash on
[27:22] me let us stop here for a
[27:24] moment maybe they could tell me how to
[27:26] get to this place
[27:29] trying to get
[27:31] to Big Hollow Trail Head Big Hollow
[27:34] Trail Head let me try to remember that
[27:36] Big Hollow Trail head
[27:59] oh got a very nice guy in there he told
[28:02] me so the trail I'm trying to get you is
[28:04] an hour and a half
[28:06] away um because you have to drive there
[28:08] if the ferry was working um it's a 20
[28:11] minutes if the ferry was working so but
[28:15] he did tell me where to go for other
[28:17] trails and they're all behind The
[28:20] Visitor Center and they just Branch off
[28:23] so let's do
[28:24] that go back to the visitor center
[28:29] and figure out takes you down by the
[28:31] river so now I know why the fair is so
[28:33] important hour and a half
[28:38] wow that makes this place pretty
[28:41] big this is
[28:46] awesome oh yeah I saw this too I have to
[28:49] have a certain kind of vehicle to park
[28:51] there hybrids and stuff
[28:59] so we shall Park here I guess and go for
[29:02] a hike go for a
[29:08] walk turn this off so I'm going to leave
[29:11] the GoPro behind cuz it's you know I
[29:14] taped it up there I don't want to mess
[29:15] with the mount until I get a better
[29:16] mount for that
[29:17] situation just take my
[29:21] camera and we're off this bridge looks
[29:24] pretty cool but we got to go this way
[29:26] historic entrance think something to
[29:28] deal with his
[29:29] stor that's where the trail store he
[29:32] said something about his stor so we're
[29:33] going to go find
[29:42] that historic
[29:45] entrance this is
[29:48] nice wow we put lots of effort into our
[29:51] national parks
[30:10] think we're going
[30:17] downhill y historic entrance
[30:20] Trail okay at least we have a sense of
[30:23] this those are very like short trails
[30:28] ni okay
[30:31] whatever I like this path it's
[30:34] nice but these are the common TR this is
[30:36] where everybody
[30:37] comes this isn't where I wanted to be
[30:40] this is pretty though I love this tree
[30:42] canopy looks like a trail over
[30:46] there it
[30:48] does might end up on that one look it's
[30:52] real nice but it's just going to take
[30:53] you back up it's going to be a very
[30:55] steep climb back up this is quite an
[31:00] incline
[31:01] um that feels like a way out so we're
[31:04] not going to take that
[31:06] trail be kind of
[31:09] pointless wow it feels remarkably cool
[31:12] down here like whatever the features
[31:17] are that fell there's a nice Cool Breeze
[31:19] these trails are very very
[31:21] short but we'll take them we're
[31:25] here there's some Trails down there they
[31:27] are also short but we'll probably take
[31:29] those
[31:31] to I never been here this is a new
[31:33] experience
[31:36] so
[31:39] um it's nice I like
[31:42] this I suspect the trails down there are
[31:45] more commonly hiked but there will be
[31:47] people here too we're not far
[31:52] from
[31:53] um The Visitor Center
[31:56] so those are very very tall trees
[32:00] wow those are some tall
[32:12] trees there's some nice formations
[32:15] [Music]
[32:18] here reminds me of the Natural Bridge to
[32:20] an extent but it's also unique it's
[32:23] different there's something different
[32:24] about this place
[32:27] this is
[32:32] nice and I suppose we're hiking over a
[32:35] very
[32:36] um extensive cave Network and what have
[32:40] we stumbled across
[32:45] here
[32:47] ooh hibernating cave for bats
[32:53] wow white nose syndrome
[32:59] killed a lot of
[33:02] bats
[33:04] what that's fascinating there's a cave
[33:07] over
[33:12] here
[33:14] wow I mean of course there is but you
[33:17] know still I'm here I'm right
[33:21] here okay I'll take you back to the
[33:23] visitor center
[33:25] interesting so where do you go you just
[33:28] an
[33:29] Overlook that it's just a little
[33:31] Overlook to this cave it is I
[33:35] think wow I love this place this place
[33:37] is amazing
[34:01] what oh my
[34:08] God yeah I don't explore places like
[34:12] that never no
[34:15] way but very cool it's like a whole
[34:18] other world I'll explore that in the
[34:21] Zelda
[34:23] games what do we have up here this is a
[34:26] nice little spot to just chill
[34:29] Night Flight so the bats come out at
[34:31] night oh lots of them bats are cool I
[34:38] think this is so neat I love
[34:42] this they sleeper
[34:48] winter trops cold
[34:51] air 44 degre that sounds nice
[34:57] yep they
[34:59] hibernate fascinating I didn't know
[35:03] that
[35:06] fascinating what a wonderful Trail this
[35:10] is makes sense you know the short trails
[35:12] are going
[35:14] to probably have a lot of important
[35:18] features on
[35:20] them that are Central to the park it
[35:23] makes sense why the visitor center is
[35:25] where it is okay I'm starting connect
[35:28] some dots in my head
[35:30] here fascinating so it's important to
[35:33] explore these places even if they are
[35:40] short does that say 9 miles to a picnic
[35:44] area it must be missing a dot it is
[35:47] that's funny somebody I think somebody
[35:49] did that not cool not cool guys but you
[35:54] know still funny still funny I can admit
[35:57] it
[35:59] so 0.9 that's almost a mile mile to a
[36:02] picnic area let's go find
[36:14] it I love it here there's a squirrel
[36:17] over there I've seen a few they're being
[36:19] very playful here yeah they don't seem
[36:22] too bothered by
[36:24] humans so they're quite used to us
[36:31] so maybe this takes us to the original
[36:34] cave entrance is that what they were
[36:36] getting
[36:46] at interesting that lots of people are
[36:49] not on these Trails really I've only
[36:51] past one person so far
[36:58] the visitor center is
[37:00] packed and that was nothing the guy in
[37:03] there told me he's like if you think
[37:04] this is busy you know that kind of talk
[37:08] I'm like dude I'm not making a criticism
[37:10] here I
[37:11] just I'm Different I would like to go
[37:15] see the caves with a big group of
[37:19] people oh that's where a lot of the
[37:21] people are that makes sense I mean it is
[37:23] Mammoth Cave so so what do we have here
[37:26] we have a bran in
[37:28] trail dialectical
[37:31] thinking I like this one even
[37:35] more
[37:37] do this one's awesome let's get a frame
[37:40] of this I'm going to end up using this
[37:51] somehow
[37:53] amazing let's go check out the
[37:58] um the Scenic Overlook this way and
[38:02] maybe check out the
[38:04] oh okay well okay wow lots of branching
[38:07] paths those are always
[38:11] fun let's start with the Scenic Overlook
[38:13] see what we're looking at what's going
[38:16] on around this
[38:19] place I think it's going to be pretty
[38:22] magnificent based on what I'm seeing so
[38:26] far this is a nice
[38:29] Trail such a lovely
[38:37] Trail man I love Kentucky
[38:58] okay another Branch
[39:02] here nothing clearly marked we're going
[39:05] to need to look at the
[39:06] map to understand the um trail system
[39:11] here that's a long trail too I can see
[39:13] how it leads up there wonder where it's
[39:18] going so this is a little
[39:21] Overlook no because it did say half no
[39:23] it didn't say it didn't tell us the
[39:25] distance oh
[39:28] you could walk down there
[39:30] too wouldn't be that difficult just go
[39:33] this
[39:34] way that is a beautiful
[39:37] tree you are beautiful I hope that you
[39:40] keep hanging
[39:42] on clearly trying to is anyone helping
[39:45] support you that little tree I don't
[39:48] know you're probably hurting that one to
[39:50] be
[39:52] honest but yeah that one kind
[39:55] of is taking advantage of those little
[39:57] trees there not cool not cool
[40:01] tree
[40:04] um yeah it really
[40:07] is but you know even though th trees are
[40:10] like okay we'll manage we'll do it we
[40:13] can
[40:14] manage and they
[40:16] are let's see what's this
[40:21] way wait I felt like there
[40:24] were did it Branch over there now I'm a
[40:26] little confused used okay well we can't
[40:29] go up here so let's do
[40:31] it okay yeah Dad right there and we're
[40:34] just we're we're going to merge with
[40:38] it let's see where this
[40:41] goes we got a sign over
[40:51] here yeah nearly a mile Green River
[40:53] Bluff
[40:55] Trail mile to the visitor center if you
[40:57] go this way so it's kind of curve around
[41:01] probably let's do
[41:03] that we need
[41:06] to um we need to really research that
[41:11] map you know let's be smart about it and
[41:14] understand where we
[41:15] are that is very nice maybe I could even
[41:18] bring my nice camera out
[41:23] here those rocks are beautiful
[41:28] I love the way the Shadow and the light
[41:30] is playing on
[41:31] them it's a beautiful shot there it's
[41:35] not as evident on my camera I'm looking
[41:37] at that
[41:38] now um yeah I need my I need my good
[41:42] camera so that we can do
[41:46] something um I want good pictures and
[41:52] video and not just for my main Channel
[41:54] but for others that is a little tiny
[41:56] snake
[41:58] hi you're so
[42:00] cool you're so cool look at
[42:04] you are you new to the
[42:07] world so
[42:11] cool
[42:13] awesome I'm so glad I got to witness
[42:16] that
[42:29] I like it
[42:43] here I'm wondering is there a river down
[42:45] there what's going on down
[42:48] there I think there is I think I
[42:50] remember it out the map so I do think it
[42:54] converged with the visitor center sort
[42:56] of
[42:58] oh those other Trails when we first
[43:00] turned it out when we could have Branch
[43:01] left to right I bet the left ones take
[43:03] you down
[43:05] there okay we want to do
[43:11] that definitely want to see the
[43:17] river but I'm glad that we took this
[43:19] path
[43:20] first I want to
[43:23] see what the forest of Mammoth Caves
[43:25] looks like
[43:30] it's
[43:49] wonderful yeah we're going to have to
[43:50] hike these TRS again too because I
[43:53] want I do want my GoPro
[44:00] and my Lumix camera I just need to learn
[44:02] that
[44:08] one I'm hearing some people but I can
[44:11] tell that they're down
[44:13] there her voices are carrying
[44:27] Family Man Woman
[44:30] child all right let's
[44:45] go I really want to work or volunteer at
[44:50] a place like this so badly I think about
[44:53] it it has been an ongoing thought of
[44:55] mine for a for decades
[44:59] like maybe it's time for me to act on
[45:04] that I want to get out here and help
[45:06] help build these
[45:08] fences clean up trash whatever I don't
[45:11] care what it
[45:17] is I want to help preserve these places
[45:21] that's what I
[45:24] want yep there's a river down there
[45:28] I don't know that we'll see
[45:33] it oh we got a little Overlook
[45:38] here I love this place the Green
[45:44] River I'll show you the map and then
[45:46] I'll show you the
[45:47] river or you know the
[45:51] sign there's a Green River Lake Nolan
[45:54] River that leads up to the park that's
[45:56] there
[45:57] can't read
[45:58] that that's a M's cave so I can tell by
[46:01] the
[46:02] shape so it's where a Green River
[46:05] intersect with Nolan
[46:07] River doesn't really say where we are in
[46:10] comparison like right now
[46:13] but here we
[46:16] go um very low water levels it's
[46:21] unfortunate but there's Beauty in that
[46:24] too you know there really is that's
[46:27] beautiful to
[46:31] me I love
[46:33] it so
[46:36] beautiful what a gorgeous spot this
[46:49] is I'm wondering what this thing is what
[46:52] do they de with that what's its
[46:55] purpose we're going to sit down for a
[46:57] minut we're going to just
[46:58] chill need to get a colder pop and
[47:01] stuff I had an amazing time hiking that
[47:05] simple Trail and seeing some of the park
[47:08] and
[47:09] like oh my God I'm in love with this
[47:12] place it came right out near my Jeep too
[47:14] that was
[47:16] unexpected we've got another Jeep near
[47:18] us of
[47:19] course I'm on the lookout for duckies
[47:22] now we want more
[47:24] duckies we want more of them but we have
[47:29] too we have a pair of them they're so
[47:32] cute
8:07
Reorganizing RV Storage and Tracking Luna's Sibling
Aug 15, 2024
10:51
Announcing Platform Shift From YouTube to Patreon
Aug 17, 2024
9:07
Surrendering Luna to County Shelter on Travel Day
Aug 21, 2024
26:02
Departing Smith Ridge After 90 Days
Aug 22, 2024
9:02
Explaining Integrated Processing Through the Luna Decision
Aug 23, 2024
Photos · Aug 24, 2024
Aug 24, 2024
Photos · Aug 24, 2024
Aug 24, 2024
31:20
Testing Camera Gear on Peters Creek Trail
Aug 25, 2024
8:56
Explaining Integrated Processing Through Luna Decision
Aug 25, 2024
58:03
Scouting Kentucky Campgrounds and Testing GoPro Mounts
Aug 26, 2024
19:06
Diagnosing Chassis Battery Drain and RV Maintenance Backlog
Aug 26, 2024
2:19
Sitting at Green River Overlook
Aug 26, 2024
4:37
Addressing Audience Misalignment and Ending the Bridge Attempt
Aug 27, 2024
47:39
Hiking Mammoth Cave and Scheduling RV Repairs
Aug 27, 2024
34:37
Deciding on Park Service Work at Mammoth Cave
Aug 28, 2024
12:41
Sharing Trail Space With Deer for an Hour
Aug 28, 2024
12:32
Driving to Dental Appointment, Reconnecting With Mother
Aug 29, 2024
34:33
Preparing RV Systems Ahead of Labor Day Crowd
Aug 29, 2024
11:40
Announcing Channel Rename Toward Nomadic Thinker Direction
Aug 30, 2024
6:06
Walking to the Campground Shower in Pajamas
Aug 30, 2024
10:31
Clarifying Reflection Without Self-Judgment
Aug 30, 2024
22:10
Piercing Ears in Bowling Green on Labor Day Weekend
Aug 31, 2024
50:40
Aftercare, Mammoth Cave Trails, and Boundary Statements
Aug 31, 2024
1:00
Documenting Cartilage Piercing Aftercare
Sep 1, 2024
13:24
Removing Window Reflectors, Deploying Duckies Across Campground
Sep 1, 2024
3:18
Recounting Mammoth Cave Encounter and Ear Piercing Pain
Sep 2, 2024
4:09
Explaining Integrated Awareness and Comment Removal
Sep 2, 2024
1:53
Distinguishing Integrated Cognition from Fragmented Processing
Sep 2, 2024
2:50
Changing Ear Piercings While Speaking on Integration
Sep 3, 2024
1:30
Documenting Park Cottage Conditions at 4AM
Sep 3, 2024
5:33
Tracing the Origins of Judgment from a Bathtub
Sep 4, 2024
3:04
Reframing Height Awareness as Integrated Cognition
Sep 4, 2024
3:24
Showing Bailey's Carrier Setup and Rejecting Compromise
Sep 4, 2024
1:19
Ending the Onus of Being Understood
Sep 5, 2024
3:53
Declaring an End to Adjusting His Language
Sep 5, 2024
4:44
Duck Drops, RV Repairs, and Channel Direction Shift
Sep 5, 2024
5:34
Reclaiming Ender, Removing the RV Slide
Sep 6, 2024
14:38
Retiring the Slide-Out, Preparing to Leave Kentucky
Sep 6, 2024
11:53
Departing Kentucky for the Pacific Northwest Coast
Sep 7, 2024
6:16
Naming Fear Before Pacific Northwest Winter
Sep 7, 2024
4:04
Documenting RV Slide-Out as Systemic Failure
Sep 7, 2024
PUBLIC
August 27, 2024 rswfire PUBLISHED
Temp 0.30
Density 0.60
Energetic Quality
buoyant and exploratory
Journey Phase
integrating — systems coming online
Directional Vector
toward land stewardship and a working extended-cognition system
Narrative

He called the meeting to order out loud, alone in the Jeep, and said he had been wanting to do that since Wednesday. The GoPro was already slipping — the adhesive on the mount worn past holding — so he taped it up with reflective tape rather than commit to a permanent position he hadn't decided on yet, adjusted the angle once when it caught too much roof, and reintroduced himself to the frame. Hello humans. The shot gave the road ahead, the side glass, and his hand on the shifter. He noted that every Jeep he has owned has been a manual and that he taught himself to drive one. It was going to be ninety-five degrees with the humidity stacked on top of it, and he stated plainly that he did not want to be stuck indoors. The day had a plan: the RV repair shops on the way, the Mammoth Cave visitor center for a second map, then a trail.

Somewhere in the first miles he raised the audio problem from yesterday's footage — a screech he couldn't place, air conditioner or wind, and the tire noise underneath it. He described the DJI mic system sitting unused, two mics and a receiver, and worked out loud through where each piece might go before setting the whole question down. Not today. Too much. He named it an iterative process, and then named the larger frame it belongs to — extended cognition — and deferred explaining that too, saying only that he is trying to build a system that extends his cognition, that it has to be efficient, that it has to work for him, and that it will take a while. The camera stayed running while he stopped at the campground office and came back with news that the place is booked through the rest of his stay, that Tyler wasn't working, and that there is laundry after all, just with the locks broken.

He stopped in Scottsville for something cold and settled for water and a plan. A semi came up behind him closer than he expected while he was pulling out, and he narrated the correction, then the memory it touched — nineteen years old, a friend's vehicle, a highway, a ditch, police, embarrassment — and the rule he draws from it: always use your experiences to inform your future ones. Then a sign for propane, and six months of not being able to fill his tanks ended in a parking lot. At Blue Compass RV he said the part that made him uncomfortable was that he isn't experienced at this yet, and that this is how a person gets better at it, and went inside anyway. He came out with a long list and a date: Tuesday morning, just after the holiday, two days in the shop, a couple thousand dollars, a new power inlet to end the arcing, an integrated surge protector, an explanation of the slide that made sense to him, and — he repeated it, delighted — they would mount his solar equipment too. We're finally dealing with the problems. On the road out, a man towed an enormous RV with a pallet loader, and he swung the camera around trying to get the shot.

The visitor center was as busy on Monday as it had been on Sunday. He collected the new map — the last one is on his refrigerator, where he can look at it — and read the license plates in the lot, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey, the northeastern ones he says have a vibe to them. Then the ducks. Someone had left a rubber duck on his Jeep, wrapped in what looked like bandages, and he found a chicken-shaped one to leave in return. Later, a Jeep in the campground lot got a pirate. He said he wanted a pirate himself. He also said, twice, that he had been on the verge of setting his own ducks out on the dash so people would think he had been ducked, and that his need for authenticity stopped him — the same reason he won't manipulate his channel. I always play the long game.

The trailhead defeated him for an hour. He picked Big Hollow off the map, liked the scale of it, and asked Google to guide him there; the signal was thin inside the park and the route it gave led toward authorized-vehicle-only roads and construction he couldn't identify. He drove the campground loop looking for a vending machine, found the post office, found ice that wasn't pop, and finally found the camp store, where a very nice guy told him the truth: Big Hollow is ninety minutes away by road because the ferry is out of service. Twenty minutes if it were running. He sat with that for a second and said it out loud — now I know why the ferry is so important — and let the number redraw the size of the park in his head. The trails he actually wanted were behind the visitor center all along, branching off each other. He parked, left the GoPro taped to the windshield rather than fight the mount, took the handheld, and walked.

The Historic Entrance Trail went downhill under a canopy so tall he stopped to look up at it, and partway down the air turned cold on him — whatever the formations below were doing, there was a breeze coming up out of the ground at forty-four degrees. He found a bat hibernation cave with an overlook and read the sign about white-nose syndrome, said the word fascinating several times, and looked into the opening without any intention of entering it. He passed a distance marker where someone had scratched out the decimal point to read nine miles instead of nine tenths, called it not cool and then admitted it was funny. Squirrels worked the trail edge unbothered. He noticed how few people were on the paths while the visitor center overflowed, and began connecting dots — that the short trails carry the park's central features, that this is why the visitor center sits where it does. At a fork he stopped and framed a shot of the split and named it: branching trail, dialectical thinking. He said he would end up using it somehow.

On the Green River Bluff Trail he stopped for a tree leaning on smaller ones and talked to it, then reconsidered which tree was actually taking advantage of which. He stopped again for a snake barely longer than his hand — are you new to the world — and said he was glad to have witnessed it. He noted twice that he needed the Lumix out here, that the light on the rock faces was doing something his handheld couldn't hold. And walking that mile of bluff above the water, he stated the thing that has been running underneath for decades: that he wants to work or volunteer at a place like this, that he has thought about it for years, that maybe it is time to act on it — build fences, clean up trash, whatever it is. I want to help preserve these places. That's what I want. The overlook gave him the Green River at low water, and he called the low water beautiful too. The trail curved back and let him out within sight of his Jeep, which he hadn't expected. There was another Jeep parked nearby. He was already looking for ducks.

Tags

mammoth cave rv maintenance extended cognition jeep culture trail hiking national parks camera systems

Summary

rswfire opens the day by calling the meeting to order, sets an itinerary that pairs RV service stops with a hike at Mammoth Cave National Park, and departs in his Jeep with a GoPro taped to the dash and a large portable battery for power.

He works through camera and audio setup problems in real time — adhesive mount failure, tire and wind noise on prior footage, an unused DJI mic system he plans to test later. He names the project explicitly as extended cognition, describes it as iterative, and defers further experimentation to avoid overload.

Stops along the way:

  • Propane filled after six months without a source
  • Blue Compass RV — appointment booked for Tuesday, roughly two days of work, several thousand dollars, covering a new power inlet due to arcing, an integrated surge protector, slide diagnosis, and solar equipment mounting
  • Campground office — site booked up, neighbors arriving for over a week; laundry available but locks broken

At Mammoth Cave he collects a park map for his fridge, receives his second Jeep ducky (from a vehicle with a disabled-veteran plate) and passes one on. A camp store worker explains the Big Hollow trailhead is 90 minutes away with the ferry out. He hikes the Historic Entrance and Green River Bluff trails in 95-degree heat, notes a bat hibernation cave, white-nose syndrome, a small snake, low river levels, and a trail marker reading "dialectical thinking."

He states an interest in volunteering at a place like this, describing it as a decades-long recurring thought, and plans to return with better camera equipment and possibly extend his Kentucky stay into autumn.

Environment

A day-long mobile capture recorded in Kentucky — GoPro mounted inside a manual-transmission Jeep, then a handheld camera on foot. The signal moves from an RV campground near Barren River Lake through Scottsville and a Blue Compass RV service yard, then into Mammoth Cave National Park.

Conditions are 95°F with high humidity. Interior settings include the Jeep cab, the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center, the Mammoth Cave campground store and post office area. Exterior settings are the Historic Entrance Trail, Green River Bluff Trail, a bat hibernation cave overlook, and a bluff overlook above the Green River at low water.

Substrate

rswfire is building a documentation apparatus and a maintenance baseline in the same pass: camera placement, audio routing, RV electrical repair, and propane supply are all treated as components of one operating system that must be efficient and iterative. The ontological position is sovereign mobility — he sets the day's plan, adjusts it against terrain and heat, and refuses shortcuts (staged duckies, channel manipulation) that would falsify the record. Underneath the trail-walking is an explicitly stated vocational thesis: decades-long intent to work or volunteer in preservation of public land, surfaced here as a possible act rather than a wish.

Actions

Performed

  • •opened the recording by calling the meeting to order
  • •re-taped the GoPro mount with reflective tape
  • •adjusted camera angle and framing
  • •powered the GoPro from a large battery
  • •dumped trash at the campground dumpster
  • •drove toward Scottsville
  • •stopped for a cold drink
  • •filled propane tanks
  • •consulted RV technicians at Blue Compass RV
  • •booked Tuesday RV service appointment
  • •collected a new park map at the Visitor Center
  • •surveyed license plates in the parking lot
  • •received a duck from a Jeep owner
  • •placed a duck on another Jeep
  • •gave a pirate duck to a third Jeep
  • •asked camp store staff for trailhead directions
  • •hiked Historic Entrance Trail
  • •read bat hibernation and white-nose syndrome signage
  • •photographed a trail marker
  • •observed a small snake
  • •hiked Green River Bluff Trail to an overlook
  • •read the river confluence map at the overlook
  • •sat to rest at the end of the hike

Referenced

  • •visited this area in April
  • •hiked and photographed Natural Bridge
  • •visited Lake Cumberland
  • •put a park map on the RV fridge
  • •drove to Scottsville at night for food
  • •went six months without propane
  • •ran a vehicle into a ditch at nineteen
  • •taught himself manual transmission
  • •recorded prior video with tire and AC noise
  • •visited Mammoth Cave Visitor Center the previous day

Planned

  • •return the RV for repair Tuesday morning
  • •install new power inlet, integrated surge protector, and solar mounting
  • •test DJI mic system with GoPro and phone
  • •explain extended cognition in a later transmission
  • •get a better GoPro mount
  • •bring the Lumix camera on a repeat hike
  • •study the park trail map properly
  • •hike Big Hollow Trail
  • •take one cave tour despite dislike of crowds
  • •stay in Kentucky into autumn, rotating between two campgrounds
  • •see Mammoth Cave and Natural Bridge in autumn
  • •act on the long-held intent to work or volunteer on public land
  • •acquire more ducks only by authentic exchange

Entities

beings
Tyler — Campground contact he notes as absent; another Jeep owner
places
Mammoth Cave National Park — Primary destination; visitor center, campground, trail system, and cave network explored
Big Hollow Trail — Target trailhead; unreachable at 90 minutes' drive because the ferry is out of service
Historic Entrance Trail — Short trail actually hiked; leads past the bat hibernation cave overlook
Green River Bluff Trail — Second trail segment ending at a bluff overlook
Green River — River below the bluff, noted at very low water levels
Nolin River — Confluence partner shown on the overlook map
Barren River Lake — Passed en route; occasions his explanation of river-lakes and Corps dams
Scottsville — Town on the route; site of prior night drive for food
Natural Bridge — Previously visited Kentucky site he intends to revisit in autumn
Lake Cumberland — Prior destination whose map holds separate significance
systems
Blue Compass RV — Repair shop where the assessment and Tuesday appointment are set
Jeep — Manual-transmission vehicle, camera platform, and the object of the duck-exchange culture
YouTube — Publication platform; music copyright constraint shapes when he stops recording
Forest Service / National Park stewardship — Institution he states a decades-long intent to work or volunteer for
concepts
Extended cognition — Named framework for the capture system he is building; explanation deferred
Dialectical thinking — Named at a branching trail junction and photographed for later use
White-nose syndrome — Bat mortality condition read off park signage
Ducking — Jeep-to-Jeep duck exchange he participates in only through authentic receipt
media
GoPro — Primary in-vehicle capture device; mount adhesive failing, power fed by external battery
DJI mic system — Two-mic receiver kit being considered to solve tire and AC noise
Lumix camera — Higher-quality camera he intends to learn and bring on repeat hikes
Zelda — Referenced as the frame in which he explores cave systems rather than in person

Symbolic Elements

Represented archetypes or recurring motifs.

map
branching path
threshold
cave
canopy
river at low water
heat
ferry out of service
exchange token

Ontological States

Expressed modes of being or awareness.

sovereign (sets and revises the day's route, service schedule, and recording configuration without external authority)
embedded (moving through park terrain, heat, and local exchange networks as a participant rather than an observer)
iterative (capture system explicitly held as unfinished and improved in increments)
orienting (stated decades-long stewardship intent surfaced as a near-term possible action)

Engaged Subsystems

Architecture engaged in this transmission.

infrastructural (RV electrical, power inlet, surge protector, solar mounting, propane supply)
technical (GoPro mounting, power, audio routing, camera selection)
cognitive (extended cognition thesis, dot-connecting about park layout, map reading)
navigational (GPS failure, signage, staff consultation, trail-system inference)
somatic (heat load, thirst, hunger, cool air in the sinkhole, caution from prior driving incident)
ethical (refusal to stage duckies or manipulate channel metrics)
social (duck exchange with strangers, campground neighbors, camp store and repair staff)
ecological (bat hibernation, white-nose syndrome, tree competition, low water levels, squirrel and snake sightings)
vocational (stated intent toward land stewardship work or volunteering)

Dominant Language

Core motifs or linguistic fields.

extended cognition
iterative process
trailhead / branching paths
maps and scale
authenticity / not cheating
assessment and repair
want to help preserve these places
Narrative

He called the meeting to order out loud, alone in the Jeep, and said he had been wanting to do that since Wednesday. The GoPro was already slipping — the adhesive on the mount worn past holding — so he taped it up with reflective tape rather than commit to a permanent position he hadn't decided on yet, adjusted the angle once when it caught too much roof, and reintroduced himself to the frame. Hello humans. The shot gave the road ahead, the side glass, and his hand on the shifter. He noted that every Jeep he has owned has been a manual and that he taught himself to drive one. It was going to be ninety-five degrees with the humidity stacked on top of it, and he stated plainly that he did not want to be stuck indoors. The day had a plan: the RV repair shops on the way, the Mammoth Cave visitor center for a second map, then a trail.

Somewhere in the first miles he raised the audio problem from yesterday's footage — a screech he couldn't place, air conditioner or wind, and the tire noise underneath it. He described the DJI mic system sitting unused, two mics and a receiver, and worked out loud through where each piece might go before setting the whole question down. Not today. Too much. He named it an iterative process, and then named the larger frame it belongs to — extended cognition — and deferred explaining that too, saying only that he is trying to build a system that extends his cognition, that it has to be efficient, that it has to work for him, and that it will take a while. The camera stayed running while he stopped at the campground office and came back with news that the place is booked through the rest of his stay, that Tyler wasn't working, and that there is laundry after all, just with the locks broken.

He stopped in Scottsville for something cold and settled for water and a plan. A semi came up behind him closer than he expected while he was pulling out, and he narrated the correction, then the memory it touched — nineteen years old, a friend's vehicle, a highway, a ditch, police, embarrassment — and the rule he draws from it: always use your experiences to inform your future ones. Then a sign for propane, and six months of not being able to fill his tanks ended in a parking lot. At Blue Compass RV he said the part that made him uncomfortable was that he isn't experienced at this yet, and that this is how a person gets better at it, and went inside anyway. He came out with a long list and a date: Tuesday morning, just after the holiday, two days in the shop, a couple thousand dollars, a new power inlet to end the arcing, an integrated surge protector, an explanation of the slide that made sense to him, and — he repeated it, delighted — they would mount his solar equipment too. We're finally dealing with the problems. On the road out, a man towed an enormous RV with a pallet loader, and he swung the camera around trying to get the shot.

The visitor center was as busy on Monday as it had been on Sunday. He collected the new map — the last one is on his refrigerator, where he can look at it — and read the license plates in the lot, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey, the northeastern ones he says have a vibe to them. Then the ducks. Someone had left a rubber duck on his Jeep, wrapped in what looked like bandages, and he found a chicken-shaped one to leave in return. Later, a Jeep in the campground lot got a pirate. He said he wanted a pirate himself. He also said, twice, that he had been on the verge of setting his own ducks out on the dash so people would think he had been ducked, and that his need for authenticity stopped him — the same reason he won't manipulate his channel. I always play the long game.

The trailhead defeated him for an hour. He picked Big Hollow off the map, liked the scale of it, and asked Google to guide him there; the signal was thin inside the park and the route it gave led toward authorized-vehicle-only roads and construction he couldn't identify. He drove the campground loop looking for a vending machine, found the post office, found ice that wasn't pop, and finally found the camp store, where a very nice guy told him the truth: Big Hollow is ninety minutes away by road because the ferry is out of service. Twenty minutes if it were running. He sat with that for a second and said it out loud — now I know why the ferry is so important — and let the number redraw the size of the park in his head. The trails he actually wanted were behind the visitor center all along, branching off each other. He parked, left the GoPro taped to the windshield rather than fight the mount, took the handheld, and walked.

The Historic Entrance Trail went downhill under a canopy so tall he stopped to look up at it, and partway down the air turned cold on him — whatever the formations below were doing, there was a breeze coming up out of the ground at forty-four degrees. He found a bat hibernation cave with an overlook and read the sign about white-nose syndrome, said the word fascinating several times, and looked into the opening without any intention of entering it. He passed a distance marker where someone had scratched out the decimal point to read nine miles instead of nine tenths, called it not cool and then admitted it was funny. Squirrels worked the trail edge unbothered. He noticed how few people were on the paths while the visitor center overflowed, and began connecting dots — that the short trails carry the park's central features, that this is why the visitor center sits where it does. At a fork he stopped and framed a shot of the split and named it: branching trail, dialectical thinking. He said he would end up using it somehow.

On the Green River Bluff Trail he stopped for a tree leaning on smaller ones and talked to it, then reconsidered which tree was actually taking advantage of which. He stopped again for a snake barely longer than his hand — are you new to the world — and said he was glad to have witnessed it. He noted twice that he needed the Lumix out here, that the light on the rock faces was doing something his handheld couldn't hold. And walking that mile of bluff above the water, he stated the thing that has been running underneath for decades: that he wants to work or volunteer at a place like this, that he has thought about it for years, that maybe it is time to act on it — build fences, clean up trash, whatever it is. I want to help preserve these places. That's what I want. The overlook gave him the Green River at low water, and he called the low water beautiful too. The trail curved back and let him out within sight of his Jeep, which he hadn't expected. There was another Jeep parked nearby. He was already looking for ducks.

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