The natural world around is a mystery, the stories we tell about it help solve them…

Fun Fact: I didn’t grow up outdoorsy but I dreamt about it often. And I dreamt about the outdoors for a couple of reasons:

1. I had the great fortune of being born and raised in the Pacific Northwest in the 80s and 90s so nature and adventure was quite literally always around the corner.

2. My family made the migration -technically BACK to Washington State-, my Grandfather was Reverend at Bethel AME Church in Yakima in the 1950s but that’s a whole other story - after a decade plus in Alaska.

So growing up in my house as far as I could remember were stories of the family living, working and playing in the vast wilderness that is Alaska. A place I’ve actually never been and where again, my Grandfather led the AME Church in the 1960s and 70s. What is now Eagle River? My family would pack into my Grandmas Winnebago and spend entire weeks out there, fishing, camping, hunting, cooking, drinking, smoking, laughing, building fires, telling stories and making memories.

My Dad worked on the Alaska Pipeline at one point and his job sent him through the entire state, and he described some of these stops as feeling like he was the only person on earth to ever be there. Pristine, untouched, untamed wilderness where the animal kingdom ruled.

When the family moved to Washington the weekend was when the family would congregate together to do most of the same things the did in Anchorage but instead of being in the vastness of Eagle River, it was at my Grandmas house or our house. So you could imagine, me before I ever hit double digits in age, eavesdropping on conversations about the time in Alaska. And it sounded like the best time ever.

Then I was introduced to outdoor school via Camp Waskowitz in North Bend. My big brother was a high school leader around the time I was set to go as a 6th grader and again I was -in my mind- whisked away to a world with camp songs, camp fires, making fast friends and more. And turns out, it was actually better in reality. So much so I went back as a high school leader myself no less than 4 times.

And all of this would help create the pathway that would lead me to Whitni - who also spent time growing up in that Alaskan wilderness with the same stories my family shared. And when we started our family as she transitioned out of the military, camping was the thing we could afford to do and we did it often. Camping became the de facto activity of the Henry family. Whether it was Eastern Washington, Western Washington, in the mountains, near a lake or near the ocean, being outdoors was and still is the thing that gets us going…

So how does all of this relate to a silly made up holiday?

Get Outdoors day was created nearly 20 years ago to encourage Americans—especially children and underserved populations—to get outside and embrace active, healthy outdoor lifestyles.

That message rings so true to who and what we embody at Campfire Coffee. I’ll beat this drum until the cows come home that while coffee is the fuel behind what we do it isn’t where we start or where we end. The story of Campfire starts with getting those people who otherwise would have zero opportunity and feel zero belonging in nature to feel inspired to go out and experience it and it ends when that inspiration turns to empowerment, confidence and the building up of our community to carry “outdoorsy” as part of their identity.

My family ended up in the Alaskan wilderness in the 1960s by way of the East Coast. The Methodist church was the pathway for my Dad and his siblings, his cousins and their families to be embedded in an environment where being outdoorsy really wasn’t much of a choice, it was a way of life. My Dad recalls taking cross-country skiing as an elective coarse in High School. And conversely, through osmosis of some sort, the outdoors has always been a place of wonderment for me. At one point, I was the exact type of person that Campfire is trying to reach. The kid who has a wild imagination of a life in the woods but never really experienced it and didn’t know where or how to start. 17 year old me, fresh off of outdoor school leadership visited Colorado for the first time and felt at home. 18 year old me hiked Diamond Head in Hawaii and felt called to explore. Even though that may not have been the language I would’ve given it at the time.

That’s the magic of being outside.

These days, being "outdoorsy" can feel like it’s being hijacked by Instagram and TikTok influencers. Sometimes it seems like you need a rooftop tent, a van build, expensive gear, or a summit photo to qualify.

But that’s never been my experience. In fact, that’s really only an experience for a handful.

Being outdoorsy doesn’t have to be a backpacking trip through the Cascades or a hike up Diamond Head. It can look the same way it did for me as a kid in the 90s, riding a bike through the ravine, wandering the neighborhood with the homeys, sitting under a big Western Red Cedar and smelling the bark, or seeing how many birds you can identify from your backyard.

It can be roasting marshmallows in a fire pit.

It can be sitting on a porch watching the sunset.

There are countless barriers that keep people from getting outside. Time. Money. Access. Experience. Confidence. Representation. But there are also countless ways to connect with the world around us.

That’s why National Get Outdoors Day matters.

Because somewhere there’s a kid like I was. Infinitely curious about the outdoors and adventure, fascinated by the stories, but unsure where to start.

And if we can help that person take one small step outside today, we’ve done something worthwhile.

The outdoors changed the trajectory of my life. It shaped my family, plays a central role in my marriage, became the foundation that Campfire Coffee is built on, and continues to remind me that adventure doesn't begin at the summit of a mountain.

It begins the moment you step outside.

Happy National Get Outdoors Day.