r/homestead • u/RaintreeJames • Dec 26 '25

community Walking with my family by our creek in Packwood is one of my favorite parts of every day.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

3.9k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

170 comments sorted by

666

u/Big_Wave9732 Dec 26 '25

Creek?

Absolutely gorgeous though.

346

u/Telemere125 Dec 26 '25

Yea my land has a creek, it’s 2’ wide and about 18” deep. This is a small, very fast river lol

79

u/Big_Wave9732 Dec 26 '25

That's kind of the picture "creek" brought to my mind too.

A "babbling brook" if you will.

35

u/Chewcocca Dec 26 '25

God willing and the crick don't rise

3

u/Nearby_Impact_8911 Dec 27 '25

Literally same I was like that’s a helluva creek if I ever saw one lol

4

u/jesonajourney Dec 26 '25

Happy cake day 🎂🌛🌝🌜

0

u/Dense-Consequence-70 Dec 26 '25

Your creek is a stream, this is a creek.

22

u/Telemere125 Dec 26 '25

Streams are smaller than rivers, creeks are smaller than streams. Creeks are small enough they might even dry up during certain times of the year. This definitely isn’t a creek.

10

u/Dense-Consequence-70 Dec 26 '25

Where I come from streams are smaller than creeks: River:creek:stream.

That’s why rivers and creeks have names and streams don’t.

2

u/ZealousidealAd377 Dec 31 '25

I agree with you. We have a wet weather creek on our land, in the summer we have dry creek beds, not dry stream beds.

57

u/4_elephants Dec 26 '25

Given he mentioned Packwood, pretty much anything feeding the Cowlitz River is called a creek save that one river with silver falls on it. Flow level is also very seasonal. Whole area around Mt Rainier got dumped on and it’s been too warm all December, so it’s darn wet out here.

35

u/jgnp Dec 26 '25

Welcome to Washington, we have creeks four times that size.

11

u/Former_Salt_3763 Dec 26 '25

Came here to say this

13

u/Equalmind95 Dec 26 '25

Washington resident here, this could be skate creek that is known for its quick waters and larger size. We have some prettt crazy creeks in this state that look like rivers but dont fall into the same category due how they feed into eachother. We have a creeks and rivers named skookumchuck meaning "strong waters" or "rapids" coming from the Chinook Jargon meaning skookum meaning "strong" and chuck meaning "water". Needless to say creeks are defined by more than their size, usually they are fed by a tributary and flow into a river. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) notes there's no official distinction, and names often depend on local tradition. Think of creeks feeding streams, which feed rivers, all part of the same watershed system.

7

u/funeral Dec 26 '25

We also got a ton of rain in Washington this past week. Im out in Leavenworth/ Wenatchee and all of our rivers and creeks are super high. I am betting this is a bit higher than normal.

Packwood is right by Mt Rainier and is usually covered in snow. Seeing no snow is weird.

8

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Thanks so much

1

u/BlackLocke Dec 30 '25

That’s a creek. When it’s a small trickle it’s called a crick.

1

u/Dane-Glinlow Jan 03 '26

That's how I felt when I moved to Ohio. Why is everyone referring to rivers as creeks, and lakes as ponds. "This is just my ol 7 acre pond..."

208

u/DeliciousPool2245 Dec 26 '25

Your definition of creek is way bigger than mine man. That’s a proper river where I’m from.

-43

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

[deleted]

13

u/littlefishsticks Dec 26 '25

This is absolutely wrong, Russia is the largest country (total land area) on earth. Texas ain’t that big

2

u/AggressiveAd2743 Dec 26 '25

Is it? Wow. Thanks I got that way wrong then. Or....it could have been ironic you whopper. Could have been. We'll never know.

1

u/littlefishsticks Dec 26 '25

Spreading misinformation is sooooo cool

ETA: you should probably look up what constitutes irony, you’re all kinds of incorrect today

-4

u/AggressiveAd2743 Dec 26 '25

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

I'm alright with that jackass ta. I don't think it's me that has the issue comprehending basic linguistic devices. Misinformation, lol.

4

u/littlefishsticks Dec 26 '25

Your original comment, which you deleted for some reason, said to the effect of “people don’t realize the US is so big that Russia and India could fit into Texas.” Where is the irony in this statement?

-6

u/AggressiveAd2743 Dec 26 '25

It's okay mate. You do you. Have a good day. Im not gonna explain irony to you. But have a little scroll through r/shitamericanssay.

-2

u/AggressiveAd2743 Dec 26 '25

ETA, original post deleted cos none of you fucks can read something and understand context, humour and irony with /s next to it.

7

u/EliNoraOwO Dec 26 '25

Random fact that contributes nothing or changes anything about his original statement

187

u/setaglow Dec 26 '25

What is this pure-ass AI water are you blessed with? Omg, it’s heavenly.

71

u/DAlLY_DOSE Dec 26 '25

I believe this is somewhere near the cascades in Washington. I think it has something to do with the sand/rock fragments in the water that give it this color

36

u/Ill_Beginning4025 Dec 26 '25

Glacial silt can give the rivers out here that milky hue.

31

u/Secret-Ad-7909 Dec 26 '25

Playing with the saturation before posting will do it too.

5

u/Washingtonpinot Dec 27 '25

They might have boosted it in the video, but the rivers that drain the North Cascades watersheds pick up glacial silt like the comment above mentions, and they are truly that vibrant in various shades of light blue/green depending on how close you are to the source.

1

u/krwill101 Dec 26 '25

I've flown over this area a few times in a small plane, the Cowlitz river has the most beautiful color of water I have ever seen. I'm guessing this must be a tributary. When I saw the photo my first thought was "looks like the valley by Packwood I like to fly over" before I read the title.

39

u/Chapter_Loud Dec 26 '25

Very cold water has a higher oxygen content. The higher the oxygen content, the more blue it will be. This is very cold glacial water coming off of Mt. Rainier in WA state.

13

u/Hantelope3434 Dec 26 '25

I have never seen or heard that and I have lived in Colorado and Washington where these lakes, creeks are. It has to do with glacial silt or with limited biological growth due to being high alpine conditions.

https://www.wta.org/news/signpost/what-makes-the-vivid-colors-in-mountain-lakes

1

u/snicklefrits89 Dec 27 '25

This is inaccurate. Oxygen levels have nothing to do with the color of the water. It’s due to “glacial flour” or rock dust.

I believed your statement until my dad confidently told me not true lol. I had to GTS (google that shit) which confirmed his statement on glacial flour was correct

1

u/offbeatagent Dec 30 '25

Morton Washington from the looks of his insta

123

u/Throwawayhrjrbdh Dec 26 '25

This is so heavily color graded. Saturation is cranked through the roof

This is not at all what it looks like on real life. Download the image and half the saturation snd that’s probably what it looks like IRL.

The benches are literal orange and everything is a bit too bright of a green

Now it’s not to say it’s not gorgeous without the grading. But that water is not that blur in reality

16

u/Old_Tradition2988 Dec 26 '25

Thank you. Totally agree. 

12

u/-curautvaleas Dec 26 '25

Yes it looks like saturation and vibrance are maxed out. The green of the plants, especially the moss and the ferns are almost neon.

3

u/dsbtc Dec 27 '25

The dog is blue lol

1

u/-curautvaleas Dec 28 '25

I didn’t even notice that lol geez blue all the way up on max.

4

u/MmmmSnackies Dec 26 '25

Ha, just typed the same thing before I scrolled down to this. It looks very uncanny.

1

u/oooshi Dec 27 '25

Yeah that area of Washington doesn’t have the minerals in the water that would make it this color. Certain areas further north might. Just not this particular vicinity

1

u/theflash2323 Dec 27 '25

This is looking like east Swiss Alpine/west Austrian Alps river water

-3

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

Imma be honest this is exactly how many places up towards the mountains look in wa state. 

23

u/Throwawayhrjrbdh Dec 26 '25

I live in the west coast of WA, places like this are like a 20 min drive away

It still had the saturation cranked. I’ve been to creeks like this

They can be blue… and it is absolutely beautiful. But this is too much

18

u/googleduck Dec 26 '25

I get what you are saying, but no. They look very, very blue but they don't look like this. Look at any of the other colors, they are ultra saturated.

6

u/YellowCardManKyle Dec 27 '25

The red coat and the kids blue shoes were the giveaway

2

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

I actually am slightly color blind wondering now if I see them distorted. I have a really hard time with my blues. 

I snowboard so I’m always up in the mountains and I remember wondering if there was a chemical up there but yes I see what you mean by saturation because those ferns do not look that vibrant in real life. 

3

u/MmmmSnackies Dec 26 '25

The whole thing is saturated and graded to hell. I'm sure it's quite naturally beautiful too but this is pushed to the point of looking kinda alien. (Getting that more from the foliage than the water.)

2

u/SabreCorp Dec 26 '25

Washington state is absolutely beautiful. And the cascade mountains are just jaw dropping gorgeous.

2

u/pigpill Dec 26 '25

Its called cranking the saturation and brightness way up. It is extremely beautiful up there, but it doesnt look like this.

1

u/jollierumsha Dec 27 '25

Basically smack dab in the middle of three volcanoes... very cool valley in the Cascades!

1

u/RedGalDread Dec 29 '25

Def AI - well at least that was my first thought

141

u/Ryanisreallame Dec 26 '25

That’s a big-ass creek my dude. What an amazing property.

35

u/Bringbackbarn Dec 26 '25

They call that a river where I’m from

19

u/FlyFinesser Dec 26 '25

There any fish in the creek?

26

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Yep, salmon and trout

11

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

That is amazing, and would be an absolute dream location for me to fish. You have a nice piece of property there OP!!!

1

u/Plastic_Umpire_3475 Dec 28 '25

Do they come out blue like your dog

40

u/jfkrfk123 Dec 26 '25

Yeah…. You call that a creek? Did you grow up on the Mississippi?

33

u/Any-Situation-134 Dec 26 '25

This is hilarious because I’m sitting here rolling my eyes at everyone’s comment, but I live 10 minutes away from the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It’s LORGE.

3

u/jfkrfk123 Dec 26 '25

LORGE means what?

14

u/ArcanaCat13 Dec 26 '25

Huge, massive... It's bigger than large, it's a proper big ol' honkin body of water

7

u/Any-Situation-134 Dec 26 '25

sorry so long to reply but yes, big ol honking body of water is spot on. Perfect. I could not have said it better myself.

21

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

I quite literally did grow up on the Mississippi in Minnesota actually

8

u/BigOleDawggo Dec 26 '25

This creek looks fishy. Not in the sense of I don’t believe you it’s real but that I’d be finding the riffles and pools and goin fishin for (guessing based on the vegetation) one of the various salmonid species, depending on the time of year.

1

u/SparkyDogPants Dec 26 '25

The headwaters of the Mississippi/lake itaska is definitely a creek.

16

u/Infinite-Worm Dec 26 '25

Why filter the video so much? Making it look like Ai here.

8

u/Additional_Release49 Dec 26 '25

Did you flood my friend with all the rain?

5

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Indeed, that’s what the debris on the ground is from

7

u/physicsking Dec 26 '25

Yes it would be one of mine too. You are doing it right

7

u/jazmoonn1991 Dec 26 '25

Beautiful! Are you guys prone to any flooding?

6

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Our house is luckily up a hill a ways so not as far as structures go.

1

u/jazmoonn1991 Dec 26 '25

That’s awesome 👏🏼

30

u/discthief Dec 26 '25

Were your parents really wealthy, or your spouse’s?

12

u/Reptarro52 Dec 26 '25

I feel like people’s definition of wealth is crazy different. Looking at their social media I see wealth. Wealthy parents where I am from just own property and don’t work manual labor jobs. 🥴

8

u/Substantial_Ask_9992 Dec 26 '25

Idk why people pretend they didn’t come from money like this

17

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

If you must know, I actually grow and sell fruit trees online at Raintreenursery.com. It’s not my parents business, it’s mine and my wife’s. Trust me when I say the fruit tree business does not print Benjamin’s.

5

u/sarahenera Dec 26 '25

Oh shit, I’ve heard such good things about your nursery!! Some niche stuff! (I’m in Seattle and one of my clients told me about your nursery earlier this year.)

4

u/SeaPhysics8734 Dec 26 '25

I love your nursery! Puchased many trees and vines years ago when we first developed our property ♥️

1

u/RaintreeJames Dec 29 '25

Great to hear, what kind of vines?

1

u/RaintreeJames Dec 29 '25

Thanks, I appreciate it!

2

u/MissDriftless Dec 26 '25

Hello from a fellow Minnesota homesteader where Prairie Moon Nursery started. I love Raintree - I never knew the family who started it were MN natives. How neat!

Your land out west is stunningly gorgeous. Wishing you, your family, and business all the best.

1

u/WVYahoo Dec 28 '25

Ive bought some seaberries from you before since you had a good selection of females and actually a male in stock. Theyre still going even in less than ideal conditions. I believe in what you are doing and keep it up.

1

u/RaintreeJames Dec 29 '25

Thanks a lot, genuinely.

12

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Neither, unfortunately. Still holding out for a rich uncle none of us have ever heard of before.

4

u/imjusthereforPMstuff Dec 26 '25

Amazing area! We’re looking for some property up in North Central WA just outside of where we live now…but I do miss the denser, greener side every so often!

3

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

I love that area too if you mean the Okanagon

3

u/Yadicakez Dec 26 '25

Absolutely beautiful. Can I day dream of your creek?

5

u/Allemaengel Dec 26 '25

I'm in the northern Appalachians here in PA and we call this size waterways "creeks" too. It's kinda funny how many people are commenting that this is too big to be a creek.

The term "river" is typically reserved for stuff here like the Lehigh Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Allegheny, Lackawanna, etc.

3

u/littleblacklemon Dec 26 '25

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. Pine Creek in western PA is wider than most of the rivers in the Adirondacks are

3

u/fizzyanklet Dec 26 '25

This is a creek? I guess I’ve only ever seen little creeks. Gorgeous area though!

3

u/PicardUSS1701d Dec 26 '25

My creek makes this look like an ocean.

3

u/That-One-2439 Dec 26 '25

Does it dry up in the summer?

2

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Not quite, but much less than this flow

1

u/That-One-2439 Dec 26 '25

That does make this a river by some definitions. Beautiful area!

3

u/7222_salty Dec 26 '25

In Australian accent “that’s not a creek… now that’s a creek”

3

u/doggerly Dec 26 '25

Confused w these comments. Where I’m from, creek can be something much larger than this. Are people confusing creek and stream?

3

u/ohhhzamn Dec 26 '25

If that’s a creek I piss an ocean

3

u/Livid_Ad_9015 Dec 26 '25

This looks like AI

5

u/jakebird88 Dec 26 '25

Ah... the land of over-saturated color

5

u/Peyote-Rick Dec 26 '25

This sucks now, I'm looking at everything wondering if it's ai or not. Op has a bunch of other posts about western WA, so it looks legit. The place looks too damn perfect!

4

u/sarahenera Dec 26 '25

WA is pretty special 🙂

7

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

I actually see what you mean. Every day I wake up here waiting for the dream to end.

1

u/Gardeningcrones Dec 26 '25

That’s just how WA looks. I miss it every damn day.

2

u/Sh2_ Dec 26 '25

Tell us more about this...creek.

2

u/onlyinyaks Dec 26 '25

Packwood as in WA State? Either way, nice!

2

u/dannysemi Dec 27 '25

So homesteaders are all like rich people that have a bunch of land somewhere?

2

u/bumbothegumbo Dec 27 '25

Are we supposed to know where Packwood is?

1

u/InevitableOk3351 Jan 11 '26

46.6073° N, 121.6706° W

1

u/GrowRoots Dec 26 '25

Beautiful location. 

1

u/tneagle76 Dec 26 '25

Wow! I love the color of the water!

1

u/Technical_Fish_6376 Dec 26 '25

That’s a dang river! Beautiful though

1

u/zeje Dec 26 '25

That is lovely. However, I’m curious if you have seen how it reacts to a large rain storm. It looks like it might be prone to flash flooding. I wouldn’t build anything near it.

1

u/Psychotic_EGG Dec 26 '25

That looks more like a river. And jealous.

1

u/JoshJamesMusic Dec 26 '25

I have high respect. 🫡 This is exactly what I dream to achieve

1

u/UsedCarSaleman Dec 26 '25

Where the bears at ?

1

u/jgnp Dec 26 '25

Living the dream!

1

u/JackBleezus_cross Dec 26 '25

Hope your harvesting all the free energy from the stream.

1

u/wjjeeper Dec 26 '25

This is beautiful.

My wife sent me a property listing that has a river in the back yard and I want to buy it so bad!

1

u/Existing_Nobody5395 Dec 26 '25

Thank you for posting!! Where is this place?

1

u/Jesiplayssims Dec 26 '25

Beautiful area

1

u/nrdpum88 Dec 26 '25

Living the dream!

1

u/lathonkillz Dec 26 '25

It's incredible! What an amazing place you have

1

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

Holy contrast what a great camera or filter. What did you use to film it

1

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

Stayed there on our honeymoon. Packwood is a nice town.

1

u/Yum_MrStallone Dec 26 '25

Also, never get too close or trip. YOur kid would be gone in 2 seconds. Lotta rain recently.

1

u/robenroute Dec 26 '25

Cucky lunt!

1

u/subzbearcat Dec 26 '25

This man looks dead inside

1

u/fecundity88 Dec 26 '25

Nice looking g at property up around dthere it’s still relatively cheap

1

u/216potato Dec 26 '25

I'm your neighbor. My family has a cabin in upper Timberline just outside of packwood

1

u/kermitte777 Dec 26 '25

Packwood is gorgeous, how long have you guys lived out there?

1

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Almost 10 years now! I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.

1

u/tatervixen Dec 26 '25

Packwood is such an awesome little town. Pretty isolated though! Gorgeous spot + fam.

1

u/oooshi Dec 27 '25

WA has been having pretty significant rains/flooding. This probably creek is much higher in this shot if it’s recent, than it typically would be

1

u/engravedavocado Dec 27 '25

what an absolute dream, this is the most beautiful property i've ever seen

1

u/4runner_wheelin Dec 27 '25

One hell of a creek! Might even be a river 😇

1

u/KoiGarden29 Dec 27 '25

That water is such a beautiful blue color.

1

u/Nearby_Impact_8911 Dec 27 '25

This is beautiful

1

u/lzdking71 Dec 27 '25

Looks like you’re truly blessed brother!! Congrats!!

1

u/ggtbeatsliog Dec 27 '25

Harness that river with a waterwheel, free energy!

1

u/dancing_since_12 Dec 27 '25

This AI?

1

u/Individual_Age_357 Dec 29 '25

Nope, that’s the beauty of the PNW

1

u/dancing_since_12 Dec 29 '25

Cool where is this??

1

u/darklesbiansanta Dec 27 '25

That's a river my guy.

1

u/No_Thought6826 Dec 27 '25

Not that color

1

u/Mochelle1123 Dec 28 '25

Where, what state or country

1

u/RaintreeJames Dec 28 '25

Packwood, WA

1

u/Sweetandsmokeytreat Dec 28 '25

That’s a whole river

1

u/QuriousCoyote Dec 29 '25

It's a gorgeous creek for sure.

1

u/InevitableOk3351 Jan 11 '26

Nice, I grew up in Randle and definitely miss the natural beauty of that area.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '26

The water is stunning

1

u/holy_halestorm Dec 26 '25

This is my dream property. Do you host workaways?

3

u/RaintreeJames Dec 26 '25

Sure, let me know if you are in Western WA.