This is a series in which I describe a typical Tuesday during our travels. This will give you an idea of what we do on an average day – sometimes exciting and sometimes mundane.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017: Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado

8:36am – Wake up and start heating up water to make coffee. Sit and check emails while having coffee.

9:48am – Test water in kitchen sink and record levels.

10:01am – Jon and I get in the truck and park next to the bathroom by the boat launch. Jon starts walking toward the campground to start walking around. I get out of the truck and check the bathrooms, refilling toilet paper and hand sanitizer, and then drive to the water pump. I check the levels on the water pump and drive to the campground, meeting up with Jon as he is walking around the loop. We check each campsite for litter and to ensure that all fires have been extinguished properly. Then, drive back to our cabin.

The water tank was in a fenced in area near the canyon wall; we checked this every day to determine water levels and pH balance.

10:41am – Jon changes into his ‘work’ clothes and goes into the backyard to chop wood. (We have a large pile of firewood that will be used as it gets colder, since there is no heating in the cabin). I sit by the front window and read (Frankenstein, a book that was left in the cabin by the last occupant).

There was a small pile of firewood when we arrived, but Jon worked nearly every day to build this large stash.

12:57pm – I toast some bagels in the oven and spread with Laughing Cow cheese for lunch. Jon comes in and we chat while eating. After lunch, he goes back outside to chop more wood and I do dishes then return to my reading.

5:09pm – I pour a glass of wine and sit outside on the front porch with a view of Steamboat Rock. Jon cleans up after finishing chopping wood and sits with me. I can see the deer heading our way from the large field beside us.

6:46pm – I go inside and start getting items out for dinner to make spaghetti. Jon changes into his volunteer shirt and leaves to go around the campground.

We used a lot of canned and boxed food, since we only went to the grocery once every couple of weeks.

6:52pm – Jon drives the truck to the campground and parks. He walks around the entire loop and stops to introduce himself to all of the new campers. He explains where our cabin is located in case of an emergency and that we have no trash receptacles; all trash must be packed out. He answers any questions that the campers have, usually about the trails in the area.

The campground loops around to the left in this picture. You can see one of the toilet buildings by the base of Steamboat Rock.

7:48pm – Jon returns him just as I am finishing dinner. He fills out the rest of the paperwork for the day (we keep track of the number of campers, our hours, and the water that we tested earlier). We sit down with dinner at the table and watch an episode of the Amazing Race that we have downloaded on the computer. After dinner, I do dishes and we relax. We look outside to see the deer munching on the grass and leaves in our yard (they typically bed down in the bushes next to the cabin).

10:25pm – We get ready for bed and I read while Jon plays a game on his phone before we both fall asleep.

With dinner each evening, we would either watch a movie or tv show or listen to a podcast, all lit by oil lamp.

As you can see, the deer weren’t afraid to come close to our cabin!