A Day in the Life (by Sunshine)

Burro camping at Organ Pipe National Monument

Since this blog is as much a journal for our family as it is a way of sharing our adventures with others, I thought we might want to capture what a day of Burro living looks like. Every day of our journey is different and what we see and do is unique but we do have a rhythm that prevails. I believe all families have a pattern they fall into that helps them move through the day with some kind of order and familiarity.

5-6 am – I wake and quietly dress. Our clothes are kept in duffel bags we purchased to fit the exact space under Jim’s and my bed. Each of us has two duffels for the trip. One is in the Burro with clothes that match the weather we are currently experiencing and one is in the back of the car with extra clothes for rain, snow, sun, or whatever weather we might experience on another part of the trip. After I grab my toiletry bag, I leave the sleeping boys behind. All it takes to get ready in the morning is a quick brush of the teeth and hair, so I usually have some treasured quiet time to myself. We keep a tiny porta potty in a space under Walden's bed for emergencies (or for Walden if he decides it's time to potty train), but haven't had to use it yet because we generally camp within range of at least a pit toilet. We also have a solar heated shower bag which up to this point hasn't been needed or has been too cold to use (except once in Zion), so we've relied on campground shower houses or friends' and family's bathrooms.

Yoga on Perdido Key - Gulf Islands National Seashore, FL

6-7 am – I love to start the day with 10-15 minutes of yoga in our campsite under the trees or on the beach. It helps me feel centered and calm and I get to absorb the beauty around me before most everyone else in the campground is awake. If the boys are still sleeping, I work on Walden’s travel journal (a notebook filled with postcards and stories of our adventures written from his perspective), draft blog posts, or create little felt owls I’ve been sewing. It is precious quiet Mommy time and usually occurs in the front seat of the car.

Sleepyhead peaking out his bedroom curtain

7-8 am – When the boys wake, I head back inside to the Burro. Walden’s preferred way to start the day is to climb in bed with Daddy and listen to stories about when Jim was a little boy or about the make-believe worlds they create together. Daddy is a fantastic storyteller. I take down the curtain that hangs from a shelf above Walden’s bed and is tucked below his mattress to make a cozy little room for him in the front of the Burro. Then I turn off the iPad that has been playing the sound of rain all night and move the dishes and food bin that have been stored on the stove top to Walden’s bed area. The curtains in the Burro are rolled up and held in place with clips to let the light in. We have battery powered lights but try to use natural light as much as possible to conserve the battery. Jim replaced all the bulbs with LED ones so they don’t take much energy, but we also use the battery to charge our phones, iPad, tablets, and computer; every bit of conservation helps. We have several adapters in the car so we charge our devices while we drive whenever possible. The battery in the Burro only gets recharged when we are at someone’s home and we can plug a charger into an electric outlet. The Burro can also run on electricity, but we don’t tend to go campsites offering such amenities. If we have flush toilets or warm water at a campground, we feel like we are living the good life.

Cooking in the Burro

Next, I make breakfast. All of our dishes (except the pot, pan, and storage containers) are kept in a cupboard above the stove top and counter area. We have only enough dishes for a day, so I try to clean them after every meal. The boys usually have yogurt with fruit and granola or oatmeal with fruit. I have a mixture of squash and zucchini with almond butter, nuts, and fruit. The reason we don’t all eat the same food is because I wouldn’t expect anyone to eat what I do and I can’t eat what the boys do. I have celiac disease, which means complete avoidance of gluten containing foods, in addition to multiple other food intolerances. Over the past year, my ability to digest many foods deteriorated and we actually thought we might have to cancel the trip because of my severely limited diet. It is challenging to meet my needs on the road but we’ve made it work. I eat mainly vegetables, chicken, salmon, nuts, and berries. I can tolerate small amounts of ground beef, rice, and beans. Everything must be plain and unprocessed. Thankfully the Burro has a small refrigerator and tiny freezer that helps our fresh food last longer since we usually only get to a grocery store once a week. We have a large cooler that fits in the back of the car where we keep lots of vegetables. Two blocks of ice and a wool blanket cover keep things cold for several days.

Having breakfast in bed to stay warm in Santa Fe, NM

8-9 am – Jim gets dressed and heads out with his toiletry bag. Our bed gets made and I dress Walden. Jim usually eats breakfast outside where there is more space and it is calmer. Walden and I eat breakfast inside while playing with toys kept in his Minion backpack that hangs on the wall above his clothes duffel. Walden has one toy bag in the Burro and one in the car. He also has one bag of books in the Burro kept on a shelf above his bed and a few outside toys including a ball, sand pail, and his treasured tricycle that rides on the hitch of the Burro when we are driving. Walden is great at finding sticks and pinecones to play with, but also likes time with stuffed animals, cars, and other toys he’s acquired along the trip.

Can I ride my tricycle now?

This is also the time of day when we prepare for either traveling/driving or having an adventure.

If it is a driving day – Jim packs the camp chairs into the car top carrier, puts the wheel chocks and stabilizers into the storage bin on the back of the Burro, turns off the propane, cleans up the outside toys, and readies to hook the Burro to the car. I move the items stored on the shelves above the beds onto Jim’s and my bed (we tried to keep them on the shelves while driving several different times, but they always manage to bounce off on rough roads), secure the refrigerator and cupboard doors, and move everything off the counter and stove top. The whole process is fairly quick and we can be road ready in about 10 minutes.

Getting gear ready for an adventure

If it is an adventure day – We get any clothing we might need from the Burro and move it to the car. Walden is a good hiker when he wants to be and can go about a mile on his own, but often we want to hike much further than that so he gets pretty worn out. If we are going somewhere that might be stroller friendly, we move the extra duffel bags and food storage bins from the back of the car into the Burro. The jogging stroller rides in the Burro when we travel, sits outside under a tarp when we camp, and is moved into the back of the car when we might want it for our adventures. Walden’s other mode of transportation for a long hike is a backpack that is kept in the car top carrier (so is always with us). The car top carrier also holds sleeping bags, camp chairs, and assorted odds and ends. We have a tent, sleeping pads, extra water jugs, a small heater, and a small fan in the storage compartments beneath our bed.

Walden entertains himself while we drive

9am-noon – We either drive drive drive or play play play. While we drive, Walden entertains himself with games, books, and listening to music (Ernie and Bert singing in the bathroom is his current favorite). I navigate, keep Walden happy, and hand out snacks. Jim does all the driving, mainly because he gets too bored and sleepy otherwise.

If we are not driving, we prefer to be hiking. We mix in time for Walden to throw rocks in streams and dig in the dirt so he doesn’t get too bored. Walden loves going to visitor centers and repeatedly pressing buttons of any kind. Jim takes photos of interpretive signage for work and documentation of our experiences. If we’re on a long hike, Jim carries Walden in the backpack along with a Camelbak for water, and I carry a smaller pack containing water for Walden and I and food for everyone.

12-1 pm – If it is a driving day, we always try to find a park for a lunch stop. Walden loves playgrounds, so we try to incorporate one into the day whenever possible. National Parks have a serious lack of entertainment for small children. Yes, nature is the best playground, but when the only rocks to explore are perched above a cliff or climbing on the giant trees hurts their roots, a three-year-old’s need to explore gets squelched. Whenever we stop, Jim lights the pilot on the refrigerator because blows out when we drive. I prepare lunch while the boys run and play.

Lunch break at Capstone Canyon State Park, TX

If it is an adventure day, we find a fun place to have a picnic and I pull our prepared lunches out of the backpack. Jim usually eats a sandwich, chips, and banana. I usually have a salad, veggies and hummus, or tuna with avocado. Walden has peanut butter on a corn tortilla or rice cake, fruit, and cheese. Walden’s focus on eating never lasts long enough to fill him up-- play trumps hunger--so his lunch is usually finished on the go.

1-5 pm – More driving or more playing. We’ve found that a drive that would be 5 hours non-stop usually fills a day for us. By the time we stop for gas, lunch/playground, and scenic lookouts, a longer drive gets to be too much car time for Walden. We’ve definitely done longer days but it becomes exhausting for all of us.

Worn out - Apalachicola National Forest, FL

Walden is at an age where he can make it through a day without a nap, but without one, he gets pretty crabby in the evening. After a few days of no naps, he becomes rather unpleasant to be with and eventually falls asleep exhausted at some random point in the day. We try to avoid this by providing napping opportunities when we can. Sometimes he’ll nap in the backpack if the hiking trail isn’t too rough. Sometimes he’ll nap in the stroller if we walk far enough. The best naps occur in the car on our way back from an adventure. If Walden does take a nap he earns coveted "iPad time" for up to an hour while I prepare supper. Walden loves to watch Curious George or play games that Jim loaded before we left home.

5-6 pm – Jim and Walden run and play in the campsite. They also get water, prepare wood for a campfire, or have quiet time to themselves. I prepare supper in the Burro, which is also quiet time for me. We have a handful of meals we enjoy on the road that can be prepared on a two burner stove. Chicken or salmon – the sides being broccoli or green beans and potato fries. Pasta with sauce – I add ground beef and lots of veggies to the sauce. When we have access to a microwave, I cook spaghetti squash before leaving and use that in place of pasta. Tacos – a mixture of ground beef, sweet peppers, rice, and salsa. The boys eat it with cheese on corn tortillas and I put it over lettuce. On occasion the boys will cook Applegate natural hot dogs over the fire that we’ll eat with veggies. I also keep some quick boxed meals on hand for the boys, such as soup and mac and cheese, for when the fresh food runs out or we are in a hurry. On those days, I eat canned tuna/salmon or almond butter on rice cakes.

Supper time in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

6-7 pm – We start our meal by saying something from the day we are thankful for. It is a nice time to reflect on what we’ve seen and done and creates an opportunity to be positive even on challenging days. We try to enjoy a peaceful family meal, but often Walden can’t sit still so we get a few bites in ourselves between attempts to entice him back to the picnic table. We’ve eaten a few meals in the Burro due to cold weather or mosquitoes, but for the most part we eat outside.

7-8 pm – I heat water for dishes in the Burro and Jim and I wash them at the picnic table. Walden does his best to entertain himself without falling, getting into poison ivy, or bashing a body part into a rock. There are usually tears at some point but they don’t last long. After dishes, the boys are often busy exploring and I prepare my food for the next day. Because I eat so many vegetables, I have to clean, cut, and divide them into containers I can carry with me wherever we go. It takes more time to do this on a one-by-two counter top than in a full kitchen at home.

Campfire time at Zion National Park

8-9 pm – Sometimes we take a walk around the campground or on a nearby trail. Some evenings we have a campfire. We refill our water bottles and jugs, unpack our backpacks, and plan our adventures for the next day. I also use this time to prepare the Burro for the night which means putting the dishes away and moving things off Walden’s bed. I rehang the curtain and place the body pillow on the outer edge of Walden’s bed so he doesn’t fall on the floor while sleeping. I get out Walden’s pajamas and books for story time.

Bedtime stories with Aunt Kendra and Uncle Jojo
at Mt. Rainier National Park

9-10 pm – Jim brings Walden in the Burro, gets him ready for bed, and reads him stories. I head out to brush my teeth and prepare for bed. I read on my tablet while Walden falls asleep then go to sleep myself. Jim stays by the campfire and enjoys quiet time looking at the stars or reading. We used to bring books and use our headlamps while camping but have discovered that tablets weigh less, are rechargeable, and give off very low light, so we’ve come to prefer them on the trip. After a long day, we usually all sleep well and get more rest than we would at home.

A free overnight view on the Oregon coast

Burro living is quite nice and we’ve become accustomed to the routine. I appreciate the simplicity of things – all the dishes are dirty or clean because there aren’t many of them; everything is usually put in its place because we’d have not place to sleep it if wasn’t; the floor is clean with a shake of a rug. Having this experience helps me understand why people choose to live simply in tiny houses. I also feel the attraction of being on the road and living in an RV full-time like some retired people do. I am grateful to be exploring the natural wonders of this country and living simply.