Digital nomad day-in-the-life

What’s a typical day like when working and traveling?

6:30 a.m.

Wake up at Wyeth Campground, a U.S. Forest Service campground halfway between Cascade Locks and Hood River, OR. This is our second morning here. Loving it because it’s so green and quiet.

 

 

We both have 8:00 a.m. calls and need to get work done, so we’ll head to the Starbucks in Hood River. Showered last night at the state park down the road, so we just brush our teeth, eat some yogurt, and drive 15 minutes into town.

8:00 a.m.

Chris has a Skype meeting with his SEO business partner in Australia. He does it from the car because the sound of espresso machines is too loud. Tamara hops on Skype with her friend Carolyn who has been traveling for a year and planning her return to the U.S. Then, both do some work on our freelance projects. Lastly, email some friends to coordinate a weekend together in Bend, OR in late August.

11:30 a.m.

Stop by Safeway to pick up turkey, cheese, hummus, yogurt, and a bag of ice to refill our coolers. Drive back to our campsite and enjoy lunch in the forest. Tamara texts with her sister, Gaby, to see how she’s doing. Answer a few emails, research a nearby hike on our smartphones, and do some reading.

 

 

2:30 p.m.

Since we’d already hiked the trail that starts from our campground, we drive a few miles down the highway to Starvation Creek trail and hike the waterfall loop. It’s only three miles, but the 3/4 mile is a near-vertical 800 ft. change in elevation.

 

 

 

 

 

4:30 p.m.

Stop by the nearby state park again to fill up our water jugs since our campground doesn’t have potable water. 2-3 gallons lasts us for a day for cooking, drinking, and washing.

5:00 p.m.

Walk around the campground and trailhead to gather firewood. Chris uses two tree trunks for leverage to break bigger logs into pieces. Come across one of Oregon’s plentiful berry bushes and pick a few to eat later.

 

 

 

 

5:15 p.m.

DEET time. Spray on bug repellent, including a little on a paper towel to wipe on face. Tamara got a bite on her forehead the other day and was super pissed.

6:30 p.m.

Cook up some bean, rice, cheese, and avocado burritos, then wash them down with an Oregon microbrew. Wash our pans and put them back in the van.

7:15 p.m.

Go for a stroll around the campground and throw away our trash. Play a game of Skip-Bo and Tamara wins.

7:45 p.m.

Start our campfire. We don’t need it for warmth — it’s just fun to look at. Check out maps on our phones and decide to keep heading east and stop in The Dalles the next day before camping along the Deschutes River. Discuss where else we might go. Pendleton, OR? Walla Walla, WA? Coeur d’Alene, ID? (We ended up visiting all three…)

 

 

9:30 p.m.

The sun is finally down, but it’s still not fully dark. But, we decide to spread out the coals in our fire and brush our teeth over them to make sure they’re all the way out. Climb into the tent to read before bed, thinking how magical Oregon summers are.