October 3: La Prele Ranger Station

You get used to being able to contact the outside world. When cell service disappears and you're on a tiny dirt road in the middle of Wyoming, terror starts to creep in. The station where you're staying has maps, coal in the basement, and a solar powered water pump. No electric. Plastic mattresses on the bunks. A guest book designed to scare. A strange metal contraption in the front yard with no explanation. A full moon. You don’t sleep. Around 4 in the morning a truck drives by. Your husband and kids perfectly comfortable. You lie in the dark room with an ax you found by the front door. In the morning he mocks you. But you kept them alive, you know you did.