• Kara Williams wanted a break from her email and social media, so she booked a digital-free vacation.
• Glamping in a covered wagon next to trees and natural hot springs has its perks — and drawbacks.
• She'd do a digital detox again at Colorado's Avalanche Ranch Cabins & Hot Springs, but a little differently next time.

On a girlfriend getaway with two college friends earlier this summer, I realized I was the only one checking my phone regularly — even in the middle of restaurant dinners — for texts, Instagram updates, and Facebook notifications.

At home, my husband and I have gotten into the habit of watching Netflix or Hulu nightly, instead of reading before bed like we did years ago.

While my work as a freelance writer does require me to keep up with emails, there's certainly no reason for me to be so connected to my laptop or phone during the day and into the evening.

I figured a short solo vacation at a remote spot might help me. So, I booked one of the cheaper and smaller lodging options at the bucolic Avalanche Ranch Cabins & Hot Springs in Redstone, Colorado, for one night in early August.

My digital detox actually began on the 22-mile drive from my Colorado home to this retreat in the woods, when I lost cell service on a quiet state highway about 10 minutes from Avalanche Ranch.

On arrival, around 4 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, I checked in at the red-and-white farmhouse that doubles as a lodging office and gift shop. I found out quickly the ranch is pet-friendly: Guests' dogs, cats, birds, horses, and goats are welcome here.

WiFi is only available on property in the centrally located Lodge building, where there's also a landline phone for guests' use since there's no cell service in the area.

The lodge also houses a cozy sitting area, communal microwave, sink, ice machine, ping pong table, board games, and plenty of kids' and adult books that guests can borrow.

I figured I wouldn't be spending too much time in the lodge — less temptation for logging onto WiFi! — and I was eager to check out my humble accommodations: one of the wagons available for rent.

Specifically, I'd booked the chuck wagon, located just up a short hill 100 steps from the lodge and set in the woods.

My kelly green wagon with a curved metal roof had wooden steps that led up to a little porch with built-in corner benches and a lemon-yellow metal table. There were also rustic metal chairs, a gas grill, and cooking implements on display.

Cowboys used chuck wagons as field kitchens during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today, in addition to being repurposed for lodging, they might be on display at dude ranches where traditional "chuck wagon suppers" are served.

Inside the chuck wagon were my ultra-cozy sleeping quarters: a 6-inch spring mattress on a wooden platform with light yellow cowgirl-themed bedding.

Benches provided space for me to put my overnight bag, a cooler of breakfast goodies, and the takeout dinner I'd picked up on the way to Avalanche Ranch — no kitchens or refrigerators in the wagons!

The wagon was outfitted with an electric kettle and French press, as well as coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. (Note the blue speckled bench to match the vintage enamel coffee mugs, continuing the chuck wagon-themed decor.)

The ranch provides pool towels for use at the on-site hot springs pools, as well as bath towels and toiletries for use in the shared shower areas in the hot springs' locker rooms and a bathroom at the lodge.

I'd brought along a tape measure — curious just how tiny my home for the night was. Turns out the wagon is about an inch shy of 6 feet tall at its highest point in the rounded ceiling, so my 5-foot-8-inch self could stand upright in the center of the wagon, just barely.

At its widest point in the middle of the walls, the wagon measured about 6 feet 8 inches wide. Lengthwise, it measured about 11 feet 4 inches. So I'd be spending the night in give-or-take 75 square feet of space. Tiny home, indeed!

I'd booked these snug accommodations knowing I'd be spending most of the daylight hours outdoors, so the tight space didn't bother me — yet.

I immediately set out to explore the property to enjoy the gorgeous, sunny, late-afternoon skies, with little desire (or even a thought) to check in on social media. Nature's distractions worked!

First stop: the ranch's animal pens, where I said hello to a couple of snorting pigs.

A handful of chickens were clucking about.

My favorite was the ram, with his stately curled horns, just chilling and eating grass.

I loved stumbling upon antiques and art throughout the Avalanche Ranch property, such as this colorful glass sculpture by local artist David Powers.

I enjoyed simply poking around and finding treasures hidden among the foliage.

While I could have spent more time traipsing along on-site hiking trails, the air was growing cooler, and it was high time to enjoy the biggest draw of staying overnight at Avalanche Ranch: after-hours access to three tiered hot springs pools.

These geothermal, spring-fed pools are open to daytime guests — just 10 people at once in morning and afternoon time slots — but I think the best time to soak in the summer is when the sun starts to sink behind the mountains.

First up: the largest pool with a three-foot waterfall that cascades from the pools above.

While the large pool felt like soaking in warm bathwater, the middle pool felt toastier (it can get up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit), which was especially soothing to sore muscles. I also liked how the pebbled bottom felt on my feet.

I think my favorite was the top pool, whose not-too-hot water was just right to end my hour-long stint in the three soaking areas.

Without a bathroom of my own at the chuck wagon, I rinsed off in the shower in the women's locker room at the hot springs. The basic changing room also had cubbies for storing gear and a hair dryer.

A separate bathroom housed a toilet, sink, and filtered water cooler to refill your own bottles — which was much appreciated, as staying hydrated is key when soaking in natural hot pools.

After my shower, I hightailed it back to the chuck wagon, where I was thrilled to sit outdoors on my deck at my sweet little table and feast on favorites I'd brought from a local restaurant, White House Pizza.

I dug into (now room temperature) roasted Brussels sprouts and a small plate of burrata, heirloom tomatoes, roasted garlic, fresh basil pesto, and toasted crostini. A metal tumbler of red wine I'd packed completed my meal.

My solo dinner was the first time during my digital detox that I wanted to reach for my phone. Normally, when I'm eating alone, I have my laptop open or I'm scrolling through Instagram. Instead, I pulled out my journal and flipped through the guest guide.

It was also a nice change of pace to just sit quietly at my outdoor table and listen to nature's sounds, namely birds, crickets, and even a herd of sheep baa-ing from the next-door grazing area.

Then I remembered I had a treat waiting for me inside. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were inside this little welcome bag.

Belly full and feeling flushed from my hot springs soak and hot shower (and probably that healthy pour of wine), I was more than ready to hit the sack by 8 p.m.

Knowing I wouldn't be streaming any TV shows in the chuck wagon, I'd packed a few books, not sure what I'd be in the mood for.

I settled on starting a Jodi Picoult novel, one I'd taken out from the library, and fell asleep by 9 p.m. — not feeling angsty in the least that I hadn't checked news headlines before bed, a typical evening move of mine.

Another bad habit: reaching for my phone when I wake up in the middle of the night. Without that option, I counted sheep and meditated. I fell back to sleep and woke for good around 7 a.m. (10 hours of shut-eye!) for another soak in the hot springs pools.

This is where I might do things differently for my next overnight stay at Avalanche Ranch. I happened to book on a Tuesday night when the pools are closed for cleaning at 9 a.m. every Wednesday. So, I wasn't able to soak right up until check-out time at 11 a.m.

If possible, I'd book my stay beginning on a Wednesday afternoon, so I'd benefit from freshly cleaned pools. They're hosed down weekly to rid the surfaces of natural algae, which can make the benches and stairs in the pools feel slippery and slimy.

Also, though I didn't spend a ton of time in the chuck wagon, I never really felt like I could stand up totally straight within its small space and curved walls.

I also had to bend over every time I entered or exited the wagon, as the doorframe is only 5 feet and 3 inches tall (and, again, I'm 5-foot-8).

One time I forgot, and I didn't bend down far enough, and I smacked the top of my head on the doorframe, breaking my reading glasses that were resting on top of my head. Owie.

Finally, while I didn't mind not having a toilet actually in my accommodations (I did take care to go in the lodge one final time before bed), and I was fine sharing a shower (such as in the lodge, pictured below), I'd rather have my own bathroom nearby.

That's why the next time I book a solo getaway to Avalanche Ranch, I'll reserve the Hill Top, a 100-square-foot tiny house with a private bathroom and shower in its own building 15 feet away.

But overall, for this short digital-detox experiment, the chuck wagon worked just fine. Exiting the hot springs by 9 a.m. Wednesday allowed me time to mindfully eat my yogurt-and-muesli breakfast while taking in the forest around me before I had to check out at 11 a.m.

Later, back in town with cell service, I pulled over to turn off airplane mode on my Apple Watch and iPhone. Did I miss anything important in those 19 hours I was off the grid, ensconced in nature? Absolutely not.

That gives me even more reason to break my bad habits, limit the amount of my laptop and phone use at home, and regularly schedule device-free getaways. After all, they've got plenty of diversions to keep me happily occupied without the screens.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyqedOopqRllJ60qsDApWSdnaSkxW6y0aikZq%2Bfp7huv9Oop2abmJqwrLXNoGSmsV2ltbC6xGZpaWpiYn5x