Sixteen: December/January 2019/2020

ROVA

The magazine for epic road trips

ROVA2 min read
From The Editor
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me: I’m a gigantic nerd. I love to learn about everything I can squash into my brain. Whether it’s practical knowledge, like how to tone down the five habanero chilies you accidentally put in your pas
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“Rova In Your Words”
How am I only just discovering ROVA now? You have FIFTEEN editions? I’d better get to reading. Love your work! Christie L Don’t get me wrong—I love the articles in ROVA. But I really, really love the photos in each edition. I feel like I get to trave
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Rova Recommends
Terry Tempest Williams has made a name for herself as a fervent environmentalist and a defender of public land, and her fifth book, Erosion: Essays of Undoing, gives readers full insight into her conservationist activism. The essays revolve around th
ROVA2 min readSports & Recreation
Gear Up!
If you’ve been feeling tempted to cut up your old sleeping bags and whack them on your feet for warmth, put down the scissors! Sierra Designs has just released the perfect alternative—durable, down-filled booties that feel like sleeping bags for your
ROVA2 min read
Why The Road?
Two words: public lands. Millions of acres in the west, owned collectively by every citizen. Prime real estate spread over the American west that’s flanked by red rocks, and ranges of slate and sand canyons. We wanted a home but didn’t know where. Th
ROVA5 min read
The Healing Power Of Minimalism
I remember living in a small, crowded town in India, watching my parents struggle for money and being told every day that life is easy only for the rich. It was sad to see the people of such a beautiful country, graced by the mighty Himalayas to the
ROVA4 min read
Home Is Where You Left It
During a year of full-time travel, one of the phrases I found myself repeating to folks was: “The hardest part is breaking away.” Living in a postage stamp–sized RV without a physically present social circle for a solid year, my wife and I met plenty
ROVA4 min read
How To Not Be A Jackass On The Road
One thing that we hate is people leaving trash out in nature. Ugh! Nowadays, it doesn’t matter if you’re at the beach, desert, a National Park or in BLM land, you will see trash that some (beeeeep) decided to leave behind. It’s upsetting knowing that
ROVA7 min read
America’s Public Lands, Explained
Iconic destinations like Yosemite and Horseshoe Bend draw millions of visitors each year, all of whom travel with the sole intent of experiencing, in one way or another, a natural spectacle. Any road-tripper is bound to come across protected lands li
ROVA6 min read
A Hire Purpose
The movement towards digital detoxing and communing with nature is not a fad; as technology gobbles up every spare moment of our day-to-day lives, we find ourselves dreaming of time and space outside of it. This is something that’s driving folks out
ROVA4 min read
A New Generation And A New Outlook On The Outdoors
Younger generations are exploring the outdoors at increasing rates, according to the 2019 North American Camping Report. Millennials (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) make up the largest segment of campers, at 41 percent, and now that they’re starting to grow
ROVA4 min readAutomotive
Overlanders, Van Lifers And Boondockers
As modern jobs allow us more freedom to work remotely, many people are following their wanderlust and finding their homes on the road. A new subculture of nomads is emerging, evolving and flourishing. The rigs are as unique as their owners; buses, am
ROVA5 min read
Long-haul Nomad
Whatever you think of when you think of long-haul trucking, it’s not Kasper Kavalaris. Kasper grew up in the Midwest and earned an Associate Degree in Illustration from the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He went on to study classical painting an
ROVA3 min readEarth Sciences
A Short List Of Winter Destinations
Some people love the cold, and some people hate it. Luckily for those of us living in America, this land has the best of both worlds, regardless of the season: whether you’re a sweater-weather fanatic or a sunshine-seeker, there’s plenty to keep you
ROVA2 min read
FAMILIAR PLACES A Photo Essay
I think we’re all guilty of it nowadays: the allure of the road, of far-off places on an ever-changing horizon. With the constant whirlwind of incredible images and stories at our fingertips, it’s far too easy to get caught up in looking toward the n
ROVA7 min read
Many Wrongs And One Big Right
I just flew home after meeting my girlfriend’s mother. Kind of a big deal—made even bigger by the fact that my girlfriend and I are both nomadic, and in order to meet said mother we had to road-trip 1,300 miles over the span of two weeks. On top of t
ROVA4 min read
Wandering Into/ Out Of The Desert
Palm Springs sits like a jewel in the desert—a boozy oasis, a time capsule of antique, mid-century idealism. To get there from Los Angeles requires nothing more than getting on I-10 and breaking free of civilization. Some vacations begin the minute y
ROVA5 min readEarth Sciences
Wyoming Winters And The Myth Of The Frozen West
Winter in Wyoming is cold—especially in a van conversion as primitive as mine. But with a lack of insulation comes a greater immediacy of the snowbound lifestyle I’m happy to be living—when you’re holed up in any unheated structure in the winter, it’
ROVA4 min read
Wine And Wilderness
It’s probably not common knowledge, but New Mexico was the first state in the country to kick off a couple of things that comprise at least 50 percent of my interests in life: wilderness areas and wine. For decades, Napa and Sonoma have worn matching
ROVA4 min read
An Ode To North Dakota’s Roadside Attractions
There is a statue—a monument, if you will—tucked away deep in the northernmost region of North Dakota. This monument has baffled all those who have laid their eyes upon it. Worshippers of this shrine have journeyed far and wide to see it for themselv
ROVA5 min read
Swimming With Sea Cows In The Real Florida
A gray giant glides through the clear, spring-fed river. We hold our breath; its whiskered nostrils break the surface to inhale as we exhale silent exclamations, gesturing to each other to “Look at that manatee!” Even though the adorable sea cow bypa
ROVA4 min read
Finding Thoreau At Walden Pond
My affiliation with Thoreau’s transcendentalist philosophy began before I was born. My parents had settled on naming me Emerson—after the transcendentalist philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson—a few months before my birth. However, when they were handed
ROVA5 min read
Take The High Road In The Black Forest
Fog has rolled in, wrapping its fuzzy arms around the hillsides. With the densely packed trees, it’s hard to see beyond a few feet. No wonder the Roman legions called this place the Silva Nigra—the Black Forest. At any moment, long-haired warriors co

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