Fifteen: October/November 2019

ROVA

The magazine for epic road trips

ROVA2 min read
From The Editor
Every time I plan an adventure, I know what I want to get out of it. Depending on the trip, I have visions of beach relaxation, mountain contemplation, cultural immersion or dangerous levels of consumption (local food and beer: I’m coming for you). R
ROVA1 min read
“Rova In Your Words”
Thank you, Ching Fu, for again addressing one of the big issues of road life [Boondocking Responsibly on Public Lands, ROVA Adventure 14]. Our public lands are so precious, and the more we all pitch in to keep them in their natural state, the longer
ROVA2 min read
Rova Recommends
If you’re a billionaire with a big heart and a desire to connect the people in your city, what do you do? Spend $200 million of your own money (plus some sizeable donations) to create a park of epic proportions, of course! Conceived by philanthropist
ROVA2 min read
Why The Road?
We chose a life on the road because we wanted to see new places and make memories before we settled into the next chapter of our life. We wanted a life with just the two of us before we brought tiny humans into the mix. We also wanted to have a few s
ROVA9 min read
Rova’s Holiday Gear Guide
We’d like to thank 2019 for being a pretty stellar year when it comes to gear. Brands are pushing the boundaries when it comes to innovation, creating gear that is stronger, more practical and, dare we say it, better-looking than what came before. No
ROVA5 min read
Falling Back In Love With America
I had fallen completely out of love with America; that’s what it all boiled down to. When I tried to remember the last time I had felt like I was in love with my country, I realized that it was after I had graduated, when I took a two-month road trip
ROVA5 min read
Packrafting And Fly-fishing Colorado’s High Country
The moist dirt feels spongy under my trail shoes as Amanda and I make our way through the shady understory of the subalpine forest. I feel a lightness of spirit as I breathe the cool mountain air, my lungs refreshed from months spent waiting out wint
ROVA5 min read
Feeding The Adventure
Morgan “Mo” Sjogren lives out of her Jeep, traveling the country to find new and inspiring places where she can feed her appetite for outdoor adventure—from canyoneering and hiking to her real passion: trail running. And while the landscape sustains
ROVA4 min read
My O-ditch-uary
I’m on a Southern California freeway near Barstow, driving 80 miles per hour in the slow lane. Rectangular white signs are whipping past before I can read them. Signs of this shape typically identify rivers or streams, but this is the Mojave Desert.
ROVA5 min read
The Journey To Yellowstone
“This is where I want to be,” my mother said to me, arms outstretched. “Promise me that you’ll take me here again.” I turned to her and deadpanned in my usual fashion, “That better be a long time from now, because it’s going to be one expensive fucki
ROVA6 min read
The True Confessions Of A Classic Coleman Camping Gear Addict
For the last two years, I have been in denial about my “collection” of classic Coleman lanterns and stoves. Not in denial that they exist, but in denial that I was actually “collecting” them. I had stopped counting how many I owned, and when Stephani
ROVA4 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
Social Media: Not The Whole Story
Peruse some popular road trip–related social media accounts for a minute, and you’ll see why so many people are currently fascinated with quitting their jobs, renovating old vans and hitting the road. Since everyone with a smartphone now has the powe
ROVA1 min read
Mammoth Lakes And The Eastern Sierras
Driving up to Mammoth (or anywhere in the Eastern Sierras, for that matter), is one of my favorite ways to exhale from city life. Buildings fade into trees, mountain bikes replace cars, and hustle-hungry, stressed-out people soften. As you gain eleva
ROVA7 min read
See The Cascade Loop Right
You know that kids’ song about the bear that goes over the mountain, just to see the other side? I believe this migratory instinct isn’t only ursine; it’s also a remarkably human impulse. Every year, as summer starts to downshift to fall, I feel an
ROVA5 min read
My Own Private Idaho
Under the hot noonday sun, I make it over the last crest of the dusty trail and finally find myself at my destination: the picturesque Saddleback Lakes. The lowest of the Saddlebacks has all the hallmarks of an idyllic alpine lake: sparkling blue-gre
ROVA5 min read
Humbled In The Shadow Of Seneca Rocks
Most rock climbers don’t necessarily view West Virginia as an “epic climbing destination.” The more likely image that comes to mind when picturing the state is one of rolling blue hills, winding country roads, and relics from coal mining towns. The s
ROVA4 min read
Powerful Stuff
It all started with a jaunt to the Grand Canyon, like many other great family trips gone wrong. I hopped into my ’87 Dodge Roadtrek, ready to at last set foot in one of America’s most iconic, breathtaking parks. Going to the Grand Canyon marked a sig
ROVA5 min read
A Fall Rhode Trip
Rhode Island is an oft-overlooked destination for an RV adventurer or vanlifer. Sadly, you’re not going to find an RV park nestled between the mansions of Newport (but I do encourage you to drive your 1970s rattler around the neighborhood and tell ev
ROVA5 min read
Sand Dunes And Stargazing In Namibia
The lush oasis hugging the banks of the Orange River rapidly transformed into barren, rugged mountainscape as we drove. The sun’s scorching heat radiated off the large piles of rocks and bone-dry ravine beyond. To the left, a road sign announced: “We
ROVA5 min read
Ramblin’ Down The Katy
Cheers ring throughout a river town as a crowd of thousands emerges from the Katy Trail. The Memorial Day weekend gathers momentum as participants in the weekend’s cycling shenanigans flood into 420 Roby Farm Road. It’s Friday night, and the Pedaler’

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