Twenty-Seven: October/November 2021

ROVA

The magazine for epic road trips

ROVA2 min read
From The Editor
I am an outdoor adventurer and a travel nerd, but I’m also just a nerd in general. Boy, I love learning things. I mean, sometimes I hate the process of the lesson, but I generally love the outcome. Unless you’ve been doing it for years—actually, even
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Gemma Peckham gemma@rovamag.com media@rovamag.com 646-916-2599 Abby Schmidt Giulia Heppell, Kate Hutcheson, Eden Cox Kate Hutcheson, John Soares, Katherine Burns, Reggie Grey, Emily Jay, Thomas Brentwood, Catherine Campbell, Atticus Lee, Caroline Ma
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Rova In Your Words
Your brewery story [“Brew With a View,” ROVA Adventure Twenty-Six, August/September 2021] was so great! I visit a new brewery on every trip I take, and there are tons on your list that I’m now adding to mine. I also had never heard about Harvest Host
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Rova Recommends
Fashion and national parks don’t always go hand in hand, with tourist T-shirts and gift-shop merch leaving a little to be desired. Enter Parks Project. Created in 2014, this partner of the National Park Service creates beautiful, national park–themed
ROVA2 min read
Gear Up!
Your body does endless amazing things for you every day, so the least you can do is give it everything it needs to be as happy as possible. One of the easiest ways to do this is to make sure you’re staying hydrated throughout your intrepid adventures
ROVA2 min read
Why The Road?
I was tired of the 9-to-5 cycle, paying rent, and having no time to focus on my own dreams and passions... so I broke out of the Matrix! I purchased a 1984 Chevy Travelcraft in order to get out and see the world. I am a fashion designer, but some wou
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Boondocking: How To Make It Work
Why boondock? Because you want to be out in the wild areas, just you and your companions, with just the natural world surrounding you. Because you have a strong sense of adventure and you’re fine not knowing for sure where you’ll find a place to set
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Road Trip Diaries
At some point, the security team at Hoover Dam realized that my friends and I weren’t a threat. Maybe it was the coloring books, maybe it was the unicorn pillow pet, or maybe it was the folded Harry Styles cardboard cutout in the backseat. If a life-
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Off Roading (not In The Cool Way)
Okay… I can do this. Deep breath. My name is Reginald Grey, and I no longer live full time on the road. There! I said it. Ya happy?! Good, ’cause I feel ill! They’re only a few words, but they really were difficult for me to utter a few months back.
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GET ORGANIZED The Key to Easier Van Life
Have you ever seen someone in a van and imagined what an easy lifestyle it would be? From the outside looking in, van life looks dreamy and romantic. Travelers seem to have the freedom of living on the road, waking up to perfect sunrises, ending the
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Play Time
It’s not an uncommon sight: an RV, laden like a packhorse with five bikes on the rear bumper, kayaks on the roof, snowboards strapped to the side, a toad trailing along behind, and humans peering out from behind it all. Bringing the fun on an RV adve
ROVA7 min read
FAMILY TIES Road-Tripping with Mom
“Nine days... on the road... with your mom? I couldn’t do that,” my coworker said. “My mom drives me nuts after just a few hours.” It was early May, and in a couple of weeks I would embark on a road trip from North Carolina to Colorado. The passenger
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THE BEAUTY IN THE ROUGH An Ode to the Climbers Living the Dirtbag Dream
When I first bought the Dolphin, I felt unstoppable. I knew that the next level of vertical access was right around the corner. A vintage RV seemed like the perfect way to connect to the mountains and the climbing community; I predicted a future fill
ROVA6 min read
How Not To Do Van Life
You know that sudden urge to get rid of most of your belongings, stop showering, trade your normal diet for granola bars and pepperoni sandwiches, and travel the country in a vehicle? I succumbed to it. My name is Caroline. I’m 26 years old, I’m a Me
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The Call Of The Road
There’s no place better suited for mulling over the big questions than the road. Somewhere between the faded sepia tones of the past and the bright neons of the future lies the heart of the matter, the truth, the thing we’re all seeking in one way or
ROVA5 min readDiet & Nutrition
Traveling Plant-based In A Van For The First Time
I’d just started eating vegan when my partner and I began a six-week campervan road trip around Australia. Panic! What was I going to eat while out on the road? How hard would it be to find plant-based options? And would I be able to keep it up? Seri
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NATURE’S ABSTRACT ART A Photo Essay
Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands. No one ever looks at these landscapes and thinks, “Damn, I could’ve made that myself!” (Or at least, I hope not!) Nature is universally accepted abstract art. Perfectl
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Wonder In The Willapa
Nestled off the coast of southwest Washington is an abundance of wildlife, tidal waterways and lush forests awaiting those who seek natural splendor and beauty. The protected inlet of Willapa Bay is home to a diverse array of plant and animal species
ROVA6 min read
The Gem Of The North
Staring at the dirt road through a blur of tears, I refused to let go of my husband. “I thought you were dead!” I sobbed. Matthew had been riding his bike alone, and, as he recounted to me, took a wrong turn into a national forest speckled with signs
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An Adult And A Teenager Go To Taos
My 16-year-old niece, Jessica, and I rented a car in Albuquerque. Jessica looks like me—we both have curly brown hair and, according to everyone, make the same expressions with our eyes, and though she frequently measures our heights back-to-back to
ROVA7 min read
Do Not Jump On The Raft!
I was planning an interstate move after living in Missouri for about six months, when a coworker mentioned Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal. Being a big Twain fan, I thought it would be a shame to flee the state without a visit. So, one
ROVA6 min read
Road-tripping Along The Mississippi Gulf Coast
Ask someone what their idea of a “scenic Gulf Coast” road trip might involve, and it’s likely that they’ll mention the famously white sand of Florida’s beaches and the raucous good times of New Orleans. But in between the two is the Mississippi Gulf
ROVA8 min read
New Hampshire: Glad To Be Here
Poor old New Hampshire. The state is like the child that’s been shoved into the middle of the backseat between its older siblings, Maine and Vermont. New Hampshire is sandwiched between its two more frequented neighbors—Vermont to the west, where hip
ROVA1 min read
Picture This...
IT’S FALL, EARLY MORNING. YOU WAKE up strangely early and take a walk to the Kettle River, not far from your camping spot in Banning State Park, Minnesota. You watch as the sun pierces the spaces between the branches of trees on the opposite bank, il

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