Table of contents for Twenty-Four: April/May 2021 in ROVA

We live in a land where bigger has traditionally meant better, where visiting wide-open spaces has, in the past, necessitated enormous homes on wheels that almost match the square footage of stationary homes. In more recent times, road-tripping wanderers have begun to pivot away from larger travelmobiles, favoring agility and cost efficiency over masses of space. No longer are Class A motorhomes and 30-foot trailers the norm; in fact, you can now purchase RVs that are barely longer than a tall human being (okay, maybe two average-sized human beings). And somehow, they manage to pack everything into them that you need. Maybe not a jacuzzi and a granite kitchen island, but here’s where we start to separate “need” from “want.” If there’s anything road travelers know, it’s that what you…

The cultural currency of the Pacific Northwest is inextricable from the natural world. Even its major cities, like Seattle and Tacoma, struggle to break through the canopy. This is the place where the mercurial Puget Sound meets the seemingly endless evergreen forests, where everything lies beneath a cold pall of rain clouds that casts the world in an eerie silver. This is the place that has long drawn artists to lift their proverbial mirrors to the landscape and its people. But this place, once a haven for creatives, has been slowly becoming more hostile to their kind. Escalating rents and diminishing opportunities have left too many working artists in the Northwest unable to support themselves, requiring them to succumb to a relentless hustle that saps their time and resources. And…

If you had one free day in Honolulu to do whatever you chose, what would you do? Would you spend the afternoon on a gorgeous beach, dipping your toes in the cool water and snacking on seasonal fruit? Or would you look for a challenge—a unique hike so difficult it would make you wonder, only a quarter mile in, if you were crazy for doing this of your own free will? If you’re anything like me, the answer is, “I want to do both!”—and that’s exactly what I did on my one free day in Honolulu. I was in Hawaii for work. My fiancé had come with me to enjoy the Hawaiian surf and sand, and we had one free day together. Honolulu is located at the southern edge of…

Some road-trippers traveling west into Florida from the southern states hightail it to the popular beaches of the east coast and the Everglades of southern Florida, skipping past the lesser-visited Big Bend region of the Gulf Coast. It’s a shame for those travelers, but a blessing for Big Bend, as it means that this region is far less crowded than other areas of the state. If you take the time to stop and investigate this overlooked curve of coastline, you’ll find some wonderful Old Florida towns that give you a glimpse into the state’s past, dotted into landscape that is awash with conservation land, and miles and miles of untouched coastline. Begin your Old Florida driving tour in Apalachicola—a walkable town with a beautifully restored historic district boasting lovely boutiques,…

Winner of the Stanley Perfect-Brew Pour Over Set I love the articles in ROVA, but one of my favorite things is the “Why the Road” page—it actually helped me get up the courage to rent a camper and take a solo trip, and I LOVED it! I saw that there were so many solo women living in vans and cars and things, and I realized I could be one, too. Next stop: buying a van! Sana W I really loved reading Makenna Peachey’s story about living in an RV with her family as a teenager [“Teenage nomad,” Adventure Twenty-Three]. Our son is 13 and our daughter is 10, and we want to go on a family trip in our RV for a year, but we were worried about them missing…

Blix & Bess We’re Blix (they/them) and Bess (she/her), and we live and travel full-time in our van with our fur babies. Bess is a burlesque performer and Blix is fresh out of their Doctorate Program in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. As an interracial, queer couple, it’s important to us to expand what #vanlife can look and be like. It hasn’t always been easy, but, wow, has it been the change we both needed! Fun fact: we are both sober! Instagram: @blixandbess The Titensor family We built our teardrop camper because we love overlanding, but hate rolling up sleeping bags. I’d say we’ve solved our problem, wouldn’t you? The entire journey of building our trailer and then having it become a little home on wheels has been one that’s brought…

Looking from the outside in, I had achieved it all. Married. Beautiful house. Dream career. But inside, I was broken from a job that became a horror. It started with the comments, the inappropriate looks, and the unsolicited gestures that diminished all that I had accomplished to nothing but my appearance. I was hollow, dying from the inside out for a job that I loved. To save myself, I left. The well-paying job, and the daily surroundings that held so much pain. I packed up my Scion xB and hit the road for California’s national parks. I sought to find solitude in hopes of healing in nature. I had experienced the healing powers of the trees and mountains before; how nature’s beauty provides a distraction to help you forget about…

“Gentlemen, I assure you there’s nothing to worry about. Your bags will be on the flight from Dublin tomorrow.” With something like optimism tempering our jet lag–addled brains, we turned our backs on the perma-smile and dead eyes of the desk attendant, made for the car rental booth, and pondered the journey ahead. Seattle to Boston in three weeks—it would be an ambitious itinerary at the best of times, and my friend Carl and I had drawn up a meticulous plan that allowed for precisely zero complications. The next evening, we dutifully returned to the airport to discover that the promised flight from Dublin was entirely imaginary—but, thanks to the wonders of the domestic airline industry, our bags could be delivered to wherever we would be in a couple of…

Making the outdoors diverse Outside Voices, presented by Resource Media, is a podcast pushing for social change in the outdoors space. Through personal stories that delve into people’s relationships with nature, Outside Voices invites listeners to unlearn what they know about the great outdoors, and reconnect with ancestral knowledge of nature. Outside Voices has a commitment to ethical storytelling, and uses its platform to amplify diverse voices in order to redefine what it means to be “outdoorsy.” outsidevoicespodcast.com Your next trip, sorted Unsure of where to head on your next camping trip? Fret not, because someone else has done all the research for you. Camping and RVing experts Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi from The RV Atlas have compiled Where Should We Camp Next?, a handy book full of the best…

Aspiring travelers and adventure-seekers know that working temporary jobs while traveling can be a viable option for funding the nomadic lifestyle. But this type of work poses its own unique set of obstacles, as we found out in our first few years of a seven-year-long full-time travel adventure. There are two words many travelers have dreamed of saying since their very first taste of wanderlust. “I quit.” Whether we’re trapped by location-based work or working remotely and desiring more time for adventure, being able to ditch the grind in favor of freedom is what we nomads daydream about during all-day staff meetings and heated email exchanges. Especially when we see people online crisscrossing the country, somehow earning enough money as they go to sustain their lifestyle, and making it look…

As the stars drip across the open sky, I stand alone in darkness at the edge of the Pacific. Leaning into the silent spans between my long-exposure shutter-clicks, I inhale the atmosphere as deeply as the cigarettes I used to smoke, tasting the starlit soil of moss and sea salt that saturates the air—admiring the crispness it develops the longer it ages away from the sun. As I had made my way here, I was the only car in the parking lot, the only light on the trail. Eight hours ago, I had no idea I would be here at all, but the moon cycle combined with satellite imagery and the Milky Way’s location told me it was time. All of my apps were in alignment. They told me to…

“Clothing optional,” the official-looking sign advised. A left-facing arrow pointed out the dirt path winding through the desert shrubs and cholla cacti down to the fenced-in area below. “Clothing required,” a second sign instructed, its arrow indicating a trail in the opposite direction skirting the crown of the rugged bluff. After six months on the road, my husband and I had been RVing long enough for me to realize that the strongest memories of the journey involved pushing my comfort zone, seeking to meet and understand others whose lives and experiences differ from mine, and taking on new adventures that were just a tiny bit terrifying. Still, we had just arrived at our very first clothing-optional hot springs, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to casually disrobe in front…

For the uninitiated, the word “swamp” might bring to mind a dirty, eerie place where strange creatures lurk (thanks, fairy tales!). But anyone familiar with the Acadiana region of Louisiana knows that swamps—and wetlands and bayous—hold some of the most remarkable natural beauty in the country, have contributed to the history of our nation and culture, and are vital ecosystems that are home to an astounding assortment of wildlife. Visitors to Cajun Country will be forgiven for making beelines for the culinary and cultural attractions in the urban areas, but when the eating and learning is done, there’s a wide world of natural splendor to take in, including these stunning waterways. Lake Martin Located just outside of Lafayette, Lake Martin and its Cypress Island Nature Preserve are home to colonial…