Table of contents for Forty-One: February/March 2024 in ROVA

What do most of the best golf courses in the country have in common? You're probably thinking price— greens fees that resemble your monthly mortgage payments. Or maybe history comes to mind. Golf is an age-old tradition, after all—from Pebble Beach to Augusta National and TPC Sawgrass, America's world-class courses have a history longer than the 12th-hole green at the European Club. Then, of course, maybe you think it's the scenery that they all have in common— something that road-trippers have a thirst for. Most golf courses are designed to emphasize the beauty of their surrounding landscapes; playing a round is essentially a stunning hike with some competition thrown in. America's best golf courses have one more thing in common: they're spread out across the country. If you want to…

Millions of visitors from all around the world flock to Yosemite each year. Narrow lanes on windy roads take you alongside beautiful granite cliffs, past grand sequoias, and down to the valley floor. There is a collective admiration for the nature that surrounds you, a sense of childlike wonder regardless of your age. I grew up in the Bay Area of San Francisco, which made it convenient to take day trips to Yosemite. When I got older, I realized I wasn't taking full advantage of all that the park had to offer. I decided that I needed to prioritize travel in my young adult life. As broke college students, my friends and I realized that, if we wanted to experience Yosemite and all of its wonders, there was only one…

If you've ever been to the Berkshires region of Massachusetts, then you'll probably agree with my opinion that this area is truly a slice of paradise. The highland region is nestled in the state's cozy west, and runs all the way from the New Hampshire border and down into Connecticut. Lush forests and mountain vistas shape the landscape, which comes alive in all four seasons. In fall, the highland area is blanketed with amber-, ocher-, and rust-colored foliage, while winter snowfall turns this pocket of the Bay State into a winter wonderland. Whether you're indulging in a romantic weekend getaway, sharing craft beers with friends after a day on the skis, taking a family hike, or simply trekking it solo in your van, you'll be spending winter soaking up the…

Get Wild With Will Will Heard has the kind of voice that sounds like velvet — super jazzy, a little sexy, and very British. His debut album Wild (fitting for wilderness-seekers) will have you grooving away in the driver's seat, as the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist combines hip-hop, jazz, R and B, and funk. “Wasteman” sees the Brit half-rap, half-sing about his party past over a soul-infused melody, while “Stole My Heart” is a love letter with an addictive bassline that ties Heard's vocal harmonies together. It sounds like summer, and you'll no doubt have mentally planned out your July 2024 adventures once you've listened to the entire record. linktr.ee/willheard Sweet Tooth Comforts There's no denying that the French have a way with food, as well as with things that…

If you're looking for a recreational vehicle to turn heads—perhaps one with a full-sized fridge, slide-outs and a rooftop jacuzzi—then the Class B motor home is most likely not for you. But while it might not have a palatial interior, the Class B gives you something just as magical—the freedom to roam wherever the road, and your gas money, takes you. And that gas money will take you much further in a fuel-efficient Class B than in any other type of motor home. Let's look at all the ways in which a Class B can enrich your life on the road. Fuel Efficiency Among all the advantages provided by the Class B, its fuel efficiency is increasingly appealing as fuel prices continue to rise. Because of their smaller size and…

Be warned: when you tell people about the adventure upon which we're about to embark, phrase your summary carefully. Instead of, “I'm taking a road trip in search of 180 tall, square-jawed men,” try, “I'm taking a folk art trip to discover 180 statues of historic significance.” Not that a journey in search of studly manfolk is something on which to cast judgment—it's just not the focus of this particular adventure, which is all about gargantuan fiberglass men and their importance to roadside America. In the 1960s, when highbrow kitsch was at its peak, boatbuilder Steve Dashew acquired a fiberglass workshop, which also came with a mold for a 20-foot man. The previous business owner had built an enormous fiberglass model of Paul Bunyan holding an axe to promote a…

“I daho, what ARE you?” My friend Lyle drove our camper van/home on wheels along a stretch of dry, arid, high-desert highway in Southern Idaho, and the miles and miles of scrubby sage bush seemed like they would never end. This wasn't the Idaho I was expecting; I had seen photos of the fearsome jagged teeth of the Sawtooth Mountains rising into clouds, bucolic scenes of dirt hiking paths weaving through primordial forests, and portraits of cozy couples lounging in natural hot springs with the vast canvas of mountains and blue sky painted behind them. This road we were on was none of that. For the several hours we drove east from Boise toward Craters of the Moon National Monument, the state looked more like arid West Texas than it…

Many RVers and van-lifers are either retired or work for themselves through content creation, freelancing, and other gigs that offer the flexibility that is necessary for a life on the road. I was one of them, but after starting my remote, 9–5 job, I was surprised to find full-time, traditional work more beneficial to sustaining my time on the road. It's one of the most commonly asked questions in any van-lifer's YouTube video or Q&A session on Instagram. There might be variations—“How do you support yourself?” “How are you funding your travels?”—but the idea behind the question remains the same: “What do you do for work?” While there is one common question, there are oodles of uncommon answers. I have heard many van-lifers and full-time travelers talk about owning small…

In the tapestry of my memories, my father's presence is woven into the fabric, each thread an adventure: the Milky Way shooting across the Sierra Nevada, the powdery snow beneath our ski tracks, and the hum of tires on the open road along I-70. His spirit, like a guiding thread, knits with every memory, making each one not just a recollection, but a tangible moment—a thing or a place that I can touch and feel, because he helped me to experience it in a meaningful way. Twenty miles in one day. Initially, it didn't seem so challenging—just 20 miles, 10 out and 10 back. Yet, at mile eight, reality hit and we stopped to rest. The last campsite before the summit of Mount Whitney was ahead of us, the peak…

As the sun began to set, bathing the snowy San Juan Mountains and denuded aspen branches in dazzling shades of gold, I finally had to admit: “We're in trouble.” In January of 2022, my cousin, her dog, and I were knee-deep in powdery snow in New Mexico's Carson National Forest, going on hour four of what was meant to be a one-hour cross-country skiing jaunt near Hopewell Lake. Aside from the fact that we'd foolishly struck out sans emergency safety gear, we had no way of contacting my parents, who were awaiting us back at our car with no idea that we'd gone off-trail for a “shortcut” and were wandering through the wilderness. As I dragged my skis through the snow and wondered how long our toes could survive in…