Table of contents for Seven: June/July 2018 in ROVA

Chelsy and Rob We jumped on the road to reset. Our lives had become about working and spending money to feel better about how much we worked. With no plan other than the end goal of homesteading, we’ve found our days filled with adventure, new friends, and wonderful places. Instagram: @theoutpostgang Britta and Will With our busy lives, every moment together is magical. We wanted to utilize those moments to live simply while exploring the beautiful backdrops of the country. The road gives us a sense of freedom away from our daily career grind. It opens a new world of adventures, and provides a picture-perfect memory around every turn. Instagram: @brownsdopelittleadventures Miché Vanlife is for my survival, but I try to live my best life while doing it. I am…

Through the smudges on a dirty windshield, the desert seems a desolate place. Muted colors blend together in a quiet landscape, devoid of life. Turn off the engine, step outside and begin to walk and the same place transforms into something entirely different. The desert things scurry and call, the air is fragrant with sage, and the canyons burst into a kaleidoscope of colors—shades of purple and red that shift and change and are gone before you’ve even had a chance to really see them. In Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey writes that a traveler on foot “will see more, feel more, and enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.” It was true. We’d spent the day before driving 250 miles from Grand Staircase-Escalante…

Along the southern edge of Florida’s panhandle courses U.S. Route 98, a byway that hugs the Gulf of Mexico before the panhandle makes its gentle curve into the mainland of the state. East of Panama City, this stretch becomes quiet and calm, devoid of high-rise condos and bumper-to-bumper cars. What some call “The Forgotten Coast” generally begins in Mexico Beach to the west and reaches over to Carrabelle in the east. It is a meandering pathway that travels through wilderness and towns, and across an area known for great fishing, sugar-sand beaches and a laid-back atmosphere. A roadside shrimp shack After Mexico Beach, St. Joseph’s Bay (or St. Joe’s Bay) is the first stop east along U.S. 98. It is a community of 3,500 people, with a sizable marina and…

I love your magazine. My wife and I are close to “retiring” and we dream of hitting the road. We read ROVA cover to cover! Your magazine is truly unique—we feel like “telling stories” works so much better for us than “selling RVs” (which many other publications in this realm do a lot!). —Doug M Adventure Six came in the mail yesterday and I just wanted to say thanks and congrats on another terrific issue. Fine travel and lifestyle articles, super photography and finish. —John M I came across your magazine at a supermarket stop. I was on the way home from discussing my purchase agreement for a Little Guy Max trailer… I am not particularly spiritual, but I do take this as a sign to proceed with the purchase,…

At first, the news made us feel like we had reached a dead end. We had no idea how to reroute. So, we defaulted to the things we love most: travel and adventure. RVing full-time and exploring our country seemed like the perfect distraction from the news, and a way that we could find joy while putting a pause on life decisions for a bit. So, we set out and made the effort to embrace our detour—not knowing that it would provide more than just a distraction. The benefits that we expected from our RV lifestyle were realized almost as soon as we first put rubber to road: living more minimally and intentionally, feeling more inspired, deepening our relationship with nature and with each other, and personal growth. It’s been…

In nature, everything is unique. No two leaves are the same; rivers overflow, change course and dry up; each sunrise illuminates a landscape that is slightly different than it was the day before. It’s what we love about the outdoors—experiences so diverse that we can’t stop chasing them. But despite nature’s insistence that uniqueness is what makes the world beautiful, that diversity is not reflected in the visitors that are typically found to be enjoying the outdoors. Enjoying nature comes with challenges that are common to all adventurers; things like finding the time to get outside, unfamiliarity with equipment or landscapes, and finding someplace to shower or use the bathroom. For a number of travelers, however, the difficulties faced in the outdoor environment are not simply practical or technical. Minority…

When I adopted Max at a farmer’s market in 2009, he had no idea (nor did I, for that matter) that he was about to embark on a completely new way of life—traveling to unknown destinations and seeing the country, something most dogs (and most people!) will never make the time to do. With my trusty old 4Runner and a newly purchased tent, we hit the open road for two years without a plan. Before the world started using iPhones and apps for directions to the perfect camping spot, I used the analog version of Google maps… an actual map. For tips and recommendations of unknown places, I relied on the little green tent triangle printed on some maps, or random signs on the road, or I would put my…

One of the shared characteristics I have found in each of my fellow nomads is the innate desire for adventure. We find ourselves dutifully planning escapades to satiate that desire, but every now and then they become larger than we intended—landing us in situations where we may question the decision that put us there in the first place. Such was the type of adventure I had during my 85-mile backpacking trek through the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I put my boyfriend (partner-in-travel-crime!) Kendrick in charge of planning what was to be a three- to five-day backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. I should have known better than to give an ultrarunner a project like that! As we planned it out, our trip gradually morphed into a 13-day, self-supported backpacking…

Maine summers are iconic. It’s impossible to imagine them without the rugged coastline jumping to mind, complete with lobster pots, deep-water harbors filled with sailboats and Boston Whalers, and the crisp air sweeping off the North Atlantic calling for a fleece pullover even in late August. We drove up that coast (or “Downeast”, as Mainers would say), where stone tumbles into sea with towering white pines looking on. From Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park, we turned west toward Baxter State Park, home of the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail: Mount Katahdin. We built our campfire on the banks of the mighty Penobscot River and were greeted by its mists come dawn. On the trail, deep-green ferns and shimmering spiderwebs heralded the last of the warm summer days,…

Kick back and chill Have you ever spotted someone at the beach or in the park, reclined on a pocket of nylon-wrapped air? Did you think to yourself, ‘That person really has their life together’? Well, here’s your chance to feel similarly good at things—grab yourself an inflatable lounger and get relaxing this summer. These loungers pack down into a ridiculously small bag, and you can use them on land or in the water. We love the snazzy designs of the Chillbo Baggins variety, which also illuminate, in case you forgot your lantern. chillbo.com The Sunshine State in stories Fans of Lauren Groff (Arcardia, Fates and Furies) will know that her writing is intricate and captivating. This collection of stories, Florida, uses the Sunshine State as its central character—a wilderness…

here’s something about the outdoors that inspires the artist in all of us. It could be the fresh air, or the majesty of nature. I’m not really sure, but whatever it is, it’s been happening since time immemorial. Some of the oldest paintings in the world, in caves of Europe and Asia, had artists depicting their interactions with nature more than 30 centuries ago. Closer to home, some of the oldest surviving indigenous American artwork, found in a Tennessee cave, is believed to be more than 6,000 years old, and depicts wild dogs, serpents and other animals. This deep connection with the land that the indigenous population continues to have has led to natural motifs being featured heavily in their art until the present day. Much more recently, European settlement…

The southern Oregon coast (that little stretch of seaside south of Winchester Bay) is a sometimes-overlooked region in the south-west of the state, sandwiched between the romance of California’s northern coastline and the moody promise of the Pacific North West. It might not be showy, but it’s a total people-pleaser, with pockets of love to give to every type of traveler. The beach brigade With California as a neighbor, you know that southern Oregon’s beaches are going to be good. Some of the best on offer in this region are found in the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, which is named after the first Oregon Parks superintendent. Tucked away from prying eyes on the 101 is Secret Beach, which you can reach either from the Thunder Cove parking lot…

I’ve been a science fiction and comic book fanatic for almost my entire life. I bought my Roadtrek last year, and, given its angular front end and its function of transporting me to strange new destinations, I immediately wanted to name it Galileo, after the shuttlecraft from the original Star Trek TV show. So it’s no wonder that as soon as I got the keys, I started boldly going where many a geek had traveled before me. Here are several of the cities and towns you should pay a visit the next time you’re traveling through the Midwest and need a fantastic escape. Unfortunately, we can’t don a red cape and fly from place to place, or use a transporter to instantly get us to our destination, but we can…