Table of contents for Thirty-Seven: June/July 2023 in ROVA

David Embracing the fully nomadic lifestyle is the best decision I ever made. It allows me to live life on my own terms, explore the world, and experience things I never would have thought possible. I may not have a traditional home or a regular job, but I have something far more valuable: the freedom to live life to the fullest. Instagram: @the_traveling_reed Ann I’m a newly retired chef-concierge-turned-travel-writer sharing my experiences on and off the road on my blog. With a new 2022 InTech Sol Horizon, I’m spending 2023 exploring the reaches of the northwest United States and western Canada, focusing on photography and quick-and-easy, foodie-level meals on the road with my husband and wheelie-pug Anjou. Instagram: @seattlemaven Chelsea I took off in my truck named Blueberry in October…

Summer is here, and that means festivals galore! All over the country, people will gather to celebrate everything from music and art, to hot air balloons and aliens. Here’s a sampling of fun, accessible, and mildly wacky festivals across the United States that are worth a stop on your next road trip. Arts Traverse City Film Festival Set in the scenic town of Traverse City on Michigan’s northwestern coast, this film festival prides itself on making the art of cinema accessible to all by screening “just great movies.” This means you’ll get to see top-notch independent films and documentaries that may go overlooked elsewhere. This year’s event is tentatively set for July 25th to 30th, 2023 (dates are subject to change). Visitors can buy tickets for individual screenings, but the…

At my rock bottom, I had lost all my friends, my relationships, my job, and my mind. I was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and resentful of my past, having been adopted four times, losing two moms, and never having a father figure. I felt lonely, isolated, and disconnected from people, and it made me feel like there was nothing out there for me. Then I went to rehab, and during my time there I was able to reset my ways of thinking, and learn how to listen to life and what it has to offer. I picked up the camera and started documenting what I saw and felt inside rehab, and it fueled me to head in a direction I never thought I would go. It’s funny how my…

When I first moved to Florida from Pennsylvania almost 25 years ago, the difference in history was nearly palatable. While my northerly hometown boasted ivy-covered brick houses and handbuilt barns dating back to the early 1700s, Florida featured shiny new strip malls, manicured lawns, and cookie-cutter mini-mansions everywhere I looked. Turns out, I just didn’t know where to look. Within minutes of my first paddle past ancient Cypress knees to a century-old homestead, I realized that Florida’s history is rich, and worth exploring. After all, it was the year 1513 when Ponce de León famously arrived from Spain on the shores of St. Augustine, Florida. An English explorer, Jonathan Dickinson, wrote a memoir in 1696 of his own shipwreck further south on the east coast. Henry Flagler, the American railroad…

Keepin' Cool Some coolers are expensive, bulky, unwieldy, and annoying to refill with ice. And when you’ve got the beach calling your name on a hot summer’s day, the last thing you want to do is drag a heavy cooler down to the sand. Enter Kanga—its Kase Mate is a soft cooler that keeps your cold things cold for up to seven hours with no ice! The Kase Mate has a lifetime warranty and a 45-day free trial, so you can rest easy knowing that your beer is icy and your pocket is happy. Plus, there’s a range of fun colors and designs to choose from. Thirsty yet? kangacoolers.com Tales of Transformative Travel Traveling isn’t just a way of life—it can also be healing and transformative. There’s a reason we…

For my friend Jay Kehoe, owning a skoolie is all about being open to unexpected adventures—hitting the road and heading toward the unknown. But there are certain events that no one wants to leave up to chance when traveling, with mechanical failures and inconvenient pit stops at the top of that list. When I joined Jay at a boondocking site in Northern Indiana, our plan was to spend the weekend readying his skoolie for a return trip to his hometown in southern Ohio. Of course, not all trips require more than a few simple preparations, but because the bus had been mostly parked for the past 18 months, there was a lot to do. Jay wanted to make sure that it could make the 344-mile drive without any issues. I’d…

Midnight approached as I cycled toward tiny Gorda, California. A hot Santa Ana wind blew across my bare arms, rustled grasses, and stirred up dust on the road ahead. On that moonless night, the Pacific Ocean was visible only where it glowed a mysterious, phosphorescent orange. I was biking—not sleeping— because I was about to sneak through a closed landslide. After the locals told me that other cyclists had managed it, I decided to risk a potential fine in order to skip a 200-mile detour on my way to San Diego and, ultimately, Florida. Thanks to the slide I was sneaking through, and another further north near Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, I had one of the most dramatic sections of the California coast to myself. I’ll never forget biking…

From when I could barely walk, my family from around the country would pilgrimage every summer to our cabin in Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. We’d make the three-plus-hour drive from Minneapolis to the Queen City of the North, Virginia, where my dad grew up. We always stopped at Tobies in Hinckley on the drive north for the best baked goods. I still dream about their cinnamon rolls and cookies. In Cloquet, just on the Iron Range’s outskirts, we’d stop at Gordy’s Hi-Hat for a burger, onion rings, and chocolate malt. (While this trip is a wellness adventure, it’s not necessarily wellness for the waistline.) I would gaze out the window at the beautiful forest and lakes passing by as my parents would playfully debate any number of subjects (there are…

God of Sky and Thunder (and Starting Cars) The Zeus portable jump starter has enough power to start even the largest vehicles on the road multiple times, which makes it very handy when you’ve got an RV or van needing a little extra help to get going. It has 20,000 milliamps per hour, and also doubles as a flashlight and USB charger. It can also take your iPhone from zero charge to full battery at least 10 times, and can supply light for multiple days. In other words, it’s very powerful. unchartedsupplyco.com, $159 Grill Up Summer is grilling season. Whether it’s simply flipping burgers or the painstaking process of smoking brisket, nothing beats relaxing in the sunshine, cracking open a cold one, and watching the sun set. Take that same…

We sometimes look at those larger RVs—you know, the ones with recliners, four televisions, a wine fridge, and a jacuzzi—and wonder a few things. First, how do you tear yourself away from all that comfort and immerse yourself in the outdoors? Second, how do you drive that thing on dirt roads or beaches? And third, can I put some beer in your fridge? My cooler’s full of perishables. As much as life in a McMansion on wheels must be super comfortable, and probably incredibly enjoyable, it’s hard to imagine how much adventure can be found beyond the highway. For our money, a smaller rig is how you find the biggest adventures, and the range of scaled-down trailers that’s hit the market in the last few years means that you can…

I am writing from sunny Silver City, 415 miles southwest of Taos, New Mexico, and a year of lessons since our #vanlife disaster there. A product of the ’80s, our Dodge B250 van is carburetor-equipped: a detail that was insignificant all the way up to our second day on the road. Purchasing the van was a hurdle, but moving into it was surprisingly more difficult. The lease on our rental home expired in December, before we finished building out the van, so we (myself, my wife, and our two dogs) moved a few towns over to our friend’s ranch. Realizing that it would be the end of the holiday season once our hard work was finally over, we thought, “Why not wake up somewhere new on Christmas Day?” We spent…

Growing up on a campground, I’ve learned a thing or two about roadtripping and the RV world. Combining that knowledge with my passion for wine, I plan to take you on a journey through the vineyards and valleys that make up America’s wine country—from California’s Napa Valley, to Traverse City, Michigan. Buckle up, clear a cupboard in your rig for some bottles, and let’s hit the road! Willcox Wine Country, Arizona As we journey into the southwest, the burgeoning wine region of Willcox County, Arizona, beckons to be explored. This high-desert region is gaining acclaim for its distinctive terroir and exceptional wines. RV travelers and wine aficionados, attracted by the allure of the scenery and the viticulture, have brought the area to life, making it a must-visit destination for those…

Grand County, Colorado, is home to fewer than 20,000 year-round residents, but this little pocket of paradise in the north-central Rocky Mountains packs a one-two-three tourism punch. Beyond serving as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park and as home to Grand Lake—the deepest and largest natural body of water in Colorado—the county also boasts the highest concentration of dude ranches in the United States. Surprisingly, this honor does not belong to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, or even North Dakota, where the movement began. The Dude Ranchers’ Association (DRA) calls a trip to one of these outposts “the original Western adventure vacation,” and DRA Executive Director Bryce Albright shares that a dude ranch is “a vacation destination where guests go to experience the Western way of life and travel back in…