Twenty-Two: December/January 2020/2021

ROVA

The magazine for epic road trips

ROVA2 min read
From The Editor
How strange; I seem to have misplaced 2020. Not to worry—it seems winter is here, and, because I'm a weirdo, it's my favorite time of year. I love the snow, and all that goes along with it. Giant coats, woolly scarves, stomping through the snowy wood
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Rova
Editor and Publisher Gemma Peckham gemma@rovamag.com Designer Abby Schmidt Copy editors Giulia Heppell, Eden Cox Editorial Assistant Sam Brown Contributors Kate Hutcheson, Erin McGrady, Caroline Whatley, Rachel Hannah, Brian Collins-Friedrichs, C
ROVA1 min read
Rova In Your Words
My husband and I have been reading ROVA for years, and even though we don't even own an RV or van, we've been taking more little trips in our Subaru to explore the state parks near where we live in Wisconsin. We never knew there was so much to see so
ROVA2 min read
Rova Recommends
Naomi Klein, the revolutionary social activist and author of bestselling books such as The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, does not fail to deliver on her latest book, titled, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a G
ROVA2 min read
Gear Up!
There’s nothing better than waking up to sound of nature—but even with all of that beauty on the other side of the tent, some of us just aren’t morning people. If it takes a little more than the thought of the day’s adventure to drag you out of bed,
ROVA2 min read
Why The Road?
I actually made the decision to hit the road full-time with a guy I was dating. We wanted a way to spend more time enjoying our favorite outdoor hobbies and traveling. Then he backed out and broke up with me. I bought myself a van, built it out, and
ROVA5 min readAutomotive
Loving A Vintage Vehicle And Letting It Go
Love has a way of sneaking up on you. Blindsiding you. Pulling you into orbits that you never intended to travel. And why do we go? Because of chemistry, because of attraction, because of mystery. Because. Even though said romances can often be swift
ROVA4 min read
Eat, Pray, Love: Road-trip Edition
My mother, on the phone from Los Angeles, said no. “You are not driving across the country by yourself. You will be a target.” I could hear her stop whatever she was doing so she could say “No” again, with even more emphasis. “Rachel Hannah. You are
ROVA4 min read
Year-round Camping
It was just over a year ago, while trying to find somewhere to take the RV with my wife and daughter, when the frustrations of Pacific Northwest RV camping began to get the better of me. If you're looking to stay in state or national parks, you have
ROVA6 min read
Living That Winter Van Life
Sometimes it feels like the southern states of the United States should sink a few inches during the winter months under the weight of thousands of RVers and van lifers—travelers hightailing it away from icy roads, snow banks and the possibility of b
ROVA1 min read
Where’s Best For Chasing Pow?
Jess and Parker: We love Summit County in Colorado, and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah, because there are so many ski resorts to choose from! A perk of Utah is you can easily escape to the desert if you need a break from the snow, and Natio
ROVA5 min read
Learning Through Os-moose-is
The week before we were chased by a moose, we were busily stocking up on bear bells and spray. We researched how to tell different kinds of bears apart, and what response each type warranted. We checked trail updates every morning for known bear acti
ROVA4 min read
Love On Lined Asphalt The Art Of Single #vanlife
Jenny Leveille had a date. It wasn’t a rare occasion—she’d been on plenty since moving into her camper van nearly two years ago—but this guy was a helicopter paramedic and an avid kayaker, so she was excited, nonetheless. “I was dressed to go on a da
ROVA5 min read
New Year’s Resolutions For Travelers
I remember my last New Year’s Eve with crystal clarity. I was at a friend’s house. Everyone was outside drinking on the porch, huddled together in one unit. It was freezing cold, but none of us seemed to mind. We were all warmed up by the alcohol and
ROVA5 min read
Highway To Home
The horizon burned with the intensity you only feel on Big Days—capital B, capital D. Brazen sunlight gilded the tops of the tallest trees, but the houses lining my parents’ street were still in shades of predawn blue. I stood outside their house, on
ROVA3 min read
TOO FAR GONE A photo essay
It’s three o’clock in the morning. My pillow is frozen to the side of the camper. Moonlight pours through the vent above the bed, illuminating slow puffs of frozen breath that rise like small clouds above our heads. “Damn it, the propane is out…” I t
ROVA5 min read
Alaska At Last
We had finally made it to Anchor Point, Alaska. Fat raindrops hammered on the roof of our rented SUV, the mist clouded our view of the volcanic peaks opposite and the faded sign read, “North America’s Most Westerly Highway Point.” Our well-thumbed co
ROVA4 min read
Falling For Oklahoma
The 77-foot waterfall at Turner Falls Park, Oklahoma, is a wild thing to see during the summer while it’s raging, cascading frantically over a rock wall. In winter, it’s calm and majestic, like an ice sculpture resting as the centerpiece of the park
ROVA4 min read
Getting Just Lost Enough In The San Rafael Swell
One by one, I watch our group descend the yellow lifeline. Brenda, my girlfriend, is the last one to disappear into the void between the umber rocks. There’s a sudden silence. I look around at the weird oblong towers and a feeling of being totally en
ROVA4 min read
Swap Your Gas Pedal For A Paddle
Needing to recharge my batteries and disconnect from the reality of pandemic life, I returned to the Midwest (the place of my childhood) and also to Mother Nature. After driving from the Twin Cities through Duluth and along Lake Superior on Route 61,
ROVA5 min read
My East-coast Road Trip With A German Stranger
There is a point in every traveler’s life when they are changed. These changes vary; it could be be visiting a spiritual location, diving deep into a new culture, traveling solo for the first time, or making connections with the right people. My chan
ROVA6 min read
Following The Dog’s Nose
Two hawks rise from the depths of the valley, leveling off in front of us. Wisps of white, feathery clouds drift lazily across the blue sky. Indy (named after Indiana Jones), sits gazing out at the dense deciduous forest that stretches all the way to
ROVA5 min read
Some Trouble With Bugs, Then A Soothed Soul
In the late spring of 2017, I needed the sort of relief that my Philadelphia neighborhood wasn’t capable of giving me: quiet. Solitude. Things that were living and green. After a bike accident that shattered my elbow, the realization that we’d moved
ROVA1 min read
Picture This...
THE COLD AIR BITES AT YOUR NOSE and your breath catches in your throat as you gaze out at the expanse of hoodoos rising out of fresh snow. The winter sun casts slender shadows across the evergreens, and you’re reminded of how, in time, the snow will

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