El Paisano Hotel

Why we keep stopping at Marfa’s historic Hotel Paisano, from its courtyard and architecture to its connection with the movie Giant.

The Miraculous Staircase at Loretto Chapel — Santa Fe, New Mexico

Inside a small chapel in Santa Fe stands a remarkable wooden staircase with no central support post and a legend involving answered prayers and a mysterious carpenter who vanished without payment. I went to see it for myself, and the story is every bit as interesting as the staircase.

Make Leaving Easier

When we first started RVing, getting ready for a trip felt like a project. Whether we were leaving for two days or an extended trip, we spent an inordinate amount of time loading the RV. Clothes went back and forth. Refrigerator staples had to be moved. Kitchen gear had to

Scenic Park: Close to Family, Right on the Missouri

Scenic Park in South Sioux City keeps us close to family and friends, with a familiar campsite and time beside the Missouri River.

Big Bend Saddlery

Do you like the smell of leather? Have I got the place for you. Anytime we're in the Fort Davis/Alpine area, we make a stop at Big Bend Saddlery. The first time we went there, my oldest brother was the one who showed me the store. What

Buc-ee’s — The Roadside Stop We Rarely Pass

I would be hard-pressed to tell you which Buc-ee’s was the first one we ever stopped at. I do remember the reaction. When people back home in Nebraska ask me what Buc-ee’s is, the easiest explanation I've come up with is this: Imagine

How We Buy Diesel on the Road

Using the Open Roads Fuel Discount Card In our early days of RVing with Phyllis, our first motorhome, we stopped at normal gas stations. That's not to say we didn't stop at truck stops. We did. But when we did, we pulled around to the regular

Moab, Utah — A Place Pictures Don’t Quite Capture

Our April 2019 trip to Moab took us through Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point and some of the most memorable scenery we’ve encountered on the road.

Fort Davis National Historic Site — Life on the Texas Frontier

A walk through Fort Davis National Historic Site, where restored buildings, Buffalo Soldier history and the remains of a frontier Army post bring West Texas history to life.

RV LIFE: The Trip-Planning Tool We Use

It may seem a little counterintuitive to write about another website on Rolling Nichols, but this is one we actually use. Five or six years ago, I was getting frustrated trying to plan RV trips with Google Maps. Google Maps is very good at getting you from Point A to

Driving 65 Feet

The most important thing we’ve learned about driving a big RV has very little to do with its size. Many people see Harriet and Vern in a picture—or sometimes in person—and are a little overwhelmed by how long we are. I measured the combination at roughly 65

Staying Connected on the Road

We live in a connected world. Access to most of the planet is usually sitting in your pocket. At home, we stream television, check the weather, make reservations, look things up and generally expect the internet to be there. Why should the road be any different? I’ve spent years

Why We Chose a Super C

We had several years in a Class C under our belt before Harriet ever entered the picture. And there were things about that style of RV that we genuinely loved. On travel days, if Lisa needed to use the bathroom, she got up and went to the bathroom. If I

Why We Rebuilt Harriet's Electrical System

For seven or eight years, we traveled in Phyllis, the RV we really cut our teeth on. For the most part, we traveled from pedestal to pedestal. We would leave one campground, drive to the next one, plug back in, and go about our business. There is absolutely nothing wrong

The Rule of Threes

One of the ideas that has shaped the way we travel is what we call the Rule of Threes: try to keep a travel day to around 300 miles, arrive by about 3:00 in the afternoon, and when practical, stay three days before moving on. None of those numbers

Why We Flat Tow

When we first started seriously looking at RV travel back in 2014 and 2015, the first decision wasn't how we would tow a vehicle. It was what kind of RV made the most sense for the way we wanted to travel. We looked at bumper-pull trailers, fifth

Road Notes

This Season Starts a Little Differently

It’s getting to be that time again, although this year the start of our travel season will look a little different. We won’t be leaving home until after our youngest son gets married on Halloween. We also want to be here to vote on November 3, so it

What We’ve Learned on the Road

After enough years of traveling by RV, you start collecting little rules, habits, shortcuts, and lessons that make life on the road easier. Some came from experience, some from mistakes, and some from simply figuring out what works best for us. This page is where we’ll keep those things

Phyllis — Where We Learned to RV

Before Harriet, there was Phyllis. Our interest in RV travel really started with a proof-of-concept trip. We rented an RV, headed down to Phoenix to meet up with my brother, and then continued on to the Grand Canyon while the boys were still young. That trip was enough

Texas

McDonald Observatory — Fort Davis, Texas

On our first trip to Fort Davis, we were traveling with my brother Fred and his wife, Jeanna, in our old Coachmen Leprechaun, Phyllis. One of the highlights was the drive up into the Davis Mountains to visit McDonald Observatory. The observatory sits high in the mountains, with major facilities

Nebraska

Toadstool Geologic Park and Campground

There are places that don't look anything like what you expect to find in Nebraska. Toadstool Geologic Park is one of them. We made the trip there from Fishberry Campground near Valentine in October 2024. Once we got out of the truck and started walking, it felt a

Campgrounds & Overnight Stops

Buckhorn Lake Resort — Kerrville, TX

Buckhorn Lake Resort northwest of Kerrville was our next stop after leaving La Vernia, where we had spent about five months. We stayed at Buckhorn for roughly a week, which gave us a chance to ease back into traveling instead of immediately jumping into long driving days. It is definitely

Campgrounds & Overnight Stops

Gather Campground — Belton, TX

We’ve stayed at Gather Campground in Belton several times now, and it has become one of the places we’re comfortable returning to when our route takes us along I-35 through Central Texas. One of those stays turned out to be considerably more memorable than we expected. We

Kansas

Old Cowtown Museum — Wichita, KS

On our way home in April 2024, Lisa and I decided to add an extra day to our stay at Air Capital RV Park and go see Old Cowtown Museum. What surprised us most was that we had been traveling through Wichita for years and somehow never knew it was