Editor's Roadside Journal Archives

What a roll of toilet paper can teach us about our lives

Chuck Woodbury - January 12, 2023

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Have you ever tried to explain to a young person how life will go by faster and faster as they get...

My most useful RV accessory in four decades of RVing

Chuck Woodbury - July 11, 2022

By Chuck Woodbury FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER I became an official, card-carrying RVer at the age of 34 when I bought my first RV, an 18-foot motorhome....

Map shows where RVtravel.com readers are reading

Chuck Woodbury - July 4, 2022

By Chuck Woodbury PUBLISHER The blue dots on the map show where the last 500 visitors to our website were reading it at 9 a.m, Pacific...

Our robot writer answers this: What is best for me, a travel trailer or a motorhome?

Chuck Woodbury - July 1, 2022

By Chuck Woodbury Publisher Our writer who we call Johnny Robot is a product of artificial intelligence. He is not real. The article below was created by...

The agony of defeat in the barren, lonely Arizona desert

Chuck Woodbury - June 10, 2022

I know where I was the evening of Oct. 15, 1988. I was camped in my first RV, my now-legendary 1977, 18-foot Casita motorhome,...

Why my clock is my enemy

Chuck Woodbury - February 11, 2022

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL There are times I want to break my clock. It just keeps ticking and ticking and ticking, always reminding me of...

Roadside Journal: Sad! How often have you seen this along the road?

Chuck Woodbury - February 3, 2022

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL How often have you driven by a scene like this? Reader Mark Schaffler sent this meme along. He wrote: "Too much...

Roadside dining: Bring on the robots!

Chuck Woodbury - December 1, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL One of my very favorite things to do on a road trip is to dine at roadside eateries — mom-and-pop cafes...

It’s getting harder and harder to be tolerant of intolerance!

Gail Marsh - November 26, 2021

I’m becoming more and more concerned about the direction people are headed. No, I don’t mean headed in their RVs. I’m talking about what’s...

A wonderful tribute to Veterans by Ernie Pyle

Chuck Woodbury - November 10, 2021

Yesterday was a special day. And, as we do every year, in honor of Veterans Day and Remembrance Day in Canada and other Commonwealth...

How to become a YouTube superstar and make lots of money

Chuck Woodbury - October 15, 2021

What I am about to write will make a lot of YouTube celebrities angry. First, let me say that it is, indeed, possible to make...

When arguing, two people can both be right

Chuck Woodbury - October 12, 2021

What do you see in this illustration? Do you see a wine glass? Or do you see something else? You might see something different...

What would you do if you were the editor?

Chuck Woodbury - September 11, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury Here's the situation: You are the editor of the weekly newspaper in a small town experiencing hard times. Advertising is not easy to...

How I waste my time. Not by choice, mind you

Chuck Woodbury - June 4, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL RVtravel.com is one of the largest websites in America, most often among the 4,000 most visited sites in America. Because of...

A letter about my mother, Ruthie, on Mother’s Day

Chuck Woodbury - May 8, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL I lost my mother 13 years ago. It seems like yesterday. I think of her nearly every day. I miss her...

Two ’60s gals talk about cigarettes

Chuck Woodbury - May 7, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Being of an advanced age now, when I think back on my youth I recall that everything seemed so innocent. Except...

Mars helicopter flies and Rover makes oxygen!

Chuck Woodbury - April 22, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury EDITOR AND MARS FAN Not a single RVtravel.com reader was alive when the Wright Brothers flew the first powered aircraft in Kitty Hawk,...

Roadside Journal: My craziest dream of all time!

Chuck Woodbury - April 17, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Warning to readers who get mad at me when I post anything on this website that is not about RVing. If...

Do you buy Peeps at Easter?

Chuck Woodbury - April 2, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury I do not have much of a sweet tooth, except in the weeks leading up to Easter. Maybe it's because the little...

Looking back: The amazing story of the Erector Set, American Flyer trains and more

Chuck Woodbury - January 1, 2021

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Older readers of RVtravel.com, especially male readers, will likely remember with great fondness one of the most popular toys of their...

Editor reports on what he’s up to

Chuck Woodbury - December 18, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury EDITOR Truth be told, I'm bored. Like most of you, I suspect, I am ready for this pandemic to go away. Let's hope...

Video: American life in 1957. How things have changed!

Chuck Woodbury - October 9, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL This fascinating seven-minute video shows what life was like in America 63 years ago, at least in white, suburban America. To...

Alone for a week in a “rainforest.” But all is good

Chuck Woodbury - September 25, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury Rain is pounding on the roof of my motorhome. It's so loud that it would be hard to talk over it. I've...

What was the happiest day of your life?

Chuck Woodbury - September 4, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL What if somebody asked you this question: "What was the happiest day of your life?" How would you answer? Can you identify one...

Kraft Mac and Cheese. Heaven on Earth

Chuck Woodbury - September 4, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Gail and I were talking this morning about our favorite comfort foods. I told her that, hands down, for me it's...

A guy walks by and all of a sudden I miss my mother

Chuck Woodbury - September 3, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL My office is in a bedroom on the second story of my home. The window faces the street. A young man,...

Song of the Day. From World War II. Vera Lynn

Chuck Woodbury - August 28, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL My father was a pilot in World War II. He flew a B-24 Liberator in the 8th Air Force on 35...

In the Northwest, salmon are a big deal

Chuck Woodbury - August 7, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Whether you live in the Northwest or are just visiting, you're never too far from a reminder that in these parts...

Something I bet you never thought of…

Chuck Woodbury - June 26, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL If you want to do your kids or grandkids a big favor, save things like this about the times in which...

For $500, this RV is yours!

Chuck Woodbury - June 23, 2020

NOTE: This was from June 2020. We have no idea where this RV is, so we're turning off the comments. Too many folks are...

Editor’s trip update, May 29, 2020

Chuck Woodbury - May 29, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury Gail and I are still in Kingman, Ariz. We have tried twice now to leave, to head back to Seattle, but each...

Meet the ugliest fish in the world

Chuck Woodbury - May 27, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL I do not normally write about fish except maybe to do a little bragging when I catch a big trout. But,...

Editor’s life update May 22, 2020

Chuck Woodbury - May 22, 2020

KINGMAN, ARIZONA May 22, 2020, 3 p.m., Pacific Time By Chuck Woodbury It's time to hit the road again after 2 1/2 months in Kingman, a former...

Hilarious small town crime reports

Chuck Woodbury - May 13, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL When I was a roving reporter, back in the days when an issue of a small town weekly newspaper was 25...

Editor’s journal, May 8, 2020

Chuck Woodbury - May 8, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury EDITOR It's been another week of hanging out in an RV park in Kingman, Arizona, as time marches on. One day blends into...

What is a skateboard called in Kingman, Arizona?

Chuck Woodbury - May 8, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Really? This is what a skateboard is called in Kingman, Arizona? The photo is below. I wonder if it's the same...

This makes me so mad, and I bet you, too!

Chuck Woodbury - May 8, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL The other day, Gail and I hiked a beautiful trail on BLM lands in the Cerbat Foothills Recreation Area near Kingman,...

Why do dogs want to lick your face?

Chuck Woodbury - April 27, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury My dog, Archie, likes to lick my face. I try to avoid letting him do that knowing where his face has been,...

Finding “alone time” in 300 square feet

Chuck Woodbury - April 24, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Gail and I live in a 32-foot motorhome. With one full-wall slide-out and a smaller one in the bedroom, we have...

Editor’s Roadside Journal: Day 32 of Self-Isolation

Chuck Woodbury - April 10, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL APRIL 10, 2020. 3 p.m., Pacific time We are still in Kingman, Arizona, probably staying through May. Mohave County only has 28...

Still in Kingman. Reality hits. Hanging in there

Chuck Woodbury - April 3, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury EDITOR Hello from along Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona. Gail and I are still in Arizona. We're here for two more weeks. We're not...

Do you ever go nuts trying to identify a scene that pops into your head?

Chuck Woodbury - April 3, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Do you ever have flashbacks of places you've been and then go nuts trying to figure out where they were? An...

Is this message funny, offensive or the work of a sick mind?

Chuck Woodbury - April 2, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL Is this funny? I found it on the back of a pickup truck. It's printed right on the vehicle. My thought when...

My ancient dog! No kidding!

Chuck Woodbury - February 27, 2020

The photo above is of a male puppy buried inside a lump of frozen ground near the Indigirka River, northeast of Yakutsk, Russia. The...

I visited Mars last evening

Chuck Woodbury - February 26, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL I am still in Quartzsite (Arizona), but last evening I might as well have been on Mars. Well, sorta. . . First,...

Travel News Alert

Chuck Woodbury - February 21, 2020

Seann Fox passed along this late-breaking travel news bulletin due to snowfall, icy road conditions and other serious weather. It suggests that anyone on the...

The “Charlie Bit Me” boys 10 years later, and how much they earned

Chuck Woodbury - February 21, 2020

Can you believe that more than 10 years have gone by since the YouTube video "Charlie Bit Me" debuted ... and then went viral?...

A Valentine’s gift from Space 43 years ago

Chuck Woodbury - February 14, 2020

Oh, this is so beautiful, our Earth and Moon as photographed from Space 43 years ago. The photo was taken by Voyager 1 on...

Incredible! Don’t stay at this motel or you will be beaten!

Chuck Woodbury - February 7, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury Here is yet another reason to avoid motels and hotels in favor of your RV. Not only can you sleep in your...

U.S. Camel Corps remembered in Quartzsite

Chuck Woodbury - January 31, 2020

By Chuck Woodbury ROADSIDE JOURNAL One of the most interesting military experiments of the American West involved 77 camels and a Syrian named Hi Jolly. His...

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