Travel with Rolando Chang Barrero

COMING SOON! My epic USA Road Trip in an RV with My Dog | National Parks, Hidden Gems & Scenic Adventures New on YouTube Experience America through the windshield of an RV and the eyes of a photographer. Join me, Rolando Chang Barrero , and my loyal travel companion Bella , as we explore America's most breathtaking National Parks, hidden back roads, historic towns, scenic byways, roadside attractions, and unforgettable sunsets. Whether you're planning your next RV adventure, dreaming about retirement travel, or simply love discovering beautiful places, this channel is for you.

  I Still Own Every Backyard I Walk Into A story of six, and every age that followed... I put the sunglasses on myself. Nobody had to ask me to. I just knew the moment called for them, and this one did. New yard, new fence, new everything. I planted my feet in the grass, put my hands on my hips, and decided: this place was mine now. I didn't know, of course, about the boxes packed in a hurry, or the conversations held behind closed doors that led to the morning we loaded the car again. All I knew was that there was a chain-link fence to press my face against, a rose bush taller than my head, and an orange flower — one single one — blooming right there in the middle of all that wild green. A good sign, I figured. Places with flowers were good places. There had been other yards before this one. I remembered them in pieces — the creak of a particular porch step, the smell of someone else's grass after rain, a neighbor's dog that barked every evening like clockwork. Each place...

Photo by Rolando Chang Barrero Travel With Rolando to... Yellowstone National Park Where the Earth Still Breathes More National Parks Subscribe to YouTube    Support me at Patreon Instagram    Facebook Read Between Storms and Sunrises on Amazon Kindle Three unforgettable days inside America's First National Park — With Bella 🐾 There are places in this world that stop you cold — not because of what you expected to find, but because of what finds you. Yellowstone is one of those places. And I am deeply, humbly, joyfully grateful I made it there.   From the moment I rolled through those park gates, something shifted. The air was different. The ground beneath me was alive in a way I've rarely felt anywhere else on earth. Steam rising from nowhere. Colors in the water that seemed almost too vivid to be real. Bison standing calmly on the roadside as if they owned the place — because, honestly, they do. Yellowstone National Park (Photo: Rolando Chang Barrero ®) This ...

Stories of Segregation: An American History Lesson A Visit to the Blackwell School National Historic Site, Marfa, Texas  by Rolando Chang Barrero More from National Parks Service Welcome to Travel with Rolando! Subscribe to YouTube     Support me at Patreon During my time in Marfa, Texas, I visited one of the newest and most powerful sites in the National Park Service system: Blackwell School National Historic Site . What I encountered there was not just a preserved building, but a deeply human story—one written by prejudice rather than law, and one that still echoes loudly today. Built in 1909 , the Blackwell School served Mexican and Mexican American children during an era of de facto segregation. Although segregation in Texas was not always codified in the same way it was in the Jim Crow South, the practice of “separate but equal” was firmly enforced through social norms, local policies, and institutional bias. From 1889 to 1965 , Mexican American students in Marfa w...

Travel with Rolando to Yosemite National Park Traveling America’s national parks during a government shutdown comes with unexpected challenges. In this AARP article, writer Molly Snow follows my journey as a cross-country RVer navigating limited park staffing, uncertainty on the road, and a memorable two-hour traffic standstill leaving Yosemite National Park — all with my loyal travel companion, Bella, by my side. Braving national parks with limited staff  By Molly Snow is a writer for AARP These days, cross-country RVer Rolando Chang Barrero, 63, and his four-legged sidekick, Bella, are rarely in one place for long. ​​That is, of course, unless the retired Florida art gallerist is stuck in traffic for two hours on the way out of  Yosemite National Park.  That was his recent experience after the  shutdown . ​  Continue reading...

Arches National Park Experience the Majestic Natural Stone Arches of Utah’s High Desert. By Rolando Chang Barrero Travel with Rolando and Adventures with Bella More National Parks Welcome to Travel with Rolando! Google local Guide Review Hello everyone, Rolando Chang Barrero here! Welcome back to another edition of Travel with Rolando and Adventures with Bella . If you’re new here, it’s pretty simple: I drive, I take the pictures, and Bella—my amazing four-legged co-pilot—handles snack management and strategic napping. We traded city views for wide-open spaces and pointed the compass toward the high desert of Utah. Bella’s tail started thumping against the car door about fifty miles out; I think she smelled the adventure coming. Day 1: Arrival in the Red Zone @travelwithrolando Landed on Mars... or maybe just Arches National Park! 🪐🐕 Bella and I traded city views for the deep reds and burnt oranges of the Utah high desert. 🧡 While the trails aren't super dog-friendly, the mai...

Monument Valley Sunrises, Sunsets, and Pure Southwestern Wonder By Rolando Chang Barrero Travel with Rolando and Adventures with Bella There are places you drive through, and then there are places that stay with you forever. Monument Valley is absolutely the latter. On my recent adventure with Bella, we rolled into this legendary landscape of towering red buttes, endless horizons, and desert skies painted with colors you don’t see anywhere else on Earth. It felt like stepping straight into a classic Western film—only better, because it was real, and I was driving through it in my RV with my favorite co-pilot at my side. 🚗 The Drive Through Monument Valley The moment those iconic sandstone monoliths rise out of the earth, you can’t help but gasp. The open road, lined with massive rock formations sculpted by millions of years of wind and time, made the drive feel almost spiritual. Every mile revealed a new angle, a new shadow, a new “pull over and take a picture” moment. Bella sat up ...

Death Valley National Park A Surreal Desert Wonderland Every Traveler Should Experience By Rolando Chang Barrero Travel with Rolando and Adventures with Bella More National Parks Before rolling into the vast, otherworldly landscapes of Death Valley National Park , Bella and I made a memorable stop in Pearsonville, California , where I became the first-ever Harvest Hosts guest at the Golden Cactus Ghost Town Museum . This abandoned desert attraction was equal parts fascinating and eerie—especially knowing that the “B” horror movie CLAW was filmed right there. Walking through the quiet ghost town structures at sunset felt like stepping onto a movie set, and the desert wind made every shadow just a little creepier. It was unforgettable… and the perfect prelude to one of the most spectacular national parks in America. Entering Death Valley: A Journey Into Another Planet Death Valley National Park is truly unlike anywhere else on Earth. As soon as you enter the park, you’re greeted by dr...