If you know us through Campfires and Motors, you know our family enjoys exploring new places, following trails and finding out what is around the next bend. Today, I want to share a different kind of adventure: my suspense thriller, The Whitlock Trail.
My name is Steven Gallaher, and alongside our family’s RV travels, photography and videos, I am also an author. This book brings together a family, a hidden piece of history and a treasure hunt that becomes far more dangerous than anyone expects.
What is The Whitlock Trail about?
A century-old journal. A hidden treasure. A family followed into dangerous country.
When a mysterious stranger places an old journal in David’s hands, its strange symbols and cryptic directions draw his family into a treasure hunt buried in forgotten history.
David, his wife Michelle, and their two children, Emma and Jacob, follow clues through abandoned rail lines, old land records and overlooked landmarks. Each discovery brings them closer to the truth, but it also raises the stakes. They are not the only ones looking, and the danger grows as the family moves deeper into the search.
This is a fictional adventure built around a family trying to solve a mystery while protecting one another. The treasure gives them a reason to keep searching. The people following them give them a reason to question every next step.
A different adventure for the Campfires and Motors community
Our videos share places we visit and the realities of traveling full time. The Whitlock Trail offers another way to explore: through a story where an old record, a forgotten route or a mark on a map can change everything.
If you enjoy the discovery side of our travels, the book may appeal to you too. It combines family adventure, historical clues and suspense, with a mystery that reaches beyond what the family first understands.
You do not need to be an RVer to follow the story. The central question is simple: how far would you go to uncover a secret, especially when your family could pay the price?
Read the opening before you decide
The best way to see whether a book is for you is to read it. I have shared the prologue and Chapter 1 as a free sample on the book website. You can read them right on the page.
Release date and where to find it
The ebook is available for preorder now, with publication set for October 19, 2026. Paperback and hardcover editions are also planned for release.
The Amazon link is an affiliate link. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Visit The Whitlock Trail website for book updates and to join the book’s mailing list.
Thank you for following our family’s adventures and giving this one a look. If you know someone who enjoys treasure hunts and suspense, sharing the free sample is a simple way to help them discover the book.
—Steven Gallaher