Blue Bus Adventures

STORY: JESSICA PEREZ
PHOTOGRAPHY: NICK CAHILL

Nick Cahill and Jessica Perez are a couple who recently moved from Lake Tahoe, Nevada into their tiny home on wheels, a converted 1988 Thomas school bus. Initially they didn’t have plans to live full-time on the road in their bus as this was originally purchased as their Burning Man rig, but as they dedicated more time and money into transforming a school bus into a home. Soon they realized they wanted to utilize the bus for more than 1 week on the playa.

They downsized from 1,500 sq. Ft. to 100 sq. Ft. of space, and they built the bus to be utilized for multi-purpose and functionality. Their day jobs allow them to work remote from the road. Nick is an established photographer who’s “Dark Needle” Milky Way photo landed the cover of National Geographic’s limited edition, “Guide to the Night Sky,” which was voted a fan-favorite and is having a second round of publishing in stores now! Nick exclusively prints his landscape photography on dye-infused aluminum which helps bring life to all his photos, enabling viewers of his art to be encircled by nature’s beauty. Meanwhile, Jessica’s photography portfolio is also expanding, and her work has been published in Foster Huntington’s latest #1 best seller, “Van Life,” where their bus is featured in many pages. Living on the bus has gifted them the opportunity to stay in remote locations for longer periods of time, allowing them to wait for those special moments to be captured on camera. These publishings are very exciting for this traveling duo as their goal is to help inspire folks to pursue their dreams, no matter how BIG or tiny they may be, especially since they both took a leap of faith to pursue a life that is out of the ordinary.

Nick is an adrenaline enthusiast and outdoor adventurer at heart who enjoys skydiving, hiking, mountain biking, surfing, and swimming. Jessica loves yoga, pole fitness, trail running, paddle boarding, hula hooping, and hiking. She is learning to practice yoga on her BOTE Bug Slinger™ paddleboard and would love to one day be able to do a headstand while floating on the water. Last year Nick introduced Jessica to mountaineering where she climbed her first fourteener, Mt. Shasta, and fully enjoyed the experience. Together they plan to climb many more peaks and enjoy the challenge of pushing themselves to the next level. They find peace and serenity in water, and love to use their BOTE boards on those calm days when the lake looks like glass. They recently explored Bend, Oregon and took their boards out to Trillium Lake and High Alpine Lake near Broken Top Peak, and enjoyed paddling with a view of snow covered peaks. While in High Alpine Lake, they had all eyes on them as they paddled around nearly freezing water, and thankfully neither of them fell in!

Their travel journey continues as they’ll be mimicking birds following the sun south for the winter. As they make their way down the Pacific Northwest towards Mexico, they plan to drive along the coast to enjoy the incredible view and scenery. Of course, many paddleboard sessions are ahead for these two, but in much warmer waters compared to the PNW in the Fall. Be sure to follow along on their adventures on Instagram: @BlueBusAdventure and join the bus ride to the next destination.