Peek inside this former Silicon Valley couple's tricked-out converted bus travel home

The view of the bus from the front. The view of the bus from the front. Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Peek inside this former Silicon Valley couple's tricked-out converted bus travel home 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

Most people embracing their wanderlust buy a plane ticket or book a room on a cruise ship. California's Alyssa and Will Hitchcock, however, opted to plan out their travels a little differently: by purchasing and tricking out an out of service school bus, and hitting the road.

After meeting at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Will is from Auburn and Alyssa from Big Bear), the two moved up to Mountain View to take jobs in tech. After deciding to start their own company called Camp Four Creative, wherein the duo provides design services and front-end development for SaaS startups, they were faced with an interesting realization.

"Originally I thought that being in Mountain View would be a huge selling point for us, but we quickly found that even when our teams were just a few miles down the road, they preferred to meet with us on Skype!" says Alyssa Hitchcock. "This led us to embrace the 'remote work' trend by moving to Boulder, Colorado."

And then the bus came along.

The two, deciding to put their mission on wheels, began searching for an old school bus they could convert and use to explore their love for the outdoors around the American West. Once they found one — a 2001 GMC/Blue Bird Conventional — they got to work riveting, rust-grinding, and painting. About eight months later, with a lot of work and money behind them, they set off.

"Since then, we've traveled through most of the western states, enjoying the best mountain biking, trail running, hiking and camping that our public lands have to offer," Hitchcock says. "One of the big goals of the bus project was to find a community that inspired us to put down roots, and we found that in Bozeman, Montana."

So now, as the Hitchcocks are starting a new chapter, they've decided they're ready to part with their beloved Blue Bird bus, and have put it up for sale.

Telling SFGATE that the bus worked well for them as they traversed across a number of Western states, Hitchcock says that one of the best things they did was incorporate an office so they could still make an income while they traveled.

"Our regular routine was to get up early and work in the morning," she says, "then hit the trails in the afternoon."

However, after being on the road for a few years, the "lack of community" that comes with life on the road began to take its toll. The Hitchcocks decided to settle in Montana, a place that "always had a place in our hearts," and put the bus on the market for $64,500.

Noting that they added water holding tanks, solar power, and an extra large propane tank, Hitchcock says whoever buys the bus won't need to rent spots at RV parks, as it's independently functional.

"There is something special about finishing a big bike ride or long run and enjoying to a hot, fresh meal inside, while a tent-flattening wind storm rages across the desert all around you," she says. "The bus is great because it really makes you feel at home anywhere."

To view the listing, visit Will and Alyssa's site at Outside Found.

Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.