A Year in a School Bus: Amid COVID-19, A Family Finds Freedom Traveling the American West
Paula wakes up in her bus around 4:30 a.m. most days. She can usually still see the stars. She works for a few hours, often on freelance projects using her training as a biologist, and makes breakfast when her 12-year-old son Max gets up around 7:00. (TIME has agreed to grant Paula and Max pseudonyms out of concerns for their safety.) She feeds their dog and cat, and then she and Max, who is on the autism spectrum, begin homeschooling. They follow specialized, skills-based lesson plans to keep his work short and consistent—at least two to three hours a day, seven days a week. By 10:00, they usually “hit the ground running” on renovating their bus, she says. They try to complete one project a day, big or small.
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Max looks out at neighboring busses on Feb. 20. Photo by Nina Riggio
Max hikes above Craggy Wash Campground outside Lake Havasu City, Az. on Feb. 25. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula prepares breakfast while Button, the family dog, begs for scraps. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula and Max shop at a seasonal market for dented cans and near-expired foods at the Quartzsite Grocery and Drug Store on Feb. 8. The market caters to the mobile living community, which swells during the winter time with people seeking the warm weather. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula cleans the bus floor. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula and Max’s ‘Jesus Saves’ bus provides warmth on cold desert nights outside Lake Havasu City, Az., on Feb. 23. Paula was raised Jewish and does not identify as Christian; she found the retired Baptist school bus in San Diego last year and it fit within her budget. Photo by Nina Riggio
Max snuggles inside his bed in the back of the bus while Paula makes breakfast on Feb. 20. Photo by Nina Riggio
A stained glass artist teaches Max how to wrap the glass in copper foil on March 2. Paula says she and Max have found a community on the land unlike one they’ve ever had before. “We never go without,” she says. Neighbors parked nearby will still offer her extra tools or advice on a build, she says, or just ask her about her day. She’s learned about nearby jobs—including cleaning and painting houses—through word of mouth. Photo by Nina Riggio
Max quickly washes his hair in the sink before he and Paula run errands in town on Feb. 26. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula and Max embrace after working on construction projects for the bus on Feb. 20. They’re careful to clean up after themselves after renovations. Paula says that, in her experience, people living out of skoolies or vans are usually the most respectful towards the land itself. “The people who stay and do full time living, they would like to keep the privilege,” she explains. “[We’re] usually the ones that go out and clean up after all of the people that leave stuff behind.” Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula looks for parts for a heater in a local hardware store on March 3. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula and Max hang laundry on the bus to dry. Photo by Nina Riggio
Max works on chemistry schoolwork on the floor of the bus, while Paula lends her table saw to a neighbor to work on his own bus on Feb. 23. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula and Max carry in a piece of wood to mount around Max’s “hobbit bed” on the school bus, outside Ehrenberg, Az., on Feb. 8. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula showers in her handmade bathroom on the school bus, which includes a compost toilet and bathtub made from a metal trough. She suffered a major back injury years ago, and the bruising on her back is from ‘cupping,’ a form of alternative medicine often used to treat muscle pain, which she lets Max practice on her when she is stressed. Photo by Nina Riggio
Paula and Max work together on his sensory challenges a few times a week. Photo by Nina Riggio
Max goes for his nightly walk on March 2. Photo by Nina Riggio
Nina Riggio is a visual journalist based in San Francisco, California, and Reno, Nevada.
Co-published with TIME.
