DEBERT COUPLE SET THEIR SIGHTS ON ALASKA

Couple converted an old bus into a cosy home on wheels

It’s an odyssey in the making. Emily Webb and Adam Mattinson laboured for months and spent $110,000 on a 2002 school bus, converting it into a house on wheels for their epic journey to Whistler, B.C., for the winter, then it’s on to Alaska next spring.

“We’re really excited. I think it’s been a long time coming, it feels like we’ve been working on it for so long,” said Webb.

“We’ve always liked van living but I think to us, something really important was to have a big kitchen and we wanted to have a shower and toilet, which you can’t really t in a van.”

e Debert couple will leave Friday, cruising up through New Brunswick and Quebec, before driving west across Ontario on Hwy 417, passing through the lakes and forests of the Canadian Shield. ey will continue heading west across the prairies and over the Rocky Mountains into British Columbia and the ski resort town of Whistler, nestled in the forested mountains north of Vancouver.

However, Webb and Mattinson will not reach their ultimate goal of sightseeing in Alaska’s Arctic wilderness until next spring. By then roads will be clear of ice and the weather will be warm enough to live on their bus.

ey leave with no set plans to visit any particular spot along their route, but will stop anywhere that takes their fancy.

“We’ll go wherever the wind blows,” said Mattinson.

eir bus home was planned out with sustainable living in mind.

e vehicle has solar panels on its roof, the couple’s own water supply and there’s an eco-friendly compost toilet.

e couple started refurbishing their vehicle last year, using recycled wood from the home of Webb’s grandfather. The wood was used to build a closet, food pantry and kitchen storage cupboards around the sink.

“Adam worked at a school bus garage and he realized how livable this thing could be,” said Webb.

“We can completely live o the grid, so if we really wanted to pull up to a scenic spot on a lake or something, I think that’s what’s nice about living in this.”

It was Mattinson’s skills as a diesel mechanic that helped the couple get their bus up and running, a career he hopes to pursue while they stay in Whistler.

Webb has experience in the veterinary eld and is also an artist, but she’s unsure of what she wants to do in their new winter home.

People can follow the couple’s journey on Instagram at Last Stop Alaska.

FRAM DINSHAW/ TRURO NEWS Emily Webb and her partner Adam Mattinson are departing this week on an odyssey across Canada to Whistler, where they will spend the winter before driving up to Alaska next year for sight-seeing. They are travelling in a converted 2002 school bus that will serve as their mobile home and their dog, Biscuit, will accompany them.