Like Tory and many others in our class, I am a longtime fan of the tiny homes movement. Since first learning about them a few years back, I’ve always had a bucket list goal of giving it all up and living somewhere for the place rather than the possessions.

While I love the idea of tiny homes, I also value the concept of nomadic living. Although I’ve blogged about it before, I’ve never felt more connected to the road then when I was on a road trip across the US after freshman year. I think that a road trip emphatically symbolized the concept of a home on wheels. You are moving from place to place not to live, but to explore.

While camping in Yellowstone National Park, my friends and I came across a very friendly Santa Claus lookalike and his wife at the campsite next to us. They didn’t have a tent or an RV, but what they called a sports mobile. Sports mobiles are a variation of a DIY camper that is crammed into a small van (almost like the modern day VW equivalent). Just like the tiny homes movement, these converted vans have gained huge amounts of popularity amongst today’s adventure seeking community. These vans afford the amenities of a tiny house in an even smaller, yet incredibly mobile manor.

The coolest part about the sports mobiles is their ability to get off the “beaten path.” Unlike a typical RV, they can climb over rocks or press through the snow just like any SUV. When we asked our campsite neighbors about their plans with the van and where they were headed, they simply replied, “Up to Alaska until the roads end.” They wouldn’t once stop in a hotel or probably even a city for that matter. All they needed was their tiny home on wheels and the view out of the windshield.

I’d love to build my own sports mobile some day. Having the ability to roam free and focus on whats around you rather than normal suburbia would be liberating.