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Wednesday March 20, 2019

So you want to run away for a few months on a mule. What would you take?
Hell if I know. But Julia stepped in to the rescue. She hand wrote a list based on the items used on our last month and a half mule trip. It’s posted above. Then she typed it up. It’s all you’ll ever need on the road, from essential lavender oil to Loctite. Okay, some pruning may be in order. Read through the whole list here.

Saturday March 16, 2019

How far could you travel on a mule before winter or an ocean stopped you? That’s what I’m about to find out. Early April, I’ll be heading out on a long term saddle trip with my mules Brick and Cracker. We’re heading West until we can’t any more.

Brick’s one of the three mules my wife Julia and I traveled from our farm to Virginia and back with. More about the first 100 miles of this journey here on RiverEarth.com or Julia’s blog Saddle Under the Stars. Cracker’s a recent addition. We’ve only had him a few months, just long enough to know his heart is as big as his head. I’ll be posting more about my travel preparations here on RiverEarth.com.

But now it’s time to hit the saddle. Brick, Cracker and I are heading off on a brisk 12 mile training ride. I sure look forward to having you along for the ride!

Friday March 1, 2019

Fifteen years ago I sailed back in to Oriental, NC after spending 5 years sailing alone around the world. Hours after tying up a mooring line’s length from the town dock, a reporter asked me, “what do you fear most”. I said, “growing old alone on a sailboat”.
Flash forward to last weekend. I stood on the same Town Dock with my fiancee Julia. The minister asked, “Bernie, do you have the rings?”. I patted my tuxedo pocket and said, “uugggghhhhh”. Then I jumped in to my mule cart and raced away for the hardware. Here’s the rest of the story

Friday February 22, 2019

Julia and I are getting married this weekend and you’re invited. The hitchin’ is at 11am at the Oriental Town Dock in Oriental, NC. The Town Dock has served as jumping off point for quite a few of my adventures, from sailing alone around the world to walking across America with a mule. Of course dogs and mules are welcome. ‘be great if you could come out!
A wonderful story on how my sailing voyage ended in Oriental 15 years ago is here at TownDock.net

Thursday January 24, 2019

This Sunday I pried 2 wire clips off one of the t-posts that hold up the barbed wire in the mule pasture. I bent the clips in to ring shapes on the box blade. Cut off the excess wire with an angle grinder . Slipped the larger of the two rings on my finger. Just to test. Then I made a smaller ring.
Julia and I walked up to the orchard and laid down in the grass. We watched the clouds and jets. We saw a rabbit and a heart in the sky. I focused on the heart. I was nervous. “Be like the heart, not the rabbit,” I told myself.
“Will you marry me?” I asked Julia.
She said, “yes”.
I slide the smaller ring on her finger. Then I asked her what to do next.
I’m 51. I’ve never been married.
She told me I didn’t need 2 rings but since I’d made a second one for me that was okay.
She slid it on my finger.
You can read Julia’s take on how it all went down at her blog Saddle Under the Stars.

Thursday January 24, 2019

The “Lost Sea Expedition” movie about mule Polly and my voyage across America is crankin’. A few weeks ago it won a Winnie Award at the EQUUS film festival in New York. This week, the film has been selected to appear at the EQUUS INTERNATIONAL film festival in Missoula, Montana.
This is very cool because Polly and my trip covered parts of Montana. No matter what the judges think, Polly scores a win with us. Brace yourself for a bonus ration of carrots my traveling friend!
You can stream the series on Amazon.
More about the EQUUS INTERNATIONAL film festival right here.

Wednesday January 16, 2019

“There’s a certain sharpness that comes from not being comfortable all the time.”
That’s Julia writing about our month and a half long mule ramble we took last fall. We traveled with little more than a tent, 2 jugs of water and juuust enough provisions to keep us going.
Here are Julia’s thoughts on living lean and feeling bionic.