Yearly Archives: 2012
"Too Proud to Ride a Cow" in Digital Form
Used to be, if you wanted a copy of “Too Proud to Ride a Cow”, my account of traveling across America by mule, you bought a copy at the bookstore or ordered it from the RiverEarth General Store. If… Continue reading
The Importance of Going Offline
In the coming weeks and months I plan to travel through Newfoundland with mule Polly. Unlike past voyages, where I’ve posted updates every few days, I will post less frequently.
Part of it is geography. Newfoundland is a remote island. With no cell or satellite phone at my disposal, I won’t be able to get online. Or even make phone calls.
Part of it is my brain.
In recent years, I’ve noticed there’s an inverse relationship between soaking up a… Continue reading
Newfoundland Bound
A Time and a Place
Small wonder Polly takes a nap when I pull her off the trailer at the end of the day. In the past week and a half, we’ve traveled close to 2000 miles – from Asheboro, North Carolina to Syndey, Nova Scotia. Sydney. Here, Polly catches a nap around mile 1562. Meanwhile, Yari Msika and a jumping pal go airborne. His parents Theirry and Maran Msik put us up a few days in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
When voyaging by wagon, I… Continue reading
The First 800 Miles
Wow. The start of my latest mule journey was uglier than the paint job on my ’92 Dodge. Eighteen hours cooped up in the crusty cab. With no radio. Or cruise control. Not even… Continue reading
Holy Hornets Nest It's Journey Time
I love to haul stuff. Preferably on a rig of my own clobbering together. Take this week’s challenge. Haul mule Polly and her wagon 2200 miles from North Carolina to Nova Scotia and beyond.
Enter the sawed off, we-ain’t-got-the-new-toys-but-we-do-have-a-1961-horse trailer ethic.
The tricky thing about hauling Polly and my wagon is that my mule wagon’s too tall to fit into a standard horse trailer. Sure, for money, lots of it, I could buy… Continue reading
Ground Goobers and the Egg Man
So last week mule Polly and I are traveling across eastern North Carolina in my just-built mule wagon. Getting ready for our Canadian Maritime Adventure.
If you recall, the wagon is actually two parts. Part One: the forecart, on which I sit, is a two wheeled cart outfitted with a trailer hitch. Part Two: the wagon, is a two-wheeled trailer that serves as living… Continue reading
Crippled Camera Photos
During this week’s 90 mile shakedown cruise from Oriental, NC to Lowland and back, my old Canon started loosing its mind. The lens blades stuck. The flash stopped working. That speck in the sky wasn’t a plane. It’s not dirt on your screen. It’s crud deep down near my camera’s mind’s eye.
Seeing the photos reminded me of the soon-to-be-deceased. Right before they die, they go through death throes and say some funky things. Or maybe it’s just jibberish. Either… Continue reading
End of the Wagon Day
It’s been a long week here aboard the mule wagon – hence the short post. In the past 8 days, Polly and I have traveled over 90 miles through… Continue reading
Wagon Construction Week 5
The concept was simple. Build a two-wheeled cart. Build a two-wheeled covered wagon. Hitch the wagon to the cart and pull the rig through the Canadian Maritimes. I built the cart. I built the wagon.
So far, so good for 5 weeks of work.
