Yearly Archives: 2019
After 20 Million Steps: First Sight of the Rocky Mountains
I stood before them crying in the wind. Memories of kissing my wife Julia good bye, riding mules Brick and Cracker out our front gate and now we stood before them. We had arrived at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
I sat in my saddle facing the snowy peaks and rewound the mule journey of 1,600 miles. I thought back on the… Continue reading
“Man and His Mules Cross America on Path Set by Dental Floss” Douglas Budget (Wy) Newspaper Article
Here’s some Sunday reading for you. It’s a story that Mike Moore of the Douglas Budget wrote about our current mule voyage. Thanks for the great article Mike (links to article below).
- By Mike Moore Glenrock Independent Via Wyoming News Exchange
- Aug 31, 2019
GLENROCK — A sizeable chunk of Bernie Harberts’ year was determined solely by – what else – a single strand of dental floss.
Cracker Recovery
Last night I was sitting in the Split Rock Bar and Cafe celebrating my arrival in a busted uranium town when a man walks in and says, “your mule is over at Isabel’s house.” Isabel owns the bar.
I put down my beer.
Oh.
So I climb in to the man’s car and he drives me out in to the night and we go down a long driveway and… Continue reading
Rainy Day Hole up at the Monk King Bird Pottery
The Wyoming wind blew the snot from my nose in to my eye and I steered the mules for the sign that looked mis-spelled: “Monk King Bird Pottery”. I blamed the snot but sure enough, there was an “N” in the name where I would have expected a “C”.
Pulled the mules to a halt in front of the storefront. Out of the wind I wiped… Continue reading
Independence Rock (Wyoming) and Musings on Letters and Humanity
A lady in too-tight pajamas is smearing peanut butter on white bread. Off in the distance, my mules are grazing. Travel has gotten easier in the past 200 years. The mules and I have arrived at Independence Rock, Wyoming.
Camper Fantasy Musings
I saw this camper and knew that if I took it home and fixed it up I could drive it back in time to when someone lived in that abandoned stucco house in Shawnee, Wyoming. Actually, I yearned to drive it farther back in time than that.
After I fixed it up, that camper would take me all the way back to when the days moved slowly and I wanted to chop out great big chunks… Continue reading
To Bivy Bag or Not to Bivy Bag
My brother Christian recently asked me in the Comment section, “sleeping question for you: when do you set up the bivy, as opposed to the big tent? Is weather a factor, time?”
Here are some answers bro.
The Bivy
A bivy (bivouac) bag is just a sack that keeps the… Continue reading
Casper, Wyoming Arrival – and Departure
Hello – and goodbye – from Casper, Wyoming.
The mules and I arrived in Casper Tuesday evening. We hope to set out toward Muddy Gap today.
Muddy Gap’s sort of a misnomer given that it’s smack in in the middle of Wyoming’s best dusty dry land. The good news is… Continue reading
Foggy Desert Start
A few mornings ago, the mules and I woke to a heavy fog. I saddled the damp mules and we headed in to the foggy desert landscape.
Sunday Wind Mill Shadow
7:35am: That seventh day has rolled back ’round again. Coffee pots from coast to coast are bubbling to life. Your brain’s still calm before the caffeine. I was going through my photos of the week and this one just seemed restful.
It’s a photo I took last week when I came across a wind mill when I really needed one. That story coming up this week.
I like this photo because it… Continue reading
