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Crossing the Mississippi River With 2 Mules
Mules Brick, Cracker and I have crossed the Mississippi River! No, not on a barge, ferry or flatboat. No, I didn’t ride them down Interstate 24 across the bridge that connects Quincy, Illinois to Missouri. No, I loaded them up on a trailer and hauled them across Big Muddy behind a red Ford pickup.
Herald-Whig (Quincy, Illinois) Photo Essay About the “Mules West” Ramble
A wonderful photo essay in the June 13 issue of the Quincy Herald-Whig. It shows how mules Brick and Cracker and I are passing the time waiting… Continue reading
How Cracker Cracked my Helmet Not my Brain
I got the space man’s view of the rodeo. There I was way high up in the air above my mule Cracker. There he was way down below me bucking his guts out. Then gravity took over and I re-entered the earth head first like a faulty Russian rocket. CRACK! Landed right on my skull….which was snugged up in my helmet.
How I Met Young Captain America
The mules and I are in Quincy, Illinois today preparing to cross the Mississippi River in the next day or two. I’m sorting photos. This photo I took a few weeks ago caught my eye. I thought you’d enjoy knowing how it came to be.
I was holding Cracker in a Tennessee pasture and looked up and there stood young Captain America. Dressed in a red and blue… Continue reading
Resting up After 62 Mule Days on the Road.
United States of Naplkin: how far we've come. No journey should take more than a napkin to explain.
With mules, there’s no going to NAPA for OEM (Original Equine Manufacturer) parts. The only things that fixes wear and tear on mules is time. After 62 days on the road, the mules and I need to catch our breathes a spell.
The Final Miles Across Illinois
Good night from the banks of the Mississippi River. Well almost the banks of Big Muddy. Tonight mules Brick and Cracker and I are camped 10 miles East of Quincy, IL. Thanks Todd and Julie Curry for putting us up (and sending over those sloppy Joes with all the trimmings!)
From here, the plan is to cross Ol’ Man… Continue reading
She Wants to Catch a Turtle
I rode the mules over the hill and there she stood on the bridge holding a fishing rod. She and the star tattoos on her shoulders and a man and a boy drowning small worms on big hooks in a shallow creek.
I asked, “are you catching anything?”
She said, “he caught one” and pointed to her son.
Then she said, “I really want to catch… Continue reading
What Happens to the Animals When the River Floods: Patty Henken Explains
When the Missouri River floods, all that stands between Meredosia, Illinois and the river is a mound of dirt and a pile of prayers. That and the round-the-clock efforts of everyone from sand bag-filling inmates to town employees and community members.
Cruisin' the Fireball Freeway
This week I’m pondering all the Fireball whisky bottles the mules and I are encountering on Indiana’s roadsides.
Traveling America’s back roads by mule lets me absorb life at 3 miles per hour. How the bottom of a hill is cooler than the top. How… Continue reading
Mule Chow Gift
I was camped at Big Spring Cemetery wondering what the mules would eat for supper. It was going to be lentils and watercress from a nearby spring for me. For them it looked like it was going to just be grass. Grain is just too heavy to carry.
I strolled over to the spring and picked a mess of cress. When I got back… Continue reading
