Summer in western Nebraska. The mules are sweating and I’m sweating and we’re all craving salt. If I drank coffee in the morning I’d pour it in to that but I don’t so I douse my lentils and rice with the white stuff.

“You never saw so many cowboys drinking so much beer in a hurry.” So writes my wife Julia to a friend of ours about attending a ranch rodeo in the Sand Hills of Nebraska.

Read Julia’s “Email From the Sand Hills” about the ranch rodeo, Sand Hills cowboying and how we almost got flattened by a… Continue reading →

I usually post in the mornings but tonight I’m making an exception for the Big Dipper. It was rising over my tent tonight and I thought you’d enjoy seeing it.

I know you’ve got a lot on your mind, decisions to make, voices to listen to and voices to silence. If you’re up late and reading this, I hope this starry night calms your mind and helps you sleep. If you’re reading this… Continue reading →

In a recent post, I introduced you to some of the folks the mules and I met between Alliance and the fairground in Hemigford. Here’s what the land looks like.

Marguerite, Ted, Joe, Peggy, 2 kids, Carolyn and John. Plus a wood cowboy hugging a bull. In this post I’m going to introduce you to some of the people I met today, July 15, 2019.

It amazes me how many people I meet each day. I can’t photograph them all. Still, today I asked a few if I could take their picture. Just to share with folks that are following my journey with mules Brick and… Continue reading →

Recently I picked up a stray. Crossing an old wood bridge, I heard an extra pair of clip clops on the wood decking. I looked back. And saw a horse.

Turns out the horse had slipped through an open gate and fallen in to line behind us. I walked the mules back across the bridge, toward where the horse had come from, hoping to lure the horse back home.

The horse followed obediently.… Continue reading →

For reasons only a neurologist or shrink might understand, I woke up this morning and thought, “Hmmm. Today I’m going to walk 31 miles.” That’s how far it is from where I spent the night with the mules, Elsworth, Nebraska, to where I wanted to go, Alliance, Nebraska. Turns out walking is a great way to make new friends.

Here are some… Continue reading →

Until last week, I’d never heard of a ranch rodeo. I’d been to plenty of regular rodeos. But what was a ranch rodeo?

Ranch rodeo is a team event based on skills a working cowboy would need. Each team has 4 members.… Continue reading →

Let me state for the record that I am not a cowboy. I can not throw a rope. I can not brand a cow. I don’t own a 10 gallon hat. I do know that “trouble in a leather sack” means “cow” in the Sand Hills. Seth Adam told me so.

It was time to see my wife Julia. The mules and I have been on the road for 4 months, traveling from North Carolina toward Idaho.

Julia and I decided the Sand Hills of Nebraska would be a great place for her to fly out and meet me. She booked a plane ticket and a rental car. She didn’t click on that “Add a Room to Your Ticket” option.

She… Continue reading →