Mules West

Hordville Hello

Greetings from Hordville, Nebraska. The mules and I arrived here this morning (July 17, 2019) and set up a welcome camp under the linden tree by the rail road tracks. A wonderful place to duck the heat before things heated up this afternoon.

Brick and Cracker grazing in the cooling shade of one of Hordville’s many large linden trees.

Temperatures have been in the 90s all this week with higher temps forecast. This limits the amount of time the mules… Continue reading

Road Kill Fish

Catfish hung on stop signs. Catfish flung on the shoulder. A dead chub on the highway. Lately mules Brick and Cracker and I have come across dead fish where you wouldn’t expect them – along the side of the road. I put them in to a post card-like arrangement I though you’d enjoy.

4 dead fish by the road in 3 states – 2 catfish and a roach. I just labeled the fish with where I found them.

Right now… Continue reading

Sunday Shadow

Morning shadow: I’m riding Brick and leading Cracker.

Good Sunday morning to you friend. Daytime temps here in western Nebraska have been in the mid-90s so we start early. I try to be on the road with the mules before the sun comes up. I hope your Sunday’s going well and you got done in the morning cool whatever it is you had planned.

This morning the mules and I are east of Ashland, Nebraska. We’re heading toward Valparaiso.

Safari Park Day Off

Brick in Day Off mode: you know your mules are ready for a day off when your pack mule hides behind a tree…

A bag of corn, a bucket of water and a salt block. Oh, and a herd of elk. The mules are chillin’ on their day off. We’re guests of the Lee G Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari.

The mules’ arrival at the Wildlife Safari Park.

The Lee G Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari features… Continue reading

“Mules West” Article in Herald-Whig Newspaper (Quincy, Illinois)

Herald-Whig

A man and his mules journey across America

By Ethan Colbert / Photo Katelyn Metzger / Jun. 13, 2019

(NOTE: The following is a re-publishing of an article that originally ran in the Herald-Whig (Quincy, Illionois) on June 13, 2019 / Bernie Harberts)

Bernie Hartberts leans on a support beam in Todd Curry’s barn while he talks about his PBS documentary on Thursday, Jun. 13, 2019. Hartberts is making a cross-country trip from North Carolina to Idaho… Continue reading

Turtle Crossing

They lumber heavy as tanks across the road in front of my mules: turtles. Snapping turtles, box turtles and sliders. This week, Cracker and Brick took a moment to admire a slider as it made its was leisurely across the road.

Shadow and slider (outside La Plata, MO)
Closeup: I’m not a turtle expert but I’m calling this one a slider.

My blood pressure’s already pretty low but I felt it drop a few more points. Maybe I’ll look at… Continue reading

Joe’s Joke

The old blue tractor scared my mules when it passed me on the gravel road. Right behind it, the black and white dog in hot pursuit. The next hill over, the tractor was parked by the road and a man climbed out of the cab. He had a grin as big as a round bale and so did I. That’s how I met Joe Stoll and his dog.

Joe, his tractor and the dog.

He spoke first.

Joe: “I was… Continue reading

Stanberry, MO Independence Day

Sirens will blare and hats will cover hearts. Kids will grab candy off the street and dogs will barf Tootsie rolls on the sidewalk. This is why we got divorced from England. Happy 4th of July from Stanberry, Missouri.

And they’re all lined up: An orderly line of youngsters get ready for the candy shower.

The mules and I were there to soak up the action. And catch a Blow Pop and 3 Tootsie rolls. Here are some photos of… Continue reading

Stanberry, MO and a Bridge Detour

The sign on the bank said 100 degrees the day the mules and I arrived in Stanberry, MO. The welcome was warmer than that. The route I had in mind from here? Not so hot….

Stanberry and surrounding locales is home to a large Amish community. Here an Amish buggy tied up one block North the town’s main square.
Top hat, flag and the century mark on the thermometer: summer – and the 4th of July – have arrived.

Bridge… Continue reading

Driveway Visit

I carry an old camera in my saddle bag and point it toward other people.

My trusty camera: years old and still snappin’. It’s a Canon G16 wrapped in an old timey looking case.

So it’s fun when folks I catch up with send photos of our visit. Here are a few sent to me Janet DeClerck. She took these the night I stayed with Rob and Brooke Wangen of Panwee, Illinois. They really capture the spirit of folks just… Continue reading

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