7 Sleeps

Published May 8, 2019

Where will I spend the night? Out here traveling across Kentucky with my mules, I rarely know. About 3 hours before sundown I start knocking on doors, asking folks where the mules and I might lay over until the next day.

Bernie Harberts, general store

6 beds. 7 sleeps. I rarely know where I’ll spend the night. Could be a bed. Could be a bivy bag.

Though it’s nerve wracking looking for a place to spend the night with your mules, it’s fun looking back at where you slept. But there’s more to it than that. These places I’ve slept stand for way more than a good night’s rest.

Many people are afraid these days. Lots of folks I meet lock their doors, even when they’re home. Most lament the violence they see on the news. Some, more than I thought, keep a loaded gun close at hand: by the door, on the fridge, in the 4-wheeler.

But when I show up with my mules, many drop their apprehensions to help us out. This amazes me.

Imagine you’re mowing your lawn. You look over and there’s this dude with 2 mules riding up your driveway. He smiles and sticks out his hand and says, “Hi, I’m Bernie and these are my mules Brick and Cracker and I’m looking for a place to knock off for the night.”

Then he asks, “do you know where I can spend the night? Tie them out on some grass until tomorrow?”

That’s crazy, right?

Well, yeah, it is. But what’s even crazier is that so many folks ponder on what they’ve just encountered. Think it over. Then offer to put the mules and me up for the night.

I’ve thought a lot on this generosity. Of how me, a guy out here on a mule, can show it to you.

Finally, it dawned on me. I would show you the random places I’ve slept in the past week. These tents sites, beds and trailers are more than just places to sleep. They represent the generosity of people still willing to put up a man and his mules as they make their way across the land.

Remember you’re looking at 7 nights I stayed last week. I’ve spent well over 1,000 nights on the road in my mule voyages so this is only a tiny sampling of the hospitality I’ve received. (FYI: a series of beds I slept in appear in my “Lost Sea Expedition” Public TV series which you can stream here on Amazon.)

Okay, now those photos. Here’s a look at 6 places where I slept the last 7 nights on the road.