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Too Proud to Ride a Cow: Atlantic to Pacific by Mule
I set off with abundant enthusiasm, minimal experience and a mule named Woody who turned my world topsy turvy, carried me across America and turned me into a Long Rider.
Posts are in chronological order, oldest first.
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I Did Not Look Back: I Just Rode My Mule West
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“I’ll Rent You the Tools”: The Farrier Who Called My Bluff
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“Pal, Don’t”: The Night Woody Scared Me on the Neuse
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Mule on the Picket Line: Woody’s Bad Night on the Neuse
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The Farrier Who Offered to Let Me Shoe My Own Mule
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No Broken Neck. No Broken Back. Just One Upside Down Mule.
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Mule Camping at the Beaufort Historic Site
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From Then On, Woody Spent His Nights Behind the Jail
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The Idea Germinated in a Gale: How Woody and I Came to Be
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Fire Ants and Moonshine: They Never Drank It Like This in Wilkes County
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Between Eider Down and a Stone: The Long Rider’s Grain Pillow
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Mule Woody Reaches the Atlantic: Help from the Cochrans
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Jumping Boards of the Stella Bridge – Stella, NC
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Woody’s Words: The Man With My Name Tattooed on His Chest Spelled It Wrong
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He Peed in the First Day Care Center: The Story of Buddy the Pony
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Pony Man: The Marine Who Traded Rifles for Ponies
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Address It “Attention Woody”: The Mule Who Killed the Red Tip
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It Doesn’t Do to Ride Off on a Too-Freshly Eaten Meal
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Slower Than a Ripple: A Mule Rider Thinks of the Doldrums
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Bacon Grease in Pin Hook: The Many Cures for Woody’s Scrape
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I Missed Whynot to Make Hell Town: Mule Travel in NC
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The First Thing We Ever Overtook: Woody and the Steamroller
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Anchoring a Mule Is Like Anchoring a Sailboat. In Theory.
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The Bottle Was Half Empty: It Was Time to Move Forward
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Her Name Used to Be “7”: Meet Magnolia the Pack Pony
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The Answer Always Drives Up: Crossing the Mississippi on Mule Woody
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I Had to Ride Into Pulaski for Mr. Goodwrench to Give Me a Buzz
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I’m Not Interested in Ovulation and Speculation: Mule Country, Arkansas
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CHIMPS: Two Mules Spend the Night at the Chattanooga Zoo
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Jesus in Mortar Mix: Magnolia and the Concrete Yard Art
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I Don’t Think Trigger Got Led Down Railroad Tracks
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“Boy You All Look Respectable”: A Mule Man Meets the McKnights
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Hubcap Bikinis on Highway 9: The Wheel Lady of Eufaula, Oklahoma
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I Mistook the Owner for the Gardener: The Grisso Henderson Mansion
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Over Under Over: Splicing Lead Ropes on the Atlantic to Pacific Ride
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The Only Mansion I Ever Slept in With My Mule: The Grisso Henderson Mansion
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Bring Detergent: A Mule Rider Crosses Into Oklahoma
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Biker Weddings and Sink Water: Mule Woody and Maggie in Pink, Oklahoma
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I Screamed Like a Girl: The Day I Picked Up a Live Centipede
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The VW Black Widow Spider of Lexington, Oklahoma
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“The Jumbos Bite”: Rick’s Rodent Ranch in Lexington, Oklahoma
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What Would Gus Say? A Police Escort Across the Canadian River
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“How Do You Keep Them So Fat?”: The Kindness of Feed Store Strangers
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It Pays to Stop and Turn Around: Oklahoma Sunrise at Lake Eufala
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The Fine Grey Lines: Mule Travel on Oklahoma Dirt Roads
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Mesquite and Windmills: Crossing the Texas Panhandle
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Through the Clarity Tunnel on Mule Woody — Riding the Caprock Canyons Trailway
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We Took Bernie Through a Big Hole: Woody and Maggie Report From Clarity Tunnel
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A Cheap Red Life Jacket Nearly Got Me Killed 2,000 Miles From Home
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I Woke in Oilfield Dirt: Pump Jack Sunrise in Loco Hills, NM
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Rolling Out of Artesia with an 83-Year-Old and His VW Covered Wagon
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No Passing. Not Even If You’re a Tumbleweed: Up to the Sacramento Mountains
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Snowed In With Cowboys: Ed’s Two Dollar Belt Buckle in Mayhill, NM
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Back Into Where-Are-We-Going-To-Sleep-Tonight Land
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Just Aim for the Big Middle”: Polly Quick and Coyote Number 17
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White Sands Missile Range – Alamagordo, NM
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How America Finds You: A Cowboy Song in New Mexico
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Crossing into Arizona: Woody and Maggie Reach the Grand Canyon State
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The Pecan Picker: How a Mule Rider Found Work in New Mexico
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Drowning in the Desert: Flood Warnings Along the Arizona Highway
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The Saguaro Concert: Riding the Butterfield Route Through Arizona
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Lost on the McGee Ranch: Two Days Across Six Inches of Map
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Philosophy and Pelts: A Trapper’s Cabin in the Chiricahuas
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Two Miles Per Hour: Arizona Through the Eyes of a Mule Rider
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The First Green Grass: Woody and Maggie Welcome Spring in Arizona
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“Oh My God”: The Day Woody Rode a Trailer Upside Down
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One Year on Road: Woody and Maggie, Center of the World
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What the Dunes Remember: Mule Tracks in the Imperial Sand
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Mud, Faith, and Mules at Salvation Mountain
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How a Potato Truck Ended Maggie’s Buggy Near the Salton Sea
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Maggie Chose Dust Over Drowning: The Day the Buggy Died in California
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A Mule at the Taco Bell Drive-Through: The Last Day of the Atlantic to Pacific Ride
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Woody and Maggie Reach the Pacific: San Diego, CA
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Don’t Wait for Answers You Don’t Like: Woody and the Snowy Pass
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Far Enough West the Light Looks Different
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Four Miles Down, Four Barrels Up: Oklahoma Stripper Wells
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Proud as a Pilot Who Patched the Windshield With Duct Tape
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California or Bust: A Mule Cart Crosses Into New Mexico
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“Chicken”: The Day Woody Met the Atlantic Ocean
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Woody and Maggie (c. 1989 – 2014)
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How I Improvised Hoof Boots From a Tire Store Dumpster
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