NEARING THE END OF THE TRAIL!

It is Sunday morning and Bonnie and I are in the lobby of the International Inn in Williston, ND. We attended Cowboy Church this morning and then had breakfast at Grandma Sharon's restaurant. It is a very good family restaurant.

I rode Ali three days this past week. We traveled on the Maah Daah Hey Trail for two days. It was a scenic ride through the Badlands and the Little Missouri River Grasslands. Some of the trail is very steep and narrow. There are places we went up, or down, the side of hills and rock formations that are so steep that we did switchbacks several times. Ali was very attentive to where we were and stayed on the trail very well. I'm glad because it was a long ways to the bottom if you fell.

We camped at the Milt and Clarice Madison Ranch three nights. They are a wonderful couple and were very hospitable to us. Milt took several of us on a horse drawn wagon ride out onto his ranch. It was a very peaceful ride. They and their children and neighbors fed us a delicious meal one evening. After the meal Del Shields sang cowboy songs to the group. I thanked the Riders, during this gathering, for their support and kindness to both Bonnie and me.

We are 60 miles, or 4 riding days, from the Canadian border. We expect to be at the border on Friday September 4th. All the riders are becoming more excited by the prospect of the journey's end and accomplishing their goals. Most are also ready to be back home.

The pictures are of the Little Misouri River along the Maah Daah Hey Trail and of the Madison Ranch horse drawn wagon.

RIDING AGAIN!!

Bonnie and I left Liberty on Monday August 17 and joined the Mexico to Canada riders on Tuesday night near Bowman, ND. The trip out was mostly uneventful, but we found it difficult at times. The memories keep flooding back for our daughter. All the riders welcomed us back to the trailride.

I rode Ali on a short ride around the camp and down near the Little Missouri River on Wednesday morining. The area is very scenic and rugged. We then moved camp to Medora, ND.

On Thursday I rode about 8 miles, part of which was on the Maah Daah Hey Trail. I was too busy with Ali to take any pictures as he was really fresh and ready to go. When we arrived in Medora there was a media event that all the riders participated in. We were all interviewed by local TV stations.

Friday was a rest day for the riders as they had been riding a very difficult schedule for the past week. We kept somewhat secluded for the weekend. It is pretty difficult to answer the questions.

Saturday I took part in the trail ride that took us out into the North Dakota Badlands. We rode the Maah Daah Hey Trail the entire 14 miles we traveled. The scenery was spectacular and I have many pictures that I will download as soon as I can. Ali was a hand full early in the day but settled down very well.

It is Sunday morning and Bonnie and I are at the Medora campgrounds doing some laundry and I am on their WiFi. The campground is down the road from our campsite. I have chosen not to ride today as it will be a long day and Ali and I are not in shape for a long hard day. We will be moving camp this morning to a site out in the boondocks and will be there for the next 3 days. We will have to carry in all off our supplies as we will not be near any towns. I have filled all the water tanks and the fuel tanks.

It is good to be back on the trail. I am really glad Bonnie is here with me. We both wish we had brought Sabian so she could ride him on some of the short rides.

Thanks for the support we have received from everyone.

Trail's End ???

I rode with Best of America by Horseback from Limon, CO to Brush, CO during the last week of June.

We camped one night on the Fisher Ranch and another night the Fellowship Baptist Church of Woodrow, CO where the church members hosted us to a very good potluck dinner. On Saturday we rode into Brush, CO and set up camp in the sale barn parking lot where we stayed Saturday and Sunday nights.

On Sunday we encountered a group of antique cars passing through Brush on their way to the west coast. They were re-enacting a coast to coast automobile race originally ran in 1902. What are the odds of a coast to coast antique car race and a border to border horseback ride being in Brush, CO on the same day?? It was interesting talking to some of the drivers of their adventure, and they were equally intrigued by ours.

On Monday we rode north out of Brush with me on a very contrary horse. He seemed to want to shy and spook at every thing. We rode only 9 miles and were at the new camp site by noon. I got a ride back to my rig and went to the new campsite and fed Ali, and had a bite of lunch for myself. I then loaded Ali into the trailer and headed for Missouri and home. Personal reasons dictated that I go home for a while. I was home from the 540 mile trip across parts of Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas at 1AM Tuesday. It was good to be home and see Bonnie.

Bonnie and I spent the next couple of weeks working on the yard and property and mending fences. We had made plans to return to the Mexico to Canada trail ride together, and depart from home, on Tuesday July 22nd after Bonnie's mother's 90th birthday celebration. I had started to load the supplies into the trailer on Friday July 17th.

On that night a phone call changed our lives forever. We received a phone call that our daughter, Deanna, had died as a result of a gunshot while driving her car in Kansas City. Our granddaughter, Tessa, sustained eye injures from flying glass from the bullet going through the car window. She has recovered from her injuries, but our daughter is gone from us forever and we are having a difficult time dealing with the pain this left us with.

I have no plans or desire to rejoin the trail ride at this time. I wish the riders the best of luck. May God be with them.

North to Limon, CO

Pictures are of Roy Mitchell and me on the open range and of Shania and Jerra Atwater.

On Wednesday June 17th we left Ordway, CO on a ranch road and then rode an irrigation levee a short distance. We were then guided by a local rancher across open ranch land. The Rocky Mountains became visible to us as we could see the Spanish Peaks and Pike's Peak. What a sight! We rode to the Glen Lewis Longhorn Ranch where we set up camp for the night. The Lewis' treated us to hamburgers made of longhorn beef. It was very good. Mr. Lewis told us of the history of the area and the beef industry, particularly the Longhorn beef industry.

On Thursday June 18th we rode out across Mr Lewis' ranch and alongside of a herd of longhorn cows and calves. Again we rode the open range with grass as far as we could see. Mark Hollenbaugh, the Manager of the Smith Cattle Company Ranch rode out and met us and guided us into our new campsite at their ranch. They light a campfire and Del Shields sang cowboy songs and recited some cowboy poetry. We had cake and ice cream to celebrate Mike Shaw's birthday.

On Friday we again were guided by Mark as we rode across the prairie. We found a baby antelope that held tight to his hiding place for a very long time. We thought it may have been sick as it set tight so long, however, it finally took flight and was it ever fast. Later this day we stopped for a lunch break along a creek under a large cottonwood tree. We then had to ford the stream. Ali and I led the way across. Who said Arabian horses don't like water? We set up camp at the Atwater Hay and Livestock Company's cattle pens. We rode 17 miles this day.

Saturday June 20th, we awoke to threatening skies and the day's ride was cancelled. We used the day and Sunday as rest days. I did my laundry and shopping in Limon, CO.

On Monday, June 22nd we awoke to bright skies and headed up the dirt and gravel ranch roads for Todd Wilson's place 20 miles away. Todd is a team roper and his arena and surrounding area is a great place to set up camp.

Tuesday June 23rd began with partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures. Shania and Jerra Atwater, the daughters of Laura and Jerry Atwater, rode with us across the Prairie Ridge Buffalo Ranch. We got to see buffalo, on the open range, up close and personal. The two girls had a great time riding with us and the Mexico to Canada trail riders enjoyed them a great deal. We rode 8 miles into Limon, CO and set camp one more time at the grounds next to Bucko's Feed Store. We have traveled over 850 miles of our adventure thus far.

Back in the Saddle

Wednesday, 6/10
My weeks vacation is over. I didn't realize how much I needed it. It's hard to imagine the strain we put on ourselves to ride each day. It was good to be off for a week, but I was also glad to be back at camp to continue the adventure. We arrived in Kim, CO just before dark on Wednesday, 6/10 amongst scattered thundershowers and severe weather. I spent the night at the fairgrounds in Kim, CO.

Thursday, 6/11
Early Thursday morning I trailered to the camp where the riders had ridden, the day before, 19 miles north of Kim. When we got there, we had trailers stuck in the mud. It took until 10:30 AM to get the trailers out of the campsite. We moved the trailers to the new campsite and shuttled back to ride our horses. Ali was feeling frisky after having a week off, and for the first hour was difficult to handle. He then settled down and had a good day the rest of the day. We rode 13 miles through a canyon and 21 miles total for the day. We parked our trailers on a highway intersection overnight.

Friday, 6/12
On Friday, we rode on toward LaJunta, CO. We had to stop riding at approximately the 16 mile marker, so we could shuttle to our trailers and haul our horses to town for a parade at 2:00. The parade was with a group of children who did Indian dancing. We circled the football field on the track, and commemorated 100,000 miles of Best of America by Horseback riders. We set up camp Friday night at the LaJunta kids rodeo grounds.

Saturday, 6/13
Saturday was a rest day. Although, we did go to, and participate in the village of Swink, CO. It was a pretty little town which welcomed us with open arms and enthusiasm.

Sunday, 6/14
Sunday was another rest day. However, Ali and I and another rider went to the Capulin volcano area in NM and rode through the canyons. It was a very scenic area! We rode 21 miles that day.

Monday 6/15
Monday we rode out of camp and returned to our stopping point from Friday. We rode this 11 mile portion of the ride backwards! We then shuttled back to our trailers and picked up our horses before returning to camp in LaJunta. We had lunch and headed north on 109 toward Limon, CO. We rode through wide open range. Almost no fences, no trees, no hills... wide open range. What better place for Ali and one other horse to run loose while we were waiting on trailers to pick them up. We caught them after they ran for about a mile. All the other horses had already been loaded an moved out. Luckily, there was one other rider there with his truck and we were able to hop in the truck and catch up to them, get ahead of them and catch them. They were worn out after their mischief! We trailered back to the camp in LaJunta. We rode 22 miles that day.

Tuesday 6/16
On Tuesday, everyone in camp was invited to breakfast by the LaJunta Chamber of Commerce and Business Development committee. It was a wonderful breakfast and program. They honored us, the riders, of the Mexico to Canada trail ride. We have about 40 people on the ride including riders and support staff at this point. After breakfast, we trailered the horses to Monday's stopping point, left them off, and advanced our rigs to the next campsite in Ordway, CO. We shuttled back and I was relieved to find Ali still there! We then rode 17 miles across ranch land and gravel roads to our new campsite. Again today, one horse got away. He was caught in just a few minutes and we rode on. After riding into camp, one of my fellow horsmen has left for a couple of weeks to his home in Mississippi. We expect to be in Limon, CO on Saturday for the weekend.

Posted by: Stephani Wackerle

June 2, 2009

We awoke to another cloudy threatening sky and cool temperatures. We all donned warm clothes and rain gear and headed toward Corner Rocks, the last major landmark on the Santa Fe Trail before Wagon Mound. A local rancher, Lenore Jeffers, guided us across open ranch land toward tonight's campsite. It was one of our best days in the saddle. The rain held off and we rode across the prairie and saw several intriguing old building sites.
When we finished the day's ride I joined Del Shields, our cowboy singer, poet, and preacher and we both headed for our respective homes. Who says old men don't get homesick? We drove to Fred and Claudia Harland's ranch near Texhoma, TX and spent the night there. The next morning I rode with Del to Wichita and met up with Bonnie, my wife, and rode home with her to Liberty, MO. She had been in the Dallas, TX area visiting our daughters who live in that area.
Ali stayed at the Harland ranch and will be cared for by Fred and Claudia.
I will be returning to the border to border ride on Wednesday next.



June 1, 2009

We rode out of Springer under threatening skies. We rode along the wide shoulder of U.S. Highway 56 eastward for nearly 17 miles.Most of the shoulder area has very loose dirt and has many mole and gopher holes. It was very taxing on the horses. We mostly rode closer to the pavement because it was smoother, however, traffic was more of an issue then. Riding along a highway is far more stressful then going across ranch land. A looming thunderstorm cut our ride short by a couple of miles and we set up camp near a cattle waterhole and some catch pens. If it rains very much we may be stuck in the morning?!

We rode 19 miles today

May 30 & 31, 2009
Saturday and Sunday were rest days for the riders and horses. We all busied ourselves with shopping and laundry duties on Saturday. On Sunday four of us, James Brown, Richard Lupardus, Micheal Marcus, and I went on a sight seeing trip up into the mountains and to Taos, NM. We stopped in route at the Westphall Vietnam War Memorial. It was a very emotional experience for all of us. It was a special visit for Richard as he is a Vietnam veteran. Taos is an artsy community and didn't really have much of interest to us. We did have a very good lunch there, though. The mountains and the rock formations were beautiful and awesome.


May 29, 2009
We stayed last night at Colmor, NM, a ghost town. There are several interesting old buildings in the town. We were reluctant to go into any of the buildings because they looked like there would be snakes in them. Some people did venture inside, but not many. We rode into the Springer, NM fair grounds. It was a short day, just eleven miles, all along the side of a road. We set up camp and then went looking for a local farmer who has alfalfa hay for sale. We found him and bought several bales. It appears that hay may be scarce as we go through Colorado. They have been in a drought and many large dairies have been using up most of the hay supply.
A dozen of us went to dinner together at the Brown Hotel in Springer to give Gene Klosterman and his daughter, Annie Boswell, a send off as they will return home tomorrow morning to South Carolina. They have been riding with us the past two weeks.

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

Wednesday 5/27/09
We rode from Watrous to Wagon Mound, NM today. 13 miles of which were on roads of the 17 miles total. There were 22 riders riding today, and we all posed for picture taking at the 500 mile marker of our journey. That means that I’ve ridden almost as far as Kansas City to Dallas! We had to wear rain gear today due to showers and thundershowers this afternoon. We got under a highway underpass during one of the thunderstorms and waited it out. We moved camp to an open grass field near Wagon Mound, NM. It was about 6 ½ hours on horseback, and we arrived around 2:30 this afternoon before returning to the camp in Watrous to get our trailers. We had our new camp set up by 5:00 PM. I had Ali re-shod today, and his first set of shoes were worn out, but lasted over 500 miles. Glad I didn’t go with the rubber boots.

Tuesday 5/26/09
We rode today from Railroad Cattle Pens near Las Vegas, NM to a ranch near the small town of Watrous, NM. The setting for the ride was a rocky, craggy valley with a narrow winding country road. It reminded me some of the roads in Italy. We also rode through a very narrow and rocky canyon with only enough passage for one horse at a time. We had to duck under evergreen trees and allow our horses to pick their footing through the rocks and downed logs. We had to cross a stream several times. Ali had a tough afternoon because we got separated from most of the other riders. He was anxious about being alone. We arrived at the new campsite about 20 minutes after the lead riders. We then went back to the Cattle Pens to retrieve our trailers. Then, I went back to Las Vegas, NM to get repair parts for my propane tank. A hose had broken that goes from one tank to the regulator. Luckily it was only a 10-minute fix. I also needed a tire repaired. Richard Lupardus, another rider from Missouri, was kind enough to take it to the repair shop for me. A large thorn had punctured it. I arrived at the new campsite about 6:30 that evening. I tended to Ali, ate my Subway sandwich for dinner and called it a night.

Memorial Day 5/25/09
We left camp on the west side of Las Vegas, NM at 7:45 AM on Memorial Day. We had not gotten out of camp until we had our first serious horse wreck. Liz Malcome had her horse bolt and she came off her horse. She suffered many bruises and a broken wrist, but she will be okay. We rode through Box Canyon southwest of Las Vegas. It’s another scenic area that cannot be seen from any road or highway. Pictures just don’t do it justice! We had a long, hard day of riding to an old railroad shipyard that was used for shipping cattle back east many years ago. We put our horses up here for the night. We returned to our old campsite and moved to the Cattle Pens. Today we rode a total of 21 miles and rode several miles along the ruts and depressions caused by the travelers of the Santa Fe Trail.

Sunday 5/24/09
On Sunday, I woke to find that my refrigerator wasn’t working, and my frozen food was partially thawed. I missed Memorial Day church service in the old church in El Cerrito, NM. I took the refrigerator apart and cleaned up all the fins in the burner area. Dust and dirt from the roads we have been using had built up to the point it had stopped working. It’s now running again. I rode Ali bareback around camp for about an hour during the afternoon. He seemed to enjoy the exercise.