On the Road Again -- April 2010
After my heart attack I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do this again. I get tired pretty easily, but other than that things are great. We left home on the 30th of March and have been travelling at a leisurely rate. It is the 12th of April and we are in Morgantown, Kentucky.
Getting eager to be on the road again
Got home about 11:00 AM on August 23 – What a sight to see everything is okay at home. The pasture grew up quite well while we were gone – the mules are doing well too. I’ve been real busy since I got home. Going here and going there to take care of getting things back on track again and talking to everyone about my trip. People ask some very interesting questions and I try to answer them the best I can. The oddest question was from a lady who asked me where I peed at during my trip. I had to ask her to repeat her question just to be sure I understood her and I did. The other ladies could not believe she asked me such a question. Well I assured her, that’s the point of the port-a-potty. I still find that amusing.
I’ve sold quite a few DVDs already. Everyone who has bought one sure is pleased with them. I’ve been trying to get my laptop to burn DVD’s – what a mess. I spent over 5 hours on the phone with Bev in Arizona and my sister Cheryl called and they were on the phone together for about 2 more hours. As hard as we tried, we still could not get it to work. Bev finally figured out what the problem was and hopefully I’ll get the update to my computer within the next two weeks or so. Hopefully when it arrives and get it installed I’ll be able to burn DVD’s using my laptop. In the meantime, my sister Bev and her husband Roger are burning DVD’s for me and shipping them as needed. I’ll have more next Wednesday, so I’ll be prepared for Pioneer Days in Henry on the 19
th of September so I can sell some there.I’m picking up odd jobs around to supplement my finances and that has also kept me pretty busy.
I’m looking forward to the wagon trip that my friends are planning from October 5
th through October 17th. We will be leaving Milan, TN and going to Lawrenceburg, TN and back again. I’m not sure of the exact route yet, but I don’t really care. They are doing all the planning, and I’ll just be enjoying the drive with Mack & Jack and of course Brit. I’ll be keeping a log on this trip and will be updating the web-site about twice a week.I’ve been reading all the e-mails that everyone wrote again. I sure do enjoy reading them. I was so busy on my trip that I could not get to all of them. I was spending so much time on the phone with my sister Bev keeping the web-site up to date. As time progressed, I got better with taking pictures and found out that my computer worked much better if it was plugged into AC rather than on battery. Between all the emails and the daily logs if they were pulled together it would make a great book, but I don’t know how to get that all started. If anyone could assist me in that endeavor, I’d sure appreciate it.
The DVD that my sister Bev did, sure did take a lot of her time and I sure do appreciate it. Her husband, Roger helped pick out the music and made it all come together – I sure do appreciate all their help
I will update this site in a week to 10 days.
Take care,
From the Muleman and Happy Trails! Until we meet again – God Bless and take care.
Home At Last
I could hardly sleep Thursday night. I got up early Friday and finished wiring the lights and packing my things into the trailer. We were under way and headed home to Tennessee by about 1:00 PM on Friday afternoon. It was a great trip but I was just as excited to leave Phoenix as I was getting there. We arrived home in Henry Sunday the 23rd. We had some issues to contend with, but nothing major! I'll fill in more details regarding my trip home in the next day or two.
Also I'll be adding details as to how you can order your very own copy of my DVD that we made of the trip across the country.
I'm already planning a much shorter trip in October with some great friends of mine. Be watching and I'll fill you in with more details as the plan unfolds.
Packing up to go HOME
We got the DVD finished and I will be offering them for sale. When I get home I'll get the details out to you.
Several of my friends are planning a wagon ride in October. Watch for that adventure on the web-site late October or early November.
That's all for now!
Jack is getting sassy!
Last Saturday I went to the horse auction with Kate down near Benson, AZ. That was a lot of fun. They were practically giving horses away. They had some nice looking animals there.
On Sunday, Bev & Roger took me out to another dinner theater show at the Arizona Broadway Theater. I sure do like them.
Many of you won't believe this, but I went to another baseball game today with Roger to watch the Diamondbacks play the Mets at Chase Field.
John called me this morning and said he'd be coming to get me next week. I'll be so glad to get home.
That's all for now...........
Eager to get home
Every time I thought about selling the mules, I just couldn't bring myself to call the guy that was interested. I know my mules and all their quirks - I couldn't ask for a better pair of mules. So I'm bringing them home with me. One of my friends is planning a trip in September that I'll be going on. It will be good to get back on the road again.
If all goes well, my friend John should be here later next week with my trailer.
That's all for now.
Resting and sightseeing
Through the whole trip, I kept going on sheer determination like a man on a mission and I was - adrenaline would kick in when I needed it, but now fatigue has hit me. After 10 days now and I'm finally beginning to feel better.
I still haven't decided on my return trip yet. I'll post my decision in a week or so.
For now I'm visiting and sightseeing around Arizona a little faster than 3 miles per hour and enjoying my time with family and friends.
Safely arrived in Phoenix
Before the end of this week, I'll finish updating the web-site & fill you all in on the details of the past few days. It has been a fantastic trip and I truely appreciate all of your support and e-mails throughout my trip!
First Travel day in the heat
I got up and was well on our way by 5:AM on Monday morning. With two days rest the mules were feeling fine and were ready to step right out there and go. My plan across the city is about 20 miles each day. By 11:15 we were at our destination for the day.
The mules did fine in the heat. The dog was panting and the dog & I drank about a case of water over the 6 hours. When we stopped the mules took down 5 gallons of water each. As of now they both drank 15 gallons of water. Tomorrow morning will be another hot day as we cross Phoenix itself.
We will be continuing down McDowell Road to Grand Avenue. We will be turning Northwest on Grand to Northern Avenue then West on Northern to 75th Avenue. If all goes well we will be there also by about 11:00. So watch for us tell your friends!
The journey down the mountain
Well let me tell you what - she clearly understood what the issues were. I'm absolutely certain the brakes on my wagon would not have held up to the test of those steep grades and that would have been really bad news for both me & my mules. Aside form that there was no place for me to get off the road at all. I would have needed quite a bit of room for the two mules my rig.
So if you were travelling on 87 between Phoenix and Payson on Sunday morning you may have seen us in route. We could not drive very fast because the supply wagon (white wagon in the rear) would begin to fish-tail at about 25mph so we had to stay under that speed. The brakes on the trucks were getting hot. It took us almost 4 hours to navigate down to Fort McDowell where my sister and Roger identified the perfect parking spot for me and my team with some shade and a nice breese.
The temperature was quite a shock - from 85 in Payson to 108 in Phoenix. I know I'll need to get an early start in the morning so we are close to destination before it gets unbearable hot. My plan will be to be on the road by 5AM Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.
