Guests and Deliveries

Libby Benson (Carlson) and son

Before departing for the day, our kind hosts made us a hearty breakfast.  We also spent time this morning greasing the wagon wheels.  This is something we need to do every 100 miles or so.

Josh, Holly, Seth and Alec Carlson

We had lots of company today. My niece Libby Benson (Carlson), along with her kids, met us along the trail.  It was fun to see the kids and they thankfully brought me (Joe) a 24 pack of diet coke.  Our next visitor was John Gilbertson, Jr.  While on a trip to book up feed for his animals, John dropped a couple of sacks off for Rufus and Rowdy.  My nephew Josh Carlson, his wife Holly and their two boys Seth and Alec, stopped by for a visit and some pictures.  They brought a couple of bales of hay for the mules.  Thank you to Libby, John and Josh!  The diet coke for me (Joe) and the feed and hay for Rufus and Rowdy will keep us fueled on the trail.

We ended up with fairly heavy traffic  as we traveled through Litchfield.  At one point we had a train chugging past and lots of cars.  The mules did well.

It was another really cold day and we dressed for it.

Tonight we're staying south of Litchfield with a family that gave us dinner this evening and plan on giving us breakfast tomorrow morning. The lady of the house is a nurse in Buffalo and her husband works for the local Sheriff's department.

We will be near Stewart, Fernandi, and Courtland in the coming days.

We're sleeping in a camper tonight. I hope we can keep warm.

Good night from the trail.

Joe and Earl

Burrr...it was a cold day on the wagon today.  The wind was raw, so we bundled up in our wool and down gear.  It felt like a winter day.  We traveled about 37 miles from Albany, MN to Eden Valley, MN.

Our greatest concern, other than keeping warm, is Rufus' ankle.  He has a sore right rear ankle.  His ankle is tender and he favors it when he trots, but doesn't when he walks.  As a result, we think its best if we take it easy tomorrow.  I've given him some Bute (pain reliever for mules/horses) and we'll see how he is in the morning.  

The mules overlooking the lake our hosts live on.

When we arrived in Eden Valley we stopped at the local grocery and also at a bar looking for a place to stay for tonight.  We ended up with three offers.  Our hosts tonight welcomed us into their heated shop. We even have a bathroom and running water in the shop! Our hosts have three kids and took us out for dinner near their home.


We will be warm and toasty for the night! We are hoping to make it to Lichfield tomorrow.  It's only about 12 miles from here.



Good night from the trail.

Joe and Earl

A roof over our heads

Last night we spent the night in the Jaycees building in the North City park in Albany, MN.  We were thankful to have a roof over our head.  With no heat we were a little cold, but we make it through the night.

Jaycee Building Albany, MN

We want to send a special thank you to Rudy Loxtercamp and Lorraine for their efforts lining up the ferrier that put on the new shoes.  Your help was very much appreciated.


We're tired and ready for the sleep.

Good night from the trail.

Joe and Earl

Stayed put today and got some new shoes!

We're staying with Mike and Janice again Loxterkamp tonight.  An Amish ferrier put new shoes on Rufus and Rowdy late today.  He was like magic with the mules.  Rufus and Rowdy stood like troopers as they got their new shoes.

Standing water along the roadway near Swanville, MN

The Loxterkamps treated us like royalty today.  They gave us a tour of their turkey buildings.  They are expecting 30,000 turkeys tomorrow.  They raise about a million turkeys a year, along with their family members.  The rest of the day was low key.  We wanted to show our appreciation for their hospitality so we spent some time raking the yard and picking up the road ditch near their house.

We received more donations today.

Good night from the trail.

Joe and Earl

Rufus and Rowdy need new shoes!

Last night we slept in a garage with the door open.  We slept like babies!  Our initial plan was to tent along the trail, but we've been so fortunate to have generous folks open their garages, barns, shops and homes for us.

We traveled along on Hwy 27 this afternoon and ended our day in Swanville, MN. Swanville will be home for this evening.  It was a beautiful day to be out traveling. We got started around 10 a.m. and stopped in the early afternoon to give the mules a bucket of water and a little rest.  The sunshine felt great during the 25 miles we covered!

Tonight we are staying with Janice and Mike Loxterkamp. We'll be sleeping in their garage.  They kindly shared some square bales for the mules.  

With over 100 miles under our belt, the road has steadily worn down Rufus and Rowdy's shoes.  Our task today was to track down a local ferrier to put on new shoes.  After speaking with a couple of ferriers we were able to find one that is available to shoe the mules Monday evening.  Once we finalize the logistics for the shoeing we'll decide if we leaving or staying put for the day tomorrow. It may be a short day if we don't get shoes until later in the day.

It sounds like Mike Hanson and Linnae Ferry are going to join us next week and ride with us for a couple of days. It will be fun to have some company along our travels.

Over the next few days we will be going through Upsala and Albany, MN.  Since we announced our journey we've raised over $4,000 for Hospice and Palliative care!  Thank you to all of our supporters.

We've thoroughly enjoyed our trip so far.  The hardest thing is facing the unknown.  There is anticipation each morning as to what the day will hold. We're in unfamiliar territory now and our maps aren't the best.  Often we pull over and ask about our location.   We've been tremendously fortunate finding places to stay each night that are warm and have a safe place for the mules.

Good night from the trail.

Joe and Earl

A quick message from the ghost writer...

I'm Joe's oldest daughter.  I've been helping my dad document his travels via this blog.  We communicate each night and I write the entry for that day.  I was out of town this weekend, so the post from Friday and Saturday haven't gotten put on the blog.  My dad and Earl are fine and are making good progress on their journey.  I should have them both up by the end of the day.

This blog has gotten tremendous traffic in its short existence.  The most recent days have had over 400 page views!  We have readers from Alaska, Germany and Russia.

I'll get to typing!

Megan

Proud teamsters!

This evening we are spending the night just outside of Browerville.  Chis and Ellen, a very kind Mennonite couple provided us with a garage to sleep in and stalls for the mules.  Old friends Henry and Nellie Wilburt, of Long Prairie, took us out to dinner.  It was great to see them! Nellie made us fresh bread that we'll have for breakfast. I'm sure it will be delicious with a little jam and honey.

Rufu and Rowdy

The mules were tired today and ready to arrive at our destination for the evening.  They've done really well on the trail and handled all the new experiences.  As some of you may know, Rufus and Rowdy and typical mules. As such, we've had some mishaps over the course of their training- a broken tree here and a broken wagon tongue there. After three runaways, I talked to an old timer that worked with mules a lot and he recommended that I add a break to my wagon and a heavy weight to the back of it.  Last summer I built a new wagon with a strong break and a 1000 pound cement block in the back of it.  It worked well for slowing them down during training! Having never trained mules before, I've learned they are very different from horses.  I find they're more unlike horses than like them.  Their very much into self-preservation.  They don't want to do something that doesn't look right.  Rowdy saw an unusual looking sign yesterday and looked and looked.  Also, when we drove into a farm with sheep, Rowdy wasn't so sure about them. Rufus was always concerned about what was behind him.  After figuring that out, I switched his bridal to an open one, rather than the typical bridal with blinders.  Its about the relationship with the mules, even more so than with horses. I've found that if the mules trust you, they'll do things for you.

Needless to say, it was an adventure teaching them to drive, but watching them is last week has been fulfilling...so proud!

Good night from the trail.

Joe and Earl

Saturday - H