Patrick Hearty, my Pony Express Expert, is going to write the Forward for A Long Trail Rolling!
Patrick and Dr. Joseph Hatch wrote a book about the Pony Express Stations in Utah, called…. you guessed it!
Patrick Hearty The Pony Express Stations in Utah
Patrick explains something inside an express station, while Dr. Hatch looks on.
(Photo Credit to Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
At the Faust’s monument, which is not where Faust’s actually was, incidentally… 🙂
Patrick Hearty and Lizzi at Rush Valley (Faust’s) Pony Express Station monument, out of Grantsville, Utah.
This was the start of an epic trip across Utah, over the Pony Express Trail, Patrick, his lovely wife, my son and I!
Simpson’s Station, the restored version… It’s lovely… I think it might be on the cover of A Long Trail Rolling!
He’s always got a story for us!
Patrick at Simpson’s Spring Pony Express Station. It’s been reconstructed and you can go inside and see how it was constructed. I think it’ll be on the cover of A Long Trail Rolling
For a young man who loves to take photos, he sure is camera-shy…. my youngest son…
I so loved just being able to touch the old station… even if it was rebuilt!
The Mustangs… They feature in the story, near Dugway!
Here’s a cool pic of them… you’ll understand why we didn’t get any closer to them… The stallion, if you can see it close up, is battle scarred and proud, clearly the winner of many a fight with other stallions for the mares in his herd.
A herd of mustangs out of Dugway… Utah Pony Express Trail.
It was a fantastic day. Will post more pics another time, but just had to share the lovely trip into the mountains…. Patrick, his daughter and I on their favourite mounts…
The world is best seen between the ears of a horse, and especially when it’s Patrick’s favourite one!
Patrick and I on the trail.
Columbines under the aspen… Lovely. Classic Utah high country.
The rocky, dusty July trail.
Rest time!
“What’s for lunch?”
Break time with my wonderful new friends, Patrick and his daughter, plus 3/4…
On Patrick’s favourite boy, no less… Lucky me!
Time for a drink!
… and a rub… “Leave your bridle on, okay?”
drink time…
“You still takin’ pictures back there?” “Yep…”
If you ever get the chance to go over the Utah Pony Express Trail, do it, you’ll not regret it.
There’s even a man, Davy Crockett, yes, Davy Crockett, who runs an ultramarathon (running) over 100 miles of the trail. See his website at http://ponyexpress100.org/
To those of you who have horses and want to be involved, there’s a re-ride, in both directions, every year. You can ride your portion and carry the mochila. Patrick’s sent me a commemorative letter two years running, one in each direction.. One from St Louis and one from San Francisco. Got this one last year… and they even forwarded it to NEW ZEALAND!
A 2013 Pony Express Commemorative Letter! In NZ!
How exciting. Thank you Pat! And thank you to all the horses and riders who carried those little letters in the mochila for a total of over 4000 miles! Let me know if you’re interested in riding in a re-ride and I’ll get word to Patrick.
There’s a great website about the Pony Express at http://www.xphomestation.com/ From that site, here’s a news release of the ride just past… http://www.xphomestation.com/2014-NR1.pdf Tom Crews, who runs the site, has placed oodles of news, history, stories, etc. of the Pony Express, as well as school program information on the trail! When the re-ride is going, they track the mochilas in real time as they cross the United States! Stop by and see them!
Thanks so much again to Patrick and his wonderful family for having us and letting us in on their life and trail… The Pony Express Trail.
