Buffalo South Dakota

Bob had a good ride to Buffalo of 21 miles with no mishaps, but his back is still niggly, and he's got a cold now. Poor chappie!

He's staying at the fairground, and had corralled the horses and set up his bed in a garage. Wally Stephens from the Nation's Center News arrived to interview him, so I'm hoping that he will let me know the web site for the interview and perhaps forward a photo or two. Bob is resting in Buffalo for two nights.

I must thank Jerry Krogh for kindly getting him some hay and oats for the horses, as well as the sheriff's deputy for doing the same.

Bob had gone to the local cafe for some food and was just settling down when Wally arrived and announced that he was sleeping at their place. So , once he had finished eating, Wally kindly ferried him back to the fairground, packed his gear and lo and behold a comfy bed was had for two nights. Better than sleeping on a table as he was going to do!

He had a very enjoyable stay with Wally and Linda Stephens who took him to his first Baseball game. I must ask him how it went. Whilst he was in Buffalo he also gave two talks to the local school children. I think he's getting to be a bit of a celebrity!

He left Buffalo on 28 August, and had only got 7 miles down the road, and who should turn up but Linda Stephens, with food and drink for him. Later on again, she drove out at 2 o'clock with dinner for him. I can't thank Wally and Linda enough for their kindness, especially for putting themselves out so much to make sure he was fed.

Whilst he was riding along a car pulled up, and a lady got out and said "Hello Bob I've been following your blog site. I'm Sharon Moline's cousin" ( he stayed with James and Sharon at Williston at the beginning of his ride) I e-mailed Sharon to tell her, and she said she was meeting her cousin this weekend for the first time in about 20 years. What a small world it is.

His next stop was about 25 miles down the road, near to Redig, and he was camping outside a cafe (handy for food), but would have to tie up the horses are there is no corral. Behind the cafe is a hill called Crow Butte, and there's an interesting story about it. in 1822, the Souix Indians ravaged a Crow camp and warfare followed between the two tribes. The Crow Indians retreated to the top of Crow Butte for a better vantage point. They were then surrounded by the Souix, who waited patiently until they all to died of thirst. Subsequently, the nearby Canyon of Skulls to the northwest of Crow Butte was filled with the skeletons of the Souix Indians who were decimated by a fever they picked up from the Crow Indians. What irony!

The following morning 29 August, Bob was riding a further 18.5 miles down the road, and will be camping where he can. The weather is very hot again, but he can take his time today, and said he will stop frequently to let the horses graze, as he has no hay for them. His next port of call will be Colony, which he will ride to tomorrow. By then he will have ridden 420 miles.

Keep watching this site.

Ludlow South Dakota

Today I received the following photos from Kim Howie at Belfield, whom Bob had stayed with on 21 August. The first picture is Bob leaving the Howie ranch en route to Amidon. He was to stay that night with another of Kim's relatives. See how flat the land is.

Below we can see Bob and his horses with Kim at the Howie Ranch.

The next picture shows from left to right, Stewart Homelvig, Kim's cousin, Bob, Eric Homelvig who is also her cousin, and her brother Doug Howie.

Thanks Kim for supplying the pictures. It cheers up the blog site!

I spoke to Bob last night, after a bit of trouble with getting through, and he told me that he had given a talk to the children of the local school at Ludlow. I'm hoping that we will get a photo of them to put on the blog site. They all seemed very interested in what he was doing. I expect it makes a change from ordinary school work!

He is currently staying with Suezet and Ron Braaten, who run a bar in Ludlow, which Bob reckons is very atmospheric. He has spent the last day just chilling out after his long trip to get there.

When he was on his way there from Bowman, the horses were a bit jinked when he was crossing a bridge, and a car going the other way with a trailer attached, did not slow down. Apparently, the noise of the trailer crossing the bridge made the horses freak out, and he had a bit of a job to calm them down. Anyway, all's well that ends well, and they made it to Ludlow safetly after a ride of 26 miles ( hot as usual). Bob was glad of the chance to stay over at Ludlow for 2 nights as he was pretty well exhausted after that trip, as were the horses.

He has to be on the lookout most of the time when he's riding on the verges beside the roads, as not only are they full of bottles and cans, especially near place signs, where people driving past throw their bottles at the road signs, but are also full of holes dug by Praire Dogs.

Many thanks to Suezet and Ron for looking after Bob whilst he was in Ludlow.

Whilst I'm on the blog site, I must also thank Kayla from the Bowman County Fairground, as she not only ferried Bob around to do his shopping, but also took him for a complimentary meal on his arrival at the fairground. He had a really good steak!!!! Also, the following day when Bob had resumed his journey, she drove out with water for him and the horses, which was very welcome. Thank you so much, Kayla. It was much appreciated by Bob.

Today Bob was heading for Buffalo, so I will keep you all posted with the next chapter of his adventures.

Amidon and Bowman

Bob arrived at the home of Kim Howie on 21 Aug after a ride of 20 miles, to a warm welcome. The ride was quite uneventful, apart from the heat and, as seems to be usual, when I spoke to him that evening he was relaxing with a beer. My thanks to Kim for her hospitality.

He left Kim's home early the next morning, 22 Aug, ( he's getting the packing and care of the horses down to a fine art now), but there was a stiff breeze going for the duration of the ride, and unfortunately, he was heading into it, so by the time he arrived in Amidon at the home of Lynn and Norman Homelvig, his face was very burnt. Guess what he was doing when I phoned that evening ? Yes, beer was at the forefront again!!!!

His back is improving daily. It's no longer giving him problems, and he says that he is feeling really fit and the horses are doing just fine. They know who is boss now! He said they are responding very well to him, and I think he is forming a deep attachment with them.

A little snippet of information. Amidon is the highest point in North Dakota.

Once again, I must thank Lynn and Norman for sharing their home with him, and making his journey a little easier.

He now gets up at 6am to get on the road a bit earlier, and avoid a little of the sweltering heat, and left the Homelvig's on 23 Aug for the 22 mile ride to Bowman. En route a man passing in a car stopped and said "you must be Bob Jones", and got out and shook his hand and wished him luck.

When I spoke to him in the early hours of this morning (in England) he had just arrived at the Bowman County Fairground, and had settled the horses for the night. Kayla from the fairground had got in Hay and grain for the horses, which was waiting for him. Thank you, Kayla.

I believe another reporter was coming to see him at the fairground for an interview, and he was then going into Bowman for a steak. He will be sleeping in the barn, but has the luxury of an electric light, although he says the horses' accomodation is better than his!

On 24 Aug he has a 26 mile journey to Ludlow, his longest trip yet, and apparently the weather, which had cooled down a bit over the last few days, is going to be really hot again. When he reaches Ludlow, he will be in South Dakota.

Thank you all the kind people in North Dakota. We think you're great.

Riding To Belfield

The above photo is Bob with the Fulton's dog, Ash, Maggie and Katie, and a family friend.

Here we have the Fulton clan. From Left to right, Nick , Connie, Maggie, Wyatt, Bob, Katie, and last but not least, Don.

Here's Bob at eight o'clock in the morning, ready to set off again en route to Kim Howie's home. He has quite a long ride today, and unfortunately it's very hot again .

Yesterday Bob rode alongside the Interstate to Belfield, a distance of approx 18 miles. The weather was really hot, about 97 degrees, with no breeze whatsoever. I received an e-mail from his new hosts earlier that day to advise me that he had been spotted about 5 miles from their home, which was good as it put my mind at rest. The verges along the Interstate are really wide, but you have to look out for bottles etc that could be a problem for the horses. I thought that traffic might be a problem, but everything went smoothly.

When I spoke to Bob last night he had arrived at Don and Connie Fulton's home, and was chilling out with them and their children, and the dog ( a cocker spaniel, I think) by the name of Ash. He was drinking a Coor's beer with tomato juice! Don called out over the phone for me to join them. I would love to get some of that sunshine, and leave our rain behind.

My thanks go out to Don and Connie for being such wonderful hosts and for forwarding the photos so quickly to me. It's nice to be able to put up pictures on the blog site whilst Bob is still in that area.

Happy riding.

P.S. Bob found his watch which he had mislaid up in the Maah Daah Hey.

Rest Days In Medora

Temperatures in Medora are very high , 97 degrees, so Bob is resting and trying to get rid of the backache.He thoroughly enjoyed the concert last night, and my thanks go out to Mryna and her family for being so hospitable to him. I do hope they get this message, as I can't contact them by e-mail.

Bob spotted a large Elk on the hilltop in Medora, and reckons he took some good photos. Please can we have some for the blog site!

He had another newspaper interview last night, so I'm hoping that will be sent to me, so I can pull it off, and keep it for when he gets back.

He also told me that the good people of Medora are being extremely kind to him, with a special mention to George at the stables who drove for miles to get Bob grain for the horses.

Bob will be on the move again tomorrow with a ride of 17.5 miles to Belfield.

More news later.

Bob Arrives At Medora

Another long ride of 22 miles to the Wannagan Campsite over very hill terrain, but Bob arrived without mishap. The horses could roam free again that evening within the fenced off campsite. Their shoes are bearing up well, with hardly any wear showing.

An early start at 7.30am from the campsite for the last 16 miles to Medora. He spotted buffalo a couple of times and there was one on the trail which he took some really good photos of.It was so close he could have touched it, but because he was on horseback the buffalo didn't seem to realise he was there. He also saw a lot of what he called "lumpy lizards that looked like tortoises without shells". Turns out they're horned toads! Apparently there are a lot of Elk up in the hills, but he didn't see any at all.

He arrived at Medora about 1.00pm, and had to hose the horses down when he got to the Medora Foundation as he had gone through a river on the way and they were covered in mud. He will be resting in Medora for two days now, and the horses have got pens for the duration. When I spoke to him he was sitting outside an icecream parlour with double rations of ice cream in 92 degrees of heat. He will be camping with the horses whilst in Medora.

He has met up with Myrna Eberle and her family from Williston who are down in Medora for a show ( unfortunately poor Fred had to work and couldn't make it.) So they've got a spare ticket, and Bob is going with them this evening to the show.

I think he's looking forward to chilling out for a few days, as the Maah Daah Hey was quite hard work, even though he enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the photos of the scenery up there.

Had a comment on the blogsite from one of the cyclists he met up in the Maah Daah Hey, which was nice. Look forward to hearing from other people on the blog site that he meets on the way.

Magpie Campground & Elkhorn Campground

Bob had another long ride of 23 miles to get to Magpie Campground, and he was in the saddle for 10 hours. He reckons it takes him about 3 hours to get ready every morning(he was never any good at doing anything in the mornings!). So in future will make a far earlier start, as when I spoke to him on 13 Aug, he was still riding to the campground at 6 that evening. He is suffering with backache, but hopefully as his back strengthens, that will disappear.

Saw a rattler in the campground, but it disappeared when he approached.

He reckons the campgrounds are fantastic, as they are all fully fenced against wild animals, and the horses can roam free without having to be hobbled. They also have fire pits, and running water, together with benches and tables (all mod cons).

The following day (14 Aug), he had a 20 mile ride, with out of this world scenery, and arrived at the Elkhorn Campground, where he stayed for 2 nights. The first night he shared the campground with 3 cyclists, but apart from that he has not seen a soul for several days.( he did see another snake today) . He has been enjoying the solitude, and catching up on his diary. The following night he met up with Bob and Marla Neugebauer from Menoken, and had an enjoyable evening with them sharing beer and popcorn ( A nice change from iron rations). My thanks to them for their hospitality.

Apparently, Theodore Roosevelt had his ranch very close to this campsite, which was called Elkhorn Ranch.

I spoke to Bob this evening, and he'd just climbed to the top of a hill in order to get reception. He's up at 5 am tomorrow to get an early start, as he has a ride of 22 miles to Wannagan Campground. He will spend one night there, and the following day will ride out of the Maah Daah Hey and towards Medora. Weather still very hot, unlike rainy old England.

Storms Over The Maah Daah Hey

Here's the promised picture of lightning over the Maah Daah Hey. Quite spectacular, isn't it?

I managed to speak to Bob for about 5 minutes last night. He was still riding towards his next camp site at the Bennett Campground, but had managed to lose his way several times en route so was behind time. He saw his first snake today, but evasive action was taken by them both!!!


It's taking him longer than he had anticipated to pack up and go in the mornings, so he will be leaving earlier in future. The next campground he will be heading for is 23 miles away, so he's got a long journey today, and more storms are forecast. He hadn't seen a soul all day, so was quite pleased to speak with me.


Keep checking as I'm waiting for more photos up in the mountains.

Rest Days In The Maah Daah Hey

Hooray. Communication was re established last night. Bob has been resting the horses for the last two days, and chilling out in the foothills. He had a shower in a mountain spring yesterday, which must have been quite invigorating.

There have been some spectacular thunderstorms, with lighting zig zagging across the sky. It must be quite something to be up in the hills and see that. His little one man tent has kept him dry and snug, and the army rations are keeping his belly full, even though they're lacking in taste.

He has met up with several people passing through who have kept his spirits up with food and cans of beer. One Canadian was riding through on his mountain bike, with his girlfriend following in a camper van, and they spent the evening with Bob, and upon leaving presented him with food and a bottle of wine to while away the evening. I'm hoping for some photos from them, as they promised to e-mail them to me when they get back to Canada.

All in all Bob remains very positive (does that surprise me?), and was ready to get back on the trail today with Cody as the riding horse for this stint, and Tigers packing. He will be in the hills for another six days, and if I can get through we will have to ration our talks as he needs power in his cell phone in case of emergencies. So there may not be much news to report for the next week.

Watch out for the sink holes, cowboy!

P.S. These hills were named The Maah Daah Hey by the Mandan Hidatsa tribe. Bob was going to give me a bit more info, but his phone died.

Maah Daah Hey

Had an e-mail from lonnie & Marcy Falmeier, who had kindly obtained hay and grain for Bob at Watford City fairground, and also the following day at the CCC Camp. They reported that he and the horses looked fine.

Many thanks to them both for helping him out, as it is difficult for him to get feed for the horses when he arrives at a place.

I got fleeting contact with him last night, but was unable to speak as he kept cutting out, and tonight contact has gone completely. So will have to sit tight now and hope everything is going well.

Alexander To Watford City

Hooray. Received the first photos from Bob. So I'll explain who they are before I continue
the account of his travels

This photo was taken when Bob and Andrew rode to the Canada border at the start of the trip. just to make it official that he did start from the border!


Below is Andrew with his wife and mother. Bob's first stopover at the beginning of the trip.

Here is Mark and Charise Smith with their lovely children. Bob has kept the picture that one of them drew of him on his horse.

This is Jim and Sharon Moline. Notice the dreaded Mosquito repellant on the table. Now Bob knows why they were insisting he took some with him to Williston!

Fred and Myra Eberle at Williston, with the state trooper who held up the traffic while Bob rode across the Missouri river. You can see the bridge he crossed in the background. After he had done this the horses went "down to the river to drink".

I managed to catch up with Bob on the phone last night, so there is quite a bit to tell. Contact was lost the previous night.

After Bob left Fred and Myrna he rode for 15 miles in 93 degrees of heat, pursued by swarms of mosquitos. Apparently, he reckoned when he reached his next stop he had about 40 bites on his face. He was put up for the night, at the last moment by Jed and Melissa Rider, who went out of their way to help him. For this we are both very grateful, and extend our thanks.

The next stage of the journey was a 16 mile ride to Alexander, which I think he found a bit of a struggle, as needless to say it was sweltering hot, and he'd not had much sleep the night before as his eyes had swollen up because of all the bites. About 10 miles out of Alexander, the Mayor, Kay Glick, drove out to meet him. The horses were installed in the Rodeo ground, and she then took him to the"best cafe in town" to eat. I think this was a really lovely gesture ! I'm afraid I don't know the name of the elderly couple who put Bob up (another last minute arrangement) for that night, but my thanks go out to them. I think he was in bed early that night as he needed to catch up on his sleep!!!

When he arrived at the Rodeo ground at Alexander, there was another reporter waiting to meet him, but he didn't do an interview as he was going out with the Mayor, and didn't manage to catch up with the reporter again.

The following day he set out on the 20 mile journey to Watford City. A bit of a disaster occurred on the way. As he was travelling on the soft verges, The pack horse, Tigers, lost his footing and fell over. Bob was convinced he'd broken a leg, but he got to his feet(with all the pack saddles still on his back), and was as right as rain. Needless to say, Bob stopped and gave him a good checkover, but there were no problems. Again, the weather was very hot, but apparently is starting to get a bit cooler, so this should make it more bearable. I've had to check the next week's weather in case of thunderstorms, as they can be very heavy, but it will be dry all week when he's in the foothills.

When I spoke to him last night , he had arrived at the Watford City Fairground , which is on the outskirts of town, and was waiting for an arrival of hay for the horses. He thought he would have to sleep in his tent, but a room had been opened for him. So, he's got electricity and cover, and a corral for his trusty steeds.

I must relay this event that happened as he was riding along Watford City main street when he first arrived. He was riding past this church, and there were a crowd of men all wearing Western hats, together with a man with his hair in plaits who looked of Red Indian origin. As Bob rode past, the said man came up to him and put his hand out to shake Bob's hand, and in his palm there was a 20 dollar bill, which he tried to give Bob. When Bob refused to take it the man said "Please take it, and buy some feed for your horses with it". We've just come out of a service for our friend, who was a lifelong cowboy, who loved horses, and was killed yesterday in a road accident. Please take this in memory of him".

I did some research on the internet last night, and found out the name of the man was Jarrette Johnson, a 64 year old rancher from that area. I was really touched by this, as was Bob, and even though I don't know his family would like to pass on our condolences at this terrible tragedy.

Today, Bob will be riding 17 miles to hit the Maah Daah Hey (The Badlands). From now on, any phone conversations, if I can contact him, will be very brief, as he may not be able to charge his phone for the next 5 days, and needs it for emergencies. This is where the iron rations start!!!!

Keep 'em going, Cowboy Bob!!!!

Heading For Alexander

Bob stayed for two days at the home of Fred and Myrna Eberle, who took him out for breakfast at their favourite cafe (funnily enough Bob had decided when he was planning his route that he was going to go there, as it was on the approach to Williston.)

This kind couple really went out of their way to help him, and even drove him into Williston so that he could organise crossing the bridge at Williston with the local Highway patrol .

If anyone could pass my thanks on to Fred and Myrna, I would be grateful, as it was only organised at the last minute that he stay with them, and I'm unable to e-mail them.

Bob left them about 8.30 am and got to Williston early afternoon, where he was met by the local Highway patrol. They kindly stopped the traffic across the bridge so that he could walk the horses over. He's now got people going past in their cars, waving and shouting "hello Bob". The local television channel ,KUM TV, also caught up with him for an interview, which will be shown on the evening news today.

Today has been a really uncomfortable ride as he has been plagued by hundreds of mosquitos which have eaten him and the horses alive, together with the high temperatures, and the fact he had to cover 22 miles. As I was talking to him tonight, he was resting the horses by the side of the road, and was within sight of his next stay.

After today, he will be resting at Fairgrounds or Rodeo grounds until he hits the Maah Daah Hey foothills (the Black Hills of Dakota) in about 3 days time, when it will be tent and iron rations for our traveller. I'm fully expecting to not be able to talk to him then , so we may have a gap when no blogs are posted.

Keep watching this space

Off To Williston

Bob arrived at the ranch of James and Sharon Moline, to a warm welcome, and the horses were corralled for the night. Only fleetingly though, as apparently Tigers decided to jump out of his pen, to go and greet the other horses!


While Bob was there, the local reporter arrived for the Williston Herald, and attached is the link to the interview with "cowboy Bob".


www.willistonherald.com/articles/2008/08/04/local_news/news2.txt


Sharon e-mailed me the next day to say how they had enjoyed Bob's company, and learning about our culture. I must thank them for giving up their time to look after him, and for feeding him so well.


Below is a photo of Bob arriving at their place, and below that a photo of Bob with his hosts.

Bob has now arrivedat his next destination after a short ride of only 11 miles, and is now resting the horses for several days. Apparently, he is becoming a bit of a celebrity in the area, as people seem to be looking out for him. Once he sets off again, the going will become tougher as he will not be staying with anyone for the next few weeks, and will be hitting the Maah Daah Hey foothills on 10 August. I may then lose contact with him for a few days, as we may not be able to get cell phone connection.

Watch this site for further developments!

First photos of Bob on the ride

This is a photo of Bob when he first arrived in Montana, out riding and getting to know the horses, in the countryside around Montana. Below is a photo of Bob and Allen Russell at Allen's ranch. You can just see snow on the mountains in the distance.

I've attached an article, which Allen had submitted to the Long Rider's Association, which makes interesting reading:

'Tuesday, the 29th I dropped Bob Jones and his two quarter horses, Cody and Tiger at the Canadian border in North Dakota. He began his ride to Mexico on Thursday. The long period of dreaming, planning and preparation finally became reality.
When Bob originally contacted me, wanting me to put two horses together for him, I had some reservations. He was very open about his lack of riding experience. After some email communication with Bob I agreed to take on the challenge.
My first inclination was to pick up a couple of good old solid dude horses for Bob. Such horses have usually seen it all and have few arguments with their riders, primarily because they have learned that their riders know little, so they don't pay any attention to them and go ahead and keep them safe regardless of rider commands.
But, I just couldn't do it. It just seemed too miserable a fate to have to kick up a dude horse from Canada to Mexico. I felt, for the journey to be the experience Bob was seeking, he had to have good horses. I explained that this put a lot of responsibility on him and he would have to make the choice between bringing himself up to the level of good horses or go for the dude horses. Bob chose the challenge of being horseback.
Finding the right horses was even more difficult than I anticipated. There are many horses for sale out there but few good ones. People keep the good ones, especially good gentle ones. I put out the word that I was in the market for two horses, five to twelve, that were experienced to ride and pack, totally sound of body and mind, of similar size around 15.1, and would work for an inexperienced rider from England to make a Canada to Mexico ride. The phone didn't ring off the wall. Nearly all who did call had the normal stories of horses that would be really good horses if someone just put the time into them. My reply was always the same, nearly all horses would be good if someone just put in the time to make them so. Show me a good horse and I will show you a horse that has been used a lot.
Anyway, after burning the tires off my truck looking at prospects I ended up with Cody and Tiger; nine and seven year old registered quarter horses. They are almost identical in size 15.1 and 1150 pounds. Cody has spent the last four years as a guide horse in hunting and summer camp and Tiger has been an all around ranch horse and recently worked fighting forest fires.
Cody is dominant physically and Tiger mentally. They are a good team and they bonded well. I put a lot of miles on them, smoothing them out before Bob arrived and was very pleased with them. I would have been proud to put my brand on both; but they are real horses and require proper ridding. I was looking forward to seeing how they made the transformation from me to Bob.
When Bob arrived I saw that he hadn't exaggerated his inexperience. I saddled up one of my horses and set out with Bob for his introduction to his new travel companions, the first horses he has ever owned. There is a tendency that some good horses have, where they adjust themselves up and down to the rider on their back. Although I had hoped for this, I knew it was a lot to hope for; so I was more than pleased when both Cody and Tiger brought themselves down a couple of levels and from day one took good care of Bob. To his credit, Bob is patient, gentle and shows good confidence. Best of all he was open about his inexperience and followed my advice to not pick any fights he couldn't win. I watched then get better by the day, riding the rough country around my ranch as well as the frontage roads since much of Bob's ride will be along roads.
So, as I pulled away and saw Cody, Tiger and Bob disappear in the rear view mirror I felt confident that my three friends were in for a great adventure.'

Bob had another good day's riding, a fairly short distance of 11.3 miles and arrived at his next host's home in Grenora, to be greeted by Scott Keffler and his family. Needless to say he was warmly welcomed, and my thanks again to the Kefflers for their hospitality.

I'm now doing a bit of catch up as I've been away for the weekend, and couldn't update the blog.

On 2 August, Bob set off on his longest ride yet, in temperatures exceeding 100degrees, a distance of 20 miles. Because of the heat, frequent stops were needed to water the horses and rest them, and in the late afternoon he arrived at the home of Mark and Charise Smith and their four children at Zahl. He's feeling quite stiff and sore, but will no doubt toughen up as the journey progresses. When I arrived home today I was thrilled to see that Charise had e-mailed me to say that Bob had ridden off safetly this morning, and she sent me a load of photos, several of which are below, showing Bob with the Smith family. It looks as though the kids are enjoying themselves !

Charise told me that they had thunderstorms last night , but today is clear and sunny again. So hopefully, a good's ride and I will be back on the blog site soon with updates. Many thanks to Charise , Mark and kids. What a fantastic family.

Ride 'em cowboy !