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Who We Are

Ralph and I were born, raised and  married in Miami, Florida.  Ralph got a degree in commercial art, while I got one in business majoring in accounting.  We both left our families and lifetime friends in Florida and moved to North Georgia in 1986 when Ralph was hired by Original Appalachian Art Works (Cabbage Patch Kids).  After a few years Ralph started his own furniture and cabinet building business and I established an accounting practice out of our home.  We still miss our families and the ocean but have come to love the beautiful Appalachian Mountains and the many close friends here. We found a 12+ acre farm with a 100+  year-old farmhouse that we have renovated and enjoyed for 20 years. Besides a you-pick blueberry field and raising parrots on the farm, I have raised and trained horses. I came by the love of horses genetically, traced back to my father's father who raised thoroughbreds in Florida in the 1940s. In 1989 I was given my first horse, an Arabian with the appropriate name, Baracah, meaning "blessing."  I love to share the blessings of horses with others. In 2000 I was trained in building and maintaining multi-use trails, and after riding, I love to work trails best. I also love photography and carry a camera most the time.

We now have four fine equines and I enjoy training them as well as the occasional human. The two horses we took are Silver Girl, a registered Palomino who is one half Quarter Horse and one half Tennessee Walking Horse, she loaded into the trailer at the age of 22; and Jur SuperStar (we just call Jur). Jur is Silver Girl's son and his grandsire was the fabulous Arabian horse, Fadjur (see our visit to the Jack Tone Ranch). Both horses were trained by me and Jur was foaled on our farm 7 years ago. Both horses did the entire trip barefoot. Gizmo is a Mountain Fiest and has his own page about The Trip. Ralph is not as keen on riding as I am, but he loves to camp and thus, The American Adventure.

We both love to help people -- this is one of the reasons I went into accounting -- and we have joined together to do many building projects.  We have helped clean up our neighborhood after a tornado killed fourteen and destroyed homes within a mile of us. We traveled to Slidell, Louisiana to help after Hurricane Katrina (Ralph also went to Miami after Hurricane Andrew).  And we have traveled overseas three times on short term missions (see Tres Dias).  We were blessed to find a wonderful church family, North Georgia Church, and have been a part of that fellowship since 1987.  

What's it all about!

Since Ralph likes the camping and I like the riding, we traveled across America camping and riding for eight months in 2007.  With our dually truck we pulled a thirty foot live-in trailer that carried ourselves, tools, two of our horses, and our wonder dog, Gizmo.  

We started May 1, 2007. We drove through the upper parts of the states of Alabama and Mississippi and through the middle of Arkansas before turning slightly south through the SE corner of Oklahoma into Texas. In Texas we passed through Wichita Falls as we headed towards Amarillo and into New Mexico straight through Albuquerque. Our first stop in Arizona was Canyon de Chelly and then the Petrified Forest. We then turned northward through the Grand Canyon, followed by Bryce Canyon, Utah. Then we went to Arches National Park and up into the Uinta Mountains of Utah. Then to Meeker, Colorado and the White River National Forest and on to Hayden, CO. We cut across Wyoming to the Bridger-Teton National Forest. From Wyoming we went into Idaho briefly and back to Yellowstone National Park then up to the Gallatin National Forest in Montana. Then we drove to McCallister, MO for a few days and over to Darby, MT for a few more. We crossed Idaho to the Clearwater National Forest and then briefly to Walla Walla, Washington. We stayed at a great State part in Oregon and then drove to Wamic, OR. From there we visited the Columbia River Gorge, Hood National Forest and Hood River, OR. After visiting Mt. Adams & Mt. St. Helens in Washington State we went down to Junction City, OR. Next we drove over to the Oregon coast. We traveled into California on  Highway 101 passing through Redwood National Park to camp at Humboldt Redwood Sate Park and the Cuneo Creek Horse Camp where I did an endurance ride. From there we visited in Santa Rosa, CA, Clearlake, CA and Elverta, CA making a weekend trip to Lake Tahoe, NV. Then to across to Stockton and the Jack Tone Ranch, and a brief visit to San Francisco, before going on to Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park before Joshua Tree National Park and turning to Arizona. In Arizona we did Phoenix, Tucson, Tombstone, Bisbee and Douglas. Then up to Gila Cliff Dwellers Monument in NM and Lincoln National Forest and Fort Stanton. In Texas we saw Guadalupe Mountains National Park and San Angelo State Park before doing some work at Camp Penile in Marble Falls. From Texas we enjoyed Thanksgiving in Louisiana and returned to Georgia via Mississippi and Alabama. We returned to Georgia and our home (for an eleven day stay) and then continued to Florida to Florida Caverns Sate Park and Canaveral National Seashore on the Atlantic, Christmas with the Peroni Family (Janice's family) and ended The Trip at the new year with a camping/riding week with the Peroni's. We went coast to coast in 8 months and 5 days!

Frequently Asked Questions

How did you come up with this idea?

In the new year of 2001, Ralph and I were talking about goals and shared interests.  We had NONE!  I was a rider, he was not. He wanted to travel, I didn't.  But we decided we needed to START sharing in one another's interests or we would not have a marriage of any unity.  So we took these 2 main interests and came up with the idea that we needed to travel more, but it needed to be with or around horses.  We further set a goal of taking one BIG trip across our country and seeing it  in the next 5 years, before we are too old to do everything we want.  So the idea emerged from a desire to work together.

What States did you go to?

We departed Cleveland, GA and visited AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, LA, MS, MT, NM, NV, OK, OR, TX, SC, WA, WY, and UT (not in order).  See our map & itinerary. 

What did you traveled in?

We traveled in  a dually 1 ton pickup truck pulling a three-horse, gooseneck living quarters trailer.  The living quarters are 8' X 10', with a full bath, dinette and kitchenette, an awning that gave us a little more room for outdoor living.  Ralph, being a cabinet maker, retrofitted the cabin with additional shelves, drawers, and a floor to ceiling cabinet in the bathroom just for our clothes (giving us plenty of storage). The sleeping bed is over the bed of the truck.  The horses traveled in the rear (separate from us by the bathroom!), and Gizmo had his bed under the kitchen table. The horses unloaded each evening to be high tied or enclosed in a portable electric pen.

What did you take?

We took 2 horses (we own 4) and Gizmo, the wonder dog. We took a dually truck pulling a horse trailer with living quarters. We took tools (one of those truck tool boxes full) so we could do work for others. We took as little else as possible while being on the road for 7 months; but we did carry water and food for us and the animals, all types of clothing and weather protection for all (including horses), phone and laptop to communicate, alternative sources of power (propane and gasoline), maps of every state, documentation of all property and health certification on the horses and dog not to mention first aid kits and medication for all. For more detail see our camping list. We took three saddles but rode two (the third was a back up). The large and old Western saddle that Ralph rides is comfortable but without any mark. I've no idea what it is though it is good quality. I ride an OrthoFlex Patriot and it is becoming so worn that I have duck tap across the pommel. I am always on the lookout for another.

Where are we living now that we are back?

We renovated and live in a 100 year old farmhouse on 12 acres in Cleveland, GA We have been there 20 years and plan to stay put until it sells or leases. It was in great condition when we returned thanks to good neighbors. 

We did not miss anything left in our five bedroom house; we did miss the full size shower. Are we glad to be back and have a house to come back to? Not especially. One thing we found out about ourselves is we can be very satisfied with a very simple life and without a lot of THINGS. We ate great, slept good, and dressed well. It was enough. It may not be for everyone but it was for us.

How did we find all the places we went to and trails to ride?

First we made a list of places we wanted to see. Then I did two years of research and at least one year of that I was on the Internet almost every night researching. If the place we were going did not have a place for camping with horses I did a search for the nearest place to it. We did not miss anything due to the horses but we sure saw a lot on horse back that others can not get to. We got a wall size map and pinned the proposed places to it and started charting it out from there (gave us a visual route and ruled out places that were too far off our path). How did I locate the trails we rode? Also on the Internet and from articles in Trail Rider Magazine and a few from word of mouth. Many I did not know until I got to the location, sometimes with map in hand and sometimes just took a GPS reading at the trailer and headed out on a well used trail.

Would we do it again? 

In a heartbeat! (We both used this response but agree we'd need some changes.) I would do more riding (especially alone) and Ralph would investigate the roads before we got on them. Our future dream would be to do a trip up the eastern seaboard and the eastern United States and a third trip into the heartland of America. There are many places (see our favorites) that we would go back to in the West and spend more time and see some of the places we missed this time. Do we have any plans for another trip? Tentatively . . . the Pacific Crest Trail for six months in 2009.

How did we pay for things?

Are we retired OR rich? No to both. We took a chunk out of life to live life; we saved up for five years and we took a risk of leaving what work we had and returning to start up again. “I don’t believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chances at all” - Charles A. Lindbergh. We made a budget (I won’t tell you the amount nor how much we spent as it would vary from person to person and family to family.) We opened a saving account specifically to save for The Trip. Then we wrote checks out of it and paid our 2 credit cards (one for “things” and one for diesel) on-line from it. We did occasionally use our personal checks but not much (and they were part of the budget). We also had minimal cash on hand. Here in percent of the total is what we spent: 22.9 percent on  fuel, 17.0 on truck & trailer repairs & maint. (the truck was 2X the repairs/maint. of  the trailer), 5.7 on camping site fees, 2.5 on entry fees to parks and museums and such, 7.4 percent on the animals' feed and health checks, 17.4 on groceries and restaurants, 4.0 on supplies (like propane, gas for the generator, etc) and the rest on personal expenditures. We earned 7 percent of the total budget while on The Trip. We came home right at budget! 

The trailer itself was bought just one year before The Trip. Here's how: For 35 years I raised parrots. As we started planning for The Trip we realized that they would need to be sold as it was too long a time to hire someone to care for them as we had done for short trips in the past. I advertised them throughout bird sites on the Internet and they did sell to one person in Delaware in 2005. I even got to go visit them a few months later and see their great new home. With the sale, I was freed of a huge worry and the funds paid for the trailer. My birds gave us wings.

Will I be writing a book?

I just did! :-)      But I am making efforts to get this photo journal into print and go on the road writing another one. Anyone know a publisher, sponsor, or philanthropist? 

Also would like to provide anyone interested with a listing of horse camps throughout the west: this includes both places we went to and places we researched but did not go to. This will be in pamphlet form to minimize cost. If anyone is interested please email me with Horse Camps in the "RE" line. I will then contact you when it is ready.

Were the horses barefoot the whole time?

The horses did the entire trip without horseshoes. Silver Girl never wore boots. Jur wore Old Macs about 6 times. We never had a hoof problem or a day lost due to a "thrown shoe." I did my own trimming though Charles helped me out once in Montana (thank you Charles). The horses remained sound and both did a 25 mile endurance ride as well as regular 20 mile rides. Both of these horses are extremely well footed, seldom tripping or taking a wrong step. They had both been barefooted for the last 7 years.

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