• 2009 Re-Ride Schedule
• News Release #1
• News Release #2
• News Release #3
• Wanted: Special Correspondents
• 2009 Re-Ride In The News
• Reports from the Trail
• Photo Album
• S.I.E.R.A. Watching the Pony Riders in Nevada since 1989
• DCARC again brings short wave radio coverage to Utah
• RAMS brings short wave radio coverage to California
• Pony Express GPS Tracking

• California Division Swearing-In Dinner, photos submitted by Ray Nutting

• Photos from SE Wyoming, photos by Donnie Norvell. Here is his report.

• More photos from Wyoming, photos by John & Missy Harris. Here is their report.

• Photos from Utah, photos by Beverley Heffernan. Here is her report.

• XP Photos from Mid Section of Utah Division, photos by Mark Jenkins and Joe Hatch.

• Mail exchange at Rescue, CA, photos by Diane M. Kirk.

• Nevada Schellbourne Re-Riders, photos by Wendy Anderson. Here is her report.

• Pony Express Sacramento, photos by Lynette Wright.

• Evening of June 18th at the Brockless Bridge Crossing on the American River, photos by Mark Sandperl.

• More photos from Nevada and California, photos by Nicole and Richard Charshafian. Here is their report.

• More Photos from Utah, photos by Diana van Uitert.

• More Nevada Schellbourne Re-Riders, photos by Dawn Brown.

• Photos from California, photos by Jessica Sloat. Here is Pat Fanelli's report.

Depart St. Joe Bridge
Tuesday, June 9, 10:30am CDT

Depart Horton, KS
Tuesday, June 9, 4:45pm CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Horton at 4:30pm giving people time to meet and visit with the Rider.

Depart Hwy 75 (Sac & Fox)
Tuesday, June 9, 6:45pm CDT

Depart Seneca Museum
Tuesday, June 9, 10:00pm CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at the Seneca Museum at 9:30pm giving people time to meet and visit with the Rider.

Depart Summit (Hwy 99)
Wednesday, June 10, 1:45am CDT

Depart Guittard Station
Wednesday, June 10, 3:15am CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Guittard Station at 3:00am giving people time to meet and visit with the Rider.

Depart Maryville, KS
Wednesday, June 10, 5:00am CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Marysville at 4:45am giving people time to meet and visit with the Rider.

Depart Hollenberg Station
Wednesday, June 10, 6:30am CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Hollenberg Station at 6:15am giving people time to meet and visit with the Rider.

Depart Rock Creek Station
Wednesday, June 10, 9:45am CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Rock Creek Station at 9:30am with an exchange and interpretation.

Depart Oak,NE
Wednesday, June 10, 3:45pm CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Oak at 3:30pm for a short 15 minute break.

Depart Oregon Trail Marker
Wednesday, June 10, 8:15pm CDT

Depart Susan Hail Grave
Wednesday, June 10, 11:15pm CDT

Depart Fort Kearney
Thursday, June 11, 12:45am CDT

Depart Plum Creek
Thursday, June 11, 4:15am CDT

Depart Willow Island Station
Thursday, June 11, 8:30am CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Willow Island Station at 8:00am and stop for breakfast.

Depart Midway
Thursday, June 11, 10:10am CDT

Pony Express Rider will arrive at Midway at 9:50am for a coffee break.

Depart Brady, NE
Thursday, June 11, 12:00pm CDT

Depart North Platte, NE
Thursday, June 11, 3:00pm CDT

Depart Paxton, NE
Thursday, June 11, 6:30pm CDT

*** Time Change to Mountain Daylight Time ***

Depart Big Springs
Thursday, June 11, 10:30pm MDT

Rain expected. Rider may be running slow!

Depart Colorado Welcome Center, Julesburg
Thursday, June 11, 11:46pm MDT

Depart Ovid, CO
Friday, June 12, 12:42am MDT

Depart Highway 385
Friday, June 12, 1:32am MDT

Depart Sidney, NE
Friday, June 12, 4:30am MDT

Depart Mud Springs
Friday, June 12, 6:00am MDT

Depart Bridgeport, NE
Friday, June 12, 8:00am MDT

Depart Chimney Rock
Friday, June 12, 9:00am MDT

Depart Scottsbluff National Monument
Friday, June 12, 11:00am MDT

Depart Torrington, WY
Friday, June 12, 2:30pm MDT

Depart Ft. Laramie, WY
Friday, June 12, 4:30pm MDT

Depart River Road (Guernsey)
Friday, June 12, 6:00pm MDT

Depart Wendover, WY
Friday, June 12, 7:00pm MDT

Depart Glendo, WY
Friday, June 12, 11:00pm MDT

Depart Douglas, WY
Saturday, June 13, 2:00am MDT

Depart Inez, WY
Saturday, June 13, 7:00am MDT

Depart Glenrock, WY
Saturday, June 13, 8:00am MDT

Depart National Historic Trails Center
Saturday, June 13, 10:00am MDT

Depart Ft. Casper, WY
Saturday, June 13, 11:00am MDT

Depart Martins Cove
Saturday, June 13, 5:00pm MDT

Depart Jeffery City, WY
Saturday, June 13, 8:00pm MDT

Depart Sweetwater Station
Saturday, June 13, 10:00pm MDT

Depart Atlantic City, WY
Sunday, June 14, 2:00am MDT

Depart Farson, WY
Sunday, June 14, 8:00am MDT

Depart Green River Crossing
Sunday, June 14, 10:00am MDT

Depart Granger, WY
Sunday, June 14, 11:30am MDT

Depart Uinta County Line
Sunday, June 14, 12:00pm MDT

Depart Ft. Bridger, WY
Sunday, June 14, 3:00pm MDT

Teams 1 and 3 are tasked with getting the mail safely through the metropolitan Salt Lake area. That means the earlier the better to be clear of rush-hour traffic. Team 3 will leave the Wyoming border as early as possible, hoping to arrive at Murray Park for the exchange well before the scheduled time of 5:00 A.M. We hope to run well ahead of schedule for the first half of the ride, at least.

Depart Henefer, UT
Monday, June 15, 12:00am MDT

Depart "This is the Place" Heritage Park
Monday, June 15, 4:00am MDT

Depart Murray Park
Monday, June 15, 5:00am MDT

Depart Eagle Mountain, UT
Monday, June 15, 9:00am MDT

Depart Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn
Monday, June 15, 9:30am MDT

Depart Simpson Springs
Monday, June 15, 2:00pm MDT

Depart Callao, UT
Monday, June 15, 9:00pm MDT

*** Time Change to Pacific Daylight Time ***

Depart Overland Pass
Tuesday, June 16, 5:30pm PDT

Depart Grubb's Well
Wednesday, June 17, 12:30am PDT

Depart Railroad Pass
Wednesday, June 17, 8:30am PDT

Depart Cold Springs
Wednesday, June 17, 1:30pm PDT

Depart Sand Springs
Wednesday, June 17, 5:30pm PDT

Depart Shurz Highway
Wednesday, June 17, 9:30pm PDT

Depart Fort Churchill
Thursday, June 18, 1:30am PDT

Depart Carson City, NV
Thursday, June 18, 6:00am PDT

Depart Strawberry
Thursday, June 18, 2:30pm PDT

Arrive Brockless Bridge Crossing
Thursday, June 18, 8:14pm PDT (departing 8:52pm)

Depart Fresh Pond
Thursday, June 18, 9:22pm PDT

Depart Sportmans Hall
Thursday, June 18, 10:12pm PDT

Depart Camino Post Office
Thursday, June 18, 10:44pm PDT

Depart Hangtown Chamber of Commerce
Thursday, June 18, 11:49pm PDT

Depart Diamond Springs Post Office
Friday, June 19, 12:29am PDT

Depart Rescue Post Office
Friday, June 19, 2:04am PDT

Depart Pleasant Grove House
Friday, June 19, 2:39am PDT

Depart Folsom Museum
Friday, June 19, 3:59am PDT

From: Pat Fanelli California NPEA
Sent: June 28, 2009, 5:16pm PDT

I hold a deep appreciation for all of the 500+ riders who preceded us. They braved the horrific storms, sometimes running 4 hours behind schedule; then 2 hours behind; then catching up and finally running 30+ minutes ahead of schedule. We have some pretty amazing riders in our organization.

Here are some pictures taken of the next to the final leg of the reride. My granddaughter, Jessie on her Palamino Quarter Horse, B.J., and me (Pat Fanelli) on my Sorrel Quarter Horse, Dandy. We picked up the mail at I-80 and ran it to Discovery Park. We had the honor of handing it off to our National President, Les Bennington from Wyoming. The exchange held special meaning for us because we are also from Wyoming.

First I would like to thank all the members and support people that helped move the mail across Wyoming. George Branscom and his South East Wyoming riders - Dick Garrison and riders from Douglas, WY - Rick Bretton and his riders from Glenrock, WY - Jay Jensen and his Central Wyoming riders - Stan Bean and his riders from Riverton, WY - Howard Schultz and his Sweetwater County WY riders and Ron Atkinson and his Uinta County riders. With their dedication(especially when your behind schedule) they stayed the course. It gives you a new appreciation for the riders that carried the mail from 1860 - 1861. Mother Nature dealt us a wet hand. Hopefully next year will be a dry one. Congratulations to all who made this years re-ride a success and hope to see everyone in Kearney.

We really enjoyed following along. We live in Christmas Valley (near Meyers SLT) about a mile from the old Hawley Grade and there is a Pony Express marker right there. We have always wanted to follow along with the reenactment but always seem to miss it. And just by chance we stopped to help some people with car trouble in Nevada and a Pony Express rider had helped too and told us that it was going on right then!!! I am Australian and my husband American so although our daughters do distance education through an Australian school we teach them their American history too and it is wonderful for them to get the chance to "live" it with things like this. So our thanks go to you and all the volunteers who make it all possible!!

Here are photos from our first encounter with the Pony Express at the corner of hwy 50 and 361 in Nevada. Then we caught up with it again on Pioneer Trail after the change over at Harrah's Casino. "Doc" was quite the character for us to meet up with. His enthusiasm drew up in for sure.

We went on ahead of him and spoke to the lady at Trout Creek/ Golden Bear. She was very friendly and our daughters got to pat "Sunny" while we all waited for doc. After their change over we watched her take off at a lope, (as Doc had been when we saw him) while they tried to make up time.

We then picked up my husband and met her at the Meyer's post office for the next change over.

We waited at Meyer's Station for the change. The rider there was very focused. Some of the riders showed their nervousness and excitement while she was friendly but focused and quiet.

We watched Sunny's rider come through Meyers pretty fast and saw the change over and the next rider take off for the hard ride up Old Meyer's Grade.

We headed up Hwy 50 to see her meet the next change at the cross over th johnson's Pass. We waited with the next rider. We chatted with ehr alot and our daughters learnt alot and enjoyed the interaction with her. We followed her up the pass and then went on ahead to the change along Sierra At Tahoe Road.

There we met Carolyn and her horse Ghost and heard more about the history while waiting for the change. And that was the change we were able to see. We saw Carolyn and Ghost off over the bridge. The girls helped with the cooling off of the Mayor's wife's horse. I am terrible with names sorry!!! And then we headed home.

What a fantastic experience you guys all gave us!! We will be back next year to watch again!!.

The Charshafians

ps the girls are in the process of doing a school report on their adventure to share with their classmates in Australia.

I am sorry we did not get everyone's names but I know we sure had fun following the exchanges that we did!! Nicole and Richard Charshafian daughters (in alot of the photos) Yerazel and Yerani Charshafian Carmel Blades (my mother visiting from Australia)

Here are Wendy's photos.

This will be a year to remember for many pony riders across all the states. Our group was no exception. One rider woke up early June 15, to find one of his prize horses had died during the night. He then spent half the day trying to give the horse a proper burial. More on this rider's bad luck later!

Our group set up camp at Hick's Ranch in Ibapah, Utah. We were prepared to pick the mail up at the set time of 11:30 P.M., but received regular reports from John Abrott, our ham operator that the mail was between 4 to 5 hours late. A great supper was prepared and enjoyed by all. Steve Poole did his usual great job on preparing the tri-tip roasts. We were pleased to have some of the National Officers, Les Bennington, his sons, and Dave Sanner, join our camp for supper. (They would prove to be of great help later in the trip).

A short horse back ride was enjoyed by part of the group while passing time during the evening.

At this point in time, we had not heard from Doc. Christensen, his two sons and his daughter-in-law, Valarie. I was getting pretty worried about them. Sometime around 10 p.m., I received a phone call that Christensen's truck had broke down on the trip out and they had spent a good share of the night just trying to get back into Ely. Doc said they would meet us at Schellbourne Station.

Some of us took advantage of the opportunity to get a couple hours of sleep, while others sat around the camp fire. Around 2:30 a.m. Rick, Dawn, and Bubba Brown packed it up and headed for the Pony Express Monument in Ibapah, Nevada for the mail exchange.

Calvin Kennedy was assigned to head out and open 6 gates up to Tippet Flats. Then we waited.

The Utah group came riding in for the exchange which took place at 4:07 a.m. Nevada time. Dawn Brown was our first rider heading out on a young horse that was not too sure about what was happening and not too sure about the night riding. Rider and horse did extremely well. After the Browns, they passed off to Kathy Poole and then to Geno Ockert, (a first time rider). Then we all lined out from there clear to Tippets Valley, where we made the decision to go across the original trail, because it was light enough to see by now. We had previously decided not to go across this trail because it is full of badger holes. It can be very dangerous in the rain and the dark. This decision saved us some time.

Calvin Kennedy rode his newly acquired Arabian horse, Azem. He could be heard up and down the trail when the horse took off like a bolt of lightening. (Oh, he is going to be mad at me.)

Tom and Carol Love rode the dangerous badger hole trail (they are first time riders) and had a great ride. They handed off to Tony Zamora, who took off at a fast pace across the valley heading towards Rock Springs on his horse, Chato. I think my brother Lee Payne rode somewhere here too. I took 2 miles heading up to Rock Springs and handed off to another green horn, Ashley Giliespie, who was riding Bar Girl. She had a tough ride, up hill with 2 broken ribs from being crazy and racing around a race track in Ely a week or so previously. Ashley handed off to Keith Anderson and Savannah Anderson who raced each other up over the top of Rock Springs in record time. Both Cabio and Turbo were pretty tired when they reached Jim Bath's group consisting of Paul Bath and Rebecca Fouts. Most of our group has to head up the road and go around the mountain, where we meet at what we call the Y. At this point, we re-group and line out again at 1 1/2 mile sections up over Schellbourne Pass. The pass is very long and steep. Our horses and riders did a great job this year on this pass. We all came into Schellbourne Station around 9:00 a.m. and enjoyed a breakfast prepared by Coral Ockert and Christy Hurlbert.

And yes, I was very happy to crest the summit and see pony riders in the valley, because that meant that Doc. Christensen's group had made it. They have great horses that are always in good shape.

Most of us enjoyed breakfast and waited for the mail to arrive at Schellbourne Station. Tom Love brought the mail into the Christensen riders. Chris, Brett, Valarie, and Doc. Christensen all made really good time across the trail and handed off, I believe to Paul Bath. (I'm not positive on this one though). Then Mandy Dickerman and Calvin Kennedy rode several miles to get the mail to what we call the seeding in Egan Canyon, where Rick Brown, Dawn Brown and Bubba McCall rode across the seeding in some really terrible, wet weather. I hope they had their rain coats on!

Several trucks headed around the mountains again to get in line to cross Butte Valley. I don't know the exact hand offs, but I know Geno Ockert and Kathy Poole rode Butte Valley. I think by brother Lee Payne rode somewhere through here too. A few other riders were in there somewhere too. Some riders were trying desperately to get across the muddy, wet, slippery, rutted roads to get into position to ride the White Rock Pass. They included, Jordan Anderson, Jim Bath and Tony Zamora. This pass is very interesting, nothing can get into this area except horses. Exceptional horses and riders are needed to complete this section. And these guys love to challenge and race each other through this area. They do a great job covering the miles!

Doctor Chris's truck, my truck, and Tom Love's truck headed for the pass where the horses and riders come out of White Rock Pass. From here, we knew we were ahead of the riders and the trucks behind us would be hard pressed to catch the mail anytime soon. Butte Valley, Long Valley and Ruby Valley were a nightmare, if you had to stop, you were done and probably buried in the mud. We did a lot of unloading and loading of horses in trailers. We expected a muddy mess, but this was anything but fun, at this point!

So, our three trucks started lining out at 2 mile intervals heading towards Long Valley and Ruby Valley. But, now we had another problem. Doc. Chris's group was having vehicle problems, (this was their second truck problem) the truck was heating up. We went a short distance and had to stop and let the truck cool off. Finally, they decided to put 2 horses in Tom Loves truck and it worked. The truck started running a little better and was not heating up so quickly. So, we continued to line out across the valleys and waited for the mail to catch us. The other 6 trucks started catching us in Ruby Valley and the Mavericks. Thank goodness too, we were about out of horses at this point. Bath's and Christensen's left us to head home on Ruby Valley Road, so now we were down to 7 trucks left. At this point, most everyone is hoping it is about over. We told everyone left that we needed 10 horses to get us to the Huntington road in preparation for the last big ride across the valley and up to Overland Pass. Everyone with anything left lined out and we took off again.

When we reached the Huntington road, everyone got together to talk about the ride and visit for the first time since Schellbourne. The Benningtons, and Dave Sanner was there too. Keith Anderson and Tony Zamora outfitted the 2 young Bennington's with horses. As we were waiting for the mail, Steve Poole came driving up and stated that Geno's horse, Pony Boy, was done in and he needed help. I don't know which young Bennington it was, but he took off down the road on a new Arabian horse Tony Zamora had just picked up from the Nevada State President, Steve Notterman. A few minutes later rider and mail came blasting in for the next rider.

While all of this was going on, I was busy switching saddle and tack to a fresh horse to take up over Overland Pass. Keith Anderson was preparing to go up the mountain too!

The Bennington's rode horses across the valley, while Jordan Anderson drove Keith and I up as far as we could get in the truck with our horses. The Bennington's handed off to me and we were off at a fast lope up the mountain. Keith and I made that last ride to the handoff area at the top of Overland Pass in 35 minutes. We handed off and was 1 hour and 55 minutes late. Realizing we were still late, the next Nevada group took off in a hurry down the mountain. What a great ride, it was beautiful!

I later found out that the Bennington's and Dave Sanner were very instrumental in helping everyone get dug out or pulled out across all the muddy valleys. Thank you so much for all your help. Your dedication to Pony Express is wonderful. We love to see you come! We all had a great ride and will remember this year for many years to come. Just when we thought all the fun was over, we realized how wrong we were!

Some riders decided they had had enough fun and went home after the ride. Amoung them was my daughter, Savannah Anderson, her friend and Tony Zamora. They met with disaster as they crested a ridge and found livestock. Luckily, no one was hurt, but Tony's truck won't be quite the same for quite a while.

Then, we were awakened in camp with a medical emergency, that luckily turned out all right after about an hours time and some good work on the part of EMT's Calvin Kennedy and Barbara Anderson. Thanks to them!

Tony Zamora thought his bad luck was all done by now, but it was not to be so! His dog got ran over later that afternoon. So, if you have the opportunity please remind Tony how much fun Pony Express really is, we want him and his great horses back for next year! With all that said and done--see ya next year for more of the fun, we love it!

The 2009 Re-ride ended in Old Sacramento, California, with the arrival of mail from the Missouri River. The mail arrived at 8:00 AM, Friday, June 19th, On Time. The Last Rider was Les Bennington, NPEA National President, accompanied by Jim Swigart NPEA Vice President. They were preceded by a Color Guard of NPEA Riders carrying the American and NPEA Flags. The Riders were met at Pony Express Plaza by the public, media, and NPEA Members from California, Wyoming and Kansas. I gave some Welcoming Remarks, and Les Bennington told of the Ride and it 8 State Trip and the harsh weather conditions it endured. Les then turned the mail over to Ralph Petty, US Postal Service Customer Service Representative and two Philatelic Society Volunteers who began stamping the letters with a Special Cancellation Stamp. Later in the day the mail will be put in the Postal System and begin their world-wide distribution.

Tremendous appreciation should go to the hundreds of Riders and horses who made this On-Time delivery possible. What a great location to end the Ride, across the street from the 1860 Offices of the Pony Express Agency, a block from the Waterfront, and in the shadow of the Pony Rider Monument.

Here is my report.

I would like to start off with a special thanks to the Schellbourne Re-Riders for the job they did. They received the mail about 4 1/2 hours late. In the 140+ mile of their section they made up 3 hours. By far not in the best conditions. As always they do an excellent job. Wendy Anderson, the ride captain has them well organized. Thanks to all the Nevada Riders for an excellentjob and the support people that make this possible. The husbands, wife's and neighbors that jockey trucks and trailers for us. The mail was passed off to California about to hours behind schedule. Not bad considering the weather across this GREAT COUNTRY. See you on the trail next year for 2010. Ride safe and take pride in what we do.

The Mail Departed Stateline, Nevada, at 1:00 PM, Thursday, June 18th, approximately, 2 hrs behind Schedule. The Last Nevada Rider was Bob Moore, also the Last Ride Captain for the Nevada Division. First Rider for California, was Davey "Doc" Wiser, Placerville. Before the mail arrived he was given the Pony Express Oath, by California President and Ride Captain, Rich Tatman. The Delay in Departure made it possible for about 3 dozen people to arrive and witness the Changeover from the Nevada Division to the California Division. The Exchange is made at the Pony Rider Monument in front of Harrahs' Lake Tahoe, a colorful and scenic location for the event. At 3:10 PM, the mail Departed Slippery Ford, and was only 1 hr behind Scheduled Time.

Slippery Ford is a Crossing over slick rock on the upper South Fork of the American River. Fortunately the Ride now crosses on a manmade bridge, something the original riders did not get to do. Today, the mail arrived in California, and first the first time since leaving Missouri, travelled in sunshine, and did not get rained on. The Ride is now in the narrow Canyon of the South Fork, and will be in the El Dorado National Forest, travelling on narrow trails in an out of the trees, crossing HWY 50 occcasionally. Tonight the mail will cross the River by a pulley and cable at the Brockliss Bridge Site.

We wish the Riders a swift and safe ride. Tomorrow ....Old Sacramento and arrival in Pony Express Plaza, at the Pony Rider Monument, 2nd and J Street, at 8:00 AM. Welcom Ceremony will begin at 7:30 AM.

Last year, we used a device that transmitted the data back to our servers via satellite communications. Last year we noticed the latency in transmission of data, and the lack of "store and forward" when the device is unable to connect to the satellite meant there were too many times the position was not recieved (the sat unit would try 2 or 3 times, and if not able to connect, would cease trying. It did not store the data for later transmission. Lastly, the GPS reciever had calculated and sent a few stray points. Also, the cost of the data transmission is substantially higher than cellular.

So this year, we were instructed to use a cellular device for comparison (transmission of data was cellular...the positioning was still true GPS satellites). Overall, the cellular method normally provides MUCH better results. Below I have listed some of the reasons for using the cellular unit this year:

1. The GPS accuracy of this year's device is amazing. This unit gets GPS in situations that the other unit could not, and can even get signal indoors in many cases (though your riders probably only ride indoors while passing thru the local saloon for drive-thru refreshment!). Last year there were a few stray points (so minor that you would not have noticed, but I did).

2. Last year we saw that on occassion that the device could not communicate with the sats to send position, resulting in longer stretches that had no data.

3. Battery life is improved. Even with a smaller battery, we are able to provide more data, and a smaller footprint for the device going into the mochilla.

4. Data is stored and forwarded. As i look over the data, there are large portions where there is no communication with the cell towers, and consequently no immediate data, but since the device stores the data and transmits all archived data once it returns to coverage, there is more data available.

5. The data cost is greatly reduced. We had been asked to potentally provide as many as 500 units. That is a large data bill if we ran via sataellite, and would be unrealistic. Using cellular units, we can run that size of an event easily at a data cost that is doable. (FYI, we provided service to the Pony Express for free, but it costs us and J19 several thousand dollars).

6. We were told that we SHOULD have cellular most of the way. Which was the case up to the Salt Lake. After entering the wilderness west of Salt Lake, there was MUCH less cellular than we would like to have seen, which was very sporadic until a few hundred mile before Fallon, NV. Thereafter, it is again.

Overall, we are very pleased with the results of this trial, and have the hard data we needed for use in preparing for next year's big run 150th anniversary. It looks like next year, we will use a combo unit that will use primary cellular comm, and fallback to satellite comm if cellular is not available. It is more expensive, but we think it may be the best way to go for this big event. We now have the data to know when the units will be out of coverage, and extrapolate where it will send via satellite instead to determine total expected data costs.

There is a minor correction to your xphomestation web site description of the GPS unit. It does receive its positional data from the GPS satellites, but the pinger then TRANSMITS its location via cellphone back to the internet site this year. Last year, it did transmit its position back through a satellite link instead. They were trying a different communications link this year, using the cellphone towers. After speaking with the technical representative from the tracking company, he confirms that this is why we have been having the drop outs. They underestimated the size of the expected dead areas. The cellphone dead areas are one of the disadvantages we deal with while living in the West with lots of wilderness areas. I'll send you a copy of the email he sent as a followup to our conversation. He says his company will be evaluating the dead areas and will be making suggestions for next year's ride. He says they may come up with a hybrid unit that can do the store and dump function but still use the satellites as their communication channel instead of cellphone towers. Thanks for your time in running the web site. It has great information for both the XPers and the public.

The left Nevada at Stateline running about 2 hours behind schedule.

The rider is crossing Kingsbury Grade.

My hat is off to all riders of the " Pony ". I believe this years ride, will be remembered by many as a true test. The conditions that have hindered us along the way, only seems to remind us that riding for the Pony Express in 1860-61 was no party. This year , with the conditions endured by all, has taught me about the "METAL" our riders are made of, all a cross the trail "GREAT JOB".

This year my son Jordan, his girl friend Courtney, along with my daughter Savannah, participated. Savannah rode her horse TURBO, Jordan, Courtney, And myself all switch off on Cabio and Jr., through out the day. I am real proud of Courtney as she had never sat on a horse in her life. Nut we buddy rode with her and she did great riding Jr. who is a gentle 5 year old quarter horse. Cabio, a 15 year old Quarter horse, between Jordan and I did 24 miles of trail, and wanted more. But unfortunately, his last rider was up the Diamond Mtn. range which is the end of our section. Les Bennington, Dave Sanner, Buck Bennington, Jeremy Bennington, followed us from Schellbourne Station, to the bottom of the Diamond Mtns. But they just didn't ride, we put them to work. Willingly they jumped in to help any where they could. We even found a place for Buck & Jeremy to get a ride. Sorry it wasn't more distance. None the less it was a great help, THANKS.

I have been riding for a number of years now and have seen and experienced a variety of events along the trail in White Pine County. This years ride was no different. It has rained in Ely and surrounding area, for almost two weeks now. Mud was a problem, it was almost party time when we found dry dirt. Some of the trucks got stuck in the Alkali mud pits, and the rode up to Maverick Springs, where Mountain Station is, was a real chore, never has it been this muddy. With all of it's twists and turns, the only way up was four wheel drive, with RPM's to the max. We traveled most of the downhill's side ways. Constantly unloading horses from trailers in hopes of not getting stuck in the next mud hole. Wondering if we needed our rain coat for the next ride or not. Hoping the next valley would be dry dirt. wishing the sun would come out, yet determined to get the mail there as fast as possible. Our hole team averaged 9.18 mph over the 140 mile section. Delivering the mochilla to the next Nevada section @ 7:25 pm, only 1hr and 55minutes late. Even the rookies did a great job. My hat is off to them. The general consciences about this years ride, was that we will be talking about this one for a long time.

Great Job! SHELLBOURNE.

This was my sixth year carrying the mail, enjoyable as always, and we sure got lucky on the weather in Utah- a break from the rain we have had every day for what seems like weeks now, we enjoyed sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. What happened to global warming? Thanks to our fearless Team 2 leaders, Joe Hatch and Scott Workman, and our state leader Pat Hearty, for all their hard work.

Our team carried the mail from Murray to Simpson Springs and we really hoped we might get back some of the lost 5 hours but it wasn't to be. The good news was that the delay got us past rush hour traffic issues. The bad news is that June is peak season for road construction in Utah. And with all the development in Utah these days, especially Salt Lake and Utah counties, seems like we have to tweak the urban routes a little bit every year which can make for lost riders sometimes, especially when there are new roads from one year to the next!

I've uploaded some pictures to Photobucket, here is the link.

PS it looks like the GPS is stuck on the road to Simpson Springs and has been all day- I promise the mail is somewhere in Nevada by now! I called the GPS gurus this morning but I don't think I successfully communicated to them that the pinger seemed to be stuck in neutral.

The rider arrived at Hwy50/341 approximately 2 hours 40 minutes behind schedule.

The rider departed Dayton on the way to Carson City.

The rider departed Fort Churchill, Nevada.

A BIG thanks to you for maintaining the web site. It sure means a lot of many people.

The Sand Springs Section in Nevada had a great ride this year. We had some apprehensive thoughts about the status of our trail after/during the rains. The results are both good and bad. We were unable to cross the playa immediately west of Sand Springs Station between 8 Mile Flat and 4 Mile Flat. We had made the crossing on Memorial Day weekend and looked forward to crossing the playa with the Pony racing along the remaining stumps of the telegraph, reminiscent of the poster we've all seen-except the telegraph poles were being installed on the poster instead of just a memory as it is today. Next year, we hope to provide that picture.

Melody Johnson received the mail from Zip and Nancy Upham. Zip, Nancy and I have ridden in the desert for years. They gave me my start riding in the desert. It's GREAT to be Ride Captains of adjoining Sections. Melody Johnson passed the mochilla to her husband, Arthur Johnson. Hopefully you'll see them racing across the playa next year. Arthur then passed the mochilla to his daughter, Tasha Johnson. Rebecca Stacey and I accompanied Tasha to the Geothermal Plan at the base of Simpson Pass. Rebecca Stacy and I then took the mochilla over Simpson Pass and Tasha continued on with us. The connection at Pit Road with Tom and Sala Sherwood-great friends and awesome riders-was missed and Rebecca continued across Bass Flat. Tom and Sala caught up with her and all returned safely. The rains didn't compromise Bass Flat and the footing there was excellent. At the old Wildcat Freight Station, the mail was passed to Kathy Davis. Kathy came off the Reno Rodeo Cattle Drive for the evening to ride on the Pony. Kathy took the mail to Highway 95 where she passed off to Annette Lancaster's section. We were very lucky with the rain as most of the storms and lightening danced around us. We missed the moon a lot. Without it, it was darker than "the inside of a cow". That slowed us down and we were unable to make up any time as we had hoped.

I think I can speak for all my riders when I say that I have come to love our section. It's incredible to think of all the history that has happened here. I'm thankful that the weather was our only challenge and that we didn't have anyone stealing our horses and shooting at us. Stay tuned for next year when we will again attempt to cross the playa heading east to Sand Springs Station.

Well the Horse and Rider are at SHURZ HWY SOUTH OF Fallon NV, also Known as Carson Sink. They arrived at 11:32 pm. Making this 2 Hours !5 minutes Late.

WEATHER is threating but clear on the radar. The next section is easy to follow in the trail but 16 miles in it bushwacks 5 miles the last marking of our vechicle has been rained on and the trail markers set out are going to be hard to see as it is a moonless night ............ this year has been cloud cover and is amazing the ride has not had navigational problems ......another fine example of the decicated riders spending days to weeks riding the trail/s to find their way blindly thru their sections...well we know for sure they have the rain, nor sleet or snow, or the dark of night.....well something like that.

No politics intended, just rider safety. None of the NV folks are claiming to be electronics experts. The operation of the GPS pinger needs to be evaluated. When there are no reports from the unit for an extended period, as has happened recently, it is a moot point whether the unit is technically "broken" or just out of communications link. The result is the same to the users, i.e. no data being reported. If the goal of the pinger is saving datapoints and dumping them eventually for the afteraction record, it is definitely a great tool for tracking the "historical" progress of the rider. But, if you are trying to use it to electronically follow a rider to predict when/where to meet the rider or to ensure the horse and rider aren't down and in trouble in a remote area it doesn't help when the pinger fails to report. When we haven't heard from the pinger for an extended length of time, especially in the remote areas, we are left to wonder about the progress and safety of the rider. Just a suggestion, but after this reride is over, go back and do an analysis of the areas where the pinger lost communications. If the situation cannot be corrected by next year, ensure the riders are accompanied by a radio jeep or at least another rider in those areas, just for safety's sake. GPS/cellphones are great tools, but we have to recognize they are only tools and they each have their limitations. We need to ensure procedures are in place to keep our riders safe.

The rider arrived/departed Middle Gate, Nevada.

GOOD THING THE NV RIDERS ARE GOOD HORSE RIDERS AS THEY SURE ARENT ELECTRONIC EXPERTS. REPORTED BY THE RIDERS.AS THEY REPORTED THE PINGER WAS BROKE !!!!!!!!!! It's not as you can see and ALL BREADCUMS ARE REPORTED EVEN THROUGH THE REMOTE LOCATIONS ......CHECK IT OUT ....

Enough politics The Riders have Kicked Butt !!!!! The mail is 1.5hrs late BUT there closing in on that. The Horse and Rider are about 9 miles away from the MIDDLEGATE Station.... 4:35 PM PST

WEATHER : Yup thats the word STORM the riders are in or by the very edge of a really bad STORM although short lived. With obscred skies 15 miles ending out of Fallon.

At about 4:20 PM the GPS is showing the rider about 4 miles east of Middlegate Station.

At 4:09 PM, the GPS is showing the rider about 5 miles east of Middlegate.

OUR TEAM TOOK THE MAIL FROM SIMPSON SPRINGS TO THE NEVADA BORDER. WE HAD SOME NEW RIDERS THIS YEAR SO IT MADE OUR TRIP A LOT BETTER. IT WAS A COOL NIGHT NO MOON SO WE JUST CHARGED ON. AFTER SEEING THE REPORTS FROM ALL THE RIDERS BEFORE US I THINK WE GOT THE BEST DEAL . I COULDN'T RIDE THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF A DEATH IN THE FAMILY.....MY HORSE... SO MY SISTER AND I WERE ASSIGNED GATE DUTY. WE WENT AHEAD TO MAKE SURE THE RIDERS WERE STAGED AND TO OPEN THE GATES BY THE CATTLE GUARDS WERE OPEN AND TO MAKE REAL SURE THEY WERE LOCKED BEHIND THE RIDER. THE NEW RIDERS DID WELL AND SEEMED TO BE HAVING A GOOD TIME. I WAS REALLY SAD THAT I COULDN'T RIDE THIS YEAR BUT I HAVE TO SAY I DON'T MISS THE SORES ON MY KNEES FROM THE MOCHILLA OR THE SORE BUTT. EVEN IF I COULDN'T RIDE I LIKE TO THINK MY SISTER AND I HELPED TO MAKE IT A SAFE RIDE. I WILL BE OUT THERE NEXT YEAR.

The rider departed Cold Springs, Nevada.

The rider just left Smith Creek Ranch, Nevada.

Everyone will remember the rain, mud and cold mountain air from this year's ride, but I hope I remember how beautiful the night became after we dropped about 1000 ft down from the Wyoming border. The night cleared up and it was plenty cool, but we avoided most of the rain. The canyon roads were still slick with rain water, dew, and fog for a few hours after the storms stopped, which made for some slick riding toward Salt Lake. My faithful Pony Express horse, Sonny, had tuned up lame about two weeks before the ride, so I made my first run on snorty, jumpy caballo we nicknamed Bronco Brown. We rode just outside Hennifer, UT sometime in the wee hours of the morning. The horse did great, especially since he was pulled from the pasture just three days before the ride. I was thankful both mochilla and rider got on and got down the road without incident, and you never know what to expect from a green horse they call Bronco (our last ride began with him bucking up the side of a mountain and landing me in a giant cedar tree, somehow shooting one boot off my foot like a rocket, much to the amusement of my brother, Gregg). My second ride came later, after the sun was up, from 900 south 1300 East in Salt Lake City, down the bill hill to State Street. Fred Leslie was nice enough to lend me his horse, Snipper, who had Easyboots on the front feet. For those of you familiar with Salt Lake, it's a steep descent down into the valley. We had to go slower than I would have liked to avoid slipping on the pavement, but again we made it safely through the city to the next rider. Thanks to all involved for another great re-ride.

Reporting Pinger is alive !!!!!!!!! And marking the trail.

On the trail, AGAIN the pinger did what it was made to to it went off the air in the weak signal ares but we never could have emagined DUGAWAY UT THRU ASTIN NV....BUT the pinger was receiving data, and saved ALL THE DATA POINTS WHEN IT GOT SOLID SIGNAL !!!!!!!!!! The severs have downloaded the pinger and you can reveiw all breadcums back to salt lake. USE HISTORY PAGE AND PUT IN THE DATE 06/15/09 IT WILL THEN SHOW YOU AFTER HITTING THE TAB THE RECORD OF THE RERIDE.

Currentley the Horse and Rider are 13 mph west of Austin NV.... we calculate 1:30 minutes behind. The phones are ringing off the hook here with Capt's and Riders Statigizing there movements to day and tonite the reassignments of Exchanges and lenghts a Rider will go..........Back up equiptment and Logistics, Truck and Trailer assignments..... AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A RIDER THOUGH THE DESERT.

Weather yup we have light to medium Rains ahead of the horse on Radar 10 miles east of Fallon NV is good skies.

The rider is at Immigrant Pass just north of Austin, Nevada, running about 1 1/2 hours behind schedule..

From Barker Ranch to Ibapah in 28 hrs and 7 minutes.

Each of the divisions so far have had their tales to tell their grandchildren. Rain, mud, slow riding and other vexations from the Hydra. So much for getting through Salt Lake City while the city was still asleep. The Utah Division's first team, captained by Dean Atkin and Pat Hearty, started their ride at one in the morning, being passed the mochila from the Wyoming riders at Barker Ranch. We had an advance scout parked at Fort Bridger, Wyoming to provide us a heads up. When the mochila passed through at 7:45 PM MDT we knew that five hours later we could expect it's arrival. We also know that our radio communications were up and ready to respond. When the Emergency Command Center received the communication from Fort Bridger, the information was passed on to a grateful Pat Hearty. During the afternoon the day before, the spotted rain cells passed through on their way to Wyoming. That was one great break allowing the ride captains to not have to contend with liquid manna for our parched land. Riders were also fortunate to find the trails passable allowing horse and trailers to work in harmony. The GPS system has provided great tactical information during this years re-ride. But more about that later.

One of the most narrow and twisted parts of the trail starts at Bauchmann Station and straightens out at "This is the Place Monument". State Highway 65 traverses the trail mostly blazed by a small group of emigrants that numbered 87 people and 23 wagons. The Reed-Donner's passed into history with as much impact on the American psyche as the pony express that was later to follow. Little passing room is afforded on this 21 and a half mile section of road. Today this is a most pleasant drive on smooth blacktop by a hundred horse power conveyance with climate control. Without trying too hard one can see for themselves the terrain that becomes part of our heritage in the westward expansion. Often times this section is traversed during dark hours, which has led to mishaps in the past for re-riders. This year the horse and riders arrived at Bauchmann Station at 5:50 AM MDT. The original plan called for the mochila to be past Murry Park at this hour. Some 32 and a half miles away through the heart of Salt Lake County lay the destination of Murry Park and the change of ride captains. Arriving at "This is the Place Monument" the time was 8:45 AM MDT. Taking three hours and five minutes to pass through the distance previously mentioned between the two station points. That works out to be nearly 6.7 mi/hr. Make no mistake about it, both horse and riders are working to keep that pace.

Vision this. It is almost nine o'clock in the morning just on the outskirts of Salt Lake City. Downtown is only four miles away by line of sight from the monument. And your sight will see downtown from this location. Most commuters travel south to north this time of day and the mochila is headed straight south. One would think this would be easier being on the other side of the traffic. Don't you believe it. What a miserable time the riders reported in handling their horses and hauling rigs. You know what is meant if you will envision the entourage that typical follows the mochila. But talk about public exposure! It is known for a fact that people upon seeing the horse and rider trotting down the street called others to talk of the experience. How often was that repeated? If one can look on the sunny side of the experience, what great training for the 2010 Re-ride. From the monument the mochila works it's way westward on Sunnyside Avenue before heading south.

Then the real traffic begins as the trail turns south. Figure ten miles from "This is the Place Monument" to Murry Park. That was a one hour and twenty minute stretch of the trail. Oh the traffic lights, oh the right turns of the commuters. Don't drivers understand that horses and automobiles do not mix. The rider keeps their eye on the goal and thinks of next year. At Murry Park the previous ride captains turn over the mochila to the next set of ride captains. This year Joe Hatch and Scott Workman shepherd the mochila from the park to Simpson Springs. Their ordeal through traffic lasted from the park to Redwood Road and state highway 73. A distance of 24.8 miles ridden in three hours and ten minutes at over seven miles per hour. After that the country spreads out through rolling hill and hamlets. After Camp Floyd, modern day Fairfield City, comes the open country of Utah's West Desert. The weather continues to hold clear and sunny with moderate temperatures. That means that there has been time for the trail to dry and a lot of it parallels county maintained dirt roads.

Camp Floyd is a pleasant place, but no time to experience it this year. Must push on. The mochila should have passed the camp five and a half hours ago. Yet taking into account the ordeal that was experience through Nebraska and Wyoming, the re-ride is within a half hour of what it normally takes to move through the Utah Division to this point. This year the tactical information provided by the GPS joined with APRS used by some volunteer radio operators shadowing the event as well as a re-calculating spreadsheet allowed very close projections of arrival times at the various pony express stations along the trail. This knowledge provided the ability of everyone involved to participate with good enough information to make plans with. Nevada Division riders knew enough to go to bed and get some rest while waiting for their turn. Did the station master of yore wish for such knowledge?

About three and a half miles NNE of Simpson Springs, the GPS tracker stopped updating any further reports. Nothing has been heard as to the cause. About ten miles before that the APRS, Automatic Packet Reporting System, went out of range of the area digipeaters. Cellphones could not be heard. That left the amateur radio operator with only voice communications to the outside world. Their service is applauded by the Utah Division re-riders.

At 7:40 PM MDT Simpson Springs is behind the mochila, which is franticly working its way to Ibapah. From here on out everybody is on their own. No more homes, no more convince stores. Even the RV riders are shutting down for the day. The journey becomes a push to continue to make it to the Division change point. People are putting in long hours and it now becomes a matter of getting the job done. This section of the trail through the Utah Division is captained by Dave Reit and Jack Rhodes. Those left behind get rested and find friends and start a party. The rest point their horses nose and truck grills due west. It is on to Ibapah.

Horse feed, lots of money per ton. Truck and horse trailer the haul a horse around so they do not have to walk, even more money. Count the gas in there also. Now about $2.50/gal. Losing one wallet in the West Desert, #$!@%#$!. Of course, if found, please return. Some archaeologist might find it two hundred years from now and wonder why Pony Express riders needed a state license.

Tuesday morning at 5:00 AM MDT the anxious riders from Nevada are in sight. Since it was expected for the mochila to arrive five hours earlier, people are feeling a sigh of relief to know that they have done their part to make 2009 a successful year for the re-ride. Now it is just a little bit further before the mochila gets passed on. A hundred yards, fifty yards, Nevada and Utah riders are coming together. The rider can see the next horse ready to go.

The fresh horse is prancing about, pulling on it's reins. Now people are gathering around to help with the change over. The glare of the headlight lights the way for the last ten yards to the change point. Everyone is primed to jump into action. The rider now pulls the horse to a halt and many hands remove the mochila and place it upon the fresh mount. The next rider is now headed to Shellbourne and the time is 5:07 AM MDT.

The rider is in Ruby Valley, Nevada.

The rider is on Butte Mountain, Nevada, headed for Long Valley making up lost time.

We can't seem to make up any time in Utah. We received the mail from Wyoming almost 5 hours late, and I surely don't fault them. The mud on their rigs told the story of where they had been. We delivered the mail to Nevada about 5 hours late despite good weather and roads. We did deal with a lot of road construction, and had a couple of near-catastrophes, but all came through alright.

Our family brings 6 riders: myself, sons Matt, Jeff and Gregg, daughter Kellie, and Jeff's wife Halie, and Linda comes along to take care of the worrying. All of our veteran re-ride horses are out of action, so we came with 4 rookies, Pancho, Brandi, Button, and Gunner. The last is a loaner from Juab County. Not much to look at, but plenty of gas. We were pretty nervous about a couple of them, especially Pancho who we were worried about getting the mochila on at all. But they all did very well, learning about the mochila (which is an exceptionally comfortable one), running in the dark, freeways, traffic, trains, etc. I couldn't be more proud of horses or riders. Regret is that we didn't have more time with Dave and Les and the boys. It's kind of an amazing thing that we do.

Thanks, Tom, for providing a forum, and to all of the riders, horses, and support crews who make it work.

The rider is at Cherry Creek, Nevada.

June 14, 2009

This was our eighth year carrying the mail. We should have had a morning ride, but the mail was running about 5 hours behind due to the storms. We love the GPS tracking since this enabled us to know how far behind the mail actually was and to be able to plan accordingly. Our turn to carry the mail came at 3:45 pm MDT. We got lucky, the storms had all blown through and it was a pleasant afternoon, about 50 degrees with a light breeze. I was riding my Wyoming Mustang, Bullseye, for the 6th year and my husband was riding his Quarter Horse, Dark Moon Rising (Giraffe), for the 3rd year. Giraffe tends to be a pretty calm horse and today was no exception. He stood calmly while the Pony ran in, the Mochilla was placed on his back, but took off as soon as John hit the saddle. We had a few tense moments but then both horses straightened up and we had a great ride. On the ride back to the horse trailer, I asked my husband what had happened, why Giraffe had taken off like he did; I thought Giraffe had gotten scared and panicked with all the commotion. John informed me that Giraffe had not panicked, he just seemed to know it was time to run. So he did. Can't wait for next year. Wishing everyone a safe, swift ride.

PS Love the updates you give Joe!

Here are some more photos from Wyoming.

The rider is at Shellbourne Ranch, Nevada, running about 3 hours 15 minutes behind schedule.

The 2009 reride started out late. However our group toke this time to enjoy a family picnic and social while we waited for the mail. Kathy Atkinson was the first rider out riding her mare Sioux Zee. She was celebrating receiving her 15th year patch and was accompanied by her husband riding his 28th year. Beth Mikesell received her 20th year patch, riding her horse Pepper, making her one of the first women to get this honor. Bob Liechty riding his horse Abby also received his 20 year patch.

The road and trails were wet and muddy making riding very tough going.

Storms were all around us but only a couple of riders got wet. All riders rode there hardest and we delivered the mail to utah at the state line at 12:50 a.m. One of our riders, Kristy Roden, was making her ride near Fort Bridger. A gust of wind blew her hat off with her stampede string hooking her diamond stud ear ring and loosing it. In true rider fashion she keep gong hoping to make up some time and keep the mail going, the earrings were a gift for mothers day. The next day she went to were her 2 mile ride was and found the earring. Wow.

The rider is at Rock Springs Pass, Nevada, running about 4 1/2 hours behind schedule.

The Mochila crossed over from Wyoming into Utah at Barker Ranch at 1:00 AM MDT this morning. For the rest of the night they had clear weather.

At Murry Park there was a trail captain change off. Joe Hatch and Scott Workman took over from Dean Atkin and Pat Hearty, who had brought the Mochila from the Barker Ranch. The arrival occurred at 10:05 AM MDT this morning. With a temperature of about 65 degrees and partially cloudy skies, the hand off went fast and the horses moved smartly right along.

The crossing from the east side to the west side of Interstate 15 occurred at about 8000 South. The riders made a wrong turn and got off course in the south part of the Salt Lake valley. They had to do some back tracking. It looks from the maps that they actually went through a residential area so they probably gave a thrill to some kids in that area if they saw them. Traffic is getting busier at their current location.

Projected arrival at Camp Floyd, ( Fairfield ) should occur about 2:45 PM MDT this afternoon.

The GPS tracking is being viewed in the Emergency Command Center in Clearfield, providing the net control operators with a nice visual of the pony locations. This with the frequent field reports is allowing a good picture of the progress of the Mochila through Salt Lake.

Going through Salt Lake City at this time of day is allowing a great number of people to see the riders and their horses. A few people have gotten a hold of us to express their amazement of the re-ride activity.

Current report has the Mochila moving through Lehi City. The current time is 12:14 PM MDT.

It's Morning and the weather looks good.....so far in UT. But the DAY AINT OVER NOW IS IT !!! The Horse and Rider are in Salt Lake. But the overall time is 4 hrs behind, from STORMS from WY all the way back to St Joseph MO.

Singer Jim Morrison wrote a song, RIDERS ON THE STORM a few years back of the PONY EXPRESS, it says it all.

Thanks to Gary Lancaster, President of the Colorado Division and all those members and riders who supported the rainy ride this year on Thursday June 11-12.

Here is a picture of Rick Taylor who rode his Palomino mare Sugar for the Colorado Division. He rode a mile just south of the visitor center at Julesburg Thurs night in the rain and mud on the river road.

Hope the weather has improved as we had down pouring rain before, during and after the scheduled ride.

Congratulations to all who have ridden and best luck to all who still have a mile to turn.

Our advance observers reported that the mochila went through Ft. Bridger at this time; Sunday 7:45 PM MDT. The weather has made it slow going for the riders causing a significant delay. Speeds can be measured by a good walking person with occasional sprints to riding speeds.

The observers reported also that the riders will be headed into a another storm. Most likely the one that pasted through Clearfield late afternoon.

The Utah division is anxious to get their turn.

The emergency communications command center has been manned since 6:00 PM MDT. Reports are starting to come in from the field.

Trail Report for Paxton-to-Big Springs, Nebraska

Cool, cloudy weather for our ride this year. We received the mochila south of Paxton at 6:15pm MDT and headed west. The mail was running about 45 minutes behind schedule. Riders this year were Kenny Nelson riding Stubby and Sisco, Bill Timmons riding Badger, Dale Duis riding Dodger, Marsha Duis riding Dutchess, Russell Knight riding Lint, Mary Dale Ness riding SC, Lorie O'Neil riding Casper and I rode HC. We made a smooth ride, hoping rain would hold off. It pretty much did until about Brule, then became steady on to Big Springs. The roads held up so nobody got stuck. Always a positive thing!!! We arrived south of Big Springs running about an hour behind schedule. We rode steady and safe, a good ride.

The Casper group carried the mochilla 145 miles yesterday. We had the pleasure of hosting a news reporter from The Metro Newspaper in London, England. He was able to carry the mail into the Trails Center as well as into Independence Rock. The day started out great weather-wise, and luckily we dodged some major thunderstorms around 8 pm that night. There were some really muddy spots on the dirt roads that tried to suck in a couple of trucks and horse trailers, but chaining up got us out. Jay Jensen, our ride captain, was able to ride along a section of the old Oregon Trail on the Sun Ranch by Split Rock, first time ever. He spooked 10 head of elk along his ride. I was able to carry the mail near Jeffrey City -- it was twilight, the air chilly, with a slight breeze. Awesome ride, and Blue did great. Can't wait for the 150th anniversary ride next year!!!

Just got an update via ham radio, and the GPS is 2 hours behind on tracking, right now. The Pony Express rider is on Hiway 220 south of Alcova, Pathfinder and Seminoe Reservoir's and is about 3 miles north of Independence Rock, as of this posting. Looks like they are on time, and will make the Martin's Cove on schedule, and then on to Jeffrey City, WY. on time. They are facing some back trails and some threatening thunderstorms on the next leg to Jeffrey City.

Maybe we can get a group purchase on flat bottom boats and small outboards. The pinger is working fine when the Horse and Rider submerge the Pinger will do load data WE DID NOT LOSE DATA. We buiilt a chip set in the package to allow for troubled signal areas so. It will do load when it can. And yes the weather is STORMING, with more serve STORMS ahead.for WY THIS VERY MOMENT NV IS GETTING A GULLY WASHER AGAIN......MAYBE A START OF THE GREAT NV PLAINS FOREST AGAIN !!!!!

I CAN ONLY HOPE. For those that like the enviromental stuff I can report that the desert here is alive as the mice and gophers are out of the borrows, the snakes are also and enjoying the mice and gophers they are everywhere right now......be careful.

Here are Donnie's photos.

Another fun time has come and gone till next year.George Branscom's Platte/Goshen Counties bunch received the mochilla from Nebraska at the WY/NE stateline (Henry,NE) at about 3pm on Friday June 12th.Tom West was the first rider for Wyoming.My Dad, Morris Norvell-N5WGX,from Douglas,helped keep track of the rider by VHF Ham Radio.Dad kept in contact with me as he followed along,and fellow rider, Carl Bevier who also has an amateur radio license.

Dan Cole and I carpooled most of the way again this year.We met at a rest area outside of Guernsey.He even actually was able to ride this year.Last year was his first year as a member,but injuries prevented him from actually riding last year,but he was able to still drive.This year he was able to ride a 1.5 mile stretch through the town of Fort Laramie.We also met the mail for my two stretches outside of Torrington and between Ft. Laramie and Guernsey.

This year we were able to ride into the old Fort Laramie.There was a crowd of spectators and cameras waiting for us to go through.Vicki Hood gave a talk to the crowd as Nate Huyser(I think I spelled his name right),brought the mail in,and Carl Bevier's grand daughter Sheryl,literally FLEW out of the fort.Dan and I had to scramble to keep up so we could pick up the mochilla from George Branscom on my second stretch.

We followed through Guernsey,and Dan was needing to take off.We went to pick up my truck and trailer at the rest stop outside of Guernsey and headed for Glendo for dinner.Dan and I swapped my Pryor Mountain Mustang mare Maggie and my gear to my rig,and Dan headed for home.I stayed in Glendo and waited on the mail to show up with my parents.The mail made it to Glendo about midnight to Dick Garrison's Douglas bunch.I hung around to let George stamp my Bible and give me my ride pin.Also downloaded the pictures off my camera onto Alise Schwab's laptop.After that I caught up to Dick Garrison's group on the back to Douglas.I follwed them a short ways and then left to set up on the west side of Douglas to meet them for an extra 1.5 mile stretch.They finally met me about 3:45 am.I finished that and went and unloaded my horse and was in bed at about 5am.

The weather did cooperate some.The day started off rainy,but the sun finally came out late in the afternoon.Had a lil' bit of rain at the very beginning,but it cleared up and the temperatures were fairly mild.Everybody had fun and the horses did good.

Horse and Rider are 5 miles west of Casper WY. Thats the good news ......Now for the BAD a STORM IS A WAITING TO .. AH to make the re-ride more inviting !!!!!! It awaits looming by RIVERTON AND LANDER with another STORM just below the trail and parrel for 50 miles or more.

We picked up the mail at Henry, NE at 2:30 Friday PM. We had a very successful ride. The weather really cooperated, but there was no moon. Traffic was our biggest problem until we got to Fort Laramie. Vicki Hood went to the Fort and did a presentation for the visitors there before the mail arrive. A mail exchange was done at the Fort.

The mail arrived in Glendo about 12:15 AM Saturday. We had supper at Micke's before going home. The horses were ready to rest.

Well the Horse and Rider are out there on the trail. At the time of this report the horse is at rest or it is a Mochila exchange, It sure isn't anything else out there.THEY ARE MISSING A STORM WEST FOR THE HORSE AT THIS TIME.

From all appearances, the Pony Express rider arrived in Wyoming on Schedule around 2:00 p.m. MDT, and at the time of this report is almost to Ft. Laramie, WY. Looks like they are on schedule and will make the exchange at Glendo, WY. on time.

RAIN continues maybe later today there's relief but formations over the trail are threatening.

Currentely the Horse and Rider are closing in on Lingle WY. The rider is making look good !! and is doing 12 mph.

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman has declared a state of emergency in response to severe spring storms that started June 5 and continued through the night of June 10.

Those storms produced high winds, heavy rain, flooding, and hail in central and western Nebraska.

NE continues to ride thru the worst conditions this year but it is a little sun shine currentely that will cheer them on !!!!!

Currently the Horse and Rider are east of Scottsbluff NE, and traveling 10 mph. NE has continued to make QUICK MOCHILLA EXCHANGES.

I'm going to sit out at my home station, where I have VHF/UHF capabilities, that I can communicate with Casper, WY., a link system that covers from Muddy Gap to Lander, WY., and I can hit a repeater across the mountain at LaBarge, WY. Plus, my full blown home H.F. w/all bands and wireless internet access via computer. So, in communication with Donnie Norvel-KD7HQM in Douglas, I can pretty much stay in touch with ham radio operators from Casper to Independence Rock/Martin's Cove, all the way across to South Pass, and then, over the top of South Pass through Farsen to at least Green River, WY.

So, hopefully, all goes well, I will be relaying info to you, when I can get it. I'll be on 7.260 on 40 meters all day, and 3.923.5 on 80 meters in the evening.

Thanks,

Paul-KB7FGN

Horse and rider is currentely, well West of Brute NE and 3/4 way but east of Big Springs NE Problem ahead !!!!!!! YUP another STORM just ahead another 50 to 70 miles off the nose of the horse and rider..........Good Luck NE Riders. They have been avg 1 minute exchanges or less and moving 12 to 15 mile per hour on long distances.

.

NE riders continue their merits job, and the cloths must be dry for now!
The horse and rider is just west of Paxton NE.

The Horse and Rider are Southwest of North Platte, NE. With the storms and all have done a fastastic job of it thru the weather....maybe the rest of the trails can be a dry trip. NICE JOB NE RIDERS.

We got the mail South of Overton, Nebraska at 4 am this morning and with a wet and soggy (and tired) ride we reached our destination South of Cozad at 7:30 am and we had 30 minutes of extra time. The City of Cozad, Nebraska put on a nice breakfast for us at 8 am this morning at the city park. We let four of our newest and youngest members take in the mail together.

All told we had 6 new riders this year and the kids had a great time making up for us "older" riders. We also had Quackgrass as an extra rider this year.

The next trail captain took the mail and at 11 am they just were leaving the xp station at the 96 ranch South of Gothenburg, Nebraska.

I hope everyone has a fun ride and I think you will really enjoy the mochilla; it rides like it isn't even there.

Good Morning Tom,
Ken's group had a very nice uneventful ride early (1:30 - 4:30 a.m.) Wednesday morning (June 10). It was chilly, which was great for the horses and riders. They brought the mail into Marysville where they were treated to cinnamon rolls and juice. It started to mist very heavy as we drove home.
At 10:00 a.m Wed. morning, we attended the dedication of the 'new' Lifetile murals of the Pony Express and the Union Pacific Railroad at Heritage Park in Marysville.
Here is an update on the Lifetile murals in Marysville. From WIBW 13 - CBS and the Marysville Advocate
Thanks Tom for all you do.
Arleta

XP REPORT june 10th 2009 8:25 PDT

postion : Just West of Kenesaw NE, heading West ( I hope) to Kearny NE......the NE Crews are doing it still 11 to 15 mph !!! Great Job.

weather : the Bad News the storm refuses to move in a formal direction, The core of the storm cell/s are right where the XP is traveling.

Weather, Looks like a Strom Headwall 4 hours ahead for the Horse and Rider and the storm messures approx. 150 miles thru as it covers south west NE, and north east CO. STORM MOVING TO WEST AT THIS TIME INTENISITY IS WEAKING.

The Horse and Rider are just west a few mile from Faifeild NE on Rd K. since 12 am last nite the KS and NE riders have put on so far 190.21 miles of trail TODAY AND STILL PICKING UP AND PUTTING THEM DOWN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Rider is at 140th cty rd and west of hyw 75. KS

The Rider is conitnuing on hyw 20, westof Jackrabbit Rd, KS at 12mph Way to go Kansas !!!!!!

The riders are proforming very well currentley on Hyw 20/cty rd 137 just east of 120th street KS.

reporting PINGER IS LVE and LOADED.
Best of Luck and be safe out there !!!!!!!!!!