For all you mule skinners.......

[ole pizen slinger]

Festus Haggan was Matt Dillon's pard on Gunsmoke. Most times Festus rode a mule. The mule was called 'Ruth'. Ever wonder why Festus named that mule 'Ruth'? Well here's the story! Ode to a mule!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo696R-yrn8

ole pizen slinger

[JimT]

Now that there will bring a tear to yore eye ................

[Sarge]

Nothing better in steep country, but they do have a sense of humor

[Bill in Oregon]

Well hell, I don't know if I even want dinner.
My late Uncle Paul was a fine horseman but his love was mules, and I got to ride his Abigail on a Decker pack saddle with hay-bailing twine stirrups in the Eagle Cap Wilderness of far northeast Oregon many years ago. It was and remains a religious experience. This was where Justice William O. Douglas went to get away from it all. The fly-caught 8-inch brook trout fried crisply over the campfire made marvelous breakfasts. And have you ever had Tang over snow with a big splash of Canadian as a sundowner?

[BigSky56]

I am old school cowboy, I ride horses and pack mules, I won't ride anything smarter than me. danny

[Grizz]

I am old school cowboy, I ride horses and pack mules, I won't ride anything smarter than me. danny

laughed out loud, THANKS

[Griff]

After I got out of the service I learned horseshoeing at La Puente Adult High School in CA. One rancher kept a stable of mules and would bring in several to be shod at a time (usually 4). None of the other senior students would volunteer to shoe 'em. I did, and never had a lick of trouble from them. While I was doing my 3rd one day another brave soul thought he'd give it a try, seein' as I'd had no trouble. Apparently that old jennie didn't like his smell or something, cause she gave him a bit of grief. (No he didn't volunteer again)!

If you like/appreciate mules, you should plan for a week's worth of entertainment: Bishop Mule Days.

[Grizz]

Griff, if you had to pick one day, what would it be? Would love to make that one, but it may already be toooo hot for me. I've gone thru Owens Valley in the heat of summer and it is second only to D.V. for wildly oppressive heat. Gas up at the casino, and up over 8000' in about 40 minutes, where I can exhale and get some fresh air . . . But I would love to meet some mules.
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HOME_MULE.jpg

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When I was a H.S. age kid my parents loaded up a bunch of gifts for 'boy's town' and off we went. Naturally we kids circled up to the corral with the mule in it. One resident offered, "wanna rid him, or her", IDR AND of course I said "yeah!".

mr or mrs mule patiently let me onboard, then elevated the hind quarters at around a fifty degree angle and off I flew. And then mulie stood up on the hind legs for the kill shot. I must've been quicker than I am now because I saw what was coming and rolled under the corral rail when the front hooves landed on the landing spot.

A good time was had by all.
grizz

[Griff]

The few times the wife & I went we tent camped up in the mountains, frosty mornings and chilly evenings. It's some distance to drive into Bishop, but the nights were cold for us then Southern California residents. This year during the week scheduled the forecast shows daytime temps in the low 80's, while at night it'll drop into the mid-low 40's so camping closer to town might be advisable. We loved the cow working on Friday am, and while I don't see it on this year's schedule, the chuck wagon races were a total riot, but Saturday's Grand Entry with the 20 Mule Team should be witnessed in person. The mule rodeo aspects don't seem to be listed either... other'n team ropin' and steer stopping, starting on Wed.

[Grizz]

The few times the wife & I went we tent camped up in the mountains, frosty mornings and chilly evenings. It's some distance to drive into Bishop, but the nights were cold for us then Southern California residents. This year during the week scheduled the forecast shows daytime temps in the low 80's, while at night it'll drop into the mid-low 40's so camping closer to town might be advisable. We loved the cow working on Friday am, and while I don't see it on this year's schedule, the chuck wagon races were a total riot, but Saturday's Grand Entry with the 20 Mule Team should be witnessed in person. The mule rodeo aspects don't seem to be listed either... other'n team ropin' and steer stopping, starting on Wed.

Thank you! If I were to go I'd want to see the 20 mule team for sure. Are they pulling two borax wagons and a water wagon?

PS 80d puts my use by date back another ten years . . . 40d? Love it.

[Griff]

Grizz, the last time I was there was over 40 years ago... There were more wild n' wooly events back then... such as a two man wild mule packin' contest, and the chuck wagon races were also using barely broke mules... as it often turned into a wild chase for the drivers & partners racing on foot to catch their team! I don't recall the the 20 Mule Team. Either because they didn't go, or we just missed those days. They had a buckin' mule portion, (saddle of course, who in their right mind would bareback on a buckin' mule... willingly?) For us, it was a diversion from our camping/fishing trip along the back side of the Sierra's, with trips to Death Valley, the Colorado River, Yosemite, etc... Was usually the northernmost part of our week's vacation. It was among the first camping trips my wife had ever been on... many fond memories of her wonder at the world of stars in the nite sky without inference from city glow! I remember one of our first trips outside the greater LA basin, and I stopped about 11pm in the middle of the Mohave desert on our way to Death Valley, mid November, 1970, so she could see the Milky Way for the first time! She'd been talking about the stars she could see thru the windshield of my old '57 VW bug, and I just pulled over to the side, shut off the engine and turned out my lights. t'was a week before we were married and she was very reluctant to step out of the car when I told her to! She later admitted to fearing what short of weirdo was she engaged to! She was 18, had seen pictures of course, but that first stop seeing it in person was spectacular, stood there nearly speechless. Hard to believe that was over 53 years ago! Sorry for rambling on, but gosh, sure invoked a LOT memories!

[Grizz]

Grizz, the last time I was there was over 40 years ago... There were more wild n' wooly events back then... such as a two man wild mule packin' contest, and the chuck wagon races were also using barely broke mules... as it often turned into a wild chase for the drivers & partners racing on foot to catch their team! I don't recall the the 20 Mule Team. Either because they didn't go, or we just missed those days. They had a buckin' mule portion, (saddle of course, who in their right mind would bareback on a buckin' mule... willingly?) For us, it was a diversion from our camping/fishing trip along the back side of the Sierra's, with trips to Death Valley, the Colorado River, Yosemite, etc... Was usually the northernmost part of our week's vacation. It was among the first camping trips my wife had ever been on... many fond memories of her wonder at the world of stars in the nite sky without inference from city glow! I remember one of our first trips outside the greater LA basin, and I stopped about 11pm in the middle of the Mohave desert on our way to Death Valley, mid November, 1970, so she could see the Milky Way for the first time! She'd been talking about the stars she could see thru the windshield of my old '57 VW bug, and I just pulled over to the side, shut off the engine and turned out my lights. t'was a week before we were married and she was very reluctant to step out of the car when I told her to! She later admitted to fearing what short of weirdo was she engaged to! She was 18, had seen pictures of course, but that first stop seeing it in person was spectacular, stood there nearly speechless. Hard to believe that was over 53 years ago! Sorry for rambling on, but gosh, sure invoked a LOT memories!

That sounds fabulous and memories that good are worth sharing IMO. I spent a considerable time at the Borax wagon displayed in Death Valley looking at the iron work and thinking about the blacksmith team. Then I think of the trips those mules made, in the heat and the cold nights and I re-run the 20-Mule Team shot of the tv series I watched as a kid. It is something to put your hand on an iron tire and picture the work of shrinking it on. There is a replica Borax Wagon train somewhere. Lots of unanswered questions too, like where did the off-watch teamsters sleep? Or did they only travel in daylight? And did they have some horses available for hunting or dispatch riders? I haven't run across a book yet that has the details. Thanks again, I am very fond of those locations and a big fan of 395, even though it is in Ca...
grizz