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Step into a weekend where wagon wheels still sing and history breathes. We sit down with Terry from Thermopolis, Wyoming, to unveil Trailblazer Days—a living celebration built around 16 Mule Johnson, the freighter who helped shape the town’s famously wide streets. From the first note of a Dave Stamey concert to the last waltz at a dessert dance, this is a full-scale revival of Western craft, community, and courage.

We map the whole journey: a championship chuck wagon dinner with crews who cook like the old days, emceed by cowboy poet and broadcaster Andy Nelson. Then the main event rolls out—a non-motorized parade featuring a working 16-mule jerk line hitch pulling three freight wagons and a sheep wagon, plus buggies, sheep wagons, a jail wagon, and more. At the fairgrounds, collectors and teamsters turn a “wagon show” into a hands-on classroom, trading restoration tips, harness wisdom, and stories from the road. If you’ve ever wondered how a long hitch “dances” through a tight corner, this is where muscle memory meets art.

Thermopolis adds depth far beyond pageantry. The town sits in the Bighorn Basin near Yellowstone, a last-frontier landscape that forged cattle barons, sheep queens, and outlaw lore from Hole-in-the-Wall to the pages of The Virginian. The weekend widens the lens with the museum’s milk can dinner and a Sunday dedicated to tribal history: a guided visit to Legend Rock’s petroglyphs and a bison barbecue setting the stage for the Buffalo Initiative on Wind River Reservation. It’s a living mosaic—draft horses, mules, Indigenous trails, and the communities that keep them all in view.

Parade entries are open to non-motorized rigs from across the West, and travelers will find lodging, easy access, and the world’s largest hot springs waiting. Join us as we trade algorithms for word of mouth and bring people together the old way: food, music, teams, and stories that stick. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who loves the West, and leave a review telling us what you’d bring to the parade.

Check out Trailblazer Days at the links below for more info -

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1105730274732703/

https://thermopolischamber.org/trailblazer-days-event-schedule

Call (307) 921-0800

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The reins pass from snowless sleigh rides in Colorado to wall tents in Utah’s high country, then straight onto a movie set where a good team might wait hours to hear “action.” We sit down with outfitter and wrangler Randy Melton of Flying J Outfitters to unpack what it really takes to build mule teams that outwork draft horses in the mountains and stay rock-steady under the lights of Hollywood.

Randy shares how he and his wife Alicia juggle guiding hunts in the Uinta Mountains with supplying teams, wagons, and stagecoaches to productions like Horizon and 1923. He opens up about the practical side of breeding—replacing a lost mammoth jack with a young, 16-hand prospect to throw bigger, calmer, hard-footed colts—and why draft-cross, standard-height mules make the best packers when you’re hanging panniers fast at a busy trailhead. We dive into sawbuck versus Decker saddles, double-diamond hitches, packing grain for long camps, and the quiet hero of backcountry logistics: InReach satellite texting.

The stories stretch from a four-up hitch in the Army cavalry detachment to wrangling on set with Kevin Costner and helping a nervous Leonardo DiCaprio relax into a saddle. Along the way, Randy explains why continuity can nix braided tails, why “good mules ain’t cheap and cheap mules ain’t good,” and how patience turns young stock into steady partners that appreciate the word “woe.” If you’ve ever wondered how film-ready teams are made, how outfitters keep remote camps running for weeks, or why seasoned hands choose mules over horses for heavy work, this one’s for you.

Ready to hear the grit, the gear, and the hard-won wisdom behind truly reliable teams? Hit play, subscribe for more conversations from the wagon seat, and share this episode with a friend who loves mules, mountains, or great stories. Your reviews help more folks find the show—what part grabbed you most?

Check out Randy's website - https://www.flyingjoutfitters.com/

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What does it take to ride from Utah to the Atlantic Ocean and back on two Mustangs—and finish with zero lameness? We sit down with Jake of Year of the Mustang for a raw, practical, and heartening look at a 6,000-mile journey powered by faith, preparation, and the sheer grit of two remarkable geldings. From setting a departure date years in advance to trimming pack weight down to the essentials, Jake shows how big goals get real when you put them on the calendar and break them into honest, testable steps.

We dig into the nuts and bolts that long riders and horse owners crave: how to plan routes around public lands, water, and grazing; why packing less can save your horses’ backs; and how Mustangs handle forage changes that would sideline many domestic horses. Jake shares how GPS kept navigation simple, how he shod his own horses on the road with borrowed forges, and why traffic management in the East demanded tough choices—like sending his mare home for safety. He also offers the “rule of tens” for conditioning: don’t attempt ten days if you haven’t nailed two, don’t reach for a month if you haven’t mastered a week.

The story unfolds further as we delve into Mustang genetics, adoption pathways, and the surprising range of types you’ll find across the West—including lines with draft heritage that can suit real work. There are vivid field notes too: a mountain lion standoff by a dark river, bighorn sheep, black bears, a tornado touchdown nearby, and that quiet moment of touching ocean water in New Jersey with the skyline on the horizon. Through it all, the Mustangs’ resilience stands out—healthy weight, strong feet, and steady minds under changing feed, weather, and terrain.

If you’re curious about long-distance horse travel, Mustang adoption, hoof care on the road, or how to turn a “someday” ride into a lived journey, you’ll find hard-won insights and encouragement here. Subscribe for more stories and practical takeaways, share this with a horse‑loving friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Subscribe to Jake on YouTube - | www.youtube.com/@jakeharvath

FaceBook- https://www.facebook.com/p/Year-of-the-Mustang-100095731503504/

https://yearofthemustang.com/en-usd

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