For the 3rd year in a row, I joined one of the wagon trains that are associated with Mule Day in
Columbia, Tennessee. This particular wagon train crosses central Tennessee from Decaturville, Tn over to Columbia to attend the activities at the
Columbia Mule Day celebration. This was the 16th year for this group of friends to make the approximately 125 mile trip. (Note: This is a private group
and NOT the "official" Mule Day wagon train!)
My log for this year reads very similar to last year with a few overcast days and some of those truly spectacular days that can only occur in early Spring.
The daily count of wagons was from 13 to 17 wagons with from 15 to 30 outriders, depending on the weather and the day of the week. There were participants from
the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri, and, of course, Tennessee. Sunday was Easter and it was a layover day.
There was a church service on Sunday morning and although the weather looked threatening, the afternoon fish fry and group meal went off as planned.
Overall, we had fairly good weather for the trip and there was only one accident when one of the wagons suffered a brake failure and rolled backwards over the hill on one of the
steep climbs. Fortunately, with a lot of luck no one was hurt and the mules that had been pulling the wagon were fine. Once the wagon was pulled back up onto the road by the pickup
truck that accompanied us each day for the entire trip, the team was rehooked and were able to complete the remainder of the trip with no problems.
We did have some heavy rain overnight on the last day of the trip which resulted in several trailers needing to be pulled out of the overnight campsite,
but what would a trip like this be if there wasn't some mud involved. We pulled into Columbia on Thursday afternoon after 7 days of crossing several
Tennessee mountains on dirt and gravel logging roads which had almost no vehicular traffic. Along the way, Michael Cunningham had arranged for several really
nice places to stay. With over 30 horse trailers and travel trailers, etc. to park each night, finding places to camp is one of the biggest challenges of
the organizers. We moved our trailers up each morning and arrangements had been made to have a school bus meet us at each stop and take everyone back to the
camp from the previous night so we could harness up and enjoy a leisurely wagon ride to our next destination.
Just like last year, a few days of the ride were overcast which presented some challenging conditions for your photographer. I tried to capture as many
of the activities as I could. I was lucky enough this year to have my friend Lee Tucker from Cynthiana, Kentucky with his team of white mules come down
and provide me with a ride each day. To repeat what I've said the last two years, this was some of the best riding, the best scenery and the best company
of any wagon trip I get to go on each year.
Click the links below to see photos from this event!
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Slideshows * |
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* Click the link above and the slideshow will begin. |
A DVD that contains a slideshow of all of the photos displayed for this event is available for $40 plus $5 for shipping.
A calendar with selected photos from the wagon train is available for $25 plus $5 for shipping.
Individual photos can also be purchased! Contact us or click here for more information about ordering.
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