Below was a diary that we kept up while on the trail Check back often - we might have some other long trail rides coming up in the future!!
September 1....
I was just interviewed by the NBC
Affiliate here in Williston, North Dakota and now we are saddling up to
ride out. We will be moving our camp to Crosby, North Dakota at a rodeo
campground. This will be our final camp site on this trip.
Since
there is no place to stay between Crosby and the Canadian border, we
will ride 16 miles North, then at the end of the day shuttle our riders
back to camp at Crosby for the night. As we approach the final miles,
we wanted our riders to enjoy the unusual luxury of “electricity” for
the evening before venturing on. The following morning we will shuttle
our riders back to the last stopping point to continue on North from
there.
Some of our riders were particularly impressed by South
Dakota and its people, and and asked for a return “reunion” trip to the
state. We just might do that.
At the beginning of this journey,
Pat and I said that this trip was going to be the “granddaddy of all
our trail rides”, and it sure has turned out to be exactly that.”
- Tom
August 24....
Due to the Little Missouri River conditions, we will be unable to cross it on horseback. To drive around on the closest road will be over 100 miles each direction. Therefore, we will leave the Maah Daah Hey Trail along the Missouri (where we are camped) and make a new trail riding route along the river banks to the south to a point where I can turn north (as it flows that way in this area) and head to a town called Alexander by Thursday. We will rest Friday and head to Williston on Saturday.
This change of plan will add a bit more adventure but will also shorten the ride by one or two days. I will save those days for changing weather, if needed. I will make sure we are safe but on time or ahead of schedule.
We are riding on land that was once owned by Roosevelt called Elkhorn Ranch today and it’s owner is riding with us.
Today I was on a hill overlooking the Little Missouri River just along the Maah Daah Hey Trail. The scenery is so beautiful.
As we begin to approach the end of this journey, I can truly say that the ride has gone extremely well. Virtually everyone who began with us is still here.
Every rider that wanted to ride every step did so. Some of our riders stayed and are staying in their stock trailers and camping. Some chose to ride just for a week or so. Some arranged to go for the whole thing. Some had two horses and switched back and forth to accomplish this goal.
We had a couple of riders and their spouses leave because of health issues but they were able to ride to the 1,000 mile mark. Another could not complete the whole trip because of personal and business reasons.
Our Mexico to Canada Trail Ride may seem daunting but it was designed for people to "live their dream of seeing America by horseback", at any income level, and virtually any level of riding ability. Age is not necessarily a barrier as confirmed by our 88 years young core rider, Nate Brown.
I'm proud of all of our riders on this journey and grateful to be able to help fulfill an American dream for these folks”
- Tom
August 17...
Friday night we were hosted by the town of Marmarth. Aside from the welcome, they had a fantastic dinner, a welcome by the Office of Tourism for North Dakota, a local historian spoke and a representative from the Maah Daah Hey Trail spoke who will be taking us "home" to the border.
The city voted and paid for the meal and (quite unusual for a town) invited every citizen to also be a guest at city expense. Even though the town is small, it was quite a neat deal for their government to serve so well. Afterwards, the town opened the famous Mystic Theater were Del Shields performed for the town, free of charge.
Also that evening, we had the priveledge of hearing from the gentleman who discovered the largest complete dinasour remains, complete with some skin still on it. Not only did he open his museum for us at no charge, he gave us all quite an interesting tour! His dinasour is currently on loan to the Japenese and is the subject of a National Geographic show. They gave him a large enough grant to build his museum and have spent over one million dollars to date preserving and working on the dinasour. He has also discovered three full skeletons, including a new species never before known! What is really surprising is this....he is a modern day "Indiana Jones" but thinks that our Mexico to Canada Trail Ride and what I do is fascinating! As a surprise, he invited us to see where he thinks there may be another skeleton that has not been unearthed. We were as remote as any place I've ever been. As we sat there and talked about our childhoods. He is only 26 years old!! He found is first dinasour when he was only in the 10th grade.
Thank you again for your hospitality, it was very much appreciated by our riders!
What a great day!
--Tom
August 6...
The City of Belle Fourche and the South Dakota Department of Tourism hosted our group with a wonderful welcome reception and dinner on Tuesday evening, complete with homemade ice cream for dessert! At this welcome reception at the rodeo grounds we were welcomed by the Mayor and entertained by Del Shields around the bonfire. What a nice welcome into their town, we feel very "at home" by their hospitality!
On Wednesday, we were honored and officially welcomed to South Dakota at the Center of the Nation Memorial site by Lt. Governor Dennis Daugaard. Again, what an honor and privilege for our group to be recognized and welcomed in a such a way! Greetings and wishes of good were and are being extended to all our riders for the accomplishment of this historic ride. We are happy that our route takes us through South Dakota and are truly enjoying our time here and we thank the residents of South Dakota as well as the Tourism Dept. for making this a very pleasurable time during our journey.
Hi all! Lots of exciting stuff happening on the trail. Tonight, we will be staying in Spearfish, SD, then heading out to Belle Fourche, SD.
A great moment for me in Deadwood, SD yesterday was when "friends of the Chippewa" Native Americans presented me with a gift of a warrior's coup stick, which took him 2 years to make! Then performed a blessing over our ride in their Native American language.
Coup sticks were part of a battle practice of Native Americans of the Great Plains. A nonviolent demonstration of bravery, it consisted of touching an enemy warrior with the hand or with a coup stick, then running away unharmed. Risk of injury or death was involved, should the other warrior respond violently. I was so humbled and honored to receive it.
As of today, we have ridden 1575 miles on this Mexico to Canada Trail Ride. In all, our Best of America crew and friends have ridden 118,614.1 miles as of this moment. We've seen so much of the raw beauty of America, so much yet to see.
What a great bunch of folks and many new friends have joined us on this ride. Riders from 41 American states have been represented on this ride. Our goal is to have a rider from every state join us by the time we reach the US/Canada border. Other countries represented on this ride have been: Australia, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, France, Mexico and Canada.
Thanks to those friends who have sent us well wishes for our journey. Your good thoughts are much appreciated.
--Tom
July 24...
We are staying in Custer, SD this weekend and have been invited to join in the Annual Gold Discovery Days parade---what an honor! We are looking forward to a nice "rest" weekend here in Custer and to see this beautiful town!
We will be riding towards Deadwood, SD next weekend where we are looking forward to seeing more of this historic town.
We are truly enjoying ourselves and all the riders that have and are riding with us! We can't believe how quickly this adventure has gone by!
June 30....
HOWDY! We are riding through the prairie on the historic Texas to Montana cattle trail. This trail was used ages ago to drive cattle across this great nation. We are riding in the footpaths of the cattle - there are no actual roads. Most of the trail is paved over, but the portions that we are riding on
have been preserved by true American ranchers in remote locations who
have made their living off this great land. This trail wanders through
some of the most pristine historic places in America.We are watering the horses at the springs that were originally used by the cattle and sometimes find ourselves in rutted out sections of the trail. There are no buildings, cars, roads, people or traffic as far as the eye can see. This is truly THE BEST OF AMERICA.
-Tom Seay
June 18... GREETINGS FROM THE LAST GREAT TRAIL RIDING ADVENTURE!
We are riding on the Santa Fe trail headed due east of Denver Colorado. We still have all the riders that started out with us and are so pleased to report that. We are also on-time and on-schedule. We've all been overwhelmed with the local rancher guidance and kindness that they've shown this wonderful group. The hospitality of the towns that we've passed through have touched us all. This great country is home to the most wonderful, kind and humble people in the world. Things are going so well and we would LOVE FOR YOU TO COME AND RIDE WITH US! Give us a call if you are interested - 540-829-9555. Thanks for reading and happy trails! -Tom and the gang
June 9.... Greetings from the trail! We are fast approaching La Junta, Colorado with our heads and tails held high! We are on-time and on-schedule. There have been no accidents and all the horses are in wonderful shape. (There riders are doing just fine too!)
On Friday around 2:00 or 2:30, the group will be achieving our 100,000 mile mark. This is the total number of miles ridden by our fans, friends, and trail-club members since the beginning of Best of America by Horseback first aired on RFD-TV. WAY TO GO!!! There will be a parade and some patriotic events happening on Sunday and mid-week next week, Crowley County will be hosting a breakfast for the group. 100% of all riders that started this trip are still with us and we are just so proud to have them all. The back country of this great nation is beautiful and we've been fortunate to be on ranch lands and farm roads most of the way.
Be sure to watch our regularly scheduled shows on RFD-TV to catch glimpses from the trail. We are airing 2 minute clips of our days out here on this amazing adventure.
We are starting to work with North Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada for our arrival and the "End of Trail" ceremonies. I expect there will be much emotion and elation for everyone involved. We have many more events and appearances scheduled between now and then, so ya'll be sure to check back often and catch us coming through your town!
Thanks so much and take care! From the Trail - Tom and the gang
May 27...... Today the Mexico to Canada Trail Ride crossed the 500 mile mark on the other side of Wagon Mound, New Mexico. We rode the historic and authentic Santa Fe Trail. 100% of all the riders who started this journey are still with us and we are not only on time, but ahead of schedule! We have moved from the desert to North New Mexico where we have views of snow-capped mountains as we start riding across the prairie. "This is the most incredible group that we have ever assembled. Coming from 24 states, they have become one family. We are encouraging and welcoming riders from anywhere and everywhere to come and join us for a few days or as long as they wish." - Tom Seay
May 9....
Hello! We've just finished crossing the White Sands Desert and we are now headed north towards Moriarty, New Mexico. The winds are about 30/35mph and it's very dry and dusty here. Everyone is great spirits and all the horses are excellent! We've spent the past 3 nights under the stars and plan to do the same tonight. As a special treat to all our riders, we had Kyles Crawfish flown into the desert for dinner. We had an authentic Southern Crawfish Boil for dinner and it was excellent! Thanks to Bobby Horton for hosting this event. We are going to ride 17.5 miles today -- 507 total miles for the group today! Overall, it is an overwhelming experience and I would not trade it for anything. The Best of America Team is fast approaching it's 90,000 mileage mark. What an accomplishment. We still have openings to become an adventure rider and we would love to have you join us! Call 540-829-9555. Stay tuned for more updates and we hope to see you on the trail! Tom and the gang
Best of America by Horseback
®
Headquarters: Leatherwood Mountains 512 Meadow Rd. Ferguson, NC 28624 Toll free: 877.736.8686 General Info & Ride Sign-Ups Virginia Office: 17275 Germanna Hwy., Culpeper, VA 22701 Phone: 540.829.9555 General Info, Sponsorship or MCTR Texas Office: 600 Ash St. Plainview, TX 79072 Phone: 806.293.3711 For Sponsorship Fax: 540-301-0217 info@bestofamericabyhorseback.com
