How to Get There the Old Way: Horse and Buggy Travel

In the past, and not really all that long ago, the most common means of transport was the simple low tech horse and covered wagon. This country expanded west with settlers packing all their worldly goods into a Conestoga Wagon and signing on with a Wagon Master for the journey across the Great Plains. My grand father was among those who made the journey, leaving Ohio and settling in Nebraska.

You may be thinking those days are long gone. You'd be wrong, as traveling by horse and wagon has been with us all along and will likely continue on as a primary mode of transportation for some and an interesting way to wander the country for others.

Lee, the Horse Logger, has crisscrossed the country and is headed as far north as Alaska, all with a simple covered wagon pulled by a team of horses. His solitary journey has been going on for 18 months and isn't likely to end anytime soon.

Not all of our wide country has forsaken the old reliable horse and buggy for the world of the automobile. The Amish have remained faithful to simpler transportation ever since they settled in the New World. Their crisp clean black buggies can be seen behind a single horse as they go about their daily business, the same way it's been done for hundreds of years.

Amish Communities are scattered across the country from New York to Nebraska. You'll find their Horse and Buggy's clip clopping along country roads. Carefully labeled with slow moving warning signs, they do there best to co-exist with the mechanized world.

While traveling out west in open stretches of desert highway you may come across an old prospector who's been seen traveling along on the frontage roads. Just him and his long flowing beard accompanied by his trusty mule and a small two wheeled cart. Covered with a canvas top for protection from the sun, he's in no hurry but odds are he'll make it to his destination just fine.

When you go south of the border, down into South America or many European Country's, your likely to see many horse carts traveling the streets and country roads. They're still very common both as transportation and for hauling products to market. With many farming communities it's their only way to get the work done.

Sometimes progress needs to pay homage to the ways of the past. We haven't always been able to fly down the freeways at 80 mph. Maybe if we want to advance to vehicles that can think for themselves we should look at the past.

Many a horse team is smart enough to head for the barn on their own allowing the driver to nod off and catch a bit of sleep on the way home. When's the last time you tried that in your car.