Traveling 1,966 miles is quite a journey traveling by plane or car; can you imagine traveling that on horse back? Well, between the years1860-1861 this route between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California was traveled daily. Although it was broken down into relay rides of 80-100 miles this is a journey people are still interested in today. And the history of the Pony Express still remains alive.
Almost 150 years ago the Pony Express legend began. This was the first type of mail service. The destinations were located in St. Joseph and Sacramento with stopping points along the way. A rider would take off and ride the trail taking mail for almost 100 miles, when meeting up with the next rider they would hand off the Mochila full of mail and off the next rider would go. The other rider would return back to his original starting point. The complete ride on average would take 10 days before the mail would reach its destination. Then still having to sort and deliver to its addressee. The Pony Express mail service ended after a year because it was too expensive to keep going. But the memories still interest travelers from all over as they visit the Pony Express Museum (12th & Penn Streets), which is located in the original building along with many original artifacts and wonderful stories.
In honor of the Pony Express each year the Pony Express Association does a re-ride, the starting point is rotated between St. Joseph and California. This year the ride will begin in St. Joseph on June 9 at the Patee House Museum (13th & Penn Streets) at 10:00am. The ride will end in Sacramento 10 days later, riders will ride 24 hours a day. Nearly 500 horses and riders expected to participate.
I can't imagine with today's technology having to wait weeks for a simple hello. Today we receive messages almost instantly with access to email, cell phones, etc... I try to imagine where we will be in the technological world 5 years from now, but can't begin to fathom what it will be like in 150 years. I find it amazing!
Additional info on the Annual Re-Ride
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