Copyright . John McComsey. All rights reserved.
DVDs of my journey to Phoenix, AZ are now available for purchase. For details, please click on this link. Click here
Follow My Map
View The Journey West in a larger map
See my page "the reason why".
If you would like to donate to the cause please click on the link below. Thank you.
If anyone would like to send pictures of John & his team to me to put on the site, I'd love to get them. Add a little note as to where, when & who is in the picture. Obviously I won't be able to use them all, but I'll try to get as many as possible. Please send to this email address: roger_cameron@hotmail.com.
My Good Friend Bob Skelding is back on the road with his new team after his tragic accident in February '09. Enjoy the times from his first journey and follow his second journey which he just began after rebuilding his wagon and acquiring a new team. He pulled out again on the 19th of June from Bentonville, IN
http://www.wagonteamster.com/
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Date |
Somewhere, USA |
Miles |
Commentary |
|
25 March |
Henry, TN |
|
As of this writing my route is going to change. I found out the ferry is up and running so I am going to go through McKenzie, Gleason, Dresden, Martin, and Union City. I am going to meet up with two other wagons and continue to Hickman, KY and cross the ferry and head into east Prairie, Missouri. Time is running out got a lot to do to the wagon and trailer, but everything is looking up and I’m still going to pull out on April 1, 2009. |
|
31 March |
Henry, TN |
|
I went out this morning to grease all the wheels & do some final preparations for my journey. I noticed the brake line was leaking and I needed to replace it. I spoke to Leon Owens at the repair shop in Henry and told him the brakes were not locking up the way they should. He told me how to fix the problem. So I went to the Tractor Supply and found two 90 degree brackets and fastened on to the Master Cylinder and the other one to the floor of the wagon. Well it worked and I once again have a good solid brake pedal. Well the wagon is loaded and I’m finally ready to pull out at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning. |
|
1 April |
Dresden, TN |
23 |
|
|
2 April |
Union City, TN |
22 |
John's Journey - Day 2 |
|
3 April |
Big Oak Tree State Park Dorena, MO |
28 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwsDqmabvgo http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=John+McComsey+Crossing+the+Mississippi+River&aq=f |
|
4 April |
Matthews, MO |
19 |
|
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5 April |
New Madrid, MO |
20 |
|
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6 April |
New Madrid, MO |
0 |
|
|
7 April |
Malden, MO |
26 |
|
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8 April |
Piggott, AR |
22 |
|
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9 April |
Marmaduke, AR |
24 |
|
|
10 April |
Paragould, AR |
8 |
Short drive into Paragould today. Taking off tomorrow. Will head out again on Sunday (4/12). |
|
12 April |
Jonesboro, AR |
23 |
|
|
13 April |
Waldenburg, AR |
24 |
|
|
14 April |
Fair Oaks, AR |
30 |
Takes two mules |
|
15 April |
Brinkley, AR |
26 |
|
|
16 April |
Clarendon, AR |
21 |
|
|
17 April |
Stuttgart, AR |
23 |
|
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18 April |
Altheimer, AR |
21 |
|
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19 April |
Pine Bluff, AR |
12 |
|
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20 April |
Pine Bluff, AR |
0 |
|
|
21 April |
Rison, AR |
18 |
|
|
22 April |
Fordyce, AR |
24 |
|
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23 April |
Camden, AR |
27 |
|
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24 April |
Stephens, AR |
25 |
|
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25 April |
Stamps. AR |
26 |
Surprises Updated 5/2/09 |
|
26 April |
Junction 82 /27 |
23 |
|
|
27 April |
East of Texarkana |
12 |
|
|
28 April |
Texarkana, AR |
0 |
Thanks to Frank & Many others |
|
29 April |
Hooks, TX |
20 |
|
|
30 April |
DeKalb, TX |
21 |
|
|
1 May |
Clarksville, TX |
29 |
Travelling companions -- Updated 5/6 |
|
2 May |
Reno, TX |
22 |
Cowboy Hat I've uploaded the Photo Album today - Check it out! Updated 5/6 |
|
3 May |
Reno, TX |
0 |
|
|
4 May |
Perry, TX |
19 |
Gathering Supplies Updated 5/6 |
|
5 May |
Windom, TX |
14 |
Another Bad Storm KXII Channel 12 TV coverage |
|
6 May |
Windom, TX |
0 |
Drying Out updated 5/9 |
|
7 May |
Ector, TX |
19 |
Taylor & Ashland - Future Teamsters Updated 5/9 |
|
8 May |
Sherman, TX |
19 |
Bi-Centennial Book www.babymoonboutiqueblog.blogspot.com updated 5/24 |
|
9 May |
Whitesboro, TX |
21 |
|
|
10 May |
Muenster, TX |
19 |
Met Life Blimp updated 5/13 |
|
11 May |
Muenster, TX |
0 |
Short Ears vs Long Ears updated 5/13 |
|
12 May |
Nocona, TX |
23 |
|
|
13 May |
Henrietta, TX |
21 |
|
|
14 May |
East of Wichita Falls |
18 |
Brit Loves Muffins |
|
15 May |
Holliday, TX |
20 |
Meaty Bone Treats |
|
16 May |
Holliday, TX |
0 |
|
|
17 May |
16 Miles East of Seymour |
22 |
|
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18 May |
2 Miles West of Seymour |
18 |
|
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19 May |
Seymour, TX |
0 |
|
|
20 May |
Vera, TX |
17 |
Sad, but moving on |
|
21 May |
13 Miles W of Benjamin |
21 |
|
|
22 May |
Four Sixes Ranch-Near Guthrie, TX |
23 |
|
|
23 May |
Near Dickens, TX |
28 |
|
|
24 May |
Near Crosbyton, TX |
23 |
Knocking down hills at 2.7 MPH http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=10426674 |
|
25 May |
Lorenzo, TX |
23 |
|
|
26 May |
Broadview, TX |
27 |
|
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27 May |
Littlefield, TX |
25 |
|
|
28 May |
Sudan, TX |
23 |
|
|
29 May |
Muleshoe, TX |
15 |
Pressing on to Muleshoe Updated 6/4 |
|
30 May |
Muleshoe, TX |
0 |
Resting in Muleshoe Updated 6/4 |
|
31 May |
Farwell, TX |
15 |
Bought supper in NM & ate it in Texas Updated 6/4 |
|
1 June |
Clovis, NM |
20 |
About 4 miles West of Cannon AFB - Updated 6/4 |
|
2 June |
Krider, NM |
24 |
|
|
3 June |
Fort Sumner, NM |
26 |
Thanks Lavern for home cooked meal! |
|
4 June |
Yeso, NM |
22 |
Made it to Yeso - Stopped beside Post Office -- Pressing on toward Vaughn |
|
5 June |
East of Junction 54 |
25 |
|
| 6 June | 4 Miles East of 60 split | 24 | Strong Headwinds |
| 7 June | 13 Miles east of Willard, NM | 26 | A Fellow Teamster to help me |
| 8 June | Mountainair, NM | 27 | Gold Wing Motorcyclists |
| 9 June | Mountainair, NM | 0 | New friends - Resting and getting Supplies |
| 10 June | Mile Marker 176 | 28 | Can you hear me now? |
| 11 June | Bernardo, NM | 21 | Surprise visit from Tennessee Updated 6/15 new pics from Beula |
| 12 June | Socorro, NM | 24 | Mack Kicked Me |
| 13 June | Magdalena, NM | 21 | Beautiful Sunrise |
| 14 June | VLA Rest Area | 22 | Rainy and Windy Updated 6/21 |
| 15 June | Mile Marker 71 - Near Datil, NM | 20 | Hurting & in Pain Updated 6/21 |
| 16 June | Jackson RV Park Pie Town, NM | 15 | Crossing the Continental Divide Updated 6/21 |
| 17 June | Quemado, NM | 22 | Needed a tire Updated 6/21 |
| 18 June | Mile Marker 8 | 27 | Lots of Hills to Pull Updated 6/21 - The New Mexico Photo Album is all uploaded. |
| 19 June | Springerville, AZ | 22 | Welcome to Arizona 244 miles to Tom's in Phoenix, AZ Updated 6/21 |
| 20 June | Springerville, AZ | 0 | Roger & I surprised John today in Springerville |
| 21 June | Vernon, AZ | 28 | Treasures along the highway 216 Miles to Phoenix |
| 22 June | Show Low, AZ | 19 | Another close call 197 miles to Phoenix |
| 23 June | Show Low, AZ | 0 | Getting another cell phone On Monday I found a ladies bowling ball on the side of the road! |
| 24 June | FS Road 218 | 25 | Muddy Mules 172 miles to Tom's in Phoenix |
| 25 June | 3 Miles East of Forest Lakes | 27 | Bison Country |
| 26 June | FSR 436 & HW260 | 29 | Hot Brakes |
| 27 June | Payson, AZ | 11 | Gila Monster - Bobble Head Staying across the street from the Payson Feed Store. We went up to visit with him and discuss the road into Phoenix -- the road is windy and lots of long steep (6% & 7%) grades both up and down. Although it's important to him to drive the mules all the way to Phoenix, his safety & the welfare of his mules is far more important. We will be bringing Mack, Jack, Brit, John & both wagons down the "hill" tomorrow. He will continue his journey again early Monday morning. We went to the Verizon store in Payson this morning and they re-programmed it & it seemed to work better - Well it's after 6:30PM and once again he has no service. I should have taken the notes for the past several days - hind sight is 20/20. |
| 28 June | Fort McDowell, AZ | 59 | 35 miles of hill - 24 miles of intermittent flat Trailered down from Payson - Complete update soon. |
| 29 June | 64th St & McDowell Road | 19 | Park Rangers with some sense Wow what a hot day! I got up and was well on our way by 5:AM on Monday morning. With two days rest the mules were feeling fine and were ready to step right out there and go. My plan across the city is about 20 miles each day. By 11:15 we were at our destination for the day. The mules did fine in the heat. The dog was panting and the dog & I drank about a case of water over the 6 hours. When we stopped the mules took down 5 gallons of water each. As of now they both drank 15 gallons of water. Tomorrow morning will be another hot day as we cross Phoenix itself. We will be continuing down McDowell Road to Grand Avenue. We will be turning Northwest on Grand to Northern Avenue then West on Northern to 75th Avenue. If all goes well we will be there also by about 11:00. So watch for us tell your friends! |
| 30 June | 7640 W Carole Lane, Phoenix, AZ |
21 | Police Escort Journey through the city streets of Phoenix - Staying at Rovey Dairy Farms Cresting the hill coming into Phoenix & crossing Phoenix |
| 1 July | Tom Watson's Ranch | 12 | What a beautiful sight - Tom's Ranch! Journey Complete - I made it! Watch this video to see a jet fly right over the wagon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvt46wcQkxc |
|
Total Miles |
1774 | ||
| 16 July | Phoenix, AZ | Two weeks of Rest & Relaxation | |
| 27 July | Phoenix, AZ | Taking the Twins for a ride | |
| 12 Aug | Phoenix, AZ | Jack is getting sassy! | |
| 21 August | Leaving Phoenix | Heading Home This time by truck & trailer | |
| 23 August | Henry, TN | Home At Last I'll fill in more details in the next few days - I'm really exhausted - but glad to be home! | |
| 9 Sept | Henry, TN | Preparing for next trip DVD's for Sale |
