THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411240226
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
They'll lay their course by the setting sun as did those adventurous early Americans whose wagon trains threaded their way across the continent to the call of ``Westward ho!''
But just in case they stray off course, these modern-day pioneers undertaking a re-enactment of the great 19th-century westward movement will have the decided advantage of 20th-century technology.
An ocean-to-ocean horse and wagon trip - billed as ``a true American adventure'' - will leave Savannah, Ga., Jan. 3 and arrive in San Diego early in June, according to Jan Miller of Pungo, organizer of the event.
To date, 56 people have signed on for the 3,000-or-so-mile trail ride, but hundreds more will join the wagon train for shorter periods along the way, some for just a day, others for several weeks.
Miller owns J Bar J Quarter Horse Ranch. She is a former accountant and bank officer. But just now, she is occupied full-time arranging the wagon train trip.
The wagon drivers and horseback riders are scheduled for overnight stops in 83 towns and cities, and there will be plenty of good old American hometown hospitality to welcome them.
Nearly all of the municipalities along the route have planned events such as picnics, parades and block parties for the travelers, according to organizer Tom Seay. That's a far cry from the situation faced by the early pioneers who circled their wagons each night to protect against Indian attack.
Drivers on the upcoming trail ride will circle their wagons, too, but participants will not be in any danger, even when the wagon train will pass close to the Apache reservation as it traverses Arizona, said Miller.
Seay leads horseback trail rides in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. The project was his idea.
``Deep inside everyone is a little bit of adventure, but they're afraid to tell anyone,'' Seay said.
Most of those who've signed on are 55 and older, he said: ``It's not because they're retired. It's not money. They are just tired of getting up in the morning, reading the newspaper and having little else to do.''
Riders and drivers in the wagon train hail from 19 states and include a family of seven from Washington state whose children will be tutored along the way, said Seay, who thinks that the trip will be the best ``firsthand history lesson'' for the dozen youngsters involved.
Despite the historical link, there will be plenty of differences for those who set out to cross the continent in this up-to-date version of the great move west.
``Even though it will look like they're suffering,'' in fact, participants will have ``all the amenities,'' Seay said. For example, a shower wagon will have hot and cold running water for horseback riders to enjoy after a long day on the trail.
One thing taken for granted by those who struck out across the continent during the last century was clean, fresh water. Not so for their modern-day emulators, who will be faced daily with the problem of where to get water enough for the large group of people and their animals.
``We have to assume that all streams are now polluted,'' trailmaster Seay said.
Most of the way, the wagon train will travel on four-lane highways, frequently with a police escort. It will average 15 to 22 miles a day.
Depending upon how much or how little participants want in the way of services, they will pay as little as $20 for one day or as much as $9,000 for the entire trip, Seay said.
``It's a Virginia company, a Virginia event,'' said Miller proudly. She is, like the early pioneers, out to make a point. ``Someone from the midwest said to me, `An eastern horse can never make it.'
``That made me mad. I'm going to prove them wrong.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by NANCY LEWIS
Jan Miller and her spotted saddle horse, Shadow, pose at Miller's
ranch. The Pungo resident helped organize the 3,000-mile
covered-wagon trip along the southern route of the great
19th-century westward movement.
Tom Seay leads trail rides in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The
project was his idea.
by CNB