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About Pioneer Trails Adventures
Getting ready for our 2011 season and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
 I'm not loitering, I'm at work! |
In the age of mass production, Pioneer Trails
Adventures is a handmade business.
Ralph's Father wrangling mules in the 1930s Ralph Goldsmith's first wagon was the charming "Surrey with the Fringe on Top." At first, all Ralph offered was a simple ride around the Independence Square; "carriage therapy," a bit of relaxation in a hectic world. But it didn't take him long to realize he was parked in front of the site of Harry S Truman's first job. When he looked across the street he saw the courthouse that the future president built. Just a block down was the jail that held "the most dangerous outlaw in the world," Frank James. Nearby was a marker commemorating the tremendous 2nd Battle of Independence. Names like "William Clark Quantrill" and "George Caleb Bingham" kept popping up. Who were they? As he began researching, Ralph discovered a vein of historic gold as rich as anything struck in California. It seemed a waste to ride silently while passing the place where Wild Bill Hickok stopped a lynch mob and became a legend. So Pioneer Trails Adventures was born.
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| However something was missing. The more
Ralph read the more he realized that in spite of what Hollywood said, it
was mules and oxen that mainly pulled the wagons west.
The mule is a hybrid, a cross between a male donkey and a female horse. Full of curiosity, Ralph bred "Harry A Truman" (the meaning of the "A" is left to your imagination) his first mule.
Ralph quickly discovered that Harry's outlook on the world was very different from any horse. With a little persuasion, Harry decided to go into business with Ralph and encouraged him to hire more mules to distribute the work load more evenly. With Harry's expert supervision, Ralph built by hand several covered wagons to capture the pioneer spirit.
Pioneer Trails Adventures now has three teams of mules and can make an impressive wagon train of three wagons and six mules, of which Harry, according to himself, is the handsomest. |
 Ain't you jealous? |
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Law and order just hung on by it's fingernails in the Wild West. To help out Ralph made the Jail Wagon. |
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Good for dangerous outlaws on the run. Especially handy for the guest of honor at a shotgun wedding |
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Jude Buxton, Pioneer Trails Adventures' Quality Control Manager and Rugged Shotgun Guard on the Jail Wagon |
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