which had some clear and detailed maps showing the tracks, trails
and lanes through the Sandhills. And thankfully, a GPS chip.
It was, for me, an intense experience. Having engaged more fully with
the Old Jules story than I had realised, standing in those wild places
brought into real existence both the harshness and beauty of the lives
of those old pioneers. The geographical isolation is intimidating enough,
without the searing summers and winters at thirty below for weeks on end.
But on a bright, cool day it was a beautiful, peaceful place of endless
skies and rolling hills.
Towards the end of the tour, standing by Mari's grave, I felt something of her
love of the Sandhills. I enjoyed the tour tremendously and felt that I would
like to do something to make The Old Jules Trail more accessible to all - and
being a web designer,
this was the obvious thing
to do.
Alan and I decided to make it a collaborative effort, and he agreed to provide
the copy and photographs, collected during his run around the Trail with his
partner, Alyson Learmonth. It has been quite an exercise to complete, across
the Atlantic via email with a seven-hour time difference, but here you have it
- the International Electronic 21st Century Guide to The Old Jules Trail.
Philip Carpenter, August 2011
Alan Wilkinson traces his lifelong interest in America to his great-great-uncle,
Captain John Wiltshire of the ship
Mohawk, that took
Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show back to New York in 1893.
He has written on the subject for many newspapers and magazines, including American
Cowboy. He first read Mari Sandoz’ work in 1991, since when he has visited the
Sandhills on numerous occasions, most recently in 2011 when he spent six months
alone in an abandoned frontier period house beside the Niobrara river.
You can follow Alan's experiences in Nebraska by reading his interesting and
entertaining blog
HERE.
Alan & Philip have recently been re-captured and are currently
giggling happily together in the grounds of the North of England Institution for
The Aberrant & Eccentric. No-one is quite sure exactly where, but they usually
show up at meal times. They drink Real Ale and like to fulminate.