Posted 8:38 am Monday, February 08, 2010
Man, Girlfriend Traverse Country In Horse-Drawn Vehicle
By MELISSA CROWE
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Bob Skelding's cross-country, chuck wagon adventure is more eye-opening than political.
"What I'm doing now is just taking advantage of the freedom I have," Skelding said.
For the past three months, Skelding, 50, his girlfriend, Denise Jacobs, 45, and poodle, Clementine, 19, have traveled the open road from Bentonville, Ind., through Winona and down to Tyler, where they slept Friday night.
They are on their way to the Rocky Mountains for no other reason than "the fun of it," Skelding said.
The chuck wagon is a complete RV. It has a full-size bed, a kitchen table and chairs, a stove, sink and shower.
All the crew needs is a little bit of horse feed and some food for the week, Skelding said. Other than that, they live entirely off the grid - no electric bills, no house or car payments, nothing holding them back.
Skelding met Denise Jacobs in Michigan as he was driving through the state.
A social norm exists that people need to do or have certain things, Skelding said, but "that doesn't mean you have to subscribe to it."
He says his goal is to see new places, meet nice people and enjoy this country "like it is meant to be enjoyed."
Ms. Jacobs joined the adventure in August when she met Skelding traveling through Nashville, Mich.
"I have never traveled a whole lot," she said. "I just admired what he was doing."
When Skelding asked whether she wanted to join, she jumped at the chance.
"Every day is like Christmas; you don't know what you'll wake up to," Skelding said.
But it hasn't always been a holiday.
A fully loaded tanker truck traveling 70 mph rear-ended Skelding's wagon in February 2009 after 1,800 miles of traveling.
A fully loaded tanker truck traveling 70 mph rear-ended Skelding's wagon in February 2009 after 1,800 miles of traveling.
The two left horses, Dolly and Deedee, were killed, and his wagon was destroyed.
By June, a new team of horses and a wagon he traded a fellow adventurer a "Bojangles Biscuit" for was ready to go.
The crew plans to meet up with Skelding's brother in Austin to complete the first leg of the trip, and in April, they will travel with another chuck wagon team from Tennessee to the west side of the Continental Divide to the Rockies.
