Kentucky women traveling in covered wagon

TOLLESBORO, Ky. (AP) — Two Kentucky women are traveling across the state in a horse-drawn carriage.

Edith Conyers of Mount Sterling, said she and friend, Jinny Grulke, had discussed the possibility of one day just packing up and leaving with their carriage and horses.

"Just wanted to drive the horses off into the sunset," Conyers said.

Conyers said they settled on finding the furthest east rural area and riding west from there.

Once they began checking into what it would take to travel across the state, however, they realized it would take a lot more work to complete. One change they made to their trip was having Conyer’s sister, Anne Husted of Paris, traveling along with them in an RV to give them a comfortable place to sleep at night.

"We were going to go and carry all of our supplies and stop wherever," Grulke said. "We decided we couldn’t do that. We decided to ask (Husted) to go with us. She drives on ahead and sets up. We will usually get to the location later in the afternoon."

Grulke said they mapped out the back roads of Kentucky and checked with several individuals about staying on their property.

"It was difficult to find people who were willing to let us stay with the camper," Grulke said. "It’s about 60 feet and needs a large turnaround area."

Once the trip was mapped out, however, things went smoothly.

"We’ve had as much, if not more fun than expected," Grulke said. "The weather has been perfect."

"There is nothing like creeping along and looking at the crops, the cattle, flowers and taking it all in or passing an abandoned house and wondering what happened and why it was abandoned," Conyers said.

The only issue they have had so far was an incident with a vehicle that was speeding along a roadway and nearly hit them.

"There wasn’t much we could do, but sit there and watch it happen," Conyers said. "They came within inches of us, but thankfully, they missed."

During the trip, the two have also been fund-raising for the Kentucky Back Country Horsemen organization which offers volunteers assistance to keep trails open for horseback riders and hikers.

The goal was $500, which has been met, according to Grulke.

"That’s a large donation for them," she said.

Conyers said they began their trip on Sept. 18 in Greenup and will complete it on Sept. 29 near Sadieville.

"The trip will be 12 days with 10 riding days and two rest days," Grulke said.

"It will be a total of 140 miles we’ve traveled," Conyers said.

Grulke said she is also blogging about the trip for anyone interested in reading about it at http://www.crosskyride.com.

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