As we know, the story of the Abernathy Boys is very inspiring. The boys sense of adventure, as well as their spirit of exploration seems to capture everyone's imagination, young and old alike. To some it has inspired some to actually hit the trail!!! And this week, all trails lead to Frederick Oklahoma and the the Crossroads Ranch and Trail Drive on Saturday.

First, a Frederick native son is making a trip with a mule train wagon all the way from Palo Pinto, TX (which is about 60 miles west of Fort Worth). Rex Mansell, along with his wife Jean (formally Jean Baird) , and several other friends, are on their way to Frederick, and are planning to arrive here on June 6th. Their 3 mule team includes a covered wagon, truck and trailer, and a camper. They are joined by Charlie Gillespse, the trail boss, Shane Jones, the trail wrangler, and Ed Hamilton. Rex has invited riders to join him along the way, and will be traveling through the Texas towns of Loving, Olney, Archer City, Mankins, Electra, Haynesville, Oklaunion, and finally Frederick. The plan is for them to camp on the Texas side of the Red River on Thursday June 5th, and to cross the Red River Bridge in Oklahoma about 8am on Friday June 6th. They will camp in Frederick, and then head out to the Trail Drive for Saturday. I had the chance to speak to Rex , and he said he had met many different folks who had stopped to speak to him on the road, and had over 63 signatures on the wagon cover already!

Rex isn't the only one inspired to hit the trail. Melody Aufill, a 5th grade teacher from Yale, Oklahoma was so inspired by the Abernathy Boys story, she applied for a received a grant to retrace the many journeys of the Abernathy Boys. Most of the journey will be done by car, but she and another teacher a will get a taste of riding the trail when they ride on horseback from Guthrie, Oklahoma to Frederick. They will be coming through Kingfisher, Watonga, Thomas, Cordell, Roosevelt, and Manitou. They are planning to ride into Frederick sometime towards the end of the week- listen for updates on the radio and website! They are also planning to attend the Crossroads Ranch Chuckwagon dinner on Saturday as well.

The trail riders are even some youth as well. Although they aren't as young as the Abernathy Boys were, and are accompanied by their dad, William (age 13) and Dillard (age 11) are keeping it as authentic as possible. There only “support vehicles” are their three horses, and their only housing is the bed rolls on the back of their saddles! They are having a great time, and so far have been able to find landowners willing to let them camp on their land, just like the Boys did! Their father, Rob, said that it did take the boys a while to convince their dad to let then take the trip, but he finally relented. They will be riding through the towns of Chickasha, Anadarko, Apache, Meers, Synder, Manitou, and finally Frederick. Stay tuned to the radio and chamber website for updates on all these trail riders!!