Early morning Saturday, September 21, 2024 in San Bruno CA (San Mateo County) on San Antonio Avenue (between San Luis Ave & San Marco Ave), we were robbed. [The Monk and Rosie were not harmed.] Stolen was the Monk’s camelback backpack, fanny pack, duffle bag, and one of Rosie’s saddle bag shown in the photo. If you see these items in a dumpster or tossed aside in San Mateo County, please let us know by completing the contact form on our website or send us a private message. The contents inside these bags would be of zero value to the person who stole the bags, but is critical for an equestrian traveler. No questions asked if returned.
Temprano en la mañana del sábado 21 de septiembre de 2024 en San Bruno CA (Condado de San Mateo) en la Avenida San Antonio (entre la Avenida San Luis y la Avenida San Marco), nos robaron. Lo sustraído fue una mochila camel, una riñonera, un petate gris y una alforja. Si ve estos artículos en un contenedor de basura o tirados a un lado en el condado de San Mateo, infórmenos completando el formulario de contacto en nuestro sitio web. El contenido del interior de estas bolsas no tendría ningún valor para la persona que las robó, pero es esencial para un viajero ecuestre. No se hacen preguntas si se devuelve.
I am writing to you as part of the 3 Mules Journey, a sacred nomadic lifestyle we share with the thousands of spiritual beings who have traveled and served throughout the ages in this sacred place in which the 3 Mules now reside. We never stay on public land for more than a night, always less than 24 hours. We walk, never using an automobile, leading my pack mule behind me, carrying all my simple belongings: a small one-person tent, a sleeping bag, a one-burner camp stove, a cooking pot, food, clothes, and very little else.
We are supported by the spiritual energy that we gather from everybody and everything that surrounds us as we walk from town to town, city to city. The energy we gather then harbors and awaits to materialize into whatever we need as we pursue our journey. This is the way of this place for those who travel and live (non-motorized traveling) in service to it. The 3 Mules Journey spreads the message of living harmoniously with the earth. This way of life is a commitment to protecting the environment and living in tune with the Natural World, one step at a time.
Pictured are our fellow lone travelers who the Mules connect to spiritually all over the world through time and history.
Penal Code 647(e) Conundrum We are deeply concerned that using California Penal Code 647(e) to criminalize a lone traveler such as the 3 Mules or anyone else traveling in a similar way and are not committing any of the abuses 647(e) was passed to prevent is a criminal act in and of itself.
I urge you to reconsider the enforcement of PC 647(e) against the lone traveler, whether traveling by horse, bicycle, foot, or any other means under their own power and speed.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response and to working together to bring PC 647(e) to a more accurate and clear condition on the issues it was meant to address.
Sincerely,
The Mules
The Mules letter of the California Penal Code 647(e) Conundrum that we will hand deliver to all city halls that we walk by in California.
SCHEME (1) You construct a shelter. Once done and completed you stay there you stay in one place. Your shelter can be a million dollar mansion or something as simple and inexpensive as a tent. The shelters, a mansion or a tent, differ in size and cost. But the people who live in them are basically living the same. They both leave their tent or their house then go places for varying amounts of time. Upon completing a task which draws them out of their house /tent they return. Evidence shows that both, the people who live in houses and those who live in tents, like to collect stuff. The people in houses fill up their garages and when there’s no longer space in the house or the garage they buy space at a storage facility. The people in tents because they have limited financial resources place the stuff they collect outside of their tent. Where it builds up and becomes an eyesore and objectionable to passers by. Because they don’t have the financial resources for storage.
SCHEME (2) You don’t construct a shelter you don’t stay in one place you stay in motion moving with the seasons. The Mules fall under Scheme 2, using motion and energy to provide us what we need as we migrate with the season. Rather than building a shelter with the intention of staying in one place, The Mules bivouac for the night, most often less than 24 hours. Then we get up, pack up and stay in motion until the sun sets once again where we will bivouac for the coming night. The Mules tend not to collect stuff for it would create an unnecessary burden on our mules and ourselves and hamper our ability to stay in motion which is so essential to our survival and the nomadic way of life which we and many others practice.
Most counties in California in which the Mules travel through on a daily basis have passed no lodging laws. California Penal Code 647(e) is a no lodging law, but it does not state the particular behaviors that the law is meant to prevent. Only using the word to “lodge” which is far too vague and unclear to enforce.
If the Mules and all others who practice this nomadic way of life on foot, bicycle, or pack mule, etc., are to be prosecuted using PC 647(e), those prosecuting us must prove that we are doing what this law was written, then passed, to prevent. Such as drug and alcohol abuse, violence, erecting tents and blocking sidewalks, etc. None of these behaviors are the mules guilty of. Obviously 647 (e) is not enforceable against the Mules.
The United States Supreme Court will soon to make a decision whether to overturn Martin v. Boise, No. 15-35845 (9th Cir. 2018). Martin v. Boise says a person cannot be cited or arrested for sleeping on a public space when said person does not have “access to adequate temporary shelter.”
If Martin v. Boise is overturned the Mules will be subject to arrest and their property confiscated by any police officer that would find them resting for the night.
The Mules and their ages old nomadic way of life is about the art of moving and traveling under their own power and their own speed how they choose, when they choose. When we stop for the night in a vacant lot in a park or on the side of the road where there’s a very wide shoulder easement, the Mules stay is always less than 24 hours.
The Mules are a threat to nobody. We are quiet and peaceful. Our only purpose for stopping on public space is to rest for the night and then leave early in the morning and continue our journey and our life of motion. This country needs a Three Mule Journey. With rules and structure that will define its purpose and give every citizen the opportunity to step in and step up and make a contribution to the freedom of movement for us all. Using the unique spiritual energy that flows thur every soul.
In the past many people from all over the world have lived the nomadic way of life which the Mules live today. Some modern examples of nomads which the Mules have crossed paths include:
In December 2015, a gentleman that we met in California outside of Camp Pendleton named Davide Travelli, has traveled all over the world on his bicycle stopping for the night, pitching his tent, and gone in the morning. His journey still continues. You can see follow his endless journey on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Chen Guan Ming nomad
Mr. Chen Guan Ming, the gentleman from China, rode his tricycle/ rickshaw all over the world, including California. Mr. Chen was honored and welcomed all over the world for the way that he lived. Peacefully, respectfully, in harmony and balance with all that surrounded him. When Mr. Chen was done traveling for the day, he pulled off the road and slept in his tricycle/rickshaw.
Across the pond, an 82-year old woman completed an annual seven-week trek from England to the Scottish Highlands with her pack pony and pet dog. Jane Dotchin has been making the epic 600-mile trek journey every year since 1972. Heading north, Jane and her pack travel between 15 to 20 miles a day and camps outside to rest for the night. Just like the Mules, she carries everything she needs including her tent, food, a few belongings.
Davide Travelli, Mr.Chen Guan Ming, Jane Dotchin, the Three Mule Journey, and all those others who practice this life of non-motorized motion, whether all their lives or a segment of their life, will be subject to arrest and property confiscation.
The Mules and the other nomadic travelers do we create the problem and mess that the homeless encampments show above in the photos. The nomadic way of life which we practice must be separated out from the issues homelessness creates. We pack up and leave no trace as we demonstrated in the photos and video below.
Homeless are people that lose the financial resources to afford housing, and construct shanty towns with no garbage pickup, no toilet facilities, and no water. In the law, there needs to be clear rules distinguishing Nomads from Homeless that cities find causing the blight.
Those of us who practice the art of traveling under our own power and own speed should not be arrested for stopping less than 24 hrs to spend the night. A necessary act of living. Sleeping is common to all humans and living creatures, including those who are passing these laws.
The mayors of Grants Pass, Sausalito, and San Francisco, who want to overturn Martin v. Boise, offer no solution to the shanty town/people being unhoused problem, nor do they care about the consequences of them overturning Martin v. Boise. They just want to cross their fingers and make a wish, “please bring back Disneyland for me and my friends.” The rest of you can go to jail.
A clear distinction needs to be made in any proposed law between what the mayors of Sausalito, Grants Pass, and San Francisco complain about homeless encampment shanty towns that remain in one location for months versus the nomadic traveler who stops to rest for the night, packing up, leaving no trace, and continuing their journey the next morning. Sleep is necessary for all living beings. It is inhumane and criminal for lawmakers to create laws which make it a crime for nomadic travelers to stop and rest after walking or cycling all day.
The 3 Mules Journey and those who travel within it and serve it reminding those who tend to forget and those who want to forget so they don’t forget what the real basic bone of freedom really looks like. One step at a time all day every day.
The Mules walked into Porterville to stock up on groceries. While we were there, we stopped at the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get the 2024 California Drivers Handbook. 2024 was not available. We picked up the 2023 California Drivers Handbook. As we were thumbing through the 2023 Drivers Handbook, we noticed that there was very little attention given to an equestrian , a person riding a horse.
While there is excellent reference and mention to pedestrians, and their right to walk on California roads and highways, as well as cyclists to do the same, the equestrian, the person riding a horse was given a brief few words that were totally and completely inadequate to informing the public, that a person riding a horse has the same legal right to be on and using California roads and highways as the high-speed motorist (HSM). If you go to CA vehicle code 21759, the equestrian, a person riding a horse, as well as a person driving a horse, and a person walking a horse you will see is explicitly lined in and covered in the vehicle code.
The purpose of the California Driver’s Handbook is to educate the California driving public and all other legal users (pedestrians equestrians cyclists) as to their responsibilities and rights when driving and traveling on California’s highways and roads. Yet the mention, acknowledgement in the California Drivers Handbook of the equestrian is almost non-existent.
So what’s going on here? Is this some kind of willy nilly accident by those who wrote this California Driver’s Handbook for 2024? No. It’s no willy nilly accident of forgetfulness by those who wrote the handbook. It was done for a reason. And what’s going on is they are conditioning the public mind to view a person riding a horse, an equestrian, as somehow to be illegal on California’s roads. And then a call is made to CHP. CHP knows the scheme. They will come out and order the equestrian such as the Mules to stay off the road if you don’t comply with this illegal order they will illegally arrest the equestrian and impound your horse. Which has been done to the Mules multiple times. It’s an incremental first step towards eliminating the equestrian, person riding a horse totally from the California roads and highways. The next step is to start reducing equestrian rights under the vehicle code.
While horse owners may not want to do it themselves, walk, ride their horse on California’s dangerous roads. (Due mainly to the excessive speed California drivers are allowed to drive on California roads and highways.) Instead choose to use their horse in a recreational mode, attending various events by the use of an automobile. The act of doing, getting out on the road with your horse and riding it on that road to get to necessary places you need to go, must be preserved. It must be protected. That is where the line in the sand must be drawn against the incremental elimination of this sacred relationship between human being and horse. It’s sacred, it’s been on this earth for literally ions. And this is a real concerted attack on that relationship.
This attack on the equestrian, a person riding a horse, and the right to do so on California’s public roads, will not end there. It will not end with eliminating the equestrian right to ride California’s roads. It will morph. It will travel into your right to have access to facilities to drive your pick-up truck and horse trailer to compete and enjoy your horse. It will morph. It will travel on to every venue it can find. Because its sole purpose in the end is to destroy this sacred relationship between human being and horse which has been on this earth for eons.
Once again, I repeat myself. There is no better place to draw the line in the sand then where the Three Mules Journey resides or anybody else with similar intent, a place where no weapons are used or carried a place for those who choose to serve it by walking with respect and reverence for the ground on which they travel upon showing that basic right to walk your horse, ride your horse, drive your horse, on California’s highways and roads in any one of all four directions how you choose when you choose. It is the responsibility of the Mules as well as all others who love this ages old sacred relationship to not stand by and watch it be diminished and destroyed. It is the energy of perseverance and creativity that the Mules choose to use to protect and preserve this most sacred place in which the Mules reside.
Pictured is myself the Monk and Rosie the mule. I am a pedestrian and Rosie is livestock under my control. According to the California Vehicle Code I shall walk on the left side of the highway walking into the flow of traffic when and where practical. However, when not practical, due to circumstance such as blind curves or a lack of space, I, as a pedestrian controlling livestock, have the right to cross the road and walk on the other side for the safety of myself and Rosie and all others whom we might encounter.
The case of 3 Mules versus State of California / CHP has taken a necessary turn in the road. As the Mules engaged in a long lengthy process moving our lawsuit through the court system, it became obvious to us that it was unlikely we would win this case due to qualified immunity. And the defendants’ attorney general (AG) would request a summary judgement which would stop the case cold. Never to make it to trial.
Winning a settlement was not the primary reason for filing the lawsuit. The primary reason for our lawsuit was to bring public awareness and discussion to the absolute constitutional right for all American citizens using a strong well maintained public thoroughfare to move freely in America how they choose, when they choose. Consequently, the Mules have decided to drop this lawsuit. The spiritual energy of this case has become so strong it can no longer be contained within the courtroom walls. Where lawyers will argue over technicalities, details and procedures attempting to bury it. Out of sight out of mind.
The above being said and understood this case and its accumulated energy is not over by any means. 3 Mules vs. State of California has left the confines of the courtroom and moved its purpose and energy to the field (outside) where the action is. Where the High Speed Motorist (HSM) is actively on a daily basis killing and maiming fellow motorists and all the other legal users (cyclists, equestrians, and pedestrians) with total disregard for the law and simple basic common sense and courtesy to SHARE THE ROAD.
Note: The Mules will be serving as a platform moving, living, carrying no weapons along the public thoroughfare providing all California citizens the opportunity to see and discuss their constitutional right to move freely in this state and country and make their own unique contribution towards that end.
For right now it’s popular to stay inside and be safe. There will come a time the abstract misery felt for being that way will become so strong and people will do anything to get away from it. It is the responsibility for those who know this to keep the light of freedom shining outside so when those who stay inside have had enough of the inside, the light of freedom will be shining and not the darkness staring them in the face telling them to go back inside and be safe.
The Mules want to acknowledge and thank Attorney Todd T. Cardiff for his pro bono service in getting this case and all the issues connected to it up front and out on the public thoroughfare. It will now be the job of the Mules to keep it there all day every day, one step at a time.
The Mules
Statement from Attorney Todd T. Cardiff:
On July 28, 2022, the court entered a stipulation to voluntarily dismiss Sears v. CHP. Such dismissal stipulated that each party bear its own attorney’s fees and costs. Mr. Cardiff, John Sear’s attorney, explained why the case was dismissed at this point.
While it was no doubt that Plaintiff was arrested under the wrong statute (Veh. Code § 21954) pedestrian outside of crosswalk, the doctrine of qualified immunity requires particularized facts to establish liability for law enforcement officers. The doctrine of qualified immunity, which is a solely judge made doctrine, was originally intended to protect officers who made a mistake when making split second decisions. It has now been twisted to grant immunity to all officers, unless what they have done is so egregious that no reasonable police officer could believe that they were acting within the bounds of the law or constitutional rights. As recently held by the Supreme Court, the violation must be “sufficiently clear that every reasonable official would have understood that what he is doing violates that right.” (Rivas-Villegas v. Cortesluna (2021) ___U.S.___ [142 S.Ct. 4, 7, 211 L.Ed.2d 164, 168].) In other words, immunity protects “‘all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.’” (White v. Pauly (2017) 580 U.S. 73, 79 [137 S.Ct. 548, 551, 196 L.Ed.2d 463, 468].)
While it is arguable that Mr. Sears was in complete compliance with the law, there was not any case law holding that leading mules by reigns was “driving” under California Vehicle Code section 21050. In addition, it was not clear what “duties” would be applicable to a someone driving a mule. Significant research into the legislative history of Vehicle Section 21050 did not resolve the issue. The vagueness of the law, by default, would have rendered finding liability against Officer Agredano almost an impossibility. Further, while we believe that the officer was giving an unlawful order to simply “stay off the road” (which was impossible), again, research failed to uncover case law with particularized facts supporting Mr. Sear’s rights. Finally, it was determined that an adverse decision could seriously impact Mr. Sear’s right to travel with his mules.
Although the judicial portion of this case is over, the issue is not resolved. Law enforcement must enforce the law without bias. If ranchers can utilize all lanes of traffic to herd or “drive” livestock, then such right must be afforded those who wish to only use a portion of the lane to safely travel on the picturesque backroads of California. (See Cal. Food and Ag. Code §§ 16902, 16903.) Cal. Veh. Code section 21759 places the duty on the motor vehicle driver to “reduce speed or stop…to insure the safety of any person driving or riding the animal or in charge of the livestock.” Mr. Sears will be seeking to introduce legislation that clarifies that those who wish to use alternative forms of travel, including riding, driving or leading horses or other livestock have a right to use traffic lanes in a way that protects both the animals and the drivers. “Share the road” must become the law, not a just a pithy, but unenforceable slogan.
3 Mules Legal Fund Status
The Mules raised $2500 using the GoFundMe platform to usher our lawsuit into federal court.
Itemized record of all expenses incurred by Attorney Todd T. Cardiff while working on the lawsuit:
Date
Description
Total
2/5/2021
Postage for Mail Service of Complaint
$6.60
3/19/2021
Delivery services of summons on Agredano
$95.00
3/28/2021
Delivery services of summons on CHP
$35.00
4/1/2021
Postage for Meet and Confer letter
$0.55
4/1/2021
Letterhead (3 ); Envelope (1)
$5.00
4/15/2021
Federal Court Fees for Attorney Admission
$331.00
8/30/2021
Mileage to attend hearing in court and return
$105.05
11/22/2021
Legislative Intent Service
$990.00
TOTAL EXPENSES 3 MULES vs State of CA
$1568.20
3/5/2021
Attorney Trust Fund – Beginning Balance
$2505.30
5/10/2021
Payment of costs
-$473.15
11/22/2021
Payment of Leg. Intent
-$990.00
11/22/2021
Mileage costs
-$105.05
Balance refunded to 3 Mules
$937.10
Cardiff-Invoice-p1
Image 1 of 6
An amount of $937.10 was left unspent after dropping the lawsuit. This remaining $937 will be spent on things the Mules will need. The Mules will show on the ledger below a picture of item purchased, receipt, and the remaining balance.
Pictured is my anvil I use to shape the horse shoe to fit mule feet. A horse shoe when bought does fit a horse pretty well without a lot of pounding. However, for mule feet, a lot of pounding is required to shape the shoe to fit the feet.
As the picture of anvil shows from constant use, it has been severely bent and is no longer effective to use. I can either get this one fixed by a welder or get what is called a “Stall Jack”.
Does anybody have one they no longer need? Due to my 75+ years of age, I have no longer the strength and force using a hammer. I thought I might get more leverage with a stall jack. Last image is of a stall jack.
NOTE: Shoes are made specifically to fit mules. However, they are hard to find and more expensive making them impractical for us as we shoe on average about every three weeks.
Three years ago, the Mules bought Little Ethel. She has served the Three Mules Nation together with Little Girl with her energy acquired from long ago. She became very attached to Little Girl. With Little Girl’s passing, Little Ethel has entered a new phase by which she will serve the Three Mules Nation in the most magical and unforeseen ways.
The Monk and the two new members of the Three Mule Journey, Leroy and Rosie, will be looking forward to Little Ethel’s energy as well as the energy from Lady and Little Girl, and how they will use it to protect and guide us as we continue this most sacred journey of human being and horse across over and around this beautiful land now known as California.
Follow the new phase of Little Ethel’s journey at Lucky Ones Ranch Facebook/Instagram page where her energy will continue to serve all those who love and respect the sacred relationship between human being and horse.
![Davide Travelli and the 3 Mules [December 2015]](https://3mules.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/D2F405DA-93D2-4CF7-BB32-1166041A6DC2_1_201_a.jpeg)
