The Mules had a police encounter today. The officer pulled up got out of his cruiser approached us said hi. We did the same. Wanted to know where we were going. The Mules replied we don’t answer questions. He then asked if the mule was okay we replied we don’t answer questions. He then asked if the Monk was okay. The Monk replied we don’t answer questions. The officer then said he got a call and somebody wanted him to check on the mule and see if it was okay. He then said have a nice day. We said the same and he left. The mules continued walking in anyone of all four directions how we choose when we choose one step at a time all day and most every day
Tag: Megatropolis
Burbank, CA
The Mules had an encounter with Burbank Police yesterday. While walking on sidewalk along Glen Oaks Boulevard. a police officer pulled up in front of us got out of his cruiser. The Monk reached into his pocket and extracted his phone and took a picture of the officer. The Monk then asked the officer what was it he wanted he didn’t call 911, he didn’t ask for any help. The officer said oh no problem you’re not doing anything wrong you’re not being detained I’m just curious as to what you’re doing never seen a horse walking down Glen Oaks Boulevard in Burbank before.
The officer then started to ask questions where were we from where were we going the monk declined to give any answers. The officer replied that’s fine no problem. The officer then asked if he could pet Rosie and take a picture the monk said sure.
Before the officer left he did inform us that the Burbank municipal code ordinance disallowed leading a horse down the sidewalk we could lead the horse on the street but not the sidewalk. The Monk informed the officer if he walked Rosie down the street competing with these dangerous weaponized speeding automobiles he would have been injured or dead long before the officer made contact. The officer agreed he said that’s why he wasn’t going to cite us. He then said you need to keep going through Burbank because if I see you again on the sidewalk I will cite you and then he left wished us a nice day we did the same.
Pomona, CA
I’ve been stopped by Pomoma Police. I’m being threatened with arrest in jail. they stopped me and refusing to let me proceed. I’m not too far from the Pomona WinCo maybe about a mile they detained me illegally and have me sitting on the curb claiming I’m violating all kinds of municipal codes. I asked for a supervisor and we’re now waiting for one they’re claiming I’m in equestrian.
I’m not an equestrian. I’m not riding a horse. I’m leading a mule down the street down the road. They’re claiming I’m driving a horse. no I’m not driving a horse. I’m leading a horse. The horse is behind me. I’m walking the horse. walking. We’re in pedestrian mode. The complaints is somebody called and claimed I was walking a horse in traffic. Of course I’m walking a horse in traffic. Traffic is everywhere I’m on the side of the road. They’re claiming I’m somehow breaking the law and up for arrest.
After the police let us go they had to cuz you weren’t breaking any laws we went to WinCo and bought some groceries and found a place to go to sleep for the night
Brea and Fullerton, CA
Yesterday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. while walking along Imperial Highway the Mules sat down to rest take a break. While there we were confronted by Brea Police Department police. They had a friendly approach. We weren’t breaking any laws. They started to ask us a lot of questions we declined to give answers.
They switched their scheme to offering us help. They could direct us to a place where we could get free meals, blankets. The Mules declined. We didn’t need any of it. We didn’t call them and ask for any help. We told them if we did need help we’d give him a call. They were rather persistent in their offers of help but eventually gave it up went back to their cruisers and hung around for 30 to 45 minutes.
We believe because it was daytime and they couldn’t arrest us for anything. They passed the ball to Fullerton Police Department where they waited until we made a stop for the night and initiated the no camping law against us an a arrestable offense a misdemeanor jail and fines.
City of Ventura Police Encounter
No sooner had the Mules got into Ventura then we were approached by police officer informing us he had gotten a call that we were scaring the school children on the other side of the fence. And we couldn’t stop here for any amount of time because we were on private property. I said no we are on a public easement. He continued to insist we were on private property. A school teacher came over and informed the officer she had followed us for years and we were perfectly okay where we were. He decided to leave and did.
Mystery Mule Man Spotted Around San Diego – And his Journey Might Change How You See the World
At the end of May, we were notified about an article that SanDiegoVille wrote about us 3 Mules. The article was titled “Mystery Mule Man Spotted Around San Diego – And his Journey Might Change How You See the World.” We don’t know who wrote the article since no name attached. It sort of sounded like an AI written article. Below, we have crossed out the inaccuracies and provided correction in bold font.
Many have reported seeing him in the past week – an older man walking the streets of San Diego with a mule in tow, sparking curiosity and social media buzz. But who is he, and what exactly is he doing? It turns out he’s not homeless, lost, or part of a stunt – he’s on a decades-long mission that challenges the very way we live.
San Diego residents may have recently spotted a man walking alongside a horse mule along the streets from Oceanside to Chula Vista and everywhere in between. He’s not lost, nor is he simply passing through – he’s living a way of life that predates freeways, smartphones, and suburban sprawl. The man is known as “Mule,” and his journey is part of the decades-long 3 Mules Project Journey – a nomadic mission through the American West to promote a life of simplicity, environmental awareness, and the sacred right to move freely across public lands.
Now in his late 70s, Mule (who also goes by Monk) has lived outdoors full-time with his mule companions for more than 35 40 consecutive years with 22 of those 40 consecutive years doing nothing else other than the sacred act of walking with his mule companions. Together, they travel by foot, covering 5 to 20 miles a day, depending on food, water, and terrain. They’ve migrated up and down California for decades, following seasonal cycles – south to San Diego in the winter, then back north through the Central Valley and up to Sacramento during warmer months.
Their presence may seem anachronistic, even eccentric, to passersby accustomed to the pace and priorities of modern urban life. But to Mule, his animals, and a growing number of followers (over 64,000 on Facebook alone), this lifestyle is a form of resistance against the encroaching sprawl he refers to as “the Megatropolis” – the unchecked spread of concrete, development, and car culture that has consumed open spaces and limited access to nature.
The 3 Mules Project Journey isn’t a performance or stunt. Mule lives entirely outdoors, foraging for food, relying on donations of oats and vegetables, and sleeping wherever he can find a quiet place that won’t land him in legal trouble. That’s harder than it sounds. California’s laws often prohibit overnight camping on public land, leading to occasional arrests and citations. He’s even been jailed and briefly committed to a psychiatric facility, as happened during an arrest in Gilroy. His mules were sent to a shelter, and he was locked up for six days before a patients-rights advocate intervened.
Still, Mule remains committed to what he calls the “sacred act of walking,” which he believes is essential not just to individual well-being, but to the health of the planet itself.
Mule travels with the help of his equine companions, most recently a sorrel molly mule named Rosie. Over the years, other mules – Little Girl, Lady, Little Ethel, and Leroy – have come and gone, retired or passed on, but each has been part of the journey. The mules carry gear and food and graze along roadsides and fields. Mule is careful to stay within animal welfare guidelines, ensuring his mules carry no more than 20% of their body weight and are well-fed, hydrated, and monitored for health issues.
Though many assume he’s homeless, Mule insists that he’s simply “from the outside.” He doesn’t live in houses or drive cars. He exists in and with nature, embracing unpredictability, open space, and a sense of spiritual purpose. His lifestyle has drawn praise and admiration online, with thousands of followers tracking his movements and mission on the 3 Mules Facebook page and website. Some stop to offer food or water, or invite him to rest on private land for a night. Others report him to authorities, concerned about the animals or simply confused by his presence.
He’s walked the boardwalks of Venice Beach, slept under BART stations in Oakland, and traversed vast stretches of wilderness on Bureau of Land Management territory, where he’s witnessed suburban sprawl eat into spaces once left untouched. Two years ago, Mule walked the 295-mile stretch from Las Vegas to Ely, Nevada, only to turn back west when he realized how much land was disappearing. Twelve years ago, Mule was driven to walk out of Nevada, enter California, and bring the nomadic way of life into the heart of the California megatropolis. That moment shifted his focus – from wandering the wilderness alone to speaking up about the loss of public space.
Despite frequent interactions with police, Mule maintains that he stops on public lands only to rest at night for a period of less than 24 hours. He doesn’t set up permanent camp or collect garbage. “We’re not homeless. Our home is the Earth,” he says.
Mule’s attorney, Sharon Sherman, who represented him the Mules pro bono in 2013 was intrigued by the legal and philosophical implications of his way of life. “There is always a balance between people’s freedoms and the needs of a community,” she said. “Mule really made me stop and think about issues I’ve never considered before.”
For Mule, the right to walk freely is not just personal, it’s universal. “Why do you have more rights in a car than if you are walking?” he asks.
The San Diego appearance is just one stop on a continuous migration that Mule says he’ll continue “as long as he can.” And while his mission is unconventional, its message resonates with timeless urgency: to protect the natural world, to move with intention, and to remember that freedom is not something to be taken for granted – it’s something to be lived, one step at a time.
For more on the 3 Mules Project, visit 3Mules.com or follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram.
Originally published on May 29, 2025. Revised with corrections by the 3 Mules on June 6, 2025.
Staying in One Place vs Being in Motion
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 Mules
Bakersfield
When the Mules got into Bakersfield, we went to Tractor Supply looking for Pure Neats foot oil. As we returned to the mules, a lady named Lori was waiting with the mules. She introduced herself and her husband Chuck. She told us that she has been watching the 3 Mules page for many a year. Lori also told us how she contacted CHP and the District Attorney expressing her disgust anger as to the Mules illegal arrest and confinement.
The Mules thanked Lori for the energy of her effort on our behalf as well as the many others of the 3 Mules Nation who did likewise. For if the collective energy of the 3 Mules Nation had not been used, the Mules would right now be using the hacksaw blade we found in our pillow to saw through the bars and take our rightful place on the public thoroughfare showing all who pass our way, there is nothing more precious on this earth than true human freedom.
Lori told us she lived close by and we were welcome to stay the night. It was gettin close to that time so we gratefully accepted her offer. Her kids set up a make shift corral where the mules spent three comfortable nights. Thank you Lori and her nice family for the hospitality they showed the Mules.
As the picture shows it is very easy to accommodate an equestrian traveler as a guest in many suburban communities. These gated housing developments that are springing up everywhere are planned and engineered in such a way as to exclude most outside activity other than getting out of an automobile, walking 40 feet to the front door and going inside, which is the real purpose of an engineered gated community to keep you inside, isolated, dependent and addicted to the internet of things.
In an ever increasing number of cities and towns, city councils are being unduly influenced and pressured to pass ordinances, codes that make any free spontaneous activity in your neighborhood virtually impossible. The 3 mule journey and its nomadic ages old lifestyle pushes back all day every day, one step at a time, against this damning Megatropolis and its goal of disconnection, isolation from the Web of Life, the Natural World.
The Mules
The Mules Don’t War
The Mules won’t and don’t war. Why? There is no good reason to do so. The act of war produces nothing we need or want to associate with. It will not better our lives. War worsens our lives. War, an endless cycle of death, destruction and human misery. First, a victor, then a loser, around and around you go, learning nothing, accomplishing nothing for yourself or the generations to come. A life of service to the Megatropolis providing it with the highest possible degree of human suffering and misery so it can satisfy its never ending insatiable appetite for that misery.
One bright beautiful sunny morning, as can only exist on earth, the Mules many thousands of years ago, were moving into a large canyon as a tribal group known by all who knew us as The Mules. Suddenly, we heard the sharp clinking of metal and the sound of horses coming from behind. The horses of war were in pursuit. We started to run fast and hard with our mules to the end of the canyon up and out onto the ridge. We looked back. They weren’t coming for their horses could not commandeer the rugged climb. We chose for our escape a well known canyon for its difficult ascent. Once down, we would be safe from the pursuing force of war. Almost down, we could see a large cloud of dust at the mouth of the canyon. We turned and looked to the ridge which we had left. The forces of war had come up from another canyon.
We were trapped for the first and last time. The Megatropolis had grown too large now. Its organization and control of humanity was well on its way. We got off our mules, placed our hands on their necks and stood and quietly waited for what was surely to come.
First we watched our children slain one at a time before our eyes. Then we watched our wives, companions meet the same fate. And then we who remained were mocked and insulted as cowards for allowing them to do what they had just done. Then my tribal members were also slain one at a time until only I was left standing quietly waiting for my sure demise, I saw this soul captured by war and destruction start to weep about 100 feet of where I stood.
Suddenly a stillness with the strength of a storm encompassed all that could be seen and experienced. Then another captured soul began to weep. Now all these men of war were on their knees weeping and shaking with fear and regret for what they have done to the Mules and of course to themselves. We stood in silence until we understood it was time for us to leave for the suffering was not ours to bare. The burden was to be bared by the men of war. I got on my mule, turned to the north and once again continued this endless journey alone but never alone of one human being sacredly walking on earth through the web of life in one of any of all four directions with his or her animal companions one step of a time all day every day.
The story of the Mules’ past and their ancestors explains very well why the Mules will never war again. The ancestors learned the consequences of war and pass this story on through the use of thousands of years of harbored energy. Each lifetime we live here on earth, our chosen place of eternal residence, we end that life by dying either from accident, stealth or natural causes, only to re-materialize, live again, wander and roam over this beautiful creation known as earth. The Megatroplis seeking to control all energy on earth has never controlled the Mules and never will. We the Mules give our energy to this place in which we reside and this place protects us as we walk on our endless journey through time and space.
The Mules
The following is a report to the Nation the Three Mules Nation on our wanderings thru the San Diego Megatropolis
San Marcos, CA 2/28/2019 – Where we slept last night, we were packing up and getting ready to leave when two San Diego County sheriffs appeared, questioned us as why we were here and what we were doing for they had got a call that somebody was in the area with a horse. I told them we spent the night there and we were on our way south. They said fine and that was the concluded the conversation.
La Costa Town Center, Carlsbad, CA 2/28/2019. From San Marcos, Little Girl and I walked 3.3 miles on the trails heading southwest to La Costa Town Square in Carlsbad so that we could stop at Starbucks to have a small cup of coffee leaving a little room for cream, while charging our phone and working on our blog. We had other errands to take care of in the shopping center as well. I secured Little Girl to an unmanicured area that was away from traffic and that was within my view from within Starbucks.
While we were at Starbucks, the property manager sent me the following email:
Shortly after, she came into Starbucks and said that my mule and I had to leave, otherwise she was calling the police and animal control. I replied that I wasn’t going to leave until I finished charging my phone and drinking my coffee. Upon leaving Starbucks, I untied Little Girl and moved to another area of the shopping center parking lot to complete my other errands. After doing that we left. We did not make any contact with police or animal control.
Ms. McEntee’s demand conflicts with state and federal law for equestrians’ right to travel on the public thoroughfare. These shopping centers are connected to the public thoroughfare.
When somebody leaves their house, gets in their car, gets on the public thoroughfare with the intent of going to a store to buy food or supplies for themselves and their family, they fully expect that when they leave the public thoroughfare to enter the parking lot, they will be able to park their car, walk into the store, buy their groceries and supplies, return to their car, put their groceries and supplies in their car, and leave to go home.
To have that denied simply because a person arrives by horse or mule and not in an automobile is illegal. To call police and animal control simply because a customer arrived by mule and not allow them to park because the person didn’t arrive in a high speed automobile is ridiculous.
This is not 1817 where you load up your six-shooter and go out to shoot some deer for dinner. This is 2019. You start up your car, proceed on the public thoroughfare, enter a parking lot and go into a grocery store or a big box store, which controls the food and supplies. That’s where you get it. If you don’t get it there, you’re not going to get it anywhere.
For a shopping center manager to arbitrarily decide who gets to eat or get supplies and who doesn’t is an outrageous situation. The Mules on that particular day were a perfect example about how outrageous things have gotten It certainly showed that those limits must be thoroughly watched and constrained.
Big box shopping centers and grocery stores should have a small unmanicured area that can be utilized for equestrians to tie their horse or mule as they have parking spaces for motorists and bike racks for cyclists.
Diane Village Shopping Center, San Diego, CA 3/3/2019. We went to the Dollar Store in Diane Village Shopping Center to get groceries. Somebody posted the following comment on our website: “I think it is great what you are doing. I saw a post that you were at the Dollar Store in the Diane Shopping Center today and read a few posts that I didn’t like, like ‘call the Humane Society’ for a man and his mule? Keep on walking trouble free. You have every right to!”
Where we stopped for the night, San Diego, CA 3/4/2019. On Monday morning as we were packing up where we stopped for the night, San Diego Police stopped to talk to us curious as to who we were and what we were doing. The conversation was cordial and friendly. The officers took some photos, which they sent to us.
City of San Diego Serra Mesa Library, San Diego, CA 3/4/2019. Afterwards, we went to the City of San Diego Serra Mesa Kearny Mesa Library to charge our phone. Little Girl was secured and well out of the path of the library entrance. The librarian approached me and said that I had to remove my mule from library property for Little Girl was a danger to children going to and leaving the library. I secured Little Girl way out of the way from people coming and going to the library and she was not a danger. I told the librarian that I was not going to leave until I was finished charging my phone. She said if I didn’t remove Little Girl from library property she would call the police. I said fine.
The police arrived and spoke to the librarian. Then the police came to me and said that I had the right to be there because it is a public library.
Chula Vista, CA 3/8/2019. Last night in Chula Vista, we stopped for the night in an open area. In the morning, I grazed Little Girl on the abundant grass then fixed breakfast, then proceeded to pack up. While packing up, Chula Vista Police showed up and informed us that we were trespassing, while people were walking and running their dogs not more than 200 feet away. They also informed us that people were complaining that we were causing a disturbance.
If we were causing a disturbance in the process of grazing and packing our belongings, then the people walking their dogs were certainly doing the same. The officers decided to write a citation for having a tent set up within the city limits of Chula Vista, which is an infraction. They then asked me to sign my name on the citation. I refused to do so because we were not causing any disturbance or bothering anybody. The police officers informed me that if I didn’t sign the citation, Little Girl would be impounded and I would be taken to jail. I still refused to sign the citation.
The officers called their supervisor who came out and had a conversation with myself. He said he had met me a couple of years ago and it was good to see that I was still on my feet. He released me from detainment and told me to have a safe trip.
Afterwards, we went to Starbucks for a small cup of coffee leaving room for cream and to charge our phone. I parked Little Girl in an out of the way location. While in Starbucks, I received a Facebook message from a woman that stated: “Hi, is there a specific handler for the mules?”
We responded yes.
She replied, “I’m in Chula Vista and one of your mules is outside Starbucks without a handler. I waited, hoping maybe someone was inside getting a drink.” I replied back that I was inside Starbucks.
Little Girl’s relationship with me is not the same as a person’s relationship with their pet dog. My relationship with Little Girl is a working relationship. She serves me in the capacity of a pack mule, carrier of all my worldly goods which I use to live from day to day. It’s been the way of life for our ancestors for thousands of years and our way of life for the past 35 years. She has to be left unattended for short periods of time. It is not possible or practical to flag a stranger down and expect them to watch Little Girl while I take care of necessary errands.
When that mule is secure to a light post or tree, etc. she is parked. The public has no more of a right to approach her or touch her, than I have to pop the hood on somebody’s automobile and adjust the carburetor. Little Girl is private property. That’s the law and must be respected.
Summary. Any law that allows an owner of a parking lot (privateer) to deny a citizen access to a store that provides the necessities of life, such as food, clothes, etc., must be changed, abolished. The United States is a free country with a constitution guaranteeing all its citizens the right of free movement and equal treatment and protection under the law. To allow a privateer to deny a citizen of a free country access to the necessities of life is Totalitarianism of the worst kind.
The Mules are now faced with the situation where it is impossible to stop anywhere, go get groceries, get phone charged, care for Little Girl, walk thru town. This is not allowable for us. Anyone driving a car and living behind four walls is perfectly fine. But for us, walking peacefully walking on the public thoroughfare to get from Point A to Point B, a constitutional right, guaranteed in this country, the law of the land to do things necessary to stay alive, has been made illegal by these unconstitutional laws.
We cannot walk 24/7 and must stop to eat, hydrate, rest and catch our breath. The four essential necessities for ALL LIVING BEINGS.
The Mules are peaceful travelers and not a blight. We do not litter. We pick up after ourselves. We do not do drugs. We are not alcoholics. We are not a public nuisance. We are not panhandling for money. We have our own financial resources. We have supported commerce in the area by shopping. Unlike visitors who arrive in San Diego by automobile, we arrived by walking hundreds of miles to get here.
The outside is our home where we have lived for most of our lives connecting with Nature. It is our preferred way of life. To deny the Mules this freedom is the death of us. This Earth is our home. We wander and roam this beautiful place we all call Earth with reverence, love and respect until we die from accident, stealth or natural causes.
Needless to say, we cannot obey this insanity. If we do, it is suicide. These laws are in human and inhumane. We will exercise our constitutional rights, the supreme law of the land and we will do it everywhere else we go.
The number of negative people we encounter is relatively small in comparison to the trouble they can cause by calling and complaining to the enforcement agencies of our presence. The Mules interaction with the public by far is positive.