The Mules had an encounter with Riverside County Sheriffs this morning. We were walking along Van Buren Boulevard when the sheriff pulled up in front of us, got out of his vehicle and bid us a good morning. We did the same.
He immediately started asking us questions. We countered with our own question. We told the officer we did not call 911. We did not ask for any police help. What was it that he wanted? He replied they were getting calls about a man walking with a horse along the road. We’re not breaking any law. He then started asking more questions. We stated we don’t answer questions. He then stated we had to answer his questions as he was running an investigation. We said that’s not true. Frasier versus Croup 1969 Supreme Court decision gives the police officer a right to lie and pay no consequences. We gave the officer our card and he accepted it. The Mules then said we’ve got to go so we did.
NOTE: the Mules often get comments that were hostile towards police. Well actually we’re not. We recognize the job they do is necessary and valuable we the Mules couldn’t do it even if we wanted to. The Mules appreciate their willingness to do this job.
That being said it’s the citizens job to know his or her rights and how to protect them when dealing with authority. Even though the police are sworn to protect the Constitution you can’t expect they’re going to protect your individual circumstance and the rights attached to it. It’s the job of the citizen so we the Mules do our part to try and keep a free country.
The Mules left Menifee yesterday morning walked 10 miles and got to were we’re at. We met some people along the way. One being a park ranger for the city of Perris. He was curious and asked us questions. It made us curious, so we asked him one does the City of Perris have the notorious no camping law which is vague and unclear and allows any police officer to arrest you for anything except blowing your nose? He said yes. He said we were allowed to stop at the park and rest during the day, but at 10:00 p.m. the Park closed and it would be illegal to be there past that hour.
So the mules did what everybody has to do. We left the park and found another place to rest for the night.
March 27, 2026 The Mules stopped in this open vacant field where there were no signs informing anybody entering that field that they were trespassing. I took all the gear off of Rosie, put her on a picket line, and was preparing to go to sleep.
This lady showed up and claimed I was on her property and I had to leave. I questioned her to the fact that there was no signs against trespassing anywhere to be seen. She said it didn’t matter I just didn’t believe her that it was her property the house was too far away anyway. She called the police.
Murrieta Police showed up and demanded I leave. They also offered no proof that the property belonged to her. They threatened me with arrest and jail if I wouldn’t leave so I did.
After getting packed up and leaving I was informed by the officers that if I stopped anywhere in Murrieta to do anything, rest or sit down, I would be arrested under their no camping law and taken to jail.
So right now we are forced to stay on our feet until dawn in Murrieta and we will go to City Hall to protest this treatment. The Murrieta Police offered the Mules no alternative place where they could spend the night. Instead they forced us out into the dark to wander up and down the streets in the city of Murrieta with the threat if we stopped anywhere or any amount of time to rest it would be considered camping and we would be arrested.
March 28, 202612pm The Mules are on their way to Murrieta Police Department to bring the energy of an ages old way of life to the doorstep of the Murrieta Police department and the center of City of Murrieta, California. The effect it will have we do not know. We don’t control that. We do control the effort we make. The reward for us is to our soul. The Mules will be wandering and roaming through the city of Murrieta and then we will seek a good place to rest for the night. It might be a city park. It might be a vacant lot. It might be someone’s private property that we’ve been invited to stay for the night. It might be off to the side of the road. We’ve been living like this in California for 13 years and the Western U.S. for over 40 years. It’s doable we’ve demonstrated that there is no good reason to try and stop us or anybody else.
March 28, 2026 2:45pm The Mules at Murrieta Police Station to bring the energy of an ages old way of life to their doorstep.
March 28, 2026 7:06pm
The City of Murrieta – City Government made the following statement on their Facebook page: “The City of Murrieta and the Murrieta Police Department are aware of the situation involving a man traveling through our community with his mule.
We’re pleased to share the matter has been peacefully resolved. He and his mule have been connected with a safe place to stay in Murrieta for the night.
Thank you for your concern and compassion! We remain committed to approaching situations like this delicately while upholding public safety and local laws.
The Mules were invited to rest at the property of Murrietta Councilmember Dr. Lisa DeForest and her husband Lance.
Last night, the Mules spent the night in Norco in Riverside County, California, also know as HorseTown U.S.A. We found a vacant field where we spent the night. Upon awakening in the morning, I took Little Girl across the street and got her some water and then grazed her along the horse path for about an hour.
I returned to the place we spent the night and fixed breakfast. After enjoying breakfast and watching Little Girl take a nap, we packed up and proceeded on our way north though Norco.
Little Girl taking a nap
We met a number of followers of our Facebook and website pages and enjoyed the conversations. After a mile or so, we saw Norco’s sign HorseTown USA. According to city ordinances, the architecture of Norco “shall reflect a desired Western theme,” including qualities “described as rural, informal, traditional, rustic, low-profile and equestrian oriented.
As a horse community, there are few sidewalks in the city of Norco, instead there are horse trails and riders can ride to town and tie their horses at the many hitching rails and corrals placed close to businesses.
We thank the town of Norco for the pleasant experience as short as it was. It was nice not to be bothered by police officers telling us they were getting calls about a starving horse, a loose horse, a horse dying from lack of water, or a drunken homeless man leading a horse down the road, etc. etc. or expressing general concern as to the sight of the Mules. This did not happen. It was a pleasant experience in Norco, HorseTown USA.
Now we are well out of Norco. It is now time to stop on the public thoroughfare for we have been walking most of the day as any equestrian traveler does and we will claim our right to stop here, fix our dinner, go to sleep on the public domain/thoroughfare as any citizen of the United States has a constitutional right to do so.
Pictured is a sign that says, Emergency Stopping Only. That is an illegal post. No city or county or state has the legal right to post any sign that will prevent any legal user of said thoroughfare to use it in a responsible way. This sign is absolutely attempting to do that. It’s entirely illegal under the constitution of the United States. The public thoroughfare within the United States belongs to the public.
The Mules are a member of that public and we can without doubt unequivocally prove our safe and responsible use of it. We will not accept any form of exclusion from it.
On April 29, we wrote a blog post of what happened when we arrived at Palm Springs on our way to Indio. When we got to Indio, we decided that it was not feasible to walk to Arizona, so we turned around to start heading back northwest to Bakersfield. The only route is to back track and walk thru Palm Springs.
We arose this morning (May 1) spending the night in an open field adjacent to the railroad tracks, couple hundred yards away from a resort. I ate some oats for breakfast, watered Little Girl, and proceeded to pack up with a challenge of a strong wind.
Upon completing the job, we headed west leaving Rancho Mirage headed for Beaumont. I left the tracks, got on Vista Chino Road, walked about a mile and stopped at a Starbucks. I tied Little Girl to a tree in an out of the way spot, went into Starbucks to charge my phone. I was there for less than an hour when a young lady entered Starbucks, asked me if that was my mule outside. I said yes.
She said she is in distress and her back leg is injured. I knew that was nonsense because I tied her in a way and such a place where where there was nothing that could injure her back leg. She told me if I didn’t go out immediately and attend to my injured mule she would call animal control and the police.
I told her to go ahead but make sure she is there when they arrive to take responsibility for her actions. I stayed about 10 minutes longer, completed charging my phone, left Starbucks, went back to where Little Girl was tied. Of course, there was no injury to her leg, and there was no young lady standing there to take responsibility for her actions.
When equines stand for periods of time, they will bend their ankle/leg and hold their hoof at an angle. This relieves pressure, much like a human will shift their weight when standing for periods of time. Someone not familiar with that may think they see a lame animal, although that is NOT the case!
I put my phone away, untied Little Girl and proceeded west down the street. We had walked about 45 minutes and animal control officer came up behind us in his truck. He parked in front of us, got out of his truck and demanded we speak to him. We said what for? He said is that mule injured, we got a call that there is an injured mule. I said, you were behind us for quite a time, did you see any indication that the mule was injured? He didn’t say. I demanded an answer. And got a weak acknowledgement that he could see no injury. I said then why did you stop us? And who called you? What is their name and what exactly is their complaint? He would not answer my questions. I told him to get away and leave us alone. He said he would not. He would follow us. And so he did for over an hour.
The Mules have been harassed by trolls ever since we arrived in Palm Springs. Every time I stop to do necessary things such as charge my phone, water my mule, stop for groceries, or take a brief time to rest from walking.
When we were walking thru the downtown, a police officer stopped and wanted to talk to us. We were not interested and told him so. Shortly after that, Riverside Animal Control showed up and wanted to talk to us. He said don’t worry I read your website, I understand what you are doing and we have no issues with you.
The next day I went to WinCo to buy groceries. I tied Little Girl up in a secure place where she would not be in anyone’s way. Upon completing my shopping, leaving the store, a police officer was waiting for me. When I got to Little Girl with my cart of groceries, he wanted to know what I was all about and what I was doing. He said they got a call about a horse in the parking lot. I said I have been walking all day, the wind was blowing hard and I had to pack up my groceries and was not interested in a conversation. Another police officer arrived and had the two officer talked awhile. The first police officer left and the second police officer stayed not more than 15 feet away in his cruiser the whole time I was there approximately 20 minutes.
This afternoon as I was taking a walk break for Little Girl and dictating the events of above for this blog, the following occurred:
While walking down East Vista Chino Avenue, I entered an open area full of creosote bushes and grass, no fence, no signs, to prevent me from entering. I tied Little Girl to the fence, removed her belongings so she could get a rest, retrieved some oatmeal out of my packbox and served myself lunch.
We were outside the fenced perimeter of the airport in the large field.
It wasn’t long that a security guard drove up and stopped on the other side of the fence and informed me to untie Little Girl from the fence and said that Little Girl being tied to the fence was a security issue as it was airport property. I said no because there was no place else to tie her and I was not on the side of the airport. I had removed all my belongings and I planned to rest Little Girl and there was no good reason to be disturbed.
Shortly thereafter Palm Springs Police Dept and Animal Control showed up and informed me that I could not be there. They also informed me that if I were to tie Little anywhere in Palm Springs to a tree, fence, post, etc., I would be in violation of the No Tethering Law, arrested and taken to jail. They also informed me if I were to stopped anywhere to take the gear off of Little Girl to give her a break, it wold be considered camping and I would be arrested.
In looking up Palm Springs Municipal Code 10.12.040, we found: 10.12.040 Animals at large in aircraft operations areas. The animal control officer, his deputies and assistants, all peace officers, and all city employees subject to direction of the airport manager, shall have authority, subject to federal or any other applicable regulations, to apprehend and remove any dog or other animal found running at large in any landing area or aircraft movement area at the municipal airport. When such dog or animal poses an immediate threat to persons or property and the prompt removal of such dog or animal from said areas is very difficult or hazardous, such dog or animal may be summarily destroyed. (Ord. 12914, 1987: Ord. 910 § 2, 1971: prior code § 5523)
Little Girl was under restraint and secure as shown in the photo. She was not running loose and “at large” in any landing area or aircraft movement area. We were outside the airport fenced perimeter. We had stopped to take a break after walking approximately 9 miles since morning and to eat some oats.
The Mules are now faced with the situation where it is impossible to stop anywhere, go get groceries, get phone charge, care for Little Girl, walk thru town to go north. 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, is illegal.
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 panhandling for money. We have our own financial resources. We have supported commerce in the area by shopping. Unlike visitors who arrive in Palm Springs 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 the only thing we know and enjoy. 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. Little Girl and myself will do a walkabout in the town of Palm Springs and shine the light on this disgusting situation. We will exercise our constitutional rights, the supreme law of the land and we will do it everywhere else we go.
On Saturday, April 28 as we were traveling thru Palm Springs, it had become time to look for a place to stop for the night. We were looking for a park but found none. However, we found this open field in Indian Wells that was a staging area for tourist buses. We asked the maintenance man if it would be alright to stay here for the night. He said he didn’t know. We said we’ll go back over there and fix our dinner, so we did.
After awhile, a security guard approached us and inquired what we were all about. We said we had stopped here to fix some dinner, but it would be nice if we could stay here for the night. They said go ahead and enjoy your dinner, we’ll check with management. Security guard came back and said yes, it will be fine.
Later, a gentleman came over with some friends. They were interested in our journey. We had a nice conversation and received a souvenir La Quinta Resort & Club hat and water for Little Girl.
The Mules want to thank the people that we met for their hospitality and kindness.
This is where we slept yesterday night outside of Palm Springs. I packed up Little Girl and we left our camp about 8 making our way to Highway 111 heading for Indio. After walking for a couple of hours, we came upon a Starbucks. I decided to stop there and charge my phone.
I tied Little Girl to a tree in the parking lot about hundred and fifty feet away from the entrance to Starbucks. I went into Starbucks, sat down, plugged in my phone and waited for phone to charge. I was able to look through the front door of Starbucks and see Little Girl.
After about half an hour of sitting in Starbucks, two police officers entered through the door approached me and said they wanted me to go outside and talk to them. I said I’m not going anywhere to talk to anybody. I’m busy. They turned and went back outside. I could see there were people gathering around Little Girl. It’s a common occurrence. She attracts attention.
Apparently one of those people or all of those people called the police claiming Little Girl was tied for over 2 hours in the hot sun without water. She was not tied in the direct sun. She was tied under a tree. She was without water because she didn’t need any. I had watered her in the morning before we started walking. I was in Starbucks for no more than 1 hour. It takes about an hour to charge my phone and that is the maximum time I spend away from Little Girl.
I have been walking the state of California for over 5 years with Little Girl. Animal control and the police are called. It’s a common occurrence whenever I tie Little Girl to a tree, lamppost, or fence, go into a grocery store, hardware store, a library, or a Starbucks. I’ve never been charged or arrested for animal abuse, neglect of Little Girl or any such thing. Little Girl has never suffered from lack of water or lack of food or lack of care. Calling the police or animal control or both will not result in my arrest it will only be a misuse of police resources and time.
I am 70 years old. Little Girl is 28 years old. We can easily travel 15 miles a day in hundred plus degree heat and love every minute of it.
People who live inside air conditioned vehicles, going from one air-conditioned building to the next are in no way capable of placing any judgment on us and the way we live. Our ages-old nomadic way of life is tried-and-true. It’s stellar. Calling police, animal control or both will never stop the Mules or their nomadic way of life. It’s our constitutional right the Supreme law of the land to be who we are and what we are, and we will exercise that right relentlessly.
The gentlemen in the photo below use their courage and weapons to fight for the freedom, which we the Mules enjoy. The Mules have a different scheme. We don’t use weapons. We use our energy to live free and be free one step at a time all day everyday until we die by accident, stealth or natural causes. Its a scheme that has served us well throughout the ages.
Yesterday morning we had some oatmeal for breakfast then left Cabazon where we spent the night, walked awhile, then met a dinosaur running loose on the bashed and unashamed, defying the control state like us. We enjoyed each other’s company, trading stories and experiences.
After leaving the dinosaurs, we came across this person we thought they should take a lesson from us in efficiency and practicality. All you need is a sleeping bag, some water, extra pair of shoes, a little food. How in the world anybody wants to haul around all this stuff is beyond us. We said farewell and wished them luck. Whoever they were they got a lot to learn.
As we walked along the railroad tracks and through the desert we found freshwater coming from Big Bear. We then stopped under a bridge and caught some shade and rest. There is plenty of good grass out in this desert for Little Girl to eat.
Towards the end of our day, we met Tarra. She was on her way back home and stopped to visit us. We had a nice conversation and enjoyed each other’s company.
We then walked a couple of miles to the outskirts of Palm Springs and settled for the night. 17-miles walked from Cabazon to Palm Springs.
Shade under a bridgeCabazon DinosaurFreshwater in the desertTarra and Little GirlWhere we spent the night in CabazonPacking efficiently vs. non-efficientlyGrass in the desertGrass in the desertWhere we spent the night in the outskirts of Palm Springs
On Sunday, April 22, 2018, we left Hemet around 9am walking approximately 17-miles to Beaumont via Highway 79. It was a beautiful day and we were enjoying ourselves. Little Girl and myself were anticipating our journey east.
Midway between Hemet and Beaumont, a CHP officer pulled his cruiser up in front of us blocking our way preventing our forward motion. It would have meant going into traffic coming at us at 65 mph+. He did not turn on his blue and red flashing emergency lights, allowing traffic to pass at 65+ miles per hour, which is putting the Mules plus himself in extreme danger.
The CHP officer said he wanted to talk to us. We took his picture, turned on our voice recorder, and asked him if we could record him. He said yes.
We then asked what it was he wanted. He said he had been getting calls that there was a horse loose on the highway. We said, “Where is the loose horse? We don’t see one.”
He then warned us not to walk in the roadway. “You must stay on the far right-hand side of the road.” We said that’s where we are. The guard rail is preventing us from going any further to the right and the lane of traffic is preventing us from going any further to the left. We were walking on the shoulder we have a constitutional right in this country to use all city, state, county roads.
The CHP officer then told the Mules that if he got any more calls about us being in the roadway we would be arrested and Little Girl would be impounded. We have said this before to CHP officers but forgot this time to tell them if he comes back and bothers us again we will arrest him and take him to jail.
We walked about 17 miles from Hemet and arrived in Beaumont late in the afternoon. We found an open field near Walmart with plenty of grass for Little Girl to graze and to rest for the night.
Monday, April 23, 2018 Upon awakening in the morning, I checked Little Girl, gave her some water, and moved her picket line to where she could graze on some new grass. I then fixed breakfast, packed up Little Girl, and proceeded to Starbucks not more than a quarter of a mile away.
I tied Little Girl to a tree with a short line in the Starbucks parking lot. [Side note: often times, people complain that Little Girl is tied too short and that she should have more room to move around. A short line keeps her out of harms way of vehicles moving through the parking lot.] I entered the store, bought a cup of coffee, sat down, and proceeded to charge my phone.
I was in Starbucks for about an hour when a gentleman inside alerted me to the fact that somebody was leading Little Girl across the parking lot. I gathered my belongings, went out the door and caught up to the young woman who had untied Little Girl to the tree and was leading Little Girl towards a black pick up truck with a man wearing a dark beard sitting inside his truck calmly.
She was not more than 10 feet away from the pick up truck when I snatched the lead rope out of her hand, and told her I would call the police. She said she was the police. The young woman, approximately 20 years of age, has a pierced nose, lips and ears and did not appear to be a police officer. I then led Little Girl back to the tree where I had her tied, cleaned up her droppings, and left the area.
The Mules didn’t have a chance to thank the man in Starbucks who alerted me that Little Girl was being led away. If you read this, thank you, sir.
After we left Starbucks, we proceeded to walk to Beaumont City Hall to deliver the Declaration of Emergency. Outside City Hall, we stopped to gather our thoughts and sent an email to the mayors, city council members and city managers in Beaumont, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Banning, and Indio – places we’ll walk through during the next few days as we head east to Arizona. The email described the importance to develop interstate trails and also nomadic lifestyle that we live with a link to the video showing how the Mules responsibly use public space.
Later on, as we were walking along the railroad tracks headed for Banning, we heard a man’s voice beckoning us to stop. We turned and saw the man, who introduced himself as Jeffrey, walking thru the grass, come over to the fence and ask if he could take our picture. We said sure. He said that he has never seen anything like this before and the sight of us caused him to immediately pull over and want to talk to us. We then had a nice conversation as Jeffrey was curious as to what the Mules were doing and where we were going.
The Mules live and travel on the Public Thoroughfare responsibly and honestly with respect and reverence for all. We exercise our constitutional right to do so. This is resented by some and valued by others.
The Mules spent Wednesday night on the outskirts of Temecula on the top of the pass. On Thursday morning (April 12th), we got up ate oatmeal, packed Little Girl, headed in to Temecula, crossed the river and secured Little Girl in the parking lot outside Starbucks. An animal control officer arrived, came into Starbucks and told me they received a call about Little Girl, but it was okay and then left. Shortly thereafter, I also left Starbucks and headed for WinCo Foods (5 miles away) to buy groceries.
We were across the street from WinCo at the stop light when two Temecula police officers stopped, got out of their car. The female officer started to question me…. “Where are you going? Where are you from?” I told her that I did not have to answer her questions and I wasn’t going to. Then she started messing with Little Girl by trying to touch Little Girl’s head and face. Little Girl didn’t like the officer reaching for her face and was annoyed by the officer’s actions. I asked the officer to stop. The officer didn’t want to stop and continued to irritate Little Girl. I told the officer if she didn’t stop, the Mules would arrest her and take her to jail.
Then the other officer started asking me similar questions…”Where are you going? What are you doing?” I told him that we are waiting for the signal light to change so that we can go to WinCo, and that’s what we did when the light changed.
We got to the WinCo parking lot, secured Little Girl to a tree, went into WinCo, bought groceries, came back out, unpacked Little Girl. We stayed there 45 minutes to eat our lunch and take a short break from walking. As we were packing up, another Temecula police officer drove up and started asking the same questions as the prior two Temecula officers…”Where are you going? Where are you from? What are you doing walking around Temecula?”
I responded, “I am not going to talk to you.” I said that the Mules have the right to walk around Temecula and have the same right as he does or anyone else. He said he was not so sure we could walk around Temecula with a horse. I responded I was sure that the Mules could without question. I requested him to go away and leave us alone. The officer wouldn’t leave. We told him if he didn’t leave us alone, the Mules would arrest him and take him to jail.
I continued to pack up Little Girl when two Riverside County sheriff officers showed up. Once again, they started asking me the same questions. I gave them the same answers. The previous officer went over to talk to them and then they all left. Shortly after, we left as well.
In this country, the United States of America, the Mules have the same right to walk around town peacefully going about our business whether to the supermarket to buy food, the hardware store to buy supplies, the doctor or dentist for medical care, the post office to send and receive mail, the gas station to buy gas, or a shady tree to eat our lunch and listen to the birds sing. There is no reason for police to constantly ask us where we’re going, where we are from, what we are doing.
I asked the officers why they were here. They said that they got a call. We asked who called and they responded that they didn’t know. The police are letting trolls dictate their policy and/or using the guise of “a call” to stop and question us. Anonymous people are calling and stating things that aren’t true and making unsubstantiated claims about the Mules as these trolls also do on the internet. The police are letting these trolls operate their department.
All human beings and animals on earth require four bare and basic necessities to survive and sustain life…Air, Water, Food, Rest. Restricting access to these basic necessities of life to only those who travel by automobile is illegal and unconstitutional. A person traveling by foot with his/her animal companion must also have access to food, water, and rest. A state, county or town denying a pedestrian/equestrian access to these basic necessities is illegal, unconstitutional and inhumane.
The Public Thoroughfare is not a place for the exclusive use of the high speed automobile. The Public Thoroughfare is a place for all and many varied uses. People trading goods, ideas, talking freely to each other outside in the open air, making friends, stopping to rest/sleep, using their freedom to go where they want, when they want, how they want, trading stories with fellow travelers. The Public Thoroughfare was never intended to be a place exclusively for a high speed deadly machine. Less than 100 years ago before paved roads became prevalent throughout the United States, most Americans traveled by foot, mule, and horse.
The Mules live this nomadic way of life because it is in our bones. This way of life goes back thousands of years. It’s where we want to be. Being anywhere else makes no sense to us. So we stay with the mules and way of life that we have been living for over 31 years. As you walk in this place with these mules, you spread the awareness that this beautiful earth, like no other, can only be protected by the way we live one day at a time.
