Author: Bernard Harberts

I travel so slowly the seasons overtake me. I explore without a gun, film crew or chase vehicle. My favorite vessels are creaky boats and mule wagons. If you stop and help me fix a busted wheel, you might end up in my movie.
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Hurricanes and Deadlines

Mule Polly and her chainsaw
Mule Polly: hauled a wagon across America and, this week, a chainsaw up a mountain. In our barn. (western North Carolina)

Hurricanes and production deadlines don’t mix. We’ve been busy here at LostSeaExpediton.com headquarters wrapping up the series for Rocky Mountain PBS. So when we heard Hurricane Irma had taken sights on our western North Carolina property,  closed captioning gave way to cutting water bars. Yes, even mule Polly pitched in carrying a chain saw up the mountain. We got lucky.  We escaped major damage from Hurricane Irma. Polly’s gone back to grazing. I’m back final edits.

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You – or someone your know – on Rocky Mountain PBS

Bernie holds a sign in front of his wagon.
If I had to do the closed captioning for the Lost Sea Expedition series, it might look like this. Ugggghhh. That’s where underwriters (aka sponsors, supporters, donors, fans of the Lost Sea Expedition, folks like you)  step in. Their dollars help pay for things that someone else can do better than I ….like provide real closed captions as required by Public TV.

You know how Ralph Lauren and Viking River Cruises underwrite Downton Abbey? In exchange, they get to put their message on Public TV every time Downton Abbey airs. Well, here’s a chance for you – or a company, foundation or organization you know – to get an on screen mention on Rocky Mountain PBS (Colorado) as a Lost Sea Expedition underwriter. You’d be helping the series out and in exchange, your message would get in front of all those high quality Rocky Mountain PBS viewers. We’re talking lots of high quality exposure for less than the price of one of those Ralph Lauren ball gowns. Okay, a LOT less…

Continue reading “You – or someone your know – on Rocky Mountain PBS”

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The Hats They Wore

This is not me wearing my Fund Raiser cap. This is Shy Hurst of the Texas High Plains. He’s wearing one of the memorable hats I encountered on the Lost Sea Expedition.

I’ve been awfully quiet online these past weeks. That’s because the big push is on to get the Lost Sea Expedition TV series turned in to to Rocky Mountain PBS.  These days, I’ve traded in my Mule Skinner hat for my Audio Engineer, Colorist, Animal Handler and Insurance Agent hats. Okay, I don’t have an Insurance Agent hat. But that figure of speech sure brings back memories of some of the great hats I found  folks wearing out there on the dusty Lost Sea. Here’s a look at a few of them. Continue reading “The Hats They Wore”

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Dino napping

Harvey McPherson (Creston, South Dakota)
Harvey McPherson (Creston, South Dakota)

Traveling across the ancient sea bed of the Western Interior Seaway, when I wasn’t filming the Lost Sea Expedition or looking for marine fossils, I was always on the lookout for a good place to sneak a nap. Enter Harvey and the dinosaur.

Continue reading “Dino napping”

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Home, Sweet, Muddy Home

Home, sweet, muddy home. As soon as mule Polly got home to North Carolina, she dropped to the ground and started grinding some dirt in to her fur. I had the opposite reaction. (Caldwell County, NC)

Mule Polly and I are back in North Carolina after a great trip to Colorado. We spent the past few weeks  out West letting folks know more about the Lost Sea Expedition Public TV series. The series is about mule Polly and my 2,500 mile wagon voyage across America and premiers on Rocky Mountain PBS. Plenty more photos and stories are coming. Thanks to everyone that made our visit a huge success. Right now, though, it’s time to hit the shower!

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On the road

Polly and the trailer
Mule Polly gets in some last minute grazing before jumping back on the trailer. She rides in the white part of the rig. The trusty ’92 Dodge does the hauling. (Windy Creek Ranch outside Longmont, CO)

Has a month passed already? Incredible. That means it’s time to fire up the Cummins diesel and hit the road. Mule Polly and I will be heading from Colorado  back toward North Carolina over the Independence Day weekend. Huge thanks to everyone that spent time with mule Polly and me in Colorado! Thanks especially to Liz of Windy Creek Ranch for putting Polly and me up this week.

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The Long Riders’ Guild review of the Lost Sea Expedition

The Long Riders Guild is the world's foremost site for equine explorers.
The Long Riders’ Guild is the world’s foremost site for equine explorers. They are  also the source of the world’s most comprehensive book on horse travel, the “Horse Travel Handbook”.  Highly recommended by me.

How do you ride a horse across America… or Mongolia or South America? First thing you do is contact the Long Riders’ Guild.  I did just that a few years ago when I set off to ride my mule Woody from Atlantic to Pacific ocean. Thanks in large part to the Guild, that 13 month journey was a success.

This week, the Long Riders’ Guild published a review of the Lost Sea Expedition TV series.  When you’re done reading that, be sure to check out the in-depth Q&A session here.  Thanks Cuchullaine and Basha for taking the time to explain the importance of the Lost Sea Expedition.  I urge anyone interested in equine travel to visit LongRidersGuild.com.  Now peel yourself away from the screen and go saddle up for your own Long Ride!

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Travelin’ thanks

Life on the road with a mule get lonely. That’s why it means so much when folks pitch in to our quest. Right now we’re raising funds to pay for closed captioning for our Lost Sea Expedition Public TV series. Here’s a video “thanks and howdy” from the road. Thanks Hatdie and Tom for pitching in last night! You can check out everyone else who’s pulling with mule Polly and me right here.

Or hey, hit that Donate button and become part of the Lost Sea Expedition series.

donate2

You’ll get thanked on the LostSeaExpedition.com site and you might even get a mention in a video with mule Polly!

Thanks.
Bernie

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noosa Thanks

Bernie with safety gear.
Pardon the crazed look. I just got off the noosa yogurt tour and it rocked. I make two quarts of yogurt per week back home – sometimes under the wood stove. Yeah, count on having some fly ash and wood chips in your breakfast at my house. Not so noosa. They make thousands of quarts of yogurt per hour and ship it nationwide to places like Whole Foods.  I’m wearing: hair net, saftey googles, ear plugs, lab coat, clean boots and I even washed my hands.

Big thanks to Rob and Lori Graves of noosa yogurt and Morning Fresh Dairy for putting up mule Polly and me for the weekend.  Mule Polly toured the pasture dining on dandelions. I toured the yogurt factory and dairy. Tasty business!  Today (Monday, June 26) mule Polly and I head to Boulder, CO.

More about the Graves’ thriving dairy businesses (they still home deliver milk in glass bottles) at noosa yogurt and Morning Fresh Dairy.

Bernie in front of the noosa breakroom sign.
Welcome to noosa. I don’t usually dress like this. That’s because I’ve just come off the noosa factory tour. Yes there were samples. Yes I’ve eaten it for breakfast the past three days. Gonna miss this stuff back on the wagon. Thanks Rob and Lori and everyone that helped us out this weekend.