McGilvery enjoys horsing around

Ron “Dakotah” McGilvery is leaving California. For good.

The Minnesota native has traveled the country – some 80,000 miles – in a large horse-drawn wagon for more than 30 years.

He was greeted with smiles and cheers as he made his way through Maxwell along old Highway 99 Thursday and didn’t mind stopping a time or two to talk to folks about his travels.

“Thank God for rubber tires and horses,” he said from his three-ton home on wheels.

McGilvery, 68, who has lived on and off in California some 18 years, said he’s been through these parts before. He made camp Thursday night in a eucalyptus grove near Artois, after stopping at the feed store in Willows to stock up on food for his five horses.

After his stay, McGilvery, a rugged looking man with a short-cropped gray beard, will make his way through Orland and Corning up to Susanville – traveling about 20 miles a day – then head east to either South Dakota or Montana for the summer.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “I’ll go where the roads take me, just as long as I’m back in Texas before next winter.”

On his most recent journey, McGilvery left Oregon before winter set in, moving south along the coast then across the foothills. He sticks mostly to rural roads and tries to stay clear of the law.

He’s doesn’t mind the attention he gets from fellow travelers, town folk and kids. He’s even been featured on television and has been a guest on several radio shows. But the attention he gets from law enforcement in California is like no other he’s encountered in any other state.

“California’s solution for everything is jail,” McGilvery said. “I woke up in Happy Camp one morning to the sheriff standing over me saying ‘get out of town.’”

He’s been cited a few times for unsafe travel and other code violations. It’s enough, he said, to send him from the state for good.

“I’m not coming back,” he said. “I like the Midwest. I may head over to Kansas. The law’s a lot friendlier there.”

McGilvery’s wagon – complete with solar panels, shower, living quarters and an oven – is pulled by the same three sturdy mixed-breed horses he’s had for several years. He travels with two more recent purchases – both in training – and pulls a smaller wagon behind his home for horse feed and tools.

On its side reads an invitation to visit his MySpace page “myspace.com/rondakotah,” which is maintained by an acquaintance he met on his many travels.

“I’m getting pretty well known,” McGilvery said. “I’m getting pretty well known.”

Contact Susan Meeker at 934-6800 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.