Wa-gon South Trip from border to border

An Ashley, N.D. man is taking a trip that was his dream for three years.

Scott Schlepp is driving a covered wagon pulled by two spotted draft Belgian horses. He started the Wa-gon South Trip at the Canadian border on August 1, 2018. He plans to drive the wagon to Brownsville, Tex. - a trip of more than 2,000 miles.

Schlepp spent a few days in the Roscoe park last week. He gave wagon rides to some Edmunds Central elementary students.

Schlepp said he plans to travel about 20 miles a day. He drives the horse-drawn wagon for 10 miles, with his 4-wheeler attached. Then he parks the wagon and horses in a spot to rest. Schlepp drives the 4-wheeler back to the previous parking spot, where his RV and trailer were waiting. Then he returns to the horses and wagon.

During his break at Roscoe he had to look for a 4-wheeler to replace his "girlfriend" which broke down.

The Roscoe stop was also a maintenance stop for Scott and his horses, Duke and Duchess. They got new shoes. Schlepp said Max Henderson of Ipswich replaced all the belgians' shoes, which had 268 miles use on them.

His years of planning included searching for the right team and wagon. "The team is doing the work," he said. 10-year-old Duke and 9-year-old Duchess are brother and sister. Duke is solid, not spooked by the traffic they encounter, Scott said.

Schlepp says he will leave South Dakota by the end of August. He hopes to make it a "very enjoyable trip with lots of stops." You can follow his progress on his Facebook page. He said he posts every night.

The Wa-gon South Trip has the support of the North and South Dakota Historical Societies. He has 800 books to give students along the way. The book, "Ready for School - Memories of Country Schools in North Dakota German-Russian Country" is a history of school days in McIntosh, Emmons and Logan counties in North Dakota. The book has pictures and memories of country schools days, published by the Tri-Country Tourism Alliance.

Schlepp will be raising funds for the Wa-gon South Trip along the way. He will have the names of donors on a sign on the wagon. There is also a Wagon-South-Trip Go Fund Me page.

He will give 10% of the funds raised to the American Cancer Society he said.

His RV will be his home for the next five months. And in the trailer you can find an old-fashioned clothes washer and a freezer which is stocked with pails of ice and frozen food for the trip. The food and hay for Duke and Duchess are also stored there.

If for some reason they don't make it all the way, they will continue the trek next year, Schlepp said.

Some local folks may recognize Schlepp as the owner of the Hayloft Theatre in Ashley, N.D.