Monday, November 11, 2013

Minot parade celebrates women's spirit of adventure

Sunjournal.com - Full Article

Lindsay Tice, Staff Writer
Lewiston-Auburn | Saturday, November 9, 2013

MINOT — Fifty-nine years ago, Annie Wilkins left her Minot home to travel to California.

On a horse.

With her dog.

At nearly 63 years old.

A woman who liked to wear pants and speak her mind, she wasn't well-regarded by local folks at the time. Some breathed a sigh of relief when she left.

But Wilkins — also known as Mesannie or Jackass Annie because she rode a donkey to her job at a Lewiston shoe shop — would become famous for the journey. And her odyssey, documented in her book, "Last of the Saddle Tramps," would inspire others to ride across the country.

On Saturday, nearly 59 years to the days since Wilkins left for her trip, Minot welcomed the latest of those riders — and celebrated Wilkins' spirit — with a 100-person parade along Jackass Annie Road.

"Women can do stuff just as good as the guys, maybe different stuff, maybe in a different way," that latest cross-country rider, Sea G Rhydr, told the crowd...

Read more here:
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2013/11/10/minot-parade-celebrates-womens-spirit-adventure/1449553

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