Rolling across America, one story at a time

To experience America in all of its vast wonder, and truly grasp the diversity of her people, is to have enough time and focus to understand it, one on one — not just one person at a time, but one conversation at a time.

Sea G. Rhydr may have found the ideal vantage point to observe the United States. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Rhydr has taken on this journey in a covered wagon. She, along with her two ponies (Franklin and Theodore) and her Corgi named Thick, set out on their current journey on April 13, 2026, from the Walmart parking lot in Millersburg with the simple goal of getting the know their neighbors all across America.

Rhydr’s ponies are pulling a covered wagon with some modern-looking wheels, a good-sized storage battery in the front, and a couple of solar panels, laying across the top of the wagon. As for the cover, topping the wagon, it is a yellow, synthetic tarpaulin, customized to fit Rhydr’s small wagon and be able to fold down in the back and front at night. Hence, her wagon is nicknamed the Mustard Seed.

Rhydr is looking to turn this covered wagon ride into a three-year adventure. Along the way she wants to keep a running blog of the places she visits and of the people she meets. Rhydr is compiling them into a video interview project, which she calls, "Who is My Neighbor?" These adventures and interviews will be part of the first of a planned book trilogy, that will cover the first 1,000 miles of her current journey.

Although, she has only been on the road a month, Rhydr’s experience with horses and wagons goes all the way back to her east Texas upbringing in the late 1960s and early '70s.

“I was 6 years old and I was completely obsessed with Little House on the Prairie,” explained Rhydr. “That Christmas, the only thing I asked for was a complete box set of Laura Ingalls Wilder's (1867-1957) Little House on the Prairie series, which was about nine bucks. I read the whole series nine times. My mom made me a sun bonnet and a hoop skirt and we found a little John Deere wagon.”

Her family lived in a place called Sky Ranch in a town called Van, Texas, located about 72 miles east of Dallas. Rhydr's father was a preacher and a camp director so her family moved often.

“My dad was running a little summer camp out in East Texas,” said Rhydr. “We hitched a barely trained pony to this wagon and my parents let me drive my younger sister – I was maybe 11 – six miles on back country roads in Texas, to get to church on Sunday.”

Rhydr, who describes herself as “peripatetic,” moved, with her family, from Texas to upstate New York.

“We moved all the time,” said Rhydr, who never lived in one place for more than nine years, the longest being Pugeot Sound in Washington State.

“When I live in one place for more than five years. I start to get allergic to it,” said Rhydr. “So, in the Caribbean, it was mango pollen and suddenly, I just couldn’t breathe half the year. On Lopez Island (Washington State), it was mold.”

In fact, Rhydr was facing greater health challenges than allergies.

“I am in stage four kidney disease,” said Rhydr. “So, three years ago in Lopez, I started getting allergic to the mold and the pollens. My kidney function dropped. My mouth tasted horribly metallic. I lost 12 pounds in two weeks and wound up in the emergency room. So, this was a life-threatening sort of allergy and my doctor said, “You need to relocate. I know you don’t want to hear that, but you’ll die sooner or later, if you stay here.’”

Ryder was certainly no stranger to changing scenery. The little girl, with the Little House on the Prairie obsession grew up, but was still yearning for a chance to live out her dreams, and finding opportunities to go back to a simpler time. Along the way, she joined an outdoor group called the Long Riders Guild. The members do an unsupported journey of a thousand miles or more on horseback.

“Being an overachiever, I went for a 5,000 mile ride with the group from 2011-13,” said Rhydr. “I rode with them from Northern California, down to Texas, and then up to Maine, with a riding horse and a pack horse. It was the best two years of my life. It was just amazing.”

It wasn’t just the people she rode with that were memorable. It was also the people along the way, who helped provide shelter and other support for the riders.

“We were taken in by all sorts of people,” said Rhydr. ”It was just wonderful. People were just generous and kind and just amazing. It literally restored my faith in humanity, in God, and restored my faith in myself. I was coming off of a hard break up and it was just, exactly what I needed.”

Rhydr wanted to go on another ride, but life got in the way. She did, however come across social media and a way to contact some of the people she had met on her ride.

“I got on Facebook and I was appalled,” said Rhydr. “All of these people that I had stayed with and had been so lovely in person, were absolute monsters on Facebook. They weren’t loving, generous or kind on Facebook. They were really scary. I was like, ‘What just happened?’”

Rhydr, who had been naïve to social media, was getting a crash course in what psychologists and researchers have called the Online Disinhibition Effect. This can be as benign as people sharing personal feelings on line that they might be too shy to express in person. It can also be so toxic as to include harsh criticism, anger, hatred, and threats.

This is where Rhydr’s current project was born. No longer able to ride a horse, she dreamed of riding across the country in a covered wagon, so she could meet people on an individual basis and get to know them for who they are.

“I was thinking, ‘I’m 60 years old, I’m disabled, nobody knows who I am, nor do they care who I am. It’s hard to even feel like there’s any voice to be had. What can I do?'” Rhydr wondered.

In the meantime, Rhydr found a pair of ponies for sale in Fresno, Ohio, at Twilight Farms and spent everything she had on them.

“I had been watching the talking heads on television,” said Rhydr. “They were saying things like, ‘We have to do our part,’ and ‘We don’t want to lose our democracy,’ I started thinking how tiny these ponies were and I started remembering my Little House on the Prarie dreams, and what a great metaphor it was to have these small ponies pull this covered wagon such a long distance. Along with that, I’m on this mission to help heal some of the divide in the country, by talking to people, asking them questions and listening to their answers.”

Now, Rhydr puts these answers on You Tube on a channel called, "Who is My Neighbor?"

“That’s what I’m doing,” said Rhydr. “I’m interviewing people. I‘m traveling at the speed of the ponies, which is about 12 miles a day, because I have chronic fatigue, kidney disease, and I am not in great health. I just took a five-day rest, because I had just driven for three days in a row and I was exhausted.”

Rhydr was able to spend several days in Knox County, including a few days with area resident Susan Ferris and then, just north of Mount Vernon at an unoccupied house, owned by Knox County’s Larry Hall.

“Susan Ferris took me in, fed me, and restored me,” said Rhydr. “Then, Mr. Hall reached out and said, ‘You’re welcome here.’ Actually, there’s a house across the street and down one that’s for sale, with a circular driveway. With two dogs and a pony, that looked easier for me.”

From here, Rhydr is heading to Indiana and points west, via Chesterville, Cardington, and Mount Gilead.

“I’m still looking for places to stay in those towns,” said Rhydr. “My biggest thing is that this wagon is like driving a school bus. So, I need a big turnaround area.”

Ohio, having the largest Amish population in the U.S., was the ideal place to begin this journey.

“It feels like a safe place to start, because people are used to seeing buggies on the road,” said Rhydr. “The Knox County Kokosing Gap Trail is wonderful. I just want that to stretch all the way across the country. From here, I am trying to head west to the Great Plains so, at least I’ve got some visibility. I am ready to get out of these hills and on to ground that is more flat. Then, we might be doing 15-20 mile days, because the ponies will be in better shape.”

You may follow the journey of Sea G. Rhydr on her Facebook page, or post a message to her at Sea@freerangerodeo.com.

You may view the latest progress report of Sea G. Rhydr on her blog, or view videos of her interviews at the following address: www.freerangerodeo.com.