Cowboy riding horse across America strays from route to see Hailey
By KELLY JACKSON<br><i>The Wood River Journal ~ Hailey</i>
Hopefully no one driving south on Hailey&#039;s Main Street near noon on Monday showed exasperation at the lone cowboy slowing traffic as he was escorted by a Hailey officer from his entry point at Cedar Street to his destination at the Sawtooth Rangers Rodeo arena.
After all, the purpose of his ride across America is to prove that people are still friendly.
Horseman Bill Inman, his wife Brenda and horse Blackie, a 16-year-old, part thoroughbred and quarter horse, embarked on the journey, which they have dubbed &#8220Uncovering America by Horseback,&#8221; to slow down the pace and find interesting places, individuals, groups and history that inspire pride or lift the spirit. The entire voyage, which began in Lebanon, Ore. on June 2, will take nearly a year, leading the small entourage from the west coast to Brenda&#039;s hometown in North Carolina. 
&#8220This adventure will show the American public that we do have something to be proud of and nothing is impossible as long as you try,&#8221; Bill said. 
A cameraman is also riding along recording the journey. Photographs and updates are available on the Web site at uncoveringamerica.com. Bill is hopeful major news media will eventually catch on to his journey and that it will help inspire urban and townspeople, showing the beauty of people and places and the entertainment that is available courtesy of Mother Earth.
&#8220It&#039;s amazing what&#039;s out there that doesn&#039;t cost a dime,&#8221; Brenda said.
And, for the record, Blackie loves to have his picture taken and be petted. Bill said he and Blackie have bonded a great deal on the trip, sharing Blackie&#039;s favorite foods such as fruit cocktail, apricots, apples and watermelon. Bill said he chose Blackie for the adventure because he is a steady and reliable horse.
Hailey was lucky that Bill chose to trot upon the city streets. The city was actually well out of his way, but all of the friendly folks he met in Idaho thus far told him he just had to see it, so he traveled the additional 50 miles, or three days here and three days back to his route, to catch a glimpse of the well-reputed town. Then, it&#039;s on to Pocatello, Rock Springs, Wyo., across Nebraska, Missouri and a drop down into southern Tennessee. His intended route will keep him as close to the Oregon Trail as possible while avoiding major interstates, metropolitan areas and highways. An extended stop over in Independence, Mo., the town where the Oregon Trail started, is planned, as well as a big &#8220hillbilly reunion&#8221; once they get to Brenda&#039;s family in North Carolina.
&#8220Once we cross on the east side people will be really intrigued,&#8221; Bill said.
The couple has traveled well over 500 miles, stopping for a couple of days every 100 miles or so for Blackie to rest. It also helps break up the solitude of Bill&#039;s experience and is about the time when &#8220his horse starts talking back to him.&#8221; So far, they say they&#039;ve met only with the kindness they expected and are optimistic the trend will continue.
Bill said the speed he can travel depends on a number of factors such as soil type, topography and traffic, as well as how many people want to stop and talk to him along the way.
At the speed of three to five mph, Bill said he has ample time to observe his surroundings.
&#8220I&#039;ll never miss a driveway,&#8221; he said. &#8220I&#039;ll see it for a while.&#8221;
In Idaho, Bill said he was escorted by two Idaho State Police while traveling on Highway 20, met the mayor of Hill City and stayed the night in the local Hampton Inn free of charge in exchange for Bill telling other customers about his adventure over the morning&#039;s free continental breakfast and was the only horse in the Fourth of July parade in Boise. He also traveled through Fairfield&#039;s recent &#8220Capital for a Day&#8221; celebration.
The couple stayed with ranchers, the Millers, near Hill City who gave them a Border collie puppy Brenda will care for through the rest of the trip. Another couple they met along the way rushed 75 miles to bring medical supplies when Blackie cut his leg on a barbed wire fence. A sheriff put the couple up for a night in Murphy. Still other ranchers and farmers along the way have offered kind gestures, such as alfalfa for the horse and steaks to the crew.
&#8220Idaho has been fantastic,&#8221; he said. &#8220The people are just very kind and charitable that we&#039;ve met along the way. I&#039;ve rode all those miles and I haven&#039;t ran into one criminal yet.&#8221;
The couple always approaches local law enforcement regarding the best route before entering into a jurisdiction and say that officers have been very pleasant and helpful throughout the journey thus far.
To make it work, Brenda drops Bill off exactly where he left off the day before and drives ahead in their pickup and horse trailer, often waiting for hours for the cowboy and his horse to catch up. 
The couple says they are far from rich and sold many of their belongings to make the journey.
&#8220We are putting our whole lives into this,&#8221; Brenda said.
They are traveling with just the trailer and pickup. There is no camper accompanying them and they do not have funds for hotel stays along the way. They do have a camp shower, Coleman&#039;s stove, happiness and each other.
Brenda joked that the &#8220Uncovering America&#8221; diet also works pretty well and she&#039;s lost 20 pounds since the trip began and is also in much better shape.
Bill is anything but new to the riding scene. He is originally from Texas and grew up in rodeos. In fact, he and Brenda met while he was competing in rodeos. They were married at a hardware store in Tennessee 27 years ago&#045;the judge was out fishing and the hardware store owner was a notary public.
Bill has also traveled gathering cattle in many places, including Costa Rica, Texas, Mexico and Guatemala. 
He worked for the Bureau of Land Management in the range program and wild horse and burro program in Nevada and was the ranch manager for the range program at the University of Nevada.
During his time working for the university, Bill lived on the Pyramid Lake reservation and interacted with Piautes at different reservations located throughout the region, including McDermitt and Wadsworth. He and tribal members worked together on such issues as water quality, agriculture and weed control. 
The range program was cut from the university and Bill decided it was time to leave Nevada. He said he loved the land, but had become frustrated with water concerns plaguing the area, as he watched more and more water shifting to fuel the big cities of Las Vegas and Reno and mining operations while other places suffered.
So, at the age of 47, Bill decided he wanted to do something else and follow his dreams. &#8220Uncovering America&#8221; began.
The Inmans hope to pick up sponsors as they complete more and more of their journey. &#8220Uncovering America&#8221; has received approximately &#036;5,000 in funding thus far from OsoEco of Eugene, Ore. and Bill Rogers Honda of Albany, Ore.
Brenda said they would like to promote many charitable organizations and have a particular interest in supporting veterans. Bill served in Desert Storm. She said the couple has a good understanding of what troops go through and the challenges they face returning home.
Of course, the dream is to have an organization sponsor their adventure the whole way, which they say carries a price tag of approximately &#036;8,000 per month for the next six to seven months. Either way they are going for it with or without sponsorship.