Joshua and Terra White and their sons, Levi, 17, and Lucus, 16, from Elko, Nevada, are currently passing through Carroll County crossing the country on horseback. The family that left Susanville, Calif., in April 2022, and has traveled about 2,500 miles so far, has a motto: Live, Don’t Just Exist.
Terra said the journey started after she and her husband started questioning what they needed to teach their boys to turn them into good men. She admits that she and her husband also “weren’t ourselves” and yearned to get more out of life than working to pay off a mortgage and other bills while not being able to spend enough time with their sons before they left home.
“They were both going to high school and we needed to teach them,” Terra said. “We have met so many generous, kind people. You wouldn’t believe the doors this has opened to our family. We had the wrong idea of people in America. We found out that people are great.”
The teenagers are in charge of navigation, finances, communicating on social media and taking care of their seven horses, one mule, and dog, Pilot. They write in their journals each night with the intention of writing a book and/or doing a documentary in two years when they finish their planned expedition at the Atlantic Ocean. That will fulfil their requirements to graduate from high school.
The type of education they have received has come from living outdoors and being open to different cultures and environments. Along the way they have met and listened to diverse people, braved attacks by mountain lions, enjoyed good weather and endured tough conditions. They even found undiscovered petroglyphs in Rainbow Canyon, Nev.
They have been adopted by tribes of Ute, Navajo and Shoshone Native Americans. At almost every reservation, they were honored with adoption ceremonies that included eagle feathers, smudging and other Native rituals.
Joshua is a sixth-generation horseman whose great-great-grandfather used to trade mules and horses to the military. His dad and grandpa loved horses and performed at rodeos, and Joshua learned his equestrian skills from them.
“I always dreamed of being a cowboy,” Joshua said. “I married my high school sweetheart and roping partner. As far as our trip goes, we wanted to use the horses to help slow down time. You can trade off your time in an effort to make money. Terra and I just realized there was more to life. We missed a lot of time with our kids.”
After Covid, he asked his family if they were interested in going on an adventure. While their sons were upmost in their minds, Joshua said he and his wife needed it, too.
“I didn’t even realize who I was,” Joshua said. “We spent time at the Navajo (Diné) Reservation Northern Arizona, the largest sovereign nation in the world. We’ve gone through poor inner-city neighborhoods. I was expecting wealthier neighborhoods to embrace us and be curious about us, but it is the poorest people who have been the most generous and helpful, and made our trip the most joyful.
“We aren’t rich by any means. We started with $1,300 and a broken side-by-side. When we get to a town, we find work. We herded sheep at the Navajo Reservation. We’ve shared horseshoeing and other skills for taking care of horses. We love being the Mary Poppins of the horse world. We try to help people who may have the passion for horses, but not the know-how. I just love this life.”
Joshua said he didn’t want to put his faith in schools teaching his sons all they needed to know. At school, kids might be bullied, pressured to drink, do drugs, steal or be called a failure by teachers.
“I couldn’t count on schools to introduce my sons to fortitude, courage and honor, and give them opportunities to develop the critical thinking skills these guys have gained from this experience,” he said.
How does Terra feel about living without regular modern conveniences like a washing machine and a hot bath?
“I adapt to our surroundings,” she said. “The greatest thing is doing laundry and dishes in a creek in the summertime. We live very simply. Each of us has one bowl, a fork and a knife. A coffee pot is a must. We have one cooking pan and a spatula. Sometimes when we get to a town, we burn our clothes and go to a thrift store to get new ones.”
Josh said it was while in Utah that they realized the pursuit of ownership of a home and a truck meant they were being owned by their stuff. They got rid of all their stuff before leaving. By doing so, they broke the chains of poverty.
“We stayed with a rich man, and he wanted to exchange lives with me,” he said. “He was alone. I never felt so tall inside but so sad for someone.”
Levi was 15 when they started their journey.
“The first two weeks almost killed us,” Levi, who plans to become a mechanic after the trip, said. “It felt like we had barbed wire between our legs. But after those first two weeks, we became ironmen, unstoppable. Now we are just used to it. We just ride and ride.”
He recalls it being two hard days of riding, 118 miles, in the desert between Ely and Pioch in Nevada. “I appreciate it when it is five minutes to get a cold Dr. Pepper instead of two days,” Levi said. “Going through the desert in the winter, it was solid ice down the Patterson Summit. We had to slide down the back side of the hill.”
He recalls when they had mountain lions jump out at them and his horse bucked. They had donkeys then to help carry their gear. The donkeys got scared and ran down the mountain eight miles back to a barn.
West of the Rockies, they would wake up at night, and scan the horses with a flashlight. They woke up a few times and saw a lot of extra eyes. Some were wild horses. Then there was the time a muskrat climbed into bed to cuddle with Lucus in his sleeping bag. When he woke up, their dog was fighting with the muskrat in his sleeping bag.
Lucus, only 13 when they began the trip, is almost surely the youngest American to ride 2,500 miles on a horseback in modern times. He plans to go to college to become a biologist, so a favorite part of the journey for him has been seeing and studying plants, insects and animals. He primarily uses the internet, when available, for research on wildlife they have encountered. He was excited recently to see his first armadillos—he chased it—and loves the turtles he has been seeing.
Most recently they have “discovered” chiggers in Oklahoma and Arkansas. While not fans of those insects whose bites can cause incredible itching, they take it all in stride.
Joshua said when they started out, he wasn’t sure wanted he wanted to see another person. But he said they were healed in the mountains so they could come east and learn something he wasn’t counting on: Empathy.
“I am so glad our sons are learning it,” Joshua said. “We have friends every 20 to 40 miles across the country. That is unique. One thing that makes or breaks us is that human element.”
He is glad their sons are making YouTube videos instead of watching them. The teenagers post on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok. They have found one of the hardest things is just responding to all the comments.
Terra, who has a radiant smile, said the trip has been good for their psyches.
“If you are depressed, you are living in the past,” she said. “And if you are anxious, you are living too much in the future. If you are happy, you are living in the now or the present. And that is where we should be. We get a lot of time to think out there.”
Often, they have no idea where they will stay next. The East isn’t like out West where there is a lot of open land. But they trust that all will work out. The parents have found it a joy to see their sons develop strong confidence in themselves.
“A lot of people don’t live their dreams because of their fears,” Joshua said. “I know I’m not the only one who was waking up in the morning and feeling like I was going to cry. That was not me. It was like I was rushing through my life and for what? Now I know I’m onto something. I am living a joyful life.”
They rested up a few days at a pasture at Full Faith ministries near Holiday Island. They have found Carroll County to be a very unique area.
“I love how gentle it is here,” Joshua said. “Sitting on the banks of the White River was very spiritual for my family. There is a real aura here. I have had all sorts of people come to me here including someone who was obviously in the rainbow crowd and someone in a boat with a Trump flag. I just love Eureka Springs; I love a community that understands the word tolerance.”
While they love the people they’ve met from Eureka Springs, they were afraid riding their horses on the winding curves of Highway 23 into town would not be safe. So, they learned from local intel about an old dirt road between Holiday Island and Berryville, where they rode on July 23 to get one of their horses to a veterinarian. They avoid heavily traveled roads, and say that when people smile and wave at them, or take them in, it makes their day.
“We pay it forward as much as we can,” Joshua said. “We have stayed with people of all races, religions and politics. We have stayed with African American, Asians, Mormons, Catholics, Amish, Mennonites and Native Americas. I’ve been saying this a lot lately. ‘Do you think I care about your political preference when you are giving me water?’ I’m willing to listen even if someone’s politics are different.”
Josh lost an uncle here in Arkansas to Covid. They plan to visit their aunt to tell her they love her. They also have visited with a relative in Eureka Springs, his cousin’s wife’s sister, Rena Wallace, a bread maker. She found them on the Internet and came out while they were camping at Full Faith Ministry.
Josh said he now puts his faith in people, not politicians. He is not ever sure he wants to vote again.
“We have a very intimate relationship with our country, the ecosystem,” he said. “The bugs, just be aware of them. There are more of them than anything else on the planet. Most people live in such an artificial world. They go from the air conditioning at work to the AC in the car to the AC in the house. Our family is climatized. We have adjusted to the heat and cold.”
Regarding the chiggers and other bugs that bite, Joshua asked the Amish what they used to repel insects, thinking they might have a special natural remedy. They responded, “Ever heard of Off?”
For more information, see the website llManQuest.com.