Preserving history sometimes means re-building history. Such is the case with the famed Twenty Mule team wagons that once traveled back and forth across Death Valley in California. In the late 18 hundreds, the wagons were pulled by a two long teams of mules in Death Valley transporting borax to the nearest rail line. They were some of the largest wagons ever pulled by draft animals. They carried about nine tons of borax ore. The mules were tied to a jerk line — to control their turns by teamsters.

Of course the journey across Death Valley ended long ago — but starting in 2016, the Death Valley Conservancy, raised the funds and commissioned construction of two new wagons and a water wagon. It’s now a part of the annual Mules Days Parade in Bishop, California, and makes other public appearances.

As wagon builder Dave Engel — of Engel’s Coach Shop, in Montana, went to work on the wagons, another group organized the new team of mules. Bobby Tanner, the owner of Red’s Meadow,  reached into the history books to keep things accurate. We caught up with the crew in 2019 — the 50th anniversary of Mule Days.  One never tires of watching the large team of mules and the giant wagons — rolling out of the desert and onto the streets of Bishop. They continue to do the hard work to keep this piece of Americana alive.