# Pony Express Anniversary **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727 "2015-04-03T18:37:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/1 "2015-04-03T18:37:58Z")
Just wondering In this day and age with all the technology going on, are there still places (USA centric) where postal mail is delivered by horseback? ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/2 "2015-04-03T19:19:35Z")
Don’t know if it’s still going, but as of the year 2000, mail was being delivered by mule team to the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon by mule train. [Special Delivery: Mail By Mule](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/special-delivery-mail-by-mule/) ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/3 "2015-04-04T00:57:54Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > Don’t know if it’s still going, but as of the year 2000, mail was being delivered by mule team to the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon by mule train. > > [Special Delivery: Mail By Mule](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/special-delivery-mail-by-mule/) Interesting. Thanks for the enlightenment to an off beat question. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/4 "2015-04-04T01:24:39Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > Don’t know if it’s still going, but as of the year 2000, mail was being delivered by mule team to the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon by mule train. According to the [USPS.gov](http://USPS.gov) “Fun Facts” webpage, [it’s still going strong](https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-facts/fun-facts.htm): > [@](#): > > Most Unusual Delivery Method—Mule train delivery in AZ. Each mule carries about 130 pounds of mail, food, supplies and furniture down the 8-mile trail to the Havasupai Indians at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, averaging 4,000 pounds per day. > > Another Unusual Delivery Method — boat delivery on the Detroit River in Michigan. The JW Westcott is a 45-foot contract mail boat out of Detroit that delivers mail to passing ships. The JW Westcott has its own ZIP Code — 48222. > > Another Unusual Delivery Method — dock-to-dock delivery on the Magnolia River in Alabama. A 15-foot contract mail boat delivers to 176 dock-side mailboxes on a 31-mile stretch of the river. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/5 "2015-04-04T01:32:38Z")
I’m going to tease my local post-master about UDM’s (Unusual Delivery Methods). Thanks to you and the SDMB, I may be able to trip him up enough to buy me lunch. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/6 "2015-04-04T03:56:36Z")
Don’t forget that the [guys in charge of the mule train ride horses](http://americanprofile.com/articles/extreme-mail-deliveries/), although the mail itself is carried by mules. Ask your postmaster when was the last time a USPS postal carrier delivered mail on horseback, and if he doesn’t say “This morning”, you win. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/7 "2015-04-04T14:16:17Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Don’t forget that the [guys in charge of the mule train ride horses](http://americanprofile.com/articles/extreme-mail-deliveries/), although the mail itself is carried by mules. Ask your postmaster when was the last time a USPS postal carrier delivered mail on horseback, and if he doesn’t say “This morning”, you win. 😃 You need to watch the wording if you’re going to make a bet. The mail is carried by mules. Therefore it was not delivered on horseback. Even if the human takes the mail from the mules and then puts it in the mailboxes, he or she will probably be on foot at the time. The proper wording is something like, when was the last time the USPS used horses to deliver the mail? That answer would be “this morning.” Unless you’re foolish enough to track the postmaster home and ask it on a Sunday or holiday. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pony-express-anniversary/716727/8 "2015-04-04T20:40:58Z")
Heard on radio that the mail to bottom of grand canyon has changed. They don’t take packages down to people now, at least for some people. They still take letters and small stuff.