The San Francisco Chronicle reports hundreds of horse enthusiasts and history buffs have begun transporting mail along the original 1,966 mile Pony Express route from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif. Reporter Natalie Orenstein pens, "Every summer, more than 600 riders don clothes similar to what the original riders wore and relay letters across the country. A letter can be mailed via the volunteer riders for the 1860 price of $5. The group has grown so rapidly that although the original Pony Express riders rode 75 miles apiece, the modern-day participants are allowed stints of just 2 to 10 miles."
She goes on to say, "The 850-member National Pony Express Association has been re-enacting the famed letter-carrying service each year for more than three decades."
You can follow the ride with Twitter updates at @xptomcrews or visit the National Pony Express Association website at http://www.xphomestation.com/2011%20Re-Ride.html.
Shown above, Pony Express 80th Anniversary stamp from 1940.
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