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A group of friends and I want to travel the country in a horse-drawn wagon. How should we set about this?

We're a group of no more than eight people wanting to travel cross-country with a horse-drawn wagon and riding horses. We're not planning to actually leave for about six years, to allow one of our number to raise a child to a decent age. We do plan on getting the horses in about three years, to allow time for them to work together and for our team members to get used to the horses and to riding. We are probably hand-making a wagon to hold our supplies. We think we want a double-team and at least one extra horse for trips to town, scouting, and to refresh our team. We're going to take at least a month or two to do this trip, no destination needed. What should we plan for? Do you know a good riding/team trainer? Is it legal to do this? What should we definitely bring with us?
For those worrying: her kid is going to be home schooled while about.
We're planning on also hunting and fishing, one of us has taxidermy skills, and two of us are good hunters and several are fishers. I know about out-of-state hunting licenses and tags. Anything there we should be worried about?
We do need to have a map of farriers to re-shoe or tend to the horses as needed, as well as vets, this might go into our planning stage. For those in the mid-USA, know of any good places to stop and rest for 2-4 days at a time? Needs to have water source, grazing area, and be semi-close to a town for supplies. We'd like to AVOID major population areas. Also planning on getting a heeler, Australian cattle dog, NOT just for the trip, but we think that breed would be best on an expedition, and we do plan on being gone for a while.
We are a mixed group mostly in our lower-20's (currently). Two of us have good horse experience, hunting, fishing, and camping experience. We're planning very far ahead to catch up the rest of the group, to prepare well, to save up, and to allow for one of our group to have her child and raise him to a decent age where he can travel with us. We want to do this in the early spring to early summer, traveling basically north. We would prefer to go en wagon one way and be picked up at the end of our journey via horse trailer and etc. Now, we are in our VERY BEGINNING stages of planning. But we want to make sure we have ALL the details hashed out in the next year so we definitely know what we're doing and don't just haphazardly spend money. We want to be safe. We want to be legal. And we want to enjoy nature at her fullest. We will be bringing phones for emergencies, as well as a small generator. One of us will be an RN (registered nurse) by the time we leave. One of us is thinking of going to a trade school and becoming a farrier (one of the above mentioned hunter/fisher horse people). The other of the above mentioned hunter/fisher horse-people is also the taxidermist, and can cook and has basic first aid skills. Both of us have great camping skills. I'm not sure what other information y'all might need to help us on our quest. Starting from north Texas. Advice is loved! Flaming will be ignored. Hope you guys can help with our dream.

Public Comments

1. Your trip sounds great. I live in France, but if I were 40 years younger, I'd be asking to join you.

If I was planning a trip like that I'd start out by getting a rough idea of route and then contacting the transportation department of the various states I would pass through to see if they had any special requirements or advice.

If you haven't already found it, here is a link you might find interesting.

http://myfivebest.com/five-things-about-cross-country-cart-driving/

Live your dream. For twenty years, I dreamt of retiring to France, and now, I'm there.