Las Vegas Sun

November 24, 2009

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Express is delayed, but the mail goes on

Friday, June 18, 1999 | 6:04 a.m.

Robert Stepien, 28, of Carson City, had the privilege of carrying the mochila, a specially designed saddlebag, filled with mail to the next stop as part of the reenactment of the famed Pony Express.

Stepien, a patrol officer with the Capitol Police, said his biggest worry was riding on busy U.S. 395 through the center of town.

The exchange occurred after 5 p.m. Thursday, more than six hours later than the planned 10:30 a.m. exchange.

National Pony Express Association president Dale Ryan said there were normal delays along the way through Wyoming and again through Utah.

"It only takes a few wrong turns or such to create a delay," Ryan said. "But there have been no injuries or accidents while crossing the state."

Created with 400 fast horses and 190 stations, the Pony Express carried small packages and letters from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif. in 10 days or less in the early 1860s.

The annual retracing of the historic, 1,966-mile route traverses through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California.

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