Nikki Tate’s Great Pony Express Adventure 2002

Canadian Children's Author Rides The "Old West"

VIRGINIA CITY, NV – It was a weekend of Pony Express Trail riding and meeting new fans for Nikki Tate, author of Jo’s Triumph (Orca Book Publishers).

It has been a week since Nikk started her trek across Nevada, beginning in Ely, visiting schools and riding parts of the trail that the fictional "Jo" rode in the novel.

Friday Nikki visited students at R.H. Gallagher Elementary school in historical Virginia City, built on the side of a mountain in the Sierra Nevadas. The mining town was the subject of many of famed author Mark Twain’s accounts of life in the Old West.

Nikki looked very much a part of the setting Saturday when she walked up the street in her Pony Express uniform to the Mark Twain Bookstore. There, amongst the volumes of Mark Twain, and rare, old books, she met fans and introduced her novels to passers-by who were delighted to hear about Nikki’s adventures in Nevada.

Nikki was based for the weekend at the Royer Ranch in Dayton, conveniently situated near the Trail between Fort Churchill and Virginia City. She was accompanied on her rides by Debi Royer whose family, the Ryans, have been involved with Pony Express activities for over 20 years. They regularly take part in the annual Pony Express re-ride which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.

Monday Nikki will visit Gardnerville Elementary School where she will deliver letters from Canadian school children, Pony Express style, to students at the school and pick up the mail to deliver back in her home province of British Columbia. She will be visiting several schools in the Reno and Sparks areas throughout the week, and on Saturday will participate in the Great Basin Book Festival in Reno where her activities will include being part of a panel discussion on children’s literature

Follow Nikki Tate's Pony Express Adventure on her website at www.stablemates.net.

PONY EXPRESS 2002 SPONSORS:

Bolen Books (Victoria, BC) Clearsilver Media (Victoria, BC) Horse Council BC (Aldergrove, BC) Leisure Time Rentals (Victoria, BC) Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, BC) Scrapbook Parade (Victoria, BC) Sono Nis Press (Winlaw, BC) Theatre Row Auto Sales (Victoria, BC) Karl Schutz (Chemainus, BC)

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