Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
When Bernice Ende retired from teaching ballet in 2003 she was restless and eventually she did what a lot of retirees do, she decided to travel. However, Ende’s method of travel is rather unique. Along with her dog Claire, Ende has been travelling on horseback through the North American wilderness since 2005.
So far Ende has travelled 18,000 miles, even though her typical pace is only 4 miles per hour. She is accompanied by two horses and her dog Claire. Claire rides on one of the horses in a box. She sometimes also walks along with the horses, but being able to ride on the horse from time to time is much needed relief for her feet.
Ende actually discovered Claire one day when she was riding her horse. Ende was riding along when she came across two puppies on the side of the road. The puppies appeared to have been left there by someone who didn’t want them. One of the puppies was no longer alive, but 3-week-old Claire had survived. Ende took her home in hopes that one of her ballet students would adopt her. None of them stepped up to adopt her. The ballerinas did help name her though, initially calling her Clara as in The Nutcracker character. Ende slightly altered the name to Claire when she decided to keep her.
You can follow Ende and Claire’s adventures at their blog Ende of the Trail.