The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Kevin Wilson and Jill the donkey.

Perhaps you've noticed them around town. They make an odd couple, the middle-aged man and his burro. Yet for sojourner Kevin Wilson, Jill the donkey makes the perfect traveling companion.

Wilson should know--he's been on the road since he headed out of Colorado Springs, Colo. at the tender age of fourteen.

"We're just wanderin' around looking for greener grass," explains Wilson, who looks more like a 19th century mountain man than a citizen of the new millennium. "You gotta feed a burro. I don't have any land, so we gotta keep moving."

The bond between the two is evident. Wilson scratches behind Jill's furry ears while she rests in the shade of a juniper tree.

"Every time we come into a town, she gets thronged," said Wilson. "People stop traffic on the highway to get out and take her picture. There's just something about Jill. I'd recommend a donkey to anyone--she's like a great big dog."

According to Wilson, Jill, a five-year-old standard black donkey, is eating for two now.

By his calculations, Jill will foal early this winter.

"Whether it's a jack--a male--or a jenny--the female, I'm going to name it Gulliver," Wilson said.

"And it will be the best form of transportation I've found yet."

Wilson began his trek with Jill last February, starting out near the Mexican border. He hopes to winter in either Eugene or Portland, before heading up to Canada.

"They won't let me across the Canadian border anymore," he grinned. "I've sneaked across too many times."

He's visited Europe twice, traversed the United States countless times, using transportation ranging from freight trains to hitchhiking.

"I don't have a favorite place, there are too many of them," he said. "And I don't know if I'm ever going to settle down--don't know if I'd even know how to do that."

Road weary from their travels -- they walk between ten and thirty miles per day -- Wilson and Jill are taking a short break in Sisters.

"We are really enjoying Oregon," Wilson said. "Lots of green grass here. The only reason we've made it this far is that Jill eats anything. A horse wouldn't have made it. But there's always green grass along the highway."

"Sisters is a really neat town," he continued. "After two days here, it's starting to feel good."