In the Age of Teslas, USPS Still Uses Mules

Look around you: technology has re-shaped our entire world. Think about the smartphone in your pocket. Think about your TV that streams Netflix with one simple command of your voice. Next time you drive to the grocery store, there’s a good chance you’ll see a Tesla silently zoom past you! Our society has made (and continues to make) technological leaps and bounds beyond what most people in the 20th century ever thought possible. However, some time-honored traditions are still upheld from days of old. On that note, we’d like to provide you with a little fun fact: USPS still uses mules to deliver mail!

USPS Still Uses Mules to Deliver Mail? Seriously?

Yes indeed! Six days a week, a handful of mules travel down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to haul mail and parcels to residents of Supai, Arizona. Mostly, they deliver supplies such as food, since the town of Supai is extremely isolated and hard to reach. Other than by mule, the only other two ways to reach Supai are via helicopter or rafting down the Colorado River.

The mules’ journey each day takes three hours down the Grand Canyon, and five hours on the way back up. Talk about a hard day’s work! While mules have played a large part in mail delivery in the past, the Supai route is the last one in the United States that still uses mules.

It Gets Weirder

Believe it or not, using mules isn’t the weirdest way USPS has delivered mail throughout its existence. If you want to see some more wacky mail delivery systems, check out our guide: A Look Every Form of Transportation USPS Has Used.