We started this part of our trip in Independence, Kansas (Little House on the Prairie location) at a replica building of the Ingalls home. We thought we would have just enough time to visit the buildings before heading toward Kansas City. And, this plan would have worked had the person running the museum arrived. We stayed around with another family for almost an hour before deciding to move along to other sites. But, all was not lost...we still viewed the buildings...peeking into the open shutter windows. And the best part was watching the younger children pet the donkeys pinned in the farmyard! Besides, it gave us a sense of what it must have been like alone in the huge prairie land.
A few days later, we came up through Iowa and across to Walnut Grove, Minesota. This town is not actually mentioned by name in the books but is known by most Laura fans because of the television series. I loved watching this show growing up....Melissa Gilbert was the perfect Laura and Pa can never be represented by any one other than Michael Landon.
We were able to spend quite a bit of time at this location. On the Banks of Plum Creek is the main book that tells about the Ingalls time in Minnesota. Most of the museum is centered around the television show. However, we were able to walk through a little replica village (including a dugout and outhouse) and see what life could have been like for Laura. There is also a lot of the television show memorabilia. There were even a few of Laura's belongings on display. Edward seemed to really get into the spirit of things. He entered the little chapel and immediately started preaching a nice sermon. Then he took over as the schoolmaster... demanding that every be seated and take up their slates! I also convinced Amanda to let me take a picture of her walking through the "prairie." I just wish I had my video on when she decided to skip through the prairie!
We missed going to see the site of the little dugout where the family lived that first winter. I think we were thinking about getting to the hotel at that point in the day.
Our last stop along the way was in De Smet, South Dakota (location for the last five books in the series). Most people will remember this place most from the books because most of the stories are centered around this town. Unfortunately, we arrived on a Sunday so the main buildings were not open. However, we still drove around the area to see what we could see.
There was the family homestead site where buildings were replicated for tourists. Even though the original buildings were not around, the five cottonwood trees Pa planted in honor of his wife and four daughters were still standing strong. Also, the prairie of grassland known as the Big Slough is still just as vast as ever.
Heading into town, the old buildings that have been saved have been moved into one area of town for easy viewing. We saw the old Surveyors' House where the family spent their first winter in the area. It had been moved from Silver Lake (By the Shores of Silver Lake). Later, we actually saw the site where Silver Lake was before it was drained in the early 1900's. There is also the house that Pa built, but Laura never lived in (She was already married to Alonzo by then.). And there was also the old schoolhouse that Laura and Carrie attended. I happened upon a store while driving through town that sounded familiar. It was not until I returned home that I realized that it was in fact a store from the books. The Loftus Store is still in the same spot. If you have read the books, you might remember this as the place where the precious bag of wheat was purchased (The Long Winter)!
We were also able to go to Mass in this small town. It was a simple church but it reminded me of a simpler time. The families lingered after church and enjoyed each others company. There was also a statue of the first missionary that the own was named in honor, Fr. De Smet. I wish we could have stayed longer!Going to the other stops along her trail would have been nice, but there just was not enough time to see it all. Mansfield, Missouri was close to our path, and I would have liked to to see where Laura spent her last days with Alonzo (especially Pa's fiddle and the desk where Laura wrote her books). We did go through Keystone, SD but I did not realize this is where Carrie lived out her adult years.
I think after making our way through this area, we were most impressed with how much time it took the family to travel. We were grumpy and bothered by each other with a two-day drive through this countryside. The Ingalls family took months to make the same journey.
However, just as the Ingalls family made stops along the way, so did our family. We still have more of the story to tell. I have to tell you about the smallest of treasures on our journey before I am through with our vacation tales!
PS...if you ever want to make the journey yourself to any of these sites...go to the link here for Laura Ingalls Wilder information.
No comments:
Post a Comment