ingalls homestead

 replica of claim shanty with addition

 barn (though not one they had)

 Laundry out to dry

 beds for a night

 riding on Almanzo's horses

 star student at Laura's school

Driving Barnum and Skip

During our road trip we spent the night on the Ingalls homestead - the Laura Ingalls homestead! Their homestead from the book Along the Shores of Silver Lake and The Long Winter has been turned into a historical site in DeSmet South Dakota. A had discovered that it was along our proposed route across the country and made reservations to stay in one of the four covered wagons that are on the site. I think this was by far our favorite stop of the entire trip. Two springs ago we had listened to the entire series going to and from school. We had also listened to some of the books while we were driving to South Dakota. We arrived in the evening of what had been  a very very hot day. The record on our thermometer was 111!  But the setting sun sent long shadows and cool breezes across our hillside campsite as we prepared dinner and the kids ran down to the slough to play with a cat they named Pow Wow. We had a campfire that night and had a spectacular moonrise and could see the entire Milky Way. The next morning we explored the replica barn (complete with a cow, chickens and kitten), the claim- shanty and school house. The kids rode the miniature horses and got to drive the percheron horses pulling the covered wagon to the school house. Each installation brought out our own memories of the stories and those of the kids.  In short we could have spent the day there and then listened to all the stories all over again.