The Long Trip Home II

By the end of last night, when we arrived back in Troy at 10:30 p.m. or so, I was grateful to be home and off of the highway.  For the duration of our trip we have GREAT weather.  There were places it was hot, but it was always sunny, warm, and there was a breeze.  On the road home we traded that for rain and more rain and even MORE rain.  Thanks to Katana, Siri and Google maps GPS app. a trip that should have taken app. 6 hours a day took ten or eleven!  All three apps keep taking us to back country roads and refusing to take us to a highway, which is the opposite of what they normally do when they act like back roads don't exist!  Anyhow, after twenty hours in the car in a forty-eight hour period, I still thanked my lucky stars (and Maker) that we could cover in two days what it would have taken the Ingalls at least a month, if not more, to traverse.  As we wound around roads and up and down over fair-sized hills, I thought of them determinedly moving forward in their little conestoga wagon with Ma, Pa and Carrie in the front, and Laura and Mary looking out the back end.  On one hand, moving quickly is wonderful, but it does have its price.  The sights fly by too quickly, you have to concentrate on the road and not what is around you, and there is the ever present worry about someone in another car doing what they shouldn't.  On the other hand, for that month the Ingalls got to sit and talk and sing and walk beside the wagon, explore and enjoy nature, and sleep out under the stars.

I think those of you who know me would know which I would choose in a heartbeat....

I am not a fan of modern civilization.  In fact, I call myself a Luddite and would prefer to go back to the pre-industrial world.  This week was a mix of both country and city and it only cemented that desire.  While I enjoyed the Mall of America and found Lacrosse, Minnesota to be one of the prettiest towns I have ever seen, I would still choose the country.  The minute I set eyes on a prairie, I knew I was home.

Anyhow, here's the last few sights from our weeklong journey.  Over the next few days I will record some thoughts about the trip and what we saw, so keep checking back if you are interested!

When we were in LaCrescent, WI, we ate at the local Pizza place where Connor Franta went as a kid. It was some of the best piza either of us had ever had.

Next we stopped at the Van Loon wildlife area and took a walk to look at the McGilvary bridges. 

Next was a long drive and then supper at Noodles & Co.  I want one of these!  (Leah does too, she's just startled because I took her picture!  That girl is camera-shy....)

Our final stop was in Battleground, IN just outside of Lafayette.  This is the place where Tecumseh's brother, the Open Door or the Prophet, addressed his men before he sent them out to battle William Henry Harrison's forces.  I had been here sixteen years back and had told Leah there was a small chimney that you could climb up so you can stand where legend says the Prophet stood.  IThe climb was a little more daunting looking at 58 than it had been at 42, but I said, 'What the heck!' and climbed up on hands and knees with my 13 year old granddaughter following...slowly.  LOL  It was very cool to stand there and think about the history.   By the end, I think Leah was both impressed with me and thought I was nuts!

I hope yoyu enjoyed following our journey.  Check back for more thoughts over the next few days....

 

The Long Trip Home

We're back in Troy.  Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday and today.  The driving was insane.

I'll post tomorrow.

The Last Stop on the Ingalls' Trail

Today I finished stalking Charles Ingalls and his family.  The route took me from Pepin, MN where Laura was born through Walnut Grove, MN to DeSmet,SD, back to Walnut Grove, and today to Burr Oak, IA.  I've felt about like Ma Ingalls traveling from one state to another and back in such a short time.  Leah and I were laughing this evening.  We've been to three states two different times today alone!  As our last stop we have come to LaCrosse, WI & LaCrescent, MN (minutes apart) to explore Connor Franta's home town(s).  We'll do that tomorrow and maybe Saturday morning, and then be on our way home.

Today we traveled to Burr Oak, Iowa to see the hotel where the Ingalls lived and worked after they were forced out of Walnut Grove, Minnesota by a plague of locusts.  The guide at the hotel showed us a jar of faux locusts,  They were about 4 inches long.  She said the plague that year consisted of over a trillion of them!  If you read the books, Laura gives a chilling description of the plague, the insects, and the consequences to those who lived in the area.  Everything was stripped clean.

The front room of the hotel was used as entry, guest registry and saloon.  Due to the presence of the saloon, the Ingalls only lived in the hotel about a year and then moved down the street and lived above the grocery store.  Pa did not like what his girls were being exposed to.

It was interesting to be in the hotel. I thought about modern day people and their need for 'space'. The entire Ingalls family consisting of Ma, Pa, Grace and Mary - Laura was on her own by then - shared a room that was barely the equivelent of a small modern day kid's bedroom.

Upstairs there were four rooms and a landing and the guide said they would have 12 paying guests staying at a time.   They paid 25 cents a day for a space in the bed.  Each bed held three people.   According to the guide they made the beds up sideways.  People were definitely shorter!               

The Ingalls lived in the basement and served the food down there.  Ma did all of the cooking.  The hotel is the original building and the cupboards in the kitchen are the ones Ma used.

More tomorrow....

 

A Day With the Ingalls

Sorry about not posting last night.  Leah and I drove approximately 5 hours after a long day of history and feeding my inner fan-girl, and we were both so tired we sat watching Thatcher Joe's channel on YouTube, laughing so hard we cried, and then went to bed.

So, here's yesterday's sights and scenes.

We stayed in a lovely B&B called the "Prairie House Manor" in De Smet.  I highly recommend it if you are ever there.  It was lovely, comfortable, quiet and then hosts, Andy and Jenny Todd were lovely and attentive.  I accidentally left my phone charger cord behind there and they have contacted me via phone and email to make certain I get it back.

As it happened, the B&B was two doors down from the 'House that Pa built', the home that the Ingalls lived in while in DeSmet, so I got to see the outside of that as we arrived.

I took pity on Leah on my long day of history and let her sit in a park area or the car while I indulged my love of Little House.  I figured both of us would have a better time that way!  LOL  She listened to music and worked on art pieces we have created together while I took the tour.  The DeSmet tour consisted of seeing the Surveyor's house where the Ingalls' lived when they first came to DeSmet, and also included the house that Pa built as well as the original DeSmet school and a reconstructed school that was the same size as the one where Laura began to teach at the age of 15.  It was called 'the Brewster' school.  I went through with three other families with children ranging age 4 to 12.  They were all delightful children and it was fun to watch the interpreters 'do' my job.  <G>  Of course, I had to pitch in and helped several children to grind grain and sugar.  I did get a few ideas for things to use at the Johston Farm as well.

The surveyor's house was interesting in that it was smaller than I had anticipated and yet, for a surveyor's house, large for the time.  They had a taped off 8x8 foot area inside to show you how large they usually were. This one was something like 10x12 in the main room. This was the room 12 men slept on the floor in the books, since there was really nowhere else at that time in DeSmet to bed down.

Next we went to the first school in DeSmet.  It was neat as the historic group had bought it in the 1990s and stripped it down inside and found the original blackboards from Laura's time - complete with drawings!  It was fun to sit there with the children and imagine the Ingall's girls going to school.

Next came the reconstructed Brewster School, where I learned that Laura full grown was only 4 foot eleven!

I keep telling visitors at our site that people were shorter back then....

Next came the house that Pa built that was lovely and spacious and bigger on the inside than the outside (that's for my Doctor Who friend!).  It really was larger than I anticipated. I kept thinking about the Ingalls going from that dugout in a hill, where their home was made of mud, to this lovely spacious Victorian home.  What a journey!

Next we went to the edge of town and saw the cemtery and I visited the Ingalls graves.  It was several miles outside of town on a low hill on a windblown plain.

After that we headed over to Walnut Grove, MN where I got to indulge my inner fan-girl.  Of all the Ingalls' sites, this one embraces the TV show.  One of the interpreters told me about half their visitors come because of the show.  There are purists who want nothing to do with Mr. Landon's interpretation, and yet, Laura and Rose Wilder did the same thing.  They used Laura's real life as a launching point for fiction that captured the hearts of millions.  Personally, I see no difference between that and the TV show.  Anyhow, in the Laura Ingalls Wilder Walnut Grove museum, there is a section devoted to the show that has memorabilia from magazines to Doc Baker's coat to...wait for it...the original mantlepiece from the Ingalls' house on the show.  I was amazed by how small it was. I need to get home and watch the show again!  

And yes, I leaned on it just like Pa did.  <G>

After that we went to where that Ingalls' dugout home had been.  I put my feet in Plum Creek and Leah and I walked the trails a bit - but, only a bit.  It was 90 with high humidity, so we stayed only a short time.

Once we were finished at Walnut Grove, Leah and I headed east...and farther east...and even farther east.  We stopped in Rochester, MN and are going to head to Burr Oak, Iowa later today to see what Ingalls' sites are there.  It's only an hour and a half away.  After that we will head to La Crescent, WI and Connor Franta's home town and then be on the way to our own.

    

South Dakota Is REALLY Flat

Not too much to report today.  Leah and I took off cross-country, leaving the mall and civilization behind to head to the plains and fields of grain of South Dakota.  (I'm not sure the child will survive such a sudden withdrawal.  Not a single Starbucks in sight!)

We drove through Sleepy Eye, Minnesota (so named for a droopy eyed native - no kidding) as the town is used in the TV version of Little House on the Prairie.  We saw Lake Sleepy Eye, which was cool.  Amazingly, out of all the road construction we have run into the main street of this town caused us the most frustration and aggravation as Katana (your Samsung guide) had no clue what she was doing and kept running us around in circles.  Finally we followed the old fashion detour signs and got out of Dodge.

The next town we went through (which we will return to tomorrow) was Walnut Grove.  May I say it pales compared to the TV version?  It is absolutely tiny and has about twenty houses and the museum and that is about it.  We will see the sod house also where the Ingalls lived (a reconstruction) and then head to Burr Oak for the next Ingalls' stop. I am hoping to pick up Mankato on the way as it was referenced quite often in the TV show. We'll see if that works out.  

Anyhow, we are here in DeSmet, South Dakota, 1000 miles from home.  It's amazing, the lovely B&B we are in might be down the street from home for the way it feels.  All the folks we have met are nice and have been very helpful and seem to have the same type of hometown Midwestern values we do.

Tomorrow we will see the four buildings left standing that the Ingalls' lived, worked, or went to school in.  I'll document that in the evening, so history lovers, take note.  <G>

 

And this is just a cool old tree.  (Sorry, it's the Hobbit in me! LOL) 

 

Country Grandma City Girl

The trip has been an interesting juxtaposition of Grandma Marla who wants to run from civilization, and Leah who thrives on it,  Today was her day.  We went to the Mall of America - 4 floors and seemingly a million square feet of civilization as we know it.  The decibel level had to be in the hundreds.  There was loud music everywhere and thousands upon thousands of people.  Pa Ingalls would have told ma it was time to pull up stakes and move on!  Anyhow, we had a lot of fun.  We shopped and then hit the amusement park where I rode 6 rides, including a roller coaster twice.  Mind you, its been about three decades since I have been on an amusement park ride. Considering I did pretty well.  I didn't throw up or anything!  We shopped some more and then did one of the coolest things ever.  We took a flight in a simulator that was called 'fly over America'.  It was BEYOND amaing!  Wow.  It took you over all fifty states, flying through clouds, swooping over mountains, careening down the Grand Canyon and so on, complete with mist and scents.  I admit I cried.  We have a beautiful country and this showed it so well.

Then we shopped again.

In total we spent 10 hours and walked 50,000 steps or about 8 miles.  And yes, after that, I did enjoy a few Lindt chocolates - and 15 minutes in the sauna!

On to DeSmet SD tomorrow and back to the prairie!

Pepin Above and Below Ground

Today was another fun, but somewhat exhausting day.  We woke early and drove to Pepin, Wisconsin, which is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  We visited the museum there, took a peak at Lake Pepin (where Mary and Laura played), and drove out to the recreation of the Ingalls' cabin, which sits on their land.  It was interesting.  The cabin in the Big Woods was little, but not too little  The loft was quite spacious.  Leah even said - with modern amenities - she would like living in it.

Due to a brochure at the Laura Ingalls' Wilder museum, we went from Pepin to the Crystal Cave in Spring Valley, WI and took the underground tour.  Very cool.  Then we made out way to our hotel, enjoyed the pool and the sauna (Boy, did I think of Pa Ingalls and his tired and sore body then.  Imagine what he would have thought of a Jacuzzi!), and then came back to the room to relax.  Tomorrow - Heaven help me! - we hit the Mall of America.  That's one I know the Ingalls could not (and probably would not want to) comprehend!

Anyhow, tonight I am going to tell the tale in pictures.  More tomorrow!