Well, we are not really Laura Ingalls Wilder Geeks, but we did enjoy our afternoon in De Smet, South Dakota. Once we knew we were going to drive across South Dakota, Lorie and I said, "Let's go see the Laura Ingalls Wilder site." Elizabeth did not really know who Laura Ingalls Wilder was, but she was game for going.
Elizabeth had a really rough night, so we let her sleep in this morning. We got on the road around 10:30 and drive for about two hours to De Smet, the location of By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. We did not realize how much there was to see about Laura in De Smet. It was unbelievable. We really could have used a full day. There are also sites connected to Harvey Dunn, a watercolor artist who was born on a South Dakota homestead near De Smet in 1884. He paints scenes based on his early childhood experiences.
We began our visit at Loftus General Store. This store is mentioned in the books and it has been in operation for over 140 years. We then went to Depot Museum and the school that Harvey Dunn attended. After that, we began the Laura Ingalls Wilder tour. It started at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Headquarters. They have moved the surveyors' cabin, the Brewster school, and the first school in De Smet that Laura and Carrie attended, to their location. We had a tour of those three buildings and then everyone went in their own cars and followed the tour director about 2 miles to Ma and Pa Ingalls home in De Smet where they lived after they moved off the prairie into town. It was a very nice home - not the way one usually pictures them living. After Pa sold the farm, they moved into town and he built them a three room house. He then continued adding on to it as he had time and money. They ended up with a home with a living room, dining room, large kitchen, two downstairs bedrooms and three upstairs bedrooms. Ma actually rented out rooms after Pa died to help support Mary and her.
Following the official tour, there was a map of different sites you could drive or walk by in town, drive out to the cemetery and see the family graves, and drive to Silver Lake, the site of Pa's homestead and the site of Laura and Almanzo's homestead. Some of the cottonwood trees Pa planted are still standing and some of the trees Almanzo planted on his timber claim are still standing.
Elizabeth was feeling very badly today. She slept in the car most of the day. We kept parking under trees and leaving all the windows open. She did walk through the surveyors' house and the two schools with us, but that was all.
After the official tour, we went to Subway before doing any driving. Elizabeth said that she felt much better after eating and she did perk up. She said she was afraid to say she was feeling better though. Lorie and I both understood - food poisoning gives you that feeling that it might come back.
We drove out to the cemetery and saw Pa's grave, Ma's grave, Carrie's grave, Mary's grave, and the grave of Laura and Almanzo's baby son. If you walked around the cemetery, you could see several other graves from people in her books.
We drove by Silver Lake, Pa's claim, and by the spot where you would leave the road for Laura and Almanzo's claim. We really enjoyed ourselves. Elizabeth said she wants to read the Little House books now.
We are spending the night tonight in Watertown. Tomorrow we are driving to Fargo, North Dakota. If we get there early enough, we are going to try to see Bonanza, another prairie town replica. If we don't see that, we are just going to relax and enjoy the evening. We hope we can see some fireworks from our hotel room.
Happy Fourth of July to everyone!
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