Our epic family road trip started because Quinn wanted to go to Mount Rushmore. I started reading out loud to her the Little House book set because we had started dipping our toes into the 1970s TV show. Little did I know we would all find comfort, rest, and intentional family time through reading aloud.
Read more about our epic family road trip here.
We took it slow and weren’t rushing to finish the books. We did have a goal to finish before we left—which we accomplished! The book that took us the longest to get through was Farmer Boy because there wasn’t anything about Laura, her family, or her nemesis, Nellie. We enjoyed those stories more, but we understood why Laura Ingalls Wilder included an entire book about Almanzo Wilder—the love of her life and future husband.
To work an Ingalls Homestead trip into our epic road trip, we visited two cities where the Ingalls lived. We chose to visit Walnut Grove, MN, and De Smet, SD, which are about two hours from each other. We also learned that Carrie Ingalls lived in Keystone with her husband and two stepkids, so we visited the Keystone Museum to see some of her monetary things.
The most exciting thing we noticed was the China Shepherdess figurine Laura found so noteworthy in many of her books. She included this simple yet very special piece of family history in her books, and to see it in real life, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was nothing like I imagined it would look like. The Shepherdess was tiny and simple. It looked more like a shepherd and less like a shepherdess.
When we arrived in Walnut Grove, MN, we first went to town to go to the museum and the structures they have on the property. We first bought a prairie dress outfit for Quinn so she could dress the part. That day, it was 91% humidity and pretty miserable. We did the touristy things in town and got to see the actual mantle that was used in the 1970s TV show. We had bought tickets to the Laura Ingalls Pageant in Walnut Grove on the banks of Plum Creek, so that was our main reason for being in Walnut Grove other than visiting their homestead with their dugout.
Walnut Grove does a sweet look-a-like competition, and girls eight years old and older can dress up as Laura or Nellie and answer trivia questions about the books. The actors and actresses from the pageant are judges and ask the questions. It’s adorable to see girls dressed up and answering questions. We watched this for a little bit, but remember the humidity? We soon found refuge in the Half Pint Coffee Shop right on the main road of Walnut Grove and had their Blueberry Lavender Lemonade. It was so refreshing and yummy!
With that refreshing drink in our bellies, we headed to Plum Creek, where the Ingalls homestead was. A family now owns this land, but they allow tourists to come and look at where the Ingalls dugout was, where Laura’s rock was, and see the vastness of the land. Again, the humidity made this visit pretty quick. The mosquitos were awful and all over Jordan, so we read the signs and took pictures, imagined life on a roaring creek (it was high from all the recent rain), and got back in our car to seek refuge in the air-conditioned vehicle. This area would be an excellent place for a picnic lunch and to spend time just taking in all the sights.
That night, we headed to the Wilder Pageant. The pageant was so cool. The location, being on Plum Creek’s banks, made it so much more special. They audition local kids and adults to act in their theatrical production of an Ingalls story. They recently rewrote the pageant so that there is a different storyline every year. This happens for three years, and then they restart from year one. The sets were terrific, and the production team worked their tails off all night to get them moved into place.
The next day, we went to De Smet, SD. This was the most fantastic experience we had regarding the Ingalls. We visited the Ingalls Homestead just outside of town, where you can do a lot of different homesteading activities. They have people helping at each station. The people who helped us at each station were very kind and helpful. They had a wealth of knowledge about all things Ingalls. Quinn got to do laundry, make a corncob doll, drive a horse-drawn wagon, pump water from the well, and see the homestead from a lookout tower, among other things.
We then went into town to go to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes. Luckily, we got there just in time for the guided tour. They only offer guided tours, so remember this when planning your trip. We had a fantastic tour guide working there for the summer to build her history credentials as she is going to college for history. The best part was visiting Pa and Ma’s home where they lived, where our tour guide expertly played Pop Goes the Weasel on the fiddle, just like Pa would’ve done. It gave me chills.
We also got to go inside the Surveyor’s home, which was such an experience because of how Laura described it. They had an area on the ground in the Surveyor’s house that showed how big the Ingalls shanty would’ve been compared to the Surveyor’s house. Remember that Laura tells us that the Surveyor’s house is the largest house she had ever lived in. She describes the pantry as a “little store.”
We also saw the school Laura and Carrie attended in De Smet. Sections of flooring had been cut out to show the original flooring, and the original blackboards were visible. It was a real treat to visit the buildings Laura describes in her books. It was a memorable experience.
I will note that Jordan had visited De Smet structures in town before and found them boring. He had never read the books or seen the show, so he had no knowledge of the Ingalls or any of their belongings that he had that first time. The second time he went (with us), he really appreciated all the stories and history more and understood the significance of the monetary items preserved for future generations of Laura Ingalls Wilder lovers.
