Day 1

Two hours (about 110 miles) west of Walnut Grove, Minnesota is the small, quaint town of De Smet, South Dakota. It is here where the family of Laura Ingalls Wilder moved to in 1879. It is here where her books By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years and The First Four Years take place.

There is a lot of Laura history in De Smet. As well as a lot of hands-on experiences …

… and how to make homemade butter.

There are plenty of landmarks, too. So many that I decided to break-up the De Smet portion of our trip into two separate posts!

We had the opportunity to visit the gravesites of Charles, Caroline, Mary, Carrie and Grace Ingalls (and husband Nathan), and Laura and Almanzo Wilder’s baby son.

While Pa’s store is no longer standing, a sign where the store-site was is present.

It was great fun to meet new friends, mules Susie and Sally, and it was so kind of them to pull us on our wagon ride.

And as the sun was setting across the prairie sky, it was time to see our second pageant, this one re-enacting The First Four Years.

It was another late, late night. But thank goodness we had the comforts of a B&B to “come home to.” Our family suite even had bunk beds, which the girls thought were so neat! And what could be better than a homemade breakfast, while on a road trip? We savored every delicious bite of French toast and fresh fruit!

Our second day was even busier! So, stay tuned for more prairie fun to come …