So much to see

The prairie winds have died down and the weather is warm and sunny...for now.  I'm sipping on a low-fat, decaf latte at Ward's Bakery in DeSmet, SD.  Ted is back at the RV park hitching Rosa up.  We'll pull out in an hour or so.  That isn't long enough to begin to tell you everything we've seen here, but I'll attempt to give you some highlights.

Arrived here Saturday evening and did a quick drive-by of the town and picked out the sights we wanted to tour.  Then we drove east of town to see the 160 acres that was Pa's claim.  The wind was whipping up a fury but it was wonderful to see the land that looked so much as Laura described it.  There are some buildings on the site and even though they are not original, it was interesting to actually go inside a soddy that was like the one Laura and her family lived in "On the Banks of Plum Creek".  It would have been tough for me to do that...even though there was one small window, it was like being burried alive!

Sunday morning we worshipped in the exact church building that Pa helped build!  Amazing to sit there and imagine the hard work he put into nailing this structure together.  Afterwards we had lunch in the Oxbow Restaurant, then went back to our Home Away From Home and rested for the afternoon.  I finished reading "The Long Winter"...Laura's tale of the prairie winter in DeSmet that began in early October and lasted through April.  The whole town near starved to death because, now dependent on the train to bring in supplies, the RR had been shut down because of the weather. 

This morning we took a guided tour of the buildings here that have an Ingalls' connection.  First we went through the Surveyor's house where the Ingalls stayed the winter after Pa finished his job with the RR.  Then we went through the school house where Laura first taught when she was 15 years old.  The next building was the school that she and Carrie attended...Mary had already left for Iowa to attend the School for the Blind.  These were all original buildings, but had been moved here from other close-by areas.

For me, walking through the House that Pa Built, as they call it here, was the best.  It is original, on it's original site and houses many family artifacts.  Pa lovingly built this place in town after about 7-8 years on their 160 acre claim, and he died here at the age of 62.  Ma went on living here with Grace and Mary, I believe.  After Pa died she rented out the upstairs and part of the main floor to make ends meet.

It was in this house we saw Mary's huge raised print Bible...imagine this was before Braille had been invented.  The kitchen had samples of Ma's and Laura's and Rose's dishes.  Rose was the only child of Laura and Almanzo that survived.  This whole town is full of the Ingalls-Wilder history.

We are leaving shortly.  On our way out of town we will see the home that Laura and Almonzo lived in for a short time before they moved to Mansfield MO.  We will also visit the cemetery where Ma, Pa, Carrie, Mary and Grace are burried.  Then we're off to Independence Kansas to see the Little House on the Prarie.

I love the mid-west...people here say "crick" for creek and "ruff" for roof...just like me...or like I used to!  Everyone is warm and friendly and the gas prices are CHEAP.  The country is so huge.  The town streets are wide and flat enough you could drive a locomotive down the center of them.

Will write again when wi-fi is available.  Bye for now.

Love, Mom/Peggy