Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip June 27, 2011 Mountain Home, Arkansas to St. Louis, Missouri Travel Day

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Mountain Home, Arkansas to St. Louis, Missouri

Severe thunderstorm warnings (with black clouds, heavy rain, and LOUD BOOMING thunder lifted in time for our departure from Mountain Home, Arkansas. As we crossed the Arkansas line into Missouri, we enjoyed newly paved roads and tidy double wides. As we continued to drive through the lush, hilly Ozarks, random roadside tortoises waited at the edge of the narrow two-lane road. Karen missed the 2 armadillos, one flattened, the others on the road’s edge. Much of the forested land in Missouri is identified as the Mark Twain Forest.

Today was a definite “food” day. We enjoyed a country breakfast at the L.A. Cafe in    Cabool.  The owner named the restaurant in honor of her sister who had died from breast cancer.  After a long drive, we arrived in St. Louis and checked into a splendidly elegant oasis hotel called “The Moonrise”. We searched out a highly recommended restaurant noted for its barbeque  called “Pappy’s Smokehouse” (Thanks, Pam. Great recommendation). The rich, oak-smoked smell of barbeque wafted down the hall, filling our nostrils with hope. Dixieland jazz and the clamor of contented patrons greeted us as we entered the restaurant. Picnic tables and other small tables were covered with red and white checked tablecloths. Three of us ordered ribs that had been rubbed and smoked for 4-14 hours. Tender; the meat fell off the bone. There was a choice of BBQ sauces, Pappy’s original, Holly’s Hot Sauce, and Sweet BBQ sauce and side choices included cole slaw, beans, deep-fried corn on the cob, string beans, and sweet potato fries. (yes, we are indulging because we’re on vacation, and letting our taste buds rule!)

Yum....

We loved the sauces!!!! "Q" Sauce still rules!

Pappy's was all we hoped it could be!!

A trip to St. Louis wouldn’t be complete unless one visited the Westward Expansion Arch, commonly called, “The Arch”. We briefly went through the Western Expansion Museum Exhibit, and then experienced a most amazing movie called “Lewis and Clark”.  Kathy loves the story of Lewis and Clark and could recite the stories from memory.  Afterwards, with the sun still shining, we walked down to the water.  The river had flooded and was still to the top of the walkway with steps and beaches way under water.  Hard to imagine how much higher the water will rise and where it will go; nature to decide!

We sat in the shade, enjoyed the river breeze and made plans for what to do next.  Our lunch/dinner had settled and we decided to go for ice cream.  We wanted to go to Ted Drewes, which was highly recommended.  Karen looked up the address and it was not far away.  As we drove up, we could tell we were going to be in for a treat because the walkway and parking lot were full of customers enjoying the ice cream.  There is no indoor seating, but tonight the weather was perfect for visiting with neighbors outside.  They sell a vanilla cream custard, with many flavors, and toppings.  YUM.  3 for 3 today with our food choices!

We returned to our fabulous hotel, repacked and joined each other to have a final recap drink.  Enjoyed watching the locals and tourists strolling by as we sat at the sidewalk cafe.  Day 8 ended with a toast for a wonderful trip.  We all agreed that we loved the Dakota Prairie, at DeSmet, walking in their footsteps and imagining what their life was like.  Next favorite was the lovingly built and crafted house at Rocky Ridge Farm, Mansfield, Missouri.  We are pleased that we stayed loyal to the actual route of the Ingalls Family, from the Big Woods of Wisconsin onward. 

As Laura said,"It's always best to tell the truth, never give up, and always look forward." Happy birthday, Cynthia, Debbie, and Karen. Happy trails

For our next trip, follow the Lewis and Clark Expedition Route? Hum....      

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip June 27, 2011 Mountain Grove, Missouri to Mountain Home, Arkansas

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip Monday, June 27, 2011 Mountain Grove, Missouri to Mountain Home, Arkansas (with a long stop at Mansfield, Missouri)

At six o’ clock in the morning,  we woke to the threatening thunder-boomers rolling loudly in the sky. After enough rain to clear the air, we stopped at the Sunnyside Cafe to join the locals and police officers in pancakes and coffee.  The walls were decorated in Beatles memorabilia and other fascinating 60’s items.

The House at Rocky Ridge Laura and Almanzo lived here  1894-1957

We drove about an hour to Mansfield, Missouri where Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder  raised their only child, Rose, and lived their remaining years at the Little House on Rocky Ridge. It is here that Laura Ingalls Wilder, at the age of 65,  wrote the first four books of her series. Just as we arrived, a black cloud blew into the area and rain was rushing toward us.  We hurried into the museum with high hopes to see many of the original documents, and artifacts we had been promised.  The first find was “Pa’s” fiddle with the original case.  We learned that it is played once each year.  This was the highlight of our trip for history and nostalgia.  We had just started exploring the museum, when suddenly we were ushered to another room to see a video on Laura’s life and the history of the Wilder Mansfield property.  Parts were narrated by Laura.  This was fun and informative and our guide Shirley was helping us live the history.  

After the video we toured the house.  Each room was small due to the fact that Laura was only 4’11” and Almanzo was 5’2”.  Almanzo was a gifted architect, carpenter and cabinetmaker, and created a comfortable and cozy house that made life easier for Laura, who loved keeping house.  An example of his craftmanship was hand hewing wall beams, building custom cabinets in the kitchen and relocating the wood box inside closer to the stove.  He also lowered the kitchen counters down to make Laura’s work easier.  He made the dish drainer angle to the sink to drain the dishes, details that showed his attention to detail and his love for his wife of so many years.  We learned that Laura did not like to make bread, but to make this necessary task more fun, he put in two windows in the kitchen because it was very important for her to be able to see the creek, animals and birds outside while kneeding her bread. Both Laura and Almanzo were very handy.  He constructed the entire house despite being lame due to the effects of diptheria.  Their love was a quiet, long-lasting love of equals and friends.

Other treasures in the house, were the pump organ, the desk Laura sat at to write her books and the stories of how the house was built.

Stone House.  This special house was paid for by Rose as a gift to her parents.  In those days this house would have cost $3,000 to build, but due to the stones and improvements Rose wanted, including electricity, the house ended up costing $13,000.  Rose was well known as an author and was receiving good money so this was not a hardship for her.  She also built a garage and gave them a car.  Laura and Almanzo reluctantly moved into the house, but only lived there for 8 years and then moved back to their original house when Rose moved out to pursue her world-wide travels.  

We had lunch at a small cafe in town, catfish sandwiches, BLT and a Patty Melt, and then drove out to the Cemetery.  In a well marked section, we saw the graves of Laura, Almanzo and Rose. Almanzo died at Rocky Ridge at the age of ninety-two. Laura lived here until her death, at ninety, in 1957. 

Phrase to live by:  We don’t complain about today, yesterday is gone, and we move forward to tomorrow. (paraphrased, but you get the point!)

We drove to Mountain Springs in Arkansas, where 3 out of 4 of us had never traveled.   We are spending the night at Twin Lakes Leisure Lodge, and when we arrived the temperature was 90oC and humid, so we decided to go swimming.  The water was so refreshing.  We had dinner at Salsa and Joshua was our waiter.  Joshua was charming and we had to ask if he was a student.  He was indeed a student taking IT classes and singing in his spare time.  He regaled us with three songs and made our evening enjoyable (Beatles - Let It Be, Simon and Garfunkle and another rock song that included the word “California” .  The food was the best Mexican food we have had on this trip.  We started and ended our day with the Beatles!

Good friends, having fun, sharing stories, gathering history, making memories, traveling the prairies and countryside.   Good bye to day 7.  On to St Louis tomorrow.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip June 26, 2011 Independence, Kansas to Mountain Grove, Missouri

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip Sunday, June 26, 2011 Independence, Kansas and Travel Day

Our day started slowly as the  Ingalls Family “Little House on the Prairie”  historical site did not open until 1:00 PM. That morning, the  dark clouds threatened to pour any moment in the midst of thunder, but no lightning. It was already 86 degrees at 10:30 AM. There was a mansion in town called the Brown Mansion, owned by oil tycoon Mr. Brown,  and, even though it wasn’t open, we walked around the grounds. Karen saw a brilliant red Summer Tanager in the trees. We saw many magpies and circling turkey vultures.  Then we were back in the car to take a short drive to Independence, Kansas.

The Brown Mansion Coffeyville, Missouri We saw a Summer Tanager

We arrived at the prairie site around 11:45 AM. The land was flat as far as the eye could see, with waving grass and endless sky. 

Pa and Ma traveled by covered wagon 530 miles from Pepin, Wisconsin in 1870 to start a new life on the prairie. Pa built a log cabin on the site but later learned that land was not available to white settlers.  The Ingalls family and other settlers were caught in a dispute between several Indian tribes and the U.S. government over the land.  The family lived there about a year before giving up and moving back to Pepin. During their year on the prairie, their sister Carrie was born.  Also, It was here that the Ingalls family contracted malaria and almost died. A black doctor, Dr. Tann, who lived on a neighboring claim,  treated the family, returning them back to health.

A replica of the "Little House on the Prairie" 

Notice the chinking and insect holes.

We rambled over the land, imagining the Ingalls family building a life there. Unceasing wind. Hot. Slightly humid. Barn swallows flitting around. Calls from the mockingbirds from their various perches kept us company.

The long, flat, endless prairie

Debbie, Kathy, and Cynthia

During the next part of our long travel day, we saw all kinds of interesting things, while laughing, talking, singing and reading to each other. A sheriff’s car followed us for about seven miles. We witnessed some devastation from the tornadoes that damaged parts of Joplin, Missouri. Uprooted trees piled high for burning, a brick house with a missing roof and sales on storm shelters. 

We arrived at our hotel, in Mountain Grove, Missouri.  Suffice it to say that if we didn’t have such an icky motel one night, we would not have appreciated our other comfortable, clean and classy hotels.  We decided, sight unseen, to forgo the “free breakfast”, since none of us wish to enter the lobby ever again, which is where breakfast is served.   We left our motel, happily, for the evening,  toured the area, completely shut down due to the Sabbath, and finally ended up at Sonic Burger.  A local woman chatted with us about her night job in a factory and her favorite things to do in the area,  as she sat outside with us and enjoyed the cooling  evening breezes. 

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip June 25, 2011 Brookings, S.D. to Coffeyville, Kansas

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip Saturday, June 25, 2011  

Today was a travel day as we left Brookings, South Dakota and made the trek all the way to Independence, Kansas. Normally, it would take about nine hours but there has been severe widespread flooding around Omaha and throughout much of the states so we are taking a variety of detours. 

"The Farmer's Kitchen" Atlantic, Iowa (I'm just saying that if I showed you
a piece of pie they served here, you'd all be making a trip right here!

Independence, Kansas is where the Ingalls Family moved (by wagon) when they left Pepin, Wisconsin the first time. Pa built a house but in less than a year, the family had to move because they had accidentally settled on Indian Territory along with many other settlers. The family moved BACK to Pepin (530 miles by wagon again).

Along the way, we saw “RVs larger than the ‘claim shanty’ Pa built back in DeSmet”, said Debbie, as we drove endlessly on the Interstate. After four hours os so, we hunted down an authentic Midwest dinner and found “The Farmer’s Kitchen” in Atlantic, Iowa. The open, two-room restaurant was teeming with local people. Cynthia ordered a ‘pulled pork sandwich” and preferred it to the one from yesterday because today’s was made with Coca Cola (Atlantic is a Coca Cola capital). Debbie ordered the “Philly Cheese Steak” made with pork. Kathy had the “Pork Lip Salad” with Lipstick Sauce (I’m not going there). Karen ordered the award-winning chili (yum!). And then, there was pie... Now, you might think we’d be full after all we had to eat. Oh, no, this place was noted for their specialty pies. As Cynthia said, “There is no way I’m leaving a place like this in Iowa without a piece of pie either on my plate or in my purse.’ 

We finally arrived in Coffeyville around 8:00 pm. Went for dinner and did some laundry. We are looking forward to visiting Independence, Kansas tomorrow.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip June 24, 2011 De Smet, South Dakota

On the Banks of Plum Creek site
 (as far as we could go due to flooding)

Replica of the Home on the Ingall's Homestead outside of De Smet

We journeyed to the schoolhouse in a wagon pulled by
Skip and Barnum.

Schoolhouse

Marker at the corner of Ingall's Homestead

Pa's cottonwoods (five remain from 70+ originally planted) 

The Ingall's Home in town De Smet, South Dakota

June 24, 2011 

Just a note from yesterday - the 23rd.  Due to flooding, we were unable to drive out to see the home dug out in the bans of Plum Creek (“On the Banks of Plum Creek”).  We were able drive out to where the road ended. We were in good company, with many other disappointed travelers.  We just saw the vast open deep green prairie but could not get close to the site.

 On Friday, June 24th, we traveled to DeSmet, South Dakoka, the heart of the Ingalls’s family and inspiration for “Little Town on the Prairie”.  It was a short drive from Brookings to DeSmet where Pa filed his papers for his free claim (160 acres in exchange for living on the property for  a period of time).  Deb had visited this area years ago and it was more “touristy” than she remembered.  Our first stop was to the 160 acre claim, the Ingall’s Homestead. This was a self-guided tour to visit various sites and replica buildings First, we went up a three story look-out structure to get an overview of the site. We walked up and down the gentle hills and visited the sod house, sod barn, and a replica of a tiny claim shanty that would be built hurriedly to advertise to others that you had rights to the land. It’s pretty amazing a family could live in such small quarters. At the barn, in a covered wagon led by Skip and Barnum, we traveled a short distance to school, where a teacher had the kids wear period clothing and recite lessons as she related stories about what school would have been like.   We enjoyed talking to the locals that make these areas come to life. 

In DeSmet, we had lunch at Ward’s and had delicious pulled pork sandwiches.  The restaurant was inside an antique/ gift store. On one shelf, we saw sewing items, belts, paper towels, and electronics. We ended splitting a delicious slice of rhubarb cream pie and cherry strudel.

We walked to the Loftus Store and the store owner gave us an informal history lesson.  We walked to the Surveyor’s House and purchased the tour with the museum.  The Surveyor’s Home was where they spent a winter on the prairie (by themselves) before more settlers came. This included a tour of the Ingall”s Home (1887-1928) in town. Pa was a remarkable carpenter and the house in town had the original siding. Pa died here in 1902. Ma lived here in town until she died in 1928.

Weather today was windy, but the rain was holding off,and the sun was winning during our tour. 

We went by the Congregational Church where Pa had donated $3 for the bell instead of buying shoes for himself.

We ended the day walking the DeSmet cemetery, where Carrie, Mary, “Ma” and “Pa” and the infant son of Laura is buried.  Also, the resting place of the Boast and Loftus families.  What a wonderful day!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip June 23, 2011

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip June 23, 2011 After a good night’s sleep and a quick breakfast, we drove a short distance to Burr Oak, Iowa. This is the site of the Burr Oak Master’s Hotel where the Ingalls Family lived in 1876 for only three months. Ma cleaned and cooked for all the men who rented rooms in the hotel. During that time, as many as two hundred covered wagons would arrive, with the people needing lodging. Three men slept in a bed, crosswise, for 25 cents a night. For 75 cents (6 bits), a person could take a cold bath. The family moved out of the hotel and lived in town in the Bisbee House.

We are traveling in comfort, driving a white Mercury Grand Marquis (quite a difference from the Prius). It’s fortunate we are comfortable as we have great distances to drive. Kathy drove to the town of Walnut Grove, where the family moved from Burr Oak. Unfortunately, we did not have time to visit the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota. We’ll have to save that for another trip.

For miles and miles we experienced the prairie, long, low, flat expanses of rich, green land. Occasionally, clumps of trees popped up in the prairie. Huge clouds of varying shades of gray covered the sky for much of the day. We saw corn field after corn field covered in about a foot of water. When the sun came out, it was gorgeous green, blue and white all around.

After a nirvana-experience for Debbie at Dairy Queen, we went to the Museum where Laura wrote about her experiences living in a dug out house on the banks of Plum Creek. The Museum in Walnut Grove was amazing. There were several out buildings, including a model dugout, a one room schoolhouse, a model jail, “Grandma’s House”, an onion-domed house filled with items from the period and years beyond. We learned about Rose Wilder Lane, Laura and Almanzo’s only child. She was a successful and prolific journalist and writer, as well as a remarkably independent woman way ahead of her time. There were many interactive exhibits, which kids and adults enjoyed. Debbie and Cynthia played 2 pump organs, with music that the Ingalls had enjoyed - “In the Sweet Bye and Bye” and “Buffalo Gals”.

Dinner at Boss’s Broasted Chicken in Brookings, South Dakota to experience this delicious moist, tender chicken with tasty cole slaw (but not as good as Dave’s cole slaw).  The chicken was amazing!!  Our server was Rich Cobb, an Iowa transplant. He did not realize Kathy has been chasing Broasted chicken since a trip to Arizona when she was in 5th grade.  We enjoyed his insights to the prairie (very windy) and the unbelievable deep-fried cheesecake he served us (THANK YOU!).

Laura Ingalls Wilder Trip: June 22, 2011 Left Stillwater and drove toward the opposite side of Minneapolis to visit Annie and pick up Debbie. After coffee and delicious coffee cake, we hit the road headed toward Pepin (house of “Little House in the Big Woods” fame). On the way we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the countryside and random downpours. We stopped to view Lake Pepin, a 22 mile lake created by a shoal build up from the Chippewa River running into the Mississippi River. 

The dense trees contrast with the wide open fields. Imagine Pa hunting and trapping in those deep woods. Imagine him traipsing to Pepin through the thick grasses (it’s about 6 miles as the crow flies).

The Little House is absolutely teeny, unbelievably small (maybe 18 x18 feet for the whole house). The whole family slept in one itsy-bitsy room. It’s hard to believe that Pa and Ma slept in the bed, Laura and Mary slept on the trundle bed that slid out from under the main bed, and baby Carrie slept in a cradle. Tight quarters. Half the house had an attic where all the family’s provisions would be stored for the whole season (pumpkins, squash, salted and dried pork, deer, and bear, and much more). The food stored there would have to last all winter.

We stopped at Pepin and visited one of many Laura Ingalls Wilder Museums. We saw pictures of the family. There was extensive research about all the family members, whom they married, and where and when they traveled. Stayed overnight in Decorah, Iowa.