The Ingalls Homestead - De Smet, South Dakota

If you ever watched Little House on the Prairie then the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota is a good place to visit.  It is the final resting place for Ma & Pa Ingalls and Laura Ingalls-Wilder (Author of the Little House on the Praire series) lived here for 5 years from 1880-1885.  It happened to be a day’s drive from Custer with the detour into the Badlands so it worked nicely into this trip.  We pulled in a little late (9:00 p.m.) but were one of only 3 campers there – and they only have room for 4 campers in the whole place.  This may go on record as the smallest campground we have ever stayed in.  

As soon as we got up the next day, the kids were smitten with kittens!  While they enjoyed all the animals at the Ingalls Homestead (a calf, a 3 week old miniature horse and a “born last night” miniature horse, big pulling horses and chickens) the kittens were inseparable from the kids.  I think there were 4 in all and I’m not sure who liked who more – those kittens followed us everywhere!  At first they found them under the visitor center, but once they became acquainted, the kittens were out and as playful as could be.

Graeme - hanging laundry like a Prairie Pioneer

But aside from the animals, the kids got to do laundry (they seemed to enjoy it a lot more than when Mommy does laundry…) make button toys, play with button toys, make rope, make corn cob dolls, ride miniature horses, sit in an old stage coach and an old wagon, ride in a miniature horse drawn buggy and go to school. 

The girls in a "Dugout" - a sod house built into the side of a hill

The kids with a newborn calf

Annalise, Graeme & Scarlett making button toys

All the kids went to school and learned about a one room school house

 

On the go round

Waterboy

The garden

A buggy ride to the windmill

Graeme rides a miniature horse

Graeme likes to get right down to the animal's level

The kids making corn cob dolls.  Very inexpensive, really.

Aren't they cute?

A covered wagon ride to school

Annalise in her school bonnet and dress

The girls volunteer to come to the front of the class.  Graeme did, too -
you just can't see him in this picture.  Really.

Graeme gets to drive the wagon

Our teacher waves good bye

Graeme & Annalise get a buggy ride

Annalise, Laryssa & a kitten enjoy the campfire

Moon over Ingalls Homestead

It was a fun day which ended in a nice campfire with a beautiful sunset.  In the morning, there were some sad kids – they certainly asked more than once if we could take a kitten home and it was the first time on the whole trip that the kids wanted to stay another night…  But on to La Crosse, Wisconsin!