We slept horrible! The wind and rain was so loud. I probably woke every 1/2 hour. Each time I woke I started praying and asking for God to protect us. It was so scary! When morning finally came, it was so quiet. The rain and wind had stopped and it was eerily quiet. I stepped out of our wagon and was overcome by the view. It was amazing!
Our covered wagon. It was fashioned after an 1894 sheepherders wagon.
Inside the wagon
Our bed
The bathrooms
The view of the prairie. It was so beautiful!
View from the Look Out Tower
Inside Laura's Travels Exhibit
It had pictures and excerpts of the stories she wrote. It also had copies of the books and it was all divided by the towns in which she wrote about the stories.
Laura wrote the book The Long Winter which tells the story of De Smet's first winter in 1880-1881. New to the Dakota prairie, De Smet residents expect the railroad to ship supplies into town through the winter. Winter sets in early and frequent blizzards strand the trains in Minnesota. With a limited supply of food and fuel, the Ingalls family and De Smet residents must figure out how to survive the long, hard winter (except from De Smet brochure).
We visited the Independence, KS sight during our 2011 road trip.
Lauren was so excited when she realized she could climb up into the covered wagon and play. One of the best things about the Ingalls Homestead was that they encouraged you to touch and feel everything!
We had to jump a giant puddle left from the storm the night before to get in and out of the exhibit.
At the entrance of the exhibit:
- Laura was born in the "Little House in the Big Words," Pepin, Wisconsin--1867
- Moved with family to Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota--1869-1879
- Married Almanzo Wilder--1885
- Daughter Rose was born--1886
- Laura, Almanzo, and rose moved to Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield Missouri, their last home--1894
- Laura published first book at age 65--1932
- "Little House" books written-- 1932-1943
- Almanzo Wilder died at age 92-- 1949
- Laura Ingalls Wilder died at age 90-- 1957
Inside a dugout--pioneers on the treeless prairie built affordable homes of the earth. The Ingalls family lived in a dugout on the Banks of Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, MN
The walls of the dugout
Outside the Dugout
Shanty
The Burvee Shanty-This original claim shanty was built in 1878, by early Kingsbury County residents, Henry and Lily Burvee. It was located just northwest of DeSmet near Spirit Lake.
Hayroof Barn-Built with a hay roof as Charles described in his homestead proving-up papers.
Sweet baby kittens
Sweet baby calf-it was only a few weeks old
Working the water pump--Pa dug six feet deep to find water.
Ma's Little House-Reconstructed on the location and to the dimensions of the Ingalls claim shanty built by Charles Ingalls in the Spring of 1880.
Lauren got to experience washing laundry
Wringing out the laundry
Rinsing out the wash
Wringing it out again
Hanging it on the line to dry
Practicing sewing on a treadle sewing machine
Pa sold a cow to purchase a sewing machine for Ma. Caroline was delighted. She received it late on Saturday afternoon, so she had to let it stand still over Sunday. The next week, she studied the instruction book and was soon sewing garments wondering how she ever managed without the wonderful machine.
Making a piece of a braided rug
Having fun playing
Ma's Weekly Routine
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday
In Little House on the Prairie, Laura described the bed her ma prepared. "She had filled the straw-tick that morning. There was no straw on the High Prairie, so she had filled it with dry, clean, dead grass. It was hot from the sunshine and it had a grassy, sweet smell. Pa helped her bring it into the house and lay it in the bedstead. She tucked the sheets in, and spread her prettiest patchwork quilt over them. At the head of the bed, she set up the goose-feather pillows, and spread the pillow-shams against them. On each white pillow-sham two little birds were outlined with red thread."
We rode in a covered wagon to the school house. The driver asked if anyone wanted to drive the wagon. Lauren was the only one who said they did. She got to drive the wagon nearly the whole way to the school house.
Laura a.k.a Lauren
Reading to the class as Laura
Ringing the bell
Corn Cob Doll Making
Before Ma made Laura's rag doll Charlotte, Laura played
with a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief.
Lauren got to shell an ear of corn with an old-fashioned corn sheller,
and then she wrapped it in a piece of fabric.
Learning how to wrap (swaddle) the corn cob
Grinding some wheat
Make a Jump Rope
While not a featured in the Little House books, everybody gets a chance to make a jump rope from bailing twine. These handy machines became popular at the end of the 20th century as more farmers mechanized and began using balers. 
Scott holding one end of the twine
Her treasures
Trying to lasso a cow
Trying to feed the pony
We stopped at a convenience store to buy some coffee. You could also purchase ammo and t-shirts. What?!
When we first saw this we were confused as to who this was. I googled the name and it turns out that this is "Baby Carrie".
Charles' gravestone
A house drove by us
Fields of sunflowers
We saw signs for miles advertising Wall Drug and their homemade donuts,
homemade pie, exhibits, and 5 cent coffee.
Set props from "Dances With Wolves"
There never was a Mr. Wall. The town was named because it was built on the edge of the northern extension of the "Badlands wall."
A map of Wall Drug. There was so much to see. It was a bit overwhelming!
Wall Drug became popular because Ted Hustead offered free ice water to his customers. The History of Wall Drug. Wall Drug gives away an estimated 5,000 glasses of ice water every day during the summer.
We walked all over Wall Drug trying to find the 5 cent coffee. We finally stumbled upon it and sat and had a couple cups. It was pretty good coffee, and the price can't be beat!
On display in the Harley Shop
Driving to Mount Rushmore
This is a replica of a project Borglum started in Georgia.
"Prior to his most famous work, Borglum was hired to sculpt a monument to the Confederacy in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The original proposition was simply to have an image of Robert E. Lee's head there; Borglum objected, saying it would be too small, akin to putting "a postage stamp on a barn door." They settled on a much larger image of Stonewall Jackson, Lee, and Jefferson Davis.
The project had problems and controversies. The government was willing to fund it, but only with military figures, not Jefferson Davis. Borglum joined the Ku Klux Klan around this time, as they were some of the primary supporters and funders of the monument; it remains unclear how much of the Klan's doctrine he accepted or believed, but join he did. Finally, Borglum abandoned the project in 1925. Another sculptor, Augustus Lukeman, blasted off Borglum's work and finished it himself. The mountain is now owned by the state." (source: http://learni.st/users/58/boards/78393-gutzon-borglum-monuments-man)
A blurry Mount Rushmore Sign
Waiting in line to get into Rushmore
The view behind us
The entrance to Mount Rushmore
The mountain!
Avenue of Flags
When sculptor Gutzon Borglum looked upon the knobby, cracked face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he saw a vision of four United States presidents carved into the mountain. Between 1927 and 1941, with the help of over 400 workers and several influential politicians, Borglum began carving a memorial to the history of America. Today, Mount Rushmore is host to more than three million visitors each year from across the country and around the world.
Trying to take a selfie with Mount Rushmore (eye are squinted)
Eyes wide open!
Lauren picking Lincoln's nose
We walked the Presidential Trail which was 0.6 miles long and had 422 stairs.
It gave a different perspective of each of the Presidents.
Looking through a crevasse in a little cave.
Mount Rushmore is amazing to look at, but the view that the Presidents look at is not half bad either!
Holes drilled out for dynamite blasting
Outside looking in at The Sculptors Studio
More drill holes
Mini Rushmore inside Ranger Station
Saying the Junior Ranger Pledge.
We left Mount Rushmore around 8:30 and drove to Crazy Horse. We decided that we wanted to see the Laser Light show at Crazy Horse more than we wanted to see the lighting of Mount Rushmore.
The Crazy Horse Memorial was started on June 3, 1948 by Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski. It is still not complete.
We pulled into Crazy Horse a few minutes before 9. The laser show started at 9:30.
The Laser Light Show. They project it onto the side of the mountain.
"This laser-light storytelling presentation illuminates our cultural diversity, celebrates our similarities, and encourages better understanding and harmony among all people." (Taken from brochure on the laser-light show)
What Crazy Horse is supposed to look like when completed.
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