Little House on the Prairie

WOW!! What an adventure we've had. We had such a GREAT time!!! I planned ahead and packed most of our meals so we wouldn't have to eat out and brought lots of snacks too! I didn't plan out every minute of our time there, but made a list of everything that was available during each part of the day. Then we just had FUN!! We left our house Friday morning at 6am and it wasn't too long before the van was pretty quiet. This is what Pillar and I discovered. LOL (I should also mention that we were blessed with a full tank of gas as a thank you gift!! Perfect timing!!)We took our time and made several fun stops along the way. You know......we enjoyed the journey!! Did you know that the real character of Linus was born and raised in Sleepy Eye, MN?

This year we have a membership to the Historical Society and with it FREE admission to 26 sites all around the state. We stopped off at this one where there were beautiful prairie grasses and flowers that have been preserved. The grass whistled in the wind. It felt like something right out of a Little House book. So peaceful. So beautiful.

There is a section of rock that the Indians used for ceremonies where more than 1900 ancient carvings or petroglyphs are found. We were able to recognize bison, hand prints or signatures, lightening and so many amazing designs.

We also got to use an atlatl to throw arrows at a fake bison off in the distance. It was amazing how far and how fast those arrows would fly. They said the Indians could throw up to 100 mph and kill a bison with one shot!!

The weather was absolutely beautiful when we arrived at Walnut Grove. A lot of the advertised special events were on Saturday so we didn't have to fight the crowds at all! It was PERFECT!! I think we took something like 80-90 pics so I'll try to just hit the highlights. We did so much!! lol

Pillar in an old time jail cell!

Because of the lack of enthusiasm in the students in this little schoolhouse.......

The teacher had the put one of them in the corner! Really......Rosebud just wanted to see what "Willie's" corner felt like! LOL

The dugout house in the background is a replica of the one Laura Ingles Wilder lived in when she was seven. Dirt floors and so very very tiny. Hard to imagine them all living in such a small space. While we were inside checking it out we discovered that we were not alone......a mouse had joined us! But I'll spare you the details AND that pic! lol

We ate a picnic lunch down on the banks of Plum Creek. It was picturesque! The water was so refreshing on a hot summer's day.

We, of course, had to go wading!! And yes, someone did fall in! LOL

Rosebud also lost/dropped/temporarily forgot her flip flops! But we found them before they floated too far down the creek! LOL

We went to the Mercantile where the couple that owned and operated it were so fantastic that we made a special trip to go see them again! They were so kind and made the girls feel very special. They asked them riddles, made us laugh and sold us candy sticks for $.10/each. What a deal! They also gave us free "left over" fudge the next day we came back. It was the best ever!!!

When we arrived at the pageant Friday night the stars of the show just happened to be sitting right there in the wagon in front of us! They smiled for pics and then they drove off

into the sunset to start the pageant.The weather changed for the worse that night. There was constant lightening and rumbling thunder with intermittent down pouring rain. We got soaked but still had a blast! The pageant continued as if the weather was sunny and calm. lol

The actress who played Nellie on the TV series was there on Saturday signing books and answering questions. The answers to my girls questions were #1 Yes ~ she is still acting. In fact, she just made a movie over in France. #2 Yes ~ she had a lot of fun on the set of the TV series. It was a good experience. #3 ~ Yes, she had control over the title of her book. And she went on further to explain how it came about. (We thought the title was completely inapropriate and disturbing considering she was representing a family show.)

There were lots of arts and crafts at the festival. The girls got to make corn husk dolls. Very cute!

And we finished off our trip by making a stop at Nellie's Cafe'. We all ordered a Nellie Burger that was very delicious. It was a quaint little restaurant with fascinating pictures and information all over the walls. It was a little different than we expected, but well worth the wait!

It was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad we did it!! I wanted to reward the girls for all their help and great attitudes this year. I love experiences like this where we enjoy the journey as much as the final destination. We made memories that will last a lifetime!! Thank you Lord for giving us such a blessed time together!!