Side Trip Post #3-Vacation Across the U.S.

This is my third post that takes you on a side trip away from my crafting and with me on a vacation with my family where we are road tripping across the US – the ultimate way to learn the geography of the U.S. You can see my first two posts here and here where I showed you some of the resources we used to learn about the United States on the way. I promise to be back next week with my regular crafting posts!


After Mt. Rushmore and the BIG HAIL STORM we traveled through the Badlands:

....... across South Dakota to Mitchell and did a "drive by" of the Corn Palace.  Did you know there was such a place?  Corn is BIG in the midwest!  The murals on the outside of the walls are made out of corn ears.

You may be wondering if this was the big highlight of our trip that I was talking about.....uh....NOT!  Hee!  Hee! 

I talked dear old husband/dad into a detour trip…..out in the middle of no where, in the dark, to DeSmet, SD. Why you ask???? Well, I wasn’t sure how big of trouble I was going to get into because it was dark, driving on country roads, with BIG puddles from the storm. I just couldn’t resist taking the kids to Laura Ingalls Homestead! We woke up in the morning to a BEAUTIFUL homestead with some of the best hands-on living history I have ever seen!

It is one of the highlights of our trip – DEFINITELY! I’m talking – really hands on – you can touch everything….so, so neat. A replica of Laura’s house has been built on the original location. Everything is exactly the way Laura explained it in her books.

The kitchen, including shelf paper:

The girls room (4 girls slept in here):

The Living Room:

The kids got to make their own button necklace/toy and learn about braille.

 Here is the What Not and the China Shepherdess:.

Of course, you've got your washing to do and a rain barrel:

 

Here is the barn made with the hay roof, complete with real animals including a baby calf, chickens and cat with kittens…..all ready to be petted by anyone willing to do so.

Next was the big barn where there were miniature horses to pet and ride……this is a six week old baby named “Quarter Pint”.

Here is Quarter Pint's Mama.  Be careful with her, Lexie found out she bites if you try to pull her away from eating!

The wagon then pulled up to take us all across the prairie for a lesson at the one room schoolhouse. The kids were dressed in bonnets, dresses and straw hats for the boys. They were given a lesson and then allowed to ring the school bell when school was finished.

We then headed to the machine shop where we made our own rope, removed dried corn from a corn cob and made corn cob dolls.

(removing corn off the cob for the doll)

The kids also twisted hay as Laura and her family had to do to stay alive one winter on the prairie as there wasn’t any wood to keep them warm.

We also tried our hand at grinding wheat. The picture shows our kiddos with the owner of the farm. He has done an excellent job recreating the atmosphere for Laura Ingalls fans.

There is even a working pitcher pump that the kids got to pump; an heirloom garden and a wagon wheel – shaped flower garden. Such a neat place – we loved it!

Although, this homestead is not the one where the Ingalls Family lived in a sod house, they had one built here so you could see what it was like- ewe!

Come back again and see where our next adventure takes us!