The Ingalls Homestead, De Smet, South Dakota

After Mt Rushmore, we continued across South Dakota and stopped in De Smet, where a good portion of the Little House books took place. There's a pretty fun museum and hands-on exploring area at the old homestead site.

LMS liked the old covered wagon in the museum. And she insisted on wearing the bonnet she got when we stopped in Mansfield, MO at the beginning of our road trip.

The Ingalls family lived in a dugout along the banks of Plum Creek, Minnesota. So this wasn't their dugout, but it was cool to see just how tiny those things are. And I've got to say- the constant dirt would drive me nuts.

The Little Miss had fun pumping water out of the well.

One of the hands-on activities was laundry.

Rubbing soap on the fabric

Rubbing the fabric on the washboard

Agitating and rinsing the clothes

Turning the handle on the roller to squeeze all the water out

Hanging the clothes out to dry

There was a little roping station.

And she got him (kinda)!

There were stables, too.

LMS was ecstatic about getting to ride the pony

And then she got to drive the little cart

And pet the giant horses

LMS was in heaven- she's asked for a horse for awhile now (what little girl doesn't?), and this was like a dream come true.

There's an old one room school across the field from the claim shanty, and we rode in a wagon out there to learn about school back in the day.

That white cupboard in the corner was the packing box that the organ came in- it was re-purposed after the organ was unpacked. Recycling's been around a long time :)

They had little pinafores for the girls to wear and vests for the boys. Isn't LMS cute?

On the way back, LMS got to "drive" the horses pulling the wagon. Bliss :)

This house is built after the specs that Pa filed for his claim, describing his claim shanty. It was built in 3 parts, added to over time, with the result looking like this. Of course, the original isn't still around, so the preservation group built a replica.

We had fun visiting the Ingalls Homestead and seeing how things were done back in the day. It definitely helps you appreciate how much we have :)