I loved reading her books, and stayed the night at the little house on the Prairie museum on the old homestead, there is space for about 5 or 8 RV's there. It was fun to rethink about how they spent their entire lives barely moving about as much as we do now in a 2 week vacation!
There is a few things to do in town, I probably should have stayed a additional day and go up to her tree homestead north of town. It is a tiny town, fun to drive around in my car, it is a farming town now, with the railroad still going through it, that was why Pa moved there in the first place, it was the railhead at that time.
I left there, went to Mt. Rushmore, then Yellowstone, and Lake Tahoe.
At Mt. Rushmore, if you leave the parking lot, turn right, go about 1/4 mile and there is a tiny parking spot that you can get our and take a side shot of Washington.
At the Mt. Rushmore parking lot, from the top floor you can look east, it helps if the sun is shining on that side of the mountain, and pick out the 4 tunnels that highway 16 go through. You can see daylight through the tunnels because each tunnel points straight at the monument, behind you. Then you can take highway 16, and stop at the second tunnel, and get a shot of the monument by looking through the tunnel. Don't stop at the first tunnel, it is to crowded. So is the 4th one (first from the other direction). I found the tunnels by looking for rows of trees that are missing from the mountain, as they are removed to prevent them from blocking the view of Mt Rushmore from the tunnels.
I loved reading her books, and stayed the night at the little house on the Prairie museum on the old homestead, there is space for about 5 or 8 RV's there. It was fun to rethink about how they spent their entire lives barely moving about as much as we do now in a 2 week vacation!
There is a few things to do in town, I probably should have stayed a additional day and go up to her tree homestead north of town. It is a tiny town, fun to drive around in my car, it is a farming town now, with the railroad still going through it, that was why Pa moved there in the first place, it was the railhead at that time.
I left there, went to Mt. Rushmore, then Yellowstone, and Lake Tahoe.
At Mt. Rushmore, if you leave the parking lot, turn right, go about 1/4 mile and there is a tiny parking spot that you can get our and take a side shot of Washington.
At the Mt. Rushmore parking lot, from the top floor you can look east, it helps if the sun is shining on that side of the mountain, and pick out the 4 tunnels that highway 16 go through. You can see daylight through the tunnels because each tunnel points straight at the monument, behind you. Then you can take highway 16, and stop at the second tunnel, and get a shot of the monument by looking through the tunnel. Don't stop at the first tunnel, it is to crowded. So is the 4th one (first from the other direction). I found the tunnels by looking for rows of trees that are missing from the mountain, as they are removed to prevent them from blocking the view of Mt Rushmore from the tunnels.
They do fireworks each night too.
Fred.
The turn out is called the Washington Turnout and does have a good view of Washington's right side. They don't have the fireworks anymore, we were told Not Natural, neither is the Monument. Real reason is fire danger and cost. The light show is nice as is the laser show at Crazy Horse. At the light show the Ranger calls all Military Personnel down on the stage for retiring the colors. A bunch of older Marines (I'm 72 and they were mostly WWII guys so they're older to me) retired the colors and folded the flag. Impressive and we were even joined by several women Vets.
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to go". R. L. Stevenson
For the Wilder Homestead in DeSmet figure the better part of a day. Neat stuff to see and activities geared toward kids. The "Little House" where they spent the first winter in DeSmet is more of a static display, as is the house in town. PM me if you want more info.
We made this trip in 2004 and we stopped at Pipestone Nat'l Monument in Pipestone, MN. For us it was our first exposure to native American culture outside of the Delaware and Lenni Lenape of our area. We found Pipestone fascinating. There is a nice CG right across the street from the monument. Eat at Lang's Cafe in town.
Pipestone would be about half of a day. From there you'd head a bit north then due west on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Highway (a nice drive) to DeSmet. Leaving DeSmet you'd then be able to pass through Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace, Wall Drug in Wall, and then the Badlands on your way to Mt. Rushmore. Just depends on how much time you have. Enjoy & safe travels.
We stopped at the little town of Walnut Grove in Minnesota on HWY 14, The LIW Memorial Highway. It is near the homestead on Plum Creek and has a museum. You can visit the area around the location of the homestead even though it is on private property. There is a farm about 3 to 5 miles North of the museum and you turn right into their driveway and follow the drive around the house and barn to a parking area. There are trails and signs and the spot where it is believed the dugout house was located. The farm owners are really fine people, they know their land is important as one of the homes of the Ingalls and allow public access. Nice picnic area with shade at the end of the road. The museum is very nice and the folks there are very helpful. If it's not too far out of your way it is well worth the trip. We have been to De Smet in July for the Pangent on the adjacent homestead and our Grand Kids loved it but not nearly as much as the DW. The mosquitoe were horrible and Lunch (that's what they call my grandson) had so many bites it looked like a rash(just exagerating). Call ahead for reservations athe the homestead RV area. DON'T stay at the Passport American's version of Deliverance near town. That place sucks and is expensive. There were several spots open but "reserved" but they let us stay in an open area between two sites, for FULL price. We understand the campground by the lake is nice but there bugs are pleantiful.
If you get to Pamona CA there is a MIW Library there.
We will be heading out this August from CT for a "Laura Ingals" trip.
We will go from CT, up to Niagara Falls, across OH, IN, around Chicago and then up into Wis...first "little house" stop is Pepin, WI.
From there, we make our way over towards DeSmet, SD.
From DeSmet, we will haul over to Mt. Rushmore, etc..
I'm looking for help on:
Suggestions for making the most of the Little House experience. How many days at each loction? Must see's along the way.
Also would appreicate CG suggestions (im thinking Branches in Niagara, and Sauder Village in OH, but don't have any ideas for CG's west of Chicago.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Best,
Doug
You forgot Walnut Grove, Mn., not much there, but it is one of the places. This might help,
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You can have my RV, when you pry my cold dead fingers from the Steering Wheel
Just a reminder that August is the Sturgis Rally - more bikes than you can ever imagine. It means crowded campgrounds and attractions. Try to avoid the Black Hills during bike week. I'm sorry I don't have the exact dates - google or maybe someone can jump in here with that info.
I can't offer any Little House help, but once you get to Mt Rushmore there are lots of camping options. My favorite is Custer State Park - electric only. A full hookup and favorite of many, is Rafter J. We are staying at Broken Arrow this year - in Custer.
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I think that Walnut Grove is a really cool stop. We drove up to the homestead site on Plum reek and had lunch and did some exploring. The museum is small but has some neat stuff, well worth the drive after Pepin and the Big Woods. There is a great campground at Minneapolis, Spirit Lake Casino and campground. We don't gamble but we did eat there.
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