Road Trip 2015: South Dakota--aka Kids' Paradise (Part 1)

We rolled onto the Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, South Dakota a day later than planned, but were thankfully still able to get two nights there. I have been wanting to go since I first learned about this place a few years ago. It's privately owned but a well-run museum by day, and kids playground 24 - 7. And for a lifelong Laura Ingalls Wilder fan like me it was a little slice of heaven.

Nella is not as smitten with the Little House books as I am, but she fell in love with the Ingalls Homestead. This was the final destination for the Ingalls family, though they moved to town 10 years later. There is a replica of the house Pa built, a couple of barns, a sod house, a schoolhouse,  and the little re-located church you can see above. The well that Pa dug is still serving up cold, clear water.

There are also RV sites, spaces for tents and covered wagons to camp in.

Did I mention the horse rides, pony carts, wagon rides and KITTENS?! The barn cat's kittens were definitely the highlight for Nella. That and making some new friends. We met Kerri, Martin, and their girls Emma and Libby on our second day. The girls bonded over a shared love of kittens and we toured the farm together. They had to leave to head back to the Chicago area only a couple of hours later, but Kerri and I exchanged contact info. and they later invited us to visit them on our way back home. They have since visited us in Asheville and we're already planning our next adventure together. 

New friends Emma and Libby. The kitten followed our wagon until we stopped to pick her up.

Learning to make corncob dolls.

Listening to a lesson in the schoolhouse.