Dawn on the Prairie

Saturday of our trip to see the little houses on the prairie,  we have had 2 days of travel and some interesting sites on this trip into the "Little House".  Yesterday we drove across most of Minnesota, on highway 12, arriving in Walnut Grove around 3 pm.  A walking tour of the Laura Ingles Wilder Museum, and then about a mile and a half out of town to the "dug out", their small in the ground sod house.  It was a bit like a hobit hole, except not nearly as nice.  Imagine 5 people living in a 10 by 10 foot mud room dug into the side of a steam bed, although about 20 yards back from the stream itself. 
The mud house is long since gone, but the depression in the ground shows clearly where it was and you can easily imagine the looks of the place being very similar to what they were about 130 years ago.  The trees along the stream, the prairie around the area.  Yes it is all there, but how does one imagine living in that "house" all year, winter in a dark 10 x 10 room does not sound like fun at all.  Yet from that experience a girl grows up to be a famous author. 

Well, its early morning now, and coffee is on the camp stove, there is still a breeze, but it is comfortable in the upper 60s I would guess.  I'm sitting at the picnic table, listening to wind and birds.  This camp ground is along a river bank, heavily wooded on the slopes and we are at the top, not down in the valley.  There is a railway track down along the river, and although I have not seen a single train, I have heard about a dozen of them, it sounds like a heavily used freight track, long trains at all hours.  Loud horns at a grade crossing near here, although I haven't found that yet, just heard it.  In this area the river runs NNE to SSW and all the trains seem to be going that one direction, I have not heard a single one going the other way, very curious.

Our plans for the day include a trip to DeSmet SD.  This will be our third "Little House" location, and what looks to me as the farthest west that LIW went in her travels, although I am not an expert, that would be Judi, who has been fascinated by LIW and her books since as long as she can remember.