DeSmet and Pierre

Good Evening,

Well today has been a long day :) I got up this morning and missed breakfast at the motel. Hopefully I will get up earlier tomorrow. After I got the car loaded and checked out of the hotel I headed out. I stopped and picked up a camera battery and some film so that I can use both cameras. Then I headed west on Hwy 14 towards DeSmet. It did not take me that long to get there.

I found the Ingalls Homestead first and headed down a gravel road to find that. They had me watch a short video and then I bought a ticket to walk around the property. It was cool to look at. I saw an early school building that had a covered wagon in it and then headed down to see a sod house and a shanty. I think I would prefer the shanty for less spiders :) Then over to the barn and the little house on the prairie. They are just replicas but it was interesting to see. At the stable I was able to climb into a covered wagon and we headed out to an old schoolhouse for a class. The kids on the trip enjoyed driving the horses. We had a spelling bee at the schoolhouse for the kids and they all did well.

Then it was back to the stable to watch rope making, hay twisting, and corn cob doll making. I chose not to participate, but it was fun to watch the kids enjoy it. I then headed up to the gift shop and got some postcards. Then it was time to head out to the town homes. They tell you to plan 2 hours for the homestead, but I spent a bit over 3!

I got to the Surveyor's house and there was a park there that I ate lunch in. Then found out I had to wait 45 minutes before the next tour. It was an interesting tour and we got to see the original Surveyor's home, a replica of the Brewster school, and the first school in DeSmet. Then we caravaned to the final home of Pa and Ma Ingalls. All of that tour another couple of hours.

I then headed out towards Pierre. Passed lots of beef cattle, sunflower fields, and hay fields. Amazing how far you can see at one time. I got to Pierre in about 3 hours since I ran into some construction that slowed me down. Pierre kind of reminds me of the size of Kenosha, Wisconsin. It is probably bigger, but from what I have seen not that much. After checking into the hotel I headed out to find some dinner. I found a Mexican restaurant just down the block so I ate there. It was ok, but not the best that I have ever had.

Hmmmm, just discovered that the train runs right behind my room! The whole room is shaking right now as the train goes by. Wonder how often they run?

Tomorrow I am going to get up and head to Wall, then maybe drive through the Badlands, then on to Rapid City and hopefully hit the night lighting of Mount Rushmore.

Talk to you all soon,

Paula