Little dog at her little house on the lake

     Home.  We are home!  We drove 3,839 miles.  Amanda reviewed what we did and saw. We saw woods, prairies, tables, swells, sloughs, lakes, rivers, banks, creeks and hills. We read about all the wild animals and plants in the woods and on the prairies, and then about all the domesticated animals and crops that the settlers bred and planted. We went in dugout houses, shanties, log cabins, board houses, hotels and tents.  We learned about covered wagons, horses and oxen, rafts, and travel by railroad.  We heard about natural disasters such as fire, hail, cyclones, blizzards, grasshoppers, blackbirds and drought.  We heard almost every song that Pa played on the fiddle, and learned Ma’s weekly chore schedule, and the chores that Laura and her sisters had to do.  We read about cooking on the prairie, crafts that young girls did, toys and games they had and played, and what they learned in school.  In her classroom Amanda can share the excitement and the tragedies of pioneer life, and she can have her students make comparisons of their lives with Laura’s life.
 

Little dog in a covered wagon 

                                                                              
    Tia Judy said we learned about food, clothing, shelter and transportation.  We learned about adaptation to the environment, courage in the face of adversity, freedom and opportunity, how the land changed, and about sustainable living, and then interdependent living.  We learned about an important part of US history – the Homestead Act and pioneer life.  One important thing was missing, though.  We did not learn about the land from a Native American perspective, and how pioneer life affected them and their way of life.  Amanda wants to be sure to include that when her class studies pioneer life, so that her students can learn how their dreams and actions affect others.
 

    Little dog on the prairie

     Now that we are home, little dogs like me can run and play outside, and be free to explore our homestead.  Tia Judy will read some books, and Amanda is going to be her own kind of pioneer, and will create new ways to make US history come alive for her students!
 

Little dog on her lake

...Teddy Bear (8/15)

    All of our trip we have kept to just sites related to Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Except today.  We were in Memphis on our way home, and just had to visit Graceland.  I don’t know much about Elvis, but I do know that he loved animals and that he had a lot of stuffed teddy bears.  He had a lot of horses and two dogs named Snoopy & Brutus.  So I do not think that Elvis would have approved that dogs were not invited into his mansion.  What was a puppy to do?  While Amanda toured I stayed with Tia Judy in the visitor’s center and watched Elvis fans.  Do you know what?  Elvis fans love little dogs!  They walked by all hot and distracted and, faster than a puppy could woof, they turned, and smiled, and said, “Awwwww.”  Many came over to pet me, and to tell us all about their dogs (some named Elvis, Old Shep, Priscilla, Sweetpea and Scamper!)
     Amanda and Tia Judy forgot to put on their fake tattoos but, no worry.  We did see some Elvis tattoos, and a lot of sideburns and dyed black hair, but mostly Elvis fans did not stand out other than being all-American.  We saw license plates from almost every state.  No wonder.  This is Elvis week.  Tonight is a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary of his death (which is tomorrow.)  And this year would be his 75th birthday.  I am glad I got to honor Elvis in my little dog way.
     We drove from Memphis to Knoxville, a beautiful ride with lush green trees, full, lazy rivers and dotted with rocky, rolling hills.  In the car we listened to Elvis.  Tia Judy is Pretty Mama.  Amanda is Lisa Marie.  And Amanda told me Elvis would surely want me to be his little teddy bear!  Awww.

I jest wanna be your teddy bear.

Little Dog on the “Grassy Place"

    On our way from Mansfield, Missouri to Memphis, Tennessee, we found out in finishing The First Four Years that the big dog Shep was jealous of baby Rose! He couldn’t be helpful to them, and Laura got a new dog named Nero.  Even Nero could not help them face the hardships to come – hail, diptheria, drought, death of their baby son, and fire.  We had heard of these when we went to Spring Valley where Laura, Almanzo and Rose went to live with his parents until they could get back on their feet.

Rosie at the church in Spring Valley, water that reflects the sky

    After Spring Valley they traveled to Mansfield by covered wagon.  This would be home for the rest of their days. They went 650 miles over hot, dry, dusty prairies.  Last night we began reading Laura’s diary that she kept during that journey.  Each day she recorded the temperature – 100-degree days were common, just like we have been having.  We can get relief in our car, but they had to face the relentless heat.
     All the towns where Laura stopped are recorded in her diary.  We thought it would be interesting to list all of the 16 states that we went to. Laura wrote where the settlers were from - Norway, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Scotland, Ireland, and many other places. All of the Midwestern states we went to have Indian names.  This is ironic, Amanda says, because the Indians were kicked off this land where the white man came to settle, but they kept the Indian names of the places.  The meanings of the names are beautiful, and reflect the geography of the plains.  We looked up the meanings of the Indian names on the web, and this is what we found:

Virginia
Maryland
West Virginia
Pennsylvania
Ohio – Iroquois word means “great river”
Indiana – English word means “land of the Indians”
Illinois – French spelling for Peoria word “ilinwok,” perhaps means “warrior”
Iowa – Sioux word means “member of the Sioux”

Rosie at Masters Hotel in Burr Oak, member of the Sioux

Wisconsin - "grassy place" Chippewa
     or English spelling of "Ouisconsin", a French version of    
     "Mesconsing", a Miami Indian name for the Wisconsin River

Rosie at little house in the big woods in Pepin, grassy place

Minnesota - Dakota word minisota, means "water that reflects the sky"

Sod house on Plum Creek in Walnut Grove, water that reflects the sky

Dakota - Sioux name means "friend"

shanty in DeSmet, friend

Nebraska - Otos Indian word means "flat water"
Kansas – Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indian means “south wind”
 

Rosie at the little house on the prairie near Independence, south wind

Missouri – Sioux word means "muddy water,” "town of the large canoes," "wooden canoe people" or "he of the big canoe."

Rosie at Rocky Ridge in Mansfield, muddy water

Arkansas – Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indian means “south wind”
Tennessee - Cherokee variant of a Creek word, meaning uncertain
Or Yuchi word that means "meeting place".

     Rose published Laura’s diary, and titled it On the Way Home.  That is what we are, on the way home.

Rosie on the way home

Rose

    As we drove from Independence, Kansas to Mansfield, Missouri we listened to the last of These Happy Golden Years.  As in all of Laura’s books, there are vivid, beautiful descriptions of the trials and the joys of pioneer life.  Laura writes about flowers, the prairies, the grasses, the stars and even the wind.  She often describes wind – from gentle breezes to the fury of blizzards.  As we listened, we heard her describe the cyclones that hit the prairies that year.  Although we made it through Kansas without seeing one, we were reminded of them when we arrived there.  Do you know why?  Yesterday Google had a picture of Dorothy and Toto on their way to Oz because it was the 71st anniversary of The Wizard of Oz!  We don’t have very many pictures of wind, but we do have a lot of pictures of prairie flowers.  I think even Toto would like these pictures.

Prairie flowers

 

Prairie flowers

    At the end of the story, Laura marries Almanzo.  The best part was when Almanzo took her to their new “little grey house” and on the doorstep was a dog named Shep.  Little dogs like me feel all cozy inside to hear about families with pets.  I hope Shep will keep her company when Almanzo has to work.

Prairie flowers

 

 

 

 

Prairie flowers

    Guess what!  Laura was in church one hot Sunday and in through the open doors came a kitten, and then a dog.  The kitten tried to get away from the dog and climbed up the hoops under Laura’s skirt!  It clung safely there while Laura tried not to laugh out loud!

 

Prairie flowers

Prairie flowers

    Laura mentions prairie flowers throughout her books.  The ones she describes in the most vivid detail are violets and wild roses. We got to our last book, The First Four Years in the car today, and Laura and Almanzo have their first baby, and they name her “Rose.”  Sigh…

 Prairie flowers

Prairie flowers

    On our long hot ride today we saw animals along the side of the road.  There were many armadillos and a few foxes.  We finally arrived at Rocky Ridge, Laura and Almanzo’s last house.  Laura wrote all her books in this house, and everything is still there exactly as she left it. It was 103 degrees, but little dogs were not allowed to go in, so I waited in the shade.

Puppy in the shade of Laura and Almanzo’s last house

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

  

Puppy clouds

    We drove from Percival, Iowa to Independence, Kansas today.  I have been doing some puppy wondering.  Are puppy naps better in Iowa or Kansas?  Or maybe Minnesota, Illinois or Ohio.  Tia Judy and Amanda have been pondering, too.  They are trying to decide which of the puffy white clouds they see look most like a puffy white puppy.  They think some look like I am leaping, and others look like I am rolling on my back.
 

 Puffy puppy clouds

 
    Today the thermometer reached 106, and the heat index was even hotter.  We listened to These Happy Golden Years and Laura explained how one cold winter the temperature was 40 degrees below, and that was before they added in the wind-chill factor.  It kept us thinking cool at least. 

More puffy puppy clouds

    Through puppy naps, puffy puppy clouds, soaring temperatures and miles and miles of corn fields Amanda drove and finally we arrived at The Little House on the Prairie!  It was far away from town, down quiet, prairie-filled roads.  It was hard to imagine Laura’s family living on the prairie all alone in that very tiny (puppy-sized) house.  Even Amanda was taller than the doorway.  It was cozy inside, but very hot.  We saw Ma’s shepherdess china figurine on the mantel and the red-checked table cloth that we have seen in every replica and authentic Ingalls home we have visited. 

Little house on the prairie

 
    Outside the breezes blew hot while insects tried to sing a welcome. Even the grass was almost too hot to walk on.  We loved the still, quiet air and the feeling of being alone where no one could be seen for miles.  We had seen many Native American names along the way, and thought of how the Ingalls had had to leave the prairies of Kansas because they were on Native American land. 

Little dog by little house on the prairie

 

    Back in the car we played puppy prepositions on the prairie.  Here are some: Rosie runs through the grasses, over the bridge, up the hill, down the bank, into the creek, across the fields, around the cabin, under the tree, in the wagon, on top of the bed…Can you think of more?

On top of the bed

 

The Land

    Today was a cozy, relaxing day in the car as we drove from De Smet South Dakota to Percival, Iowa.  I rested in my car seat, and for a change of scenery, went into my little pink dugout.  When I woke up I looked out at the blue, blue sky and the green, green fields.

My little pink dugout

Blue, blue sky

  

Green, green fields of soybeans

    As we drove today Tia Judy and Amanda thought about the transformation of the land over the last 150 years.  Little dogs like me understand soft damp grass to run and roll in, insects to chase and play with, and animal tracks to sniff and follow.
 

Running in the grass

 
    This is what Tia Judy and Amanda were thinking:
Miles and miles of beautiful prairies were settled over the years after The Homestead Act of 1862 gave land to people if they would develop it.  So the prairie grasses and flowers were cleared for farming.  Today we see corn, oat, wheat and soy bean fields, and cattle everywhere. The treeless prairie was transformed as saplings were planted to provide windbreaks. Little is left of the land that once was.  Native Americans live on Reservations, there are hardly any buffalo, and there is just a tiny portion of the prairie grasses left.
 

Corn fields

    When Laura wrote her books she described in words what life was like in a settler’s family.  When we go to visit the sites we see the living history - both actual and replicated sites where Laura lived.  We have seen dugouts, shanties, log cabins and houses.  We have seen clothes, toys, books, kitchen wares and tools that Laura and her family would have used.
 

Dug-out

 
    But it is hard to imagine the land as it was.  In Pepin, the little house is not in a big woods.  The trees were cut down for farming. In Walnut Grove and here in De Smet there are no prairies.  The grasses were cleared for farming, and trees were planted where there had been none.
    It is not enough to have books and houses and artifacts.  De Smet, the little town on the prairie where Laura lived, is reintroducing prairie grasses so that visitors can take long walks on the quiet trails with the gentle breezes, buzzing insects, soaring birds and prairie animals.  They have joined the US Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, a waterfowl management plan to protect and enhance over a million acres of marshes, lakes and prairies.

 

Prairie grasses, part of the Joint Venture

Natural sloughs amid farm land

    Amanda says that we cannot leave De Smet without mentioning one more sound – that of the whistle of the trains going through town.  It was the railroad that brought Pa to De Smet.  Without the railroad the land could not have been transformed.  Trains brought wood for houses, coal for fuel, meat and tools so the farmers could transform the land.  It also meant that Laura’s family was transformed from almost completely independent farmers to people who were interdependent. 

I still don’t think I understand, but I know I still love the big sky and the green grasses

Prairie Roses

    Mary, Laura’s sister, was serene and patient.  Laura said that Mary had always been good. She was content to sit calmly in her rocking chair by the fire listening to stories, and to take long walks in the fresh air of summer with Laura.  Laura loved to be moving. She was curious and wanted to do things.  She liked to help Pa with the chores, and loved to be outside playing and frolicking in the stream, the woods or the prairies.  Amanda says that I am a little like the both of them.  I sit patiently in the car for hours and hours and never complain.  I am content to feel the motion of the car, to listen to the stories, and to take my little puppy naps.  I love to explore, too!  And I love to play and frolic!  Mary and Laura feel safe with their family no matter where they are, and I do, too.  Sigh.

A contented, curious puppy

 

 

 

 

Looking out the car window at prairie grasses

 

Lots of sloughs

Prairie grasses are very, very tall

     There are times when I get scared and when I don’t feel safe.  That is when I am not allowed to stay with my family.  That happened today.  When Amanda and Tia Judy took a tour of the Surveyor’s House, when the Ingalls lived their first winter here, and of Ma and Pa Ingalls house, I could not go.  
     In Little Town on the Prairie Laura described the month of June on the prairie.  I love when she talks about the roses!  This is what she wrote, “Wild roses were blooming in great sweeps of pink through the prairie grasses…The roses scented the wind, and along the road the fresh blossoms, with their new petals and golden centers, looked up like little faces (Wilder 47).  Can you guess why I love roses? 

Wild prairie roses

    I did get to run and play when we went to the cemetery.  Far from town where the prairie grasses grow and the breezes gently hum Ma, Pa, Carrie and Mary are buried. And next to them is a gentle sloping hill with rich green grasses that call to little puppies to come and play.  And, guess what!  I did!

Prairie grasses and gentle breezes

De Smet SD Little Town on the Prairie

Happy dog on the prairie

    What a wonderful, happy day on the prairie!  Prairie flowers were everywhere, and there were fields of prairie grasses to run and play in! 

Prairie flowers

    We visited a shanty and a sod house, like the ones Laura and her family lived in.  We saw a slough (a depression in the prairie that fills with rainwater,) we met horses named Pet, Patty, Lady and Prince – just like in the books, we went to a one-room school like the one Laura went to, and we rode in a covered wagon.

Slough

School on the prairie

Covered wagon ride

 Cottonwood trees planted by Pa

    In the car we finished listening to The Long Winter. There were terrible, long blizzards for seven months in De Smet that year! It was bitter cold, there were fierce, howling winds and months of hardly any food.  After the storms there were periods of beauty.  Laura described, “The whole outdoors was dazzling, sparkling brightly in the bright sunshine. All the length of Main Street was a high drift of snow, a ridge taller than Laura” (Wilder 133).  We had a lot, lot, lot of snow this past winter at our home in Virginia.  For over 2 weeks we did not go anywhere, except to shovel. We ate almost all of the food in the house. When the sun came out it was beautiful and sparkling, but I could only play a little, because I got too cold.  It was a tiny little taste of the long winter in De Smet.

Dazzling, sparkling snow at our house

Me by a high drift