South Dakota

From Jamestown, North Dakota we headed south to South Dakota on a two-lane highway. This is the first time we’ve traveled off the interstate since we left home. We like getting off the beaten path, so that was an enjoyable drive. As we came in Aberdeen, South Dakota I noticed a billboard advertising Storybook Land. The billboard said it was free, so we decided to stop and see what it was. I didn’t expect much but thought it might be a fun place to stretch our legs. Much to our delight, it turned out to be very cute and very well done… especially to not charge an admission fee. Our kids are little old for story book characters, but they had a blast posing with the various scenes and climbing around on the slides and other playground equipment built into the scenes.

One feature of the park was a “Land of Oz” section. Just a lot of fun for an unplanned stop!

We were interested to visit De Smet, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House on the Prairie” but were disappointed how overpriced the tour was. We decided on the self-guided (free) tour. I know we didn’t see as much as we would have if we had paid $30 for our family to be taken through the buildings, but I don’t appreciate being taken advantage of!

We did visit the Ingalls homestead and took pictures of the cottonwood trees that “Pa” planted (which is all that remains in witness of the Ingalls ever living there). We also visited the cemetery and took pictures of the Ingalls family graves.

Tomorrow we plan to visit another Little House site in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Wonder if it will be a dud, too? Oh, well… road trips are an adventure, and there’s always something interesting to see along the way!

Today’s weirdest sight: A stray bull casually strolling through a small cemetery in a small town we drove through!