The final stretch of the plan

Today, we hit the road on our adventure. It seems odd to start at the end, but I did promise to share the plan for the final leg of our trip.

We left you in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Now we'll continue east across South Dakota. Our destination--DeSmet, S.D. If you're a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, you'll know that's the mecca for Little House fans. I think five of her books were set there, including "The Long Winter," "On the Shores of Silver Lake," "Little Town on the Prairie," "These Happy Golden Years," and "The First Four Years."

The Surveyor's House where the Ingalls family lived during "the long winter," is now a museum. While Silver Lake no longer exists, Lakes Henry and Thompson (where Almanzo took Laura for buggy/sleigh rides on many Sunday afternoons) are there still. I hope we can walk on the land bridge between them, because I know their buggy crossed over that very place. I wonder if it will look as it did when they courted there? Spirit Lake, in the northerly direction from DeSmet, is there still, as well.

We'll take the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway (US Highway 14) from DeSmet to the places the Ingalls family lived in southern Minnesota, including Walnut Grove. The museum there is geared more to memorabilia related to the television series. From there, we'll head south to Burr Oak, where the Ingalls family lived for more than a year, but which wasn't recorded in any of the books. I did find two books available at the museum gift shop there. I read Laura-biographer William Anderson's nonfiction "The Iowa Story," already, but not the fictionalized version of Laura's time there--"Old Town in the Green Groves," by Cynthia Rylant. I can read in the car, so maybe I'll read aloud as my hubby is driving, so we'll both be on the same page when we get to Burr Oak.

Depending on how much time we have, we may make the trip to Vinton, Iowa, the location of the School for the Blind that Mary Ingalls attended for about five years. (Click on the link for the school to learn more about Mary's time there.) The school building is still there and only just closed as a school for the blind in the last year or so.

From there, it will be time to head home.

But this trip is now ready to go from planning stages to the road stage. First, I must finish packing my not-so-virtual suitcases. I'm going to enjoy this experiment of blogging about the trip and am glad you've decided to follow along!

Embarking on a Great American Adventure

The word “meandering” most often describes creeks and rivers, which is perfect for my blog, because I love the look and sound of flowing water. Whether following a stream into the woods to locate a secluded waterfalls or crossing a bridge and watching a creek gurgle beneath my feet.

Like the water flowing in those creeks, this summer, my husband and I, too, will meander toward the Mississippi, but will go against the flow, heading north and west. Along the way, we’ll eventually see many rivers, including the Missouri, Flathead, Kootenai, Snake, Yellowstone, and, on the return trip, the James River, referred to by Laura Ingalls Wilder in an 1894 diary as “the Jim.”

Our 6,000-mile journey will take us through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, Southern Minnesota, and eastern Iowa. We’ll visit four National Parks—Theodore Roosevelt, Glacier, Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone, and other federal lands. We’ll explore numerous upper Midwest homeplaces and historic sites relating to Laura Ingalls Wilder, a favorite author of us both, including Pepin (WI), DeSmet (N.D.), Walnut Grove (MN), and Burr Oak (IA).

In each state, we’ll meander off the interstates and onto scenic byways and welcome your suggestions on places to eat, sleep, or explore:

• Along the Mississippi River (either on the Wisconson or Minnesota side—does anyone have a suggestion for the best views?)--we'll drive from from LaCrosse, Wisc., to Minneapolis, Minn., stopping along the way in Pepin, Wisc., where Laura Ingalls was born.

• Beginning in central North Dakota, just west of Bismarck, we’ll exit I-94 and begin the 100-plus mile drive along the Old Red/Old Ten Scenic Byway, meandering through plains, ghost towns, farm communities, then into the badlands of western North Dakota, near Dickinson. Once known as US 10, this was part of a major east-west artery in a bygone era, taking travelers between the coastal cities of Seattle and New York City.

• In Montana, we’ll take US Highway 2 along the northern tier of the state. We’ll spend a couple days at Glacier National Park, including at least one excursion along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Talk about meandering! Those hairpin turns will ensure that we pull off the road to see the breathtaking views and snap lots of photos. We’ll also spend time at Flathead Lake, where I am researching a novel I’m working on.

• We’ll traverse the panhandle of northern Idaho, exploring the Lake Coeur d’Alene Scenic Byway, then drive into Washington to meander along the Palouse Scenic Byway and environs.

In my next entry, I'll spotlight some of the routes we have planned for the return trip, from Washington State to Iowa. I hope you'll join us as we meander across the United States on this Great American adventure! We'll be hitting the road on August 28, 2010!