Laura Ingalls Wilder: a dream camping trip

Laura Ingalls Wilder, her pioneer story is an idealized part of the quilt of American history.

Growing up, I think I only read Little House on the Prairie, none of the other 8 books.  But I LOVED the TV show.  For Oldest Kid's 7th birthday, my parents gave her the first 3 books in the series and then completed the collection for her 8th birthday.

Reading these books together... it's fascinating.  As an adult, I've really enjoyed reading about her loosely fictionalized accounts of her life.  As a mom, reading them with my kid (ok, reading almost any book together) is magical.  There is so much to talk about with Laura's life - the way they lived, the way they thought, the reasons they continually moved, the lessons in American history that we don't often focus on in our classes.

A few years ago, a friend suggested that I read The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie.  It was a read that I really enjoyed.  The author makes a point to find all of the homes of Laura and writes about it.  Sarcasm, wit, following a dream.  Other friends have since read it and also enjoyed it.

Talking with my book club (ok, we haven't actually read any books in a couple of years, but we still call it book club), the idea of a big camping trip to find all of Laura's homesteads was born.

What a fun way for our kids to have history come alive.

Pepin, Wisconsin.  Independence, Kansas.  Walnut Grove, Minnesota.  Burr Oak, Iowa.  De Smet, South

Dakota.

My dad found The Little House Cookbook for us.  I now have an idealized vision of cooking like Laura.  Well, except for the fact that current American society does not typically use lard.  Or cracklings.  Or ammonium carbonate.  Killing 12 starlings won't be happening in my backyard and I definitely won't be cleaning them, either.  And people who make their own jam don't often use paraffin wax anymore.

But I could cook like her!  If I stick to her regular cornbread recipe or the full Thanksgiving dinner.

Youngest kid hasn't gotten into the Little House books yet. Once she does, I may entertain the idea of a camping vacation to find all of Laura's homesteads a bit more.  Until then, I will keep dreaming of how fun it would be to follow Laura Ingalls Wilder.