Wagons Hooo, Part 2

After settling poor Griff back into the truck we all headed back to tour of Walnut Grove. Minnesota is great about preserving these old towns and the people who volunteer there really get into the spirit of things by dressing and acting the part. Granted, no one dared to become Laura or Mrs. Olsen but it was very interesting none the less. Museum type houses always have a very weird and funky smell though - and the old toys and dolls just really give me the creeps. I was ready to say goodbye to the ghost of Charles Ingalls and his wandering ways.

We continued on our journey only to run into a tremendous hail storm. The dogs burrowed deeper into their shelters and the Beverly Hillbillies' theme song entered my mind and refused to leave. We outran the storm and pulled into a "tourist attraction" of an exact replica of sod house living. We paid big bucks to see how the poor lived. The land all around us was so incredibly flat - there was hardly any break in the skyline at all. And the wind! It NEVER stopped blowing. As my mother-in-law and I walked the path, it really hit us how hardy and brave so many of our ancestors were. To get up and see only the grass for mile after mile. To have that constant wind blowing in your ears and through the cracks of your dirt house and outhouse. The windchill factor would have made temps way below zero during the winter months. I used to always want to be a pioneer wife but seeing a glimpse of the reality that they lived...I probably would have ended up in some dark corner twiddling my thumbs and flapping my knees together while humming "Mama's Little Baby Loves Shortnin' shortnin', Mama's little baby loves shortnin' bread". Oh, I just described my niece and sister...oops...:0)