Epic Road Trip Day Four

On Sunday morning, we decided to go back to Mount Rushmore because we didn't have time on our first visit to see the Sculptor's Studio.  We were so close, it seemed silly not to go back and see it while we were in the area.  The view of Mount Rushmore was much nicer in the early morning without the sun blinding us like it did during our afternoon visit.  We even captured a cute picture of the girls.

 After our short visit, we packed the girls back in the car and headed for De Smet, South Dakota.  Before arriving in De Smet, we stopped at a Walmart in Huron for groceries and camp chairs for the girls.  It was a good thing I took the time to research the fact that De Smet was lacking in major shopping opportunities because this Walmart was 40 miles away and it would have been a pain to backtrack to it. When we finally arrived at the Ingalls Homestead, the girls were so excited.  Cristina kept running through the prairie grass saying, "Look, Mom, I'm Laura Ingalls."  She kept telling us, "We're staying in Laura Ingalls' house.  Where is Laura?"  Charlotte overheard her and dropped the news, "Laura Ingalls is dead!"  Cristina couldn't believe it even when Emma confirmed it.

Our main goal for Sunday was to arrive in De Smet in time to see the Little Town on the Prairie Pageant.  Shortly after we arrived, we went right over to the site, where the girls were able to pose for fun pictures, take a wagon ride, get their faces painted, and grab dinner before the show started.

 The locals of De Smet did a great job with the Pageant.  It was basically a re-enactment of the book, Little Town on the Prairie.

 As part of the show, they select ten kids from the audience to take part in Act Two.  Emma put her name in the drawing and we were so excited when she was one of the last names drawn to participate.  She was part of the Fourth of July Celebration scene and played ring-around-the-rosie with the other kids.  She is in the purple dress and white and purple bonnet on the right side of the picture.

 After the show was over, Emma wanted to meet the cast.  I thought she was really cute when she got to meet "Laura."  She told her, "You're a really great actor."