Epic Road Trip Day Seven

On Wednesday morning, we decided to let the girls ride the horses one more time before leaving the homestead and heading for Tulsa.  We didn't realize that the horses didn't come out until after 10 a.m., so it set us back on our plans for an early start.  The girls amused themselves again in the church and barn on the property.  Cristina and Ella really enjoyed the stagecoach. Ella kept grabbing the reins and yelling, "Hi-yaw!"

 Finally, the horses came out and the girls took one more spin around the property.  Just as we were walking away, Ella decided that she was finally brave enough to ride the horses.  She enjoyed her ride around the barnyard on Star.

 On our way out of town, we did a quick driving tour of some of the sites mentioned in the books by the By the Shores of Silver Lake, Little Town on the Prairie, and These Happy Golden Years.  Below is the Surveyors' House that they lived in the winter before they moved out to the homestead.  The other house is the house that Charles Ingalls built for Caroline when he gave up farming and moved into town to become a carpenter.

I was a little sad to leave De Smet.  It was my favorite stop on our road trip.