Summer Road Trip 2010: Little House on the Prairie, Kansas

Our last stop....

Could there be any collection of books more wonderful than The Little House on the Prairie series? The answer is, 'no' in case you were still deciding.
I love.....and I do mean, LOVE the series. I think reading about Laura's journey is where I learned to love reading. On the way home from Iowa, we went too close to Laura's little house on the prairie to miss the stop. It's about 14 miles outside of the little town square area of Independence, Kansas off of 75. It wasn't too well marked regarding directions along 75, but once we hit the turn off, the signs directing you to the homestead were very clear. 9 am were the hours the internet said they would be open, but they were not open until 10....just a little warning. The house is not the original home that stood here, but it's built in the style of the home that Laura and her family would have lived within during these memories she wrote about in the book "Little House on the Prairie."

The site is free, though donations are appreciated. There is also a post office, and a school house that are on the site and set up to give you an idea about life on the prairie (they built here after the Ingalls moved on). In addition, you can see the well Pa dug (and Laura wrote about), and there is a little farmhouse next to the house that sells some goodies, and can answer questions. Of course, there is plenty of prairie surrounding it all.

There is nothing more exciting that standing in the middle of Laura's life setting.
I do have a side story I just have to tell. There is a lady I worked with the first few years I taught who is just an amazing person. She takes her grandchildren on vacations in the summer. She took her granddaughter on a trip a few years back, and they followed the trail of Laura Ingalls Wilder. There are little museums at many of the spots she lived, grew roots...and wings at, and later wrote about. There is a really good book called Laura Ingalls Wilder Country by William Anderson that my pal said she used to help plan her trip. She and her granddaughter read the books as they journeyed, and I was awed by the experience they both have, and am completely convinced I need to take the whole route someday! P.s. The same pal took her grandson on a 'The footsteps of Lincoln' trip, and is currently journeying the Oregon trail like they did once upon a time. Excuse me while I go ask her to adopt me. ;o)

A Wickedly Fun Trip to Kansas City

This holiday weekend was spent driving to, enjoying time at, and driving home from Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri. Every good story begins, and ends with a little adventure on the road. Driving to Kansas City we (Mom, Aunt Lois, Holly, and myself) managed to make a few 'must stop' stops, which included a stop at the McDonald's that spans the tollroad in Missouri.

On the way home we were chased by some ominous looking clouds, and greeted by some super rain drops that forced us to pull over. I took a picture once I was done being scared, so I didn't capture the lightening or the clouds pulling away from the rest of the cloud pack, which is never good....plus, with a good tornado story fresh in my brain...my mind was racing.

Once a little sun found us we were able to continue on, with one more stop at Ozarkland, I didn't buy much, but I took a picture of what I plan to go back for ;o):a bobble head, moose, cookie jar (it's only these random road stops that hold things that require this many adjectives to describe, it made me laugh, and I bet it will be there the next time I drive through). They had a bear too, but it was too close to the front, I didn't want my picture taking to be discovered.


We spent the weekend in Downtown Kansas City, and spent a lot of time crossing bridges that zigzagged around the Missouri and Mississippi River. It was a really friendly city, with really cute homes, and old brick buildings that had a lot of history. I wish I had more time to collect stories, and capture pictures, but I'll give it my highest compliments, and I would say-I definitely recommend a stop if you ever get the chance.

The first evening we were there, we hit a local legend-Arthur Bryant BBQ, it was definitely an experience. Our conclusion was the meat was great, the sauce was a little too sweet for us Texas girls, but I won't forget the experience.

We also found a Kansas gift store, and anyone who has been shopping with me won't be too surprised by this photo op, here's a little tribute to Oz.

Sunday morning we headed to Independence, Missouri. I didn't realize how neat it was going to be. Not only is it the town President Truman called home for most of his life, and ran for office from (and there were tons of tributes to him), it is also the starting point of the trails West. There are a ton of influences from various European countries, and lots of famous 'old' sites to see. It was very quaint! Here are just a few things we saw.
The old train depot:

Independence Square Courthouse:

The start of the Oregon Trail:

Then it was off to see Wicked (per Holly's graduation destination), it was fabulous!


This morning, before leaving town, we went to City Market (equal to most large city farmers markets).

Then we went to see the Steamboat Arabia Museum. It was very cool. We had a chance to see a lot of products from the pioneer days that don't exhist other places b/c they are every day goods (like butter, and pickles) that were being carried upstream to mercantile stores before the boat sunk, and they were kept 'safe' under layers of mud, and eventually a cornfield covered the old wreck site as the rivers course moved through manmade and natural help. One of the men who helped unearth the treasure through a large excavation twenty years ago was even on hand to answer some questions. It was an unexpectedly fun way to end the trip! I can't do it justice, but the website can http://www.1856.com/

There were rooms....and rooms....and rooms full of the goods it was carrying:

My favorite were the beads, and buttons: