Before arriving at the Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, SD, we read By the Shores of Silver Lake as a family. It was wonderful to have that story fresh in our heads as we toured the town, but we quickly realized that we needed to start reading The Long Winter to understand some of the stories we were hearing.
One lazy afternoon, we grabbed that book, a snack, and a blanket and headed to the shade of a tree by the hay roofed barn. The setting was idyllic. We were listening to the story, while on a slight hill looking out over Pa’s homestead. A few chapters into the book, we gained an unexpected visitor! One of the barn kittens decided to explore away from home and came meowing and running at us!
We took a break to enjoy watching the kitten, climb the bench, bat at the blowing grass, and explore the blanket. They she decided to swipe at the Kindle resulting in our spot in the book being lost and hightailed it away to the barn as fast as she could! It almost felt like she planned that final action the entire time!
We found our page and started reading again only to be interrupted again by not one, but two of the barn cats!
No matter how much we told them, they did not believe us that Chris was allergic to them. The black one settled right down next to him and waited for the story to start again.
When Chris didn’t start sneezing immediately, the kids proceeded to ask to keep one. No. No cats in this family.
If you’re headed to Mount Rushmore make a detour into Custer, SD and grab some pie and ice cream at the Purple Pie Place.
Sounds wonderful and thanks for adding the state