Pepin, WI was the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We kept our home base in Minneapolis and drove about 1.5 hrs to get to Pepin. It was a beautiful ride along the Mississsippi. The river itself is beautiful. The trees are thick along the way. The rocky bluffs tower over the highway. We noticed rolling hills and rock outcroppings. The farmland along the way had that classic, rolling hill feel that you see in children's illustrations for stories & such. The farmland in NE Wisconsin is, for the most part, very flat.
We left about 10:15am and arrived in Pepin at around 12:00pm.
We finished the Harry Potter book (book 3) and switched to a Laura Ingalls book along the way: By the Shores of Silver Lake. It is fun to hear Larua's words while we travel to her home.
Pepin and the towns along the way are small. Pepin has a population of just ~827 people, according to the sign, if my memory serves me right.
The LIW Museum is undergoing some remodeling. Truthfully, I was expecting more, but it was worth the trip just to enjoy the beautiful drive, and to say we were there. We were able to see artifacts from the time, some letters Laura wrote to fans, and browse some pioneer dresses. Isn't it all about the outfit!! They had some beautiful hand made pioneer aprons for girls and bonnets to match. I let Arry and June each get one. The girls each picked out a candy swizzle stick to eat, which felt like old fashioned candy to them.
We drove 7 miles west to see Laura's birthplace. There was some beautiful farmland along the way, as I wrote about above. Those classic rolling hills--how lovely. The log cabin was much as I pictured in my head--a common living area & too rooms, with a loft above. It would have been neat to see the landscape before much of the woods was farmed. But you had a feel for the distance they had to go to get to town. It would be a day's outing by horse or foot, to go there and back.
We looked for a place to eat, but the one restaurant we hoped to visit, by the lake, had only limited hours. The girls were ready to swim, so we headed back, picking up some sandwiches along the way.
Arrived back at the hotel at around 4:45pm. The girls were ready to relax & put on their suits. We swam until about 7:45pm. Jamie met us at the pool with some wonderful home made guacamole. After convincing the girls to take a ride we got a tour of Minneapolis and her place.
Jamie took us to the Minihaha falls at one of the beautiful parks in the city. It is gorgeous. A waterfall in the midst of the city!! Lots of walking paths to get down & see the falls at all angles. Jamie said the parks were looking for a form of revenue, so they started opening restaurants in the pavilions onsite. We had ice cream at the one there. How cool!! It was a perfect night. Would love to go back and explore this park and Minneapolis more.
Jamie showed us her pretty home. It reminds me of our neighborhood in downtown Appleton. She's got a great place & nicely kept.
After all the touring, June was falling asleep. We headed home and said our goodbyes. it was great fun.
I didn't bring a camera to the falls, I so regret that. But the following are pictures from this leg of the journey.
Starting out... the day before
Draw Bridge as we were traveling to Pepin from Minneapolis, crossing the Mississippi.
Here we go, Pepin Museum
Baby socks and shoes... so tiny & handmade.
Trundle bed
Ma's stove, or something like it.
Buckboard
Old boat
Playing school in the school-room.
Old fashioned candy sticks. June loved that bench!!
A replica of Laura's birthplace--Little House in the Big Woods
The girls in their new pioneer outfits.
My pictures don't capture how pretty the farmland was. Rolling hills, just perfect.
Couldn't get a picture of the bluffs along the way. The relief was big!!
That's it for now.
