Pioneer Women

Once upon a time, a school teacher and her mother departed the Ohio Valley on a journey. They spent the night in a Confederate Fort on the shore of the Mississippi River. Then they traversed into the wilderness of the Ozarks where they cooked over an open fire and slept under the stars with an owl singing them to sleep. They paddled down the Niangua River in a kayak, watching the eagles fly overhead. Then they traveled into Kansas, where the coyotes were now their nighttime company. They walked seven miles through the prairie past a family of bison in order to get to a school house, but the school teacher did not comply with some of the rules for teachers, so she was not able to teach there. Their journey continued with a visit to a farm and a town where they witnessed a gunfight in front of the saloon! After this frightening event, they promptly left town and walked for a long time before they could find food. Then they continued on until they arrived at a settlement in Osage territory. They found another schoolhouse, but after an encounter with a Native American, it was time to move on. The two women then returned to the Ozarks where they were visitors at the home of a famous author. They decided that there is no place like home, so they traveled back along the river until they were back where they started at their home in the Ohio Valley.

This sounds like a tale from the pioneer days, but it is actually a story of the road trip I took with my mom last week! Our goal was to spend some time in Wichita, Kansas where she grew up, but we wanted to take our time getting there so that we could enjoy the sites along the way there and back. You can read about some of the places we visited below:

Columbus-Belmont State Park

Our first stop was the Columbus-Belmont State Park in Columbus, KY. This campground is on the site of an old Confederate fort during the American Civil War. Its location was ideal for keeping control of the Mississippi River. There is a Civil War museum in the state park, but we did not go in it. We did, however, hike the short Civil War historical trail which takes you through the old earthen fortifications. One of the highlights of our stay was the excellent view of the sunset over the river. The state park is very clean and it was pretty quiet during our stay. The camp host is very friendly. I would say though that they could have better signs throughout the park, and it would also be helpful if maps were readily available.

Wickliffe Mounds

The next day, we made a quick stop at the Wickliffe Mounds before leaving Kentucky. I had heard of the mounds for a long time but had never had a chance to visit before. The mounds are an ancient archeological site of the Mississippian culture. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding the mounds, and it was interesting to learn about what archeologists have discovered so far. It was worth a visit, but I probably won’t go back again.

Riverfront Camping and Canoe

That evening we camped at Riverfront Camping and Canoe on the Niangua River. Since we were camping during the week, the campgrounds were empty other than the two of us and we had our pick of spots. We chose one right by the river. It was a very peaceful night, and we did enjoy listening the the sounds of an owl as we slept.

The next morning, we signed up to do some kayaking on the Niangua River. An employee picked us up at 10 am and drove us to our drop-off point with our kayak. We were then to kayak seven miles down the river until we reached our car. We were told this would take four to five hours. The river was shallow and the current was pretty slow, and there were also a lot of downed branches from some recent flooding. As a result, we had a lot of obstacles in our way and not paddling was not really an option–as soon as we stopped, we would either get stuck on the bottom of the river in a really shallow part or we would run into a downed tree. If anyone was watching us, they probably had a good laugh! But we did paddle almost continuously and after 2.5 hours, we were surprised to find we had already made it to our car!

Pomona State Park

After a picnic lunch, we drove into Kansas and spent the night at Pomona State Park. This is located right by a marina, so a lot of people were there to use their boats. But once again, we were the only ones camping in the primitive campsites. The coyotes sang us to sleep!

Lyndon

Now we would be getting into some family history. We drove by my great-grandparents’ farm and their gravesite. We also drove through Lyndon, which is in a way frozen in time. It was fun to picture my grandma walking through town when she was growing up there.

Tall Grass Prairie

Then we drove to Tall Grass Prairie and hiked for over seven miles through the preserve. Living in Kentucky, I tend to do most of my hiking in densely wooded areas, so it was interesting to hike in a different setting. Prairies are more diverse than most people would imagine with all sorts of wildflowers, butterflies, birds, and other animals. We even got to see some bison! We did see an old schoolhouse toward the end of our hike, and it is carefully preserved as a museum inside. I had a good laugh at the old “Rules for Teachers,” especially the rule forbidding female teachers from loitering at ice cream shops!

Keeper of the Plains

We made it to Wichita by evening and after dinner we walked down to the river to watch the fire show at the Keeper of the Plains.

Cowtown

The next day, we visited Cowtown, a very interesting museum that recreates an old town. The museum includes a farm with live animals, as well as many replicas or restorations of old shops and homes. Cowtown is undergoing construction right now, so we were not able to access some parts, but due to the construction visitors were given a 50% discount on admission. We did see a skit of a gun fight in front of the saloon, but it done in a very humorous way. However, a nearby baby did get scared by the loud noise of the gunfire, so it isn’t for everyone.

NuWay Burger

When we had our fill of Cowtown, we headed out to have lunch at NuWay Burger. This was supposedly a short walk from our hotel, but with the heat and our building hunger, it probably seemed longer than it really was. To be honest, for most people it would probably be considered a long walk anyway. The walk did not seem nearly as long on the way back. Anyway, the food was good. NuWay’s burgers are made of ground beef rather than patties, and they were very tasty. They also make their own root beer.

Around Wichita

Next, we drove to pick up some Hog Wild BBQ for lunch the next day, followed by a walking tour of my mom’s old neighborhood. At this point, my sandals were really rubbing my feet after all the walking, and maybe one street into the walk, I was really in pain. My mom thought she had finally worn me out, but…

…later on after dinner, I changed into some more adequate walking shoes and we headed out again, my energy restored. I discovered that downtown Wichita actually has some interesting buildings AND interesting art and sculptures. I was able to see even more when we walked down to the farmer’s market in Old Town the next morning.

Little House on the Prairie Museum

Having completed our time in Wichita, we now headed to the border of Kansas and Oklahoma, just south of Independence, to visit the Little House on the Prairie museum. This was the site where the Ingalls family built their cabin in the book. Unfortunately, the family did not actually have the right to settle on the land because it was set aside for the Osage people. Pa Ingalls didn’t know this, but it did cause some conflict. Eventually the family moved on. While the original cabin had long since vanished from the property, the remains of the original hand-dug well were discovered, identifying this land as the Ingalls’ home. A replica of the cabin was constructed on the site. There are also an old school house and post office from Independence that were moved to the museum property.

As we drove up the site, we were surprised to see cars lining the street. There was a festival going on! At first we were concerned it would be too crowded, but it turned out to be a great time. There was a band playing bluegrass music, a man doing some intricate wood cutting, a teacher doing a demonstration lesson in the school, and lots of booths selling books, crafts, treats, and other things. A little farm had some donkeys and mini horses, and a friendly farm dog almost stole my mom’s lunch. Our final stop at the festival was inside a teepee where a man of Native American descent talked about the conflict between Charles Ingalls and the Osage, as well as the finer points about how to set up a teepee. Then we were on our way.

Springfield

We stopped in Springfield, Missouri for a night. We spent and evening walking around the Drury University campus where my brother graduated from college. Then we walked around the downtown area the next morning and enjoyed drinks at the Mud House. Of note in Springfield is the square where America’s first quick-draw pistol duel occurred between Wild Bill Hickok and Davis K. Tuff. It all started over a watch Tuff won from Wild Bill in collection of gambling debts. Tuff kept taunting Wild Bill with the watch which led to the decision to have a duel. Wild Bill was ultimately the winner.

Laura Ingalls Wilder House

We continued to Mansfield, MO to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder house. On Sundays, the museum does not open until 12:30 and the first tours of the house do not begin until 1. When we pulled up outside the gate at almost exactly 12:30 there were already a few other cars and a couple of motorcycles waiting. We waited and waited and no one came to open the gate. Finally, someone in another car called the museum and found out that they now have a new museum next door where we were supposed to park. The people on motorcycles got frustrated and just gave up on the whole experience for some reason. The rest of us went next door. We started by watching a short film about the history of the Wilder family and their home. Then my mom and I decided it would be best to catch the first tour of the home at 1:00 to beat the crowds. I am glad we did because the house is pretty small, so it would have been tricky and less enjoyable to try to tour the home with a bigger group. The tour guide was very animated in her explanation of the house and very knowledgeable too. It was interesting to learn that the house was built one room at a time, and you tour the house in the order that the rooms were built, beginning with the kitchen. It sure is an interesting house.

Next, we drove over to the Rock House, which Laura and Almanzo’s daughter Rose built for her parents. This part is a self-guided tour. That house is a little more modern. In fact, I think I would enjoy living in it. I think the most interesting part of my experience at the Laura Ingalls Wilder home was learning more about her daughter Rose. I think I already knew that she was also an author, but I didn’t realize that Rose was actually an author before Laura and in her day was also a more famous author than Laura! Rose traveled the world a lot, but she also tended to spend her money a little unwisely.

Concluding Our Journey

At this point, our trip was basically over. We did stop over in Paducah for a night and took a morning stroll by the flood walls, and then we did stop by Henderson, KY for a picnic lunch by the river on our drive home. Both were nice, but more of a way to break up a long journey than intentional stops.

So the two pioneer women were home at last! We had an excellent adventure reliving parts of history. For fans of the Little House series, I definitely recommend either of the sites we visited on this trip and even Tall Grass Prairie, while not directly related to the books, can give you an idea of what the prairie would have looked like in those days. Fans of the outdoors will definitely enjoy Riverfront Camping and Canoe as well as Tall Grass Prairie. History fans will enjoy Columbus-Belmont State Park and Cowtown. There is something for everyone in any state you go to if you know where to look for it!