I wish that I had known...

For those of you who have visited the LIW homesites, is there anything that you wished you had known before you embarked on your Wilder trail adventure?

I've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit all of the homesites, except Malone - some on numerous occasions, but there is one thing I wish I had known before my first trip. That was the early hour that restaurants close in most of the small towns. I admit to going hungry on one occasion and even driving for 40 minutes just to get myself a Subway sandwich on another. Perhaps this is something that most people understand as being "normal" - but as an overseas visitor, I needed to discover these things for myself.

I also wish I had known about the very interesting cemetery in Walnut Grove....and that Cap Garland's grave was just up the road from De Smet (not in the same cemetery as Charles, et al). The location of the Bouchie School and also Eliza Jane's homestead would have been good to know the first time around. Luckily, I was able to eventually seek out these places, but it made me wonder if anyone else had delved a little deeper?

I Was in Walnut Grove in 2008, I wish i had reserved a motel from home already ended up driving very late till a motel was available, I also wish i had more time

My family and I went to Mansfield in 2003 and had the same issue with resturants not being available. Its not the tourist town that you might think it would be. Next trip out there I might pack some lunch. Thanks for sharing the other things. I hope to eventually visit those homesites too.

JW wrote:

I Was in Walnut Grove in 2008, I wish i had reserved a motel from home already ended up driving very late till a motel was available, I also wish i had more time

I did that once, too!  I ended up driving back to Mankato just to save a few bucks on accommodation, but will never do that again. I learned that important lesson for my second trip and booked the Motel in Tracy (nearby). There is also a lovely B&B in Tracy that I've heard about - but haven't stayed there.

Gin wrote:

  Next trip out there I might pack some lunch.  

That's a great idea, Gin!  Just imagine...a picnic on a rug, with a thermos of coffee, yummy lunch with apple pie. All on the lawn in front of Laura and Manly's place.

Muriel! You are the one who loves the quaint American Cafes found in small towns. I have pics to prove it, lol.

LIWnut wrote:

Muriel!  You are the one who loves the quaint American Cafes found in small towns.  I have pics to prove it, lol.  

Oh, I do love small town, American diners!   I just wish they didn't close so early, although I understand why. I find that I lose track of time during summer and often miss out!

When we were in DeSmet in 2000 we searched for a campingsite nearby. Asking at the Ingalls Homesite the site itself was a campingsite.
Because it was late September we got the offer to sleep in Ma's house. A cold night at a straw-bed at the grounds Laura once lived. A better sleepingplace I never dreamed of.

I wish I had known that some places don't accept credit cards. I don't usually carry a lot of cash with me, but even ATMs were hard to find. Even though I brought more cash than I usually do, I still had to search for ATMs while I was away.

bethandmanly wrote:

I wish I had known that some places don't accept credit cards. I don't usually carry a lot of cash with me, but even ATMs were hard to find. Even though I brought more cash than I usually do, I still had to search for ATMs while I was away.

Tell me about it! It may be different now, but I remember not being able to use a credit card in Walnut Grove for gas. And I really didn't want to use the cash. I had enough to carry me over to the next town (and if there was another gas station in town, I have no idea where it was - and I felt funny going in there to ask for the directions to ANOTHER station!). So, that was a little frustrating.

it would be a cool vacation.