A Very Bookish Vacation

As an author, I love learning about other authors. Especially ones I've read for my whole life.
Since I was a little girl, I knew about Laura Ingalls Wilder. My mom read the books to my sister and me when we were little girls. And I always wondered about what those places she described looked like in real life.
Fast forward to me reading the books to my children. We've read all but The First Four Years together. So, when I suggested we take a trip to see where she really lived, everyone was on board (except maybe my husband who knew how many miles of road trip that actually was).

We live in Tennessee, so no matter which place we chose to visit, it was going to be a long drive. We chose to head north to Wisconsin, where she was born. 
Along the way, we discovered a different part of the Mississippi River than we'd ever crossed before and added some states to our list of ones we'd never visited before. 
We explored the little town of Pepin, ate cheese curds, and waded in Lake Pepin, which is part of the river. We also checked out the museum and the little cabin built just north of town that is where the original was. 

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From there, it was on to Minnesota. This is where Laura lived in the dugout on the banks of Plum Creek and then had the house outside of town when the locusts came and ate everything. The museum there had lots of fun rooms and props to explore, like the jail cells we shut our children into for a minute. ;)
Just outside of town, you can actually see where the dugout was on the creek. It was so peaceful and pretty out there, though there were quite a few mosquitoes. And not much shade. It was still amazing to me to be able to see it.

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Onward to South Dakota. This is where the majority of Laura's books take place and you can tell by how much they have to do and see. The museum in town includes the original surveyor's house, an original school they moved there, and Pa's house that he built in town after Laura married.
Down on the homestead, there's tons to do. We attended school, my kids drove a covered wagon and rode a horse, pet kittens, washed clothes on a wash board and hung them on the line, made rope and a corn cob doll, played on old-fashioned playground equipment, and tried to pump water, among other things. That night, we actually slept in a covered wagon (they have several for rent, but warning--there's no AC). It was an amazing experience. I stayed up late to see the sunset (it doesn't go down until around 10pm!) and we were up early enough to see the sunrise. Gorgeous.

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We ended in Mansfield, Missouri, where Laura settled with Almonzo. We got to go through the museum, where they have Pa's fiddle. They also have both houses Laura lived in there. The picture at the top of this post is me next to the desk where Laura wrote her books. It was so neat to see the handwritten manuscripts and letters, to learn more of the history, to experience it.
Our favorite part of the trip was definitely South Dakota. If you only go one place, that's the one I recommend. She also lived in Burr Oak, Iowa for nine months and in Independence, Kansas for a year, but we couldn't squeeze any more into our trip this time. 
This vacation was a lifetime in the making. I definitely checked off a bucket list item this summer. My whole family enjoyed feeling like they were stepping into the books at each place, and seeing history come to life.
Now, where do we want to go next? Think I can talk my husband into Prince Edward Island? :)
Have you ever vacationed somewhere bookish? If you were to choose a bookish place to visit, where would you go?