The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: June twenty-sixth, appreciating the soddy life.

The summer moon's three quarters full and rising over the prairie of southwest Minnesota. Its reflected light illuminates unbroken acres of undulating native grasses and a glowing ribbon of wildflowers. A flicker of fireflies flares, as the vast sky slowly fades from dark blue to deep purple, the end of another day on the great plains.

It's a setting straight out of "Little House on the Prairie," the TV series derived from Laura Ingalls Wilder's series of autobiographical novels about the lives of prairie pioneers. "On the Banks of Plum Creek" described the childhood years she and her family spent in a sod house near Walnut Grove, MN, 125 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

Structures built from rectangular layers of cut sod stacked grass down were common though the 19th century. Both free and plentiful, sod provided good shelter from fierce prairie winds and winters, even if it made for dirty, damp and dark dwellings. Cutting the sod also helped prepare fields for planting. The sod busting life was a constant struggle, but as Wilder captures, it had many softer moments.

Now, children and adults who resonate with the prairie life can sample it for themselves, in a unique Bed and Breakfast a few miles east of Walnut Grove. Stan McCone, a scion of midwest sod busters, has re-created a 21 by 36 foot sod house based on historical proportions and techniques. Though spartan by modern standards, it offers the kind of creature comforts a prairie family would have found wondrous. Many modern families, especially those with their own Wilder fans, will find magic moments of their own.

The B&B is profiled in the latest issue of National Geographic Traveler, a supporter of our program. You can register for a free sample copy on our homepage.

For information on the Sod House on the Prairie B&B, 12598 Magnolia Ave., Sanford, MN 56083, 507-723-5138.

Back to June 2003 Main

Look through the list of fascinating places and off-beat features we’ve covered. Search text versions of past episodes and articles in our archives.