Beyond the Book: Women of the Old West

You may not have realized this, but Laura Ingalls Wilder was a woman of the old west too. Her father had itchy feet and wandered from one place to another and finally settled in DeSmet, South Dakota. It was there that Laura met and married her husband Almanzo Wilder.

Life wasn't easy for them. They coped with hail storms, illness, fire, and the death of a child before moving to Mansfield, Missouri where they raised their only child a daughter called Rose. It was in Mansfield that Laura wrote the Little House books that have so captivated people of all ages. If you've never read the Little House books, I urge you to try one. You'll like it.

The picture is of Laura and Almanzo at the time they were married.

This series on cowgirls and women of the west is in honor of Peyton O'Malley my heroine in Rest Thy Head. Peyton moved to Wyoming where she learned to ride a horse, went camping, explored caves, observed wild horses, and fell in love. 

Picture of Laura and Almanzo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Laura_and_Almanzo.jpg