Laura Ingalls Wilder and her husband Almanzo lived the majority of their lives on Rocky Ridge Farm near Mansfield, Missouri.

This photo, according to one of our tour guides, was one of the couple’s favorites. A large print is on the fireplace mantel in their home’s living room.

At first, the house Almanzo built only had two rooms. Over the years, he added additional rooms, including an upstairs sleeping porch with several windows.

The house and grounds, including Rock House–the home built for them by their daughter Rose–are now part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.

Visitors aren’t permitted to take photographs inside the homes or the museum itself.

But here are a few outside shots.

Let’s start with a mural I discovered on a Mansfield store on my way out of town after a fun day visiting the museum.

From left to right: Rock House, the house Almanzo built,  and the museum itself.

This is the front and back of a large sign welcoming visitors to Rocky Ridge Farm.

Here are two photos of the back of the house. See all the windows in the photo on the right? Imagine little Rose looking out of the windows on hot summer nights. Perhaps she’s imagining her mother’s life on the prairie or on the banks of Plum Creek.

After touring the houses, enjoying the video, and browsing through the museum and the gift shop, my friend Lora (who drove all the way from the Kansas City area) and I went to Hucklebuck Smoke & Grill for yummy beef brisket sandwiches.

If you’re in the area, I highly recommend you stop in. Just be sure you have cash because  they don’t accept credit cards.

This last photo was taken on the drive from Mansfield to Memphis. These tall plants with their striking red flowers grew wild along the highways in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

Finally I found a place to safely stop so I could take a photo. Anyone know what they are?