On the road again with the Ingalls family and we say goodbye to Plum Creek. Sadly, this time without my boy Jack. We are headed to the wilds of the Dakota Territories, friends. On a train! To claim a homestead and settle down, no matter how much Pa and Laura want to go to Oregon.

Pa heads to Dakota to work the railroad and be the payroll clerk, then Ma and the girls head out to meet them. The railroad men are filled with rough talk and violence, but Laura is fascinated with them as you would expect. Pa proves himself to be smart and brave, as usual, and then the railroad moves on to leave the Ingalls family alone in the Big Slough. After a cozy winter in the surveyor's house (what luck!) they stake a claim to their 40 acres and move into the claim shanty to win their bet with the government. Three stars, and onto the Long Winter! BRRR.