Picture this: a creaky 1972 pop-up camper swaying in a Minnesota storm, parked at the end of an airplane runway, with a family of six scrambling for safety in a mosquito-infested truck bed. In Episode 3 of the Feel Northern Air Podcast, Joe and Melissa Bates relive their wildest homeschool adventure—a trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder pageant in Walnut Grove. What starts as a quest to bring “Little House on the Prairie” to life turns into a gritty lesson in resilience, bonding, and the unpredictable beauty of learning outside the lines. From wading in Plum Creek to braving Voyagers National Park’s rugged islands, they share how these raw, real moments—flawed plans and all—ignited a lifelong love for history and survival skills in their kids. This isn’t just a nostalgia trip; it’s a vivid testament to how hardship and wonder can coexist, shaping a family’s story one muddy campsite at a time.

BIG IDEA

“But I think that is really what was a big neat part of the homeschooling experience was we were able to read books about things as a family and then go to these places and experience the literal Little House on the Prairie.”

Contact us at FeelNorthernAir.com.