August 4th and 5th, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie
Friday, August 4th, we left the Don McLean American Pie Parking Lot in Clear Lake, Iowa and drove 208 miles to the Pipestone Family Campgrounds, which is right across the street from the Pipestone National Monument entrance.
In 1937, the US government declared this property a National Monument in order to protect the right of any American Indian to quarry the pipestone. American Indians continue to quarry the stone today. This national monument also protects over 300 native plant species – including 70 grasses – of the tallgrass prairies.
I am on a quest to visit as many National Parks and Monuments as I can. There are hundreds of National Monuments in addition to the 63 main National Parks.
The Pipestone Family Campground is a nice facility with clean restrooms, laundry, and a swimming pool. The workers were polite and helpful, and our site was wonderful. Sadly, we showed up on a stormy, rainy weekend and spent a lot of time inside playing cards and listening to the weather station. At one point we were under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and Tornado Watch.
On Saturday, we drove around to see some things in the rain. We went to the Visitor Center for my stamp and sticker and saw some of the Native Americans carving the pipestone.
Right behind the Visitor Center is the start of the Circle Trail that takes you back to Winnewissa Falls, but I was not able to walk this trail. I have hurt my right knee and was barely able to make it to the Visitor Center. Here you can see an example of the Quarry Floor. This red pipestone is what the Indians use to carve animal sculptures and pipes.
On the way to the Visitor Center there are some large boulders to your left. We stopped by on our way out. The Three Maidens are three large granite boulders that used to be one large boulder. There are smaller fragments here as well. Legend says that the boulders were deposited here by the glaciers. These are sacred to the local people.
On the opposite corner from the entrance to the National Monument is a full-size replica of Fort Pipestone. Fort Pipestone is an 1860’s palisade fort with a cedar log cabin gift shop and museum. Visiting the fort and gift shop was free.
We drove on into the town of Pipestone, Minnesota and found another fun gift shop with a huge peacepipe sculpture and horse outside.
In town there is a historic concrete water tower located in a welcome rest area setting with picnic tables, restrooms, and even a free RV dump station. This unique concrete water tower stands 132 feet high, holds 500,000 gallons of water, was built in 1920 and began serving the community of Pipestone in 1921. It served the community until 1973 when it was retired. It was restored, repainted, and fixed in 1990 and became a historical landmark.
No trip to Pipestone, Minnesota would be complete without seeing the gorgeous courthouse grounds and Civil War Memorial. The courthouse is made of the red pipestone quartz and has been kept as near as possible to its original condition.
The Civil War Memorial Soldier Statue is inscribed on all four sides with the names of more than 200 veterans of the Civil War and Spanish-American War, and joining the statue on the courthouse lawn is a WWII RA M4 Sherman Tank.
And last but not least, we drove the King of Trails Scenic Byway, which is Highway 75, from Pipestone north to Lake Benton. This scenic byway goes on for over 400 miles. It is miles of beautiful prairie lands untouched by man.
Thanks for joining me on this travel journey. I hope you enjoy seeing all the places we are visiting. Leave me a comment to let me know you were here.
