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Knowing that winter could make its appearance at any time, we decided to get out this past Saturday and enjoy the beautiful fall day. Anytime you can get an October day over 50 degrees and without wind in this part of Minnesota, you should be outside! After pondering several different outdoor options, Bob got the idea that we should go to the Pipestone National Monument.
Last fall, Bob purchased a lifetime senior citizen “America
the Beautiful” pass which covers the entrance fees at all national parks and
wildlife refuges for anyone aged 62 or older AND all passengers in their car.
The cost of the lifetime pass had been $10 since 1994 but wouldn’t you know it,
the price jumped to $80 <yikes!> just a few weeks before Bob’s 62nd
birthday. Pipestone is the only national
monument or park even remotely close to where we live so it gave us a chance to
put the pass to use.
Southwest Minnesota is rural farmland…mainly corn and
soybeans for crops. It has been a wet fall so now that the fields were drying
out, harvest was taking place in earnest. Our drive also took us past some of
the more unique farming operations…wind farms and buffalo herds!
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| A wind farm. |
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| Buffalo! |
For hundreds of years, Native Americans have been coming to Pipestone to quarry for catlinite or as it is more commonly known…pipestone. And just as the name implies, the soft, pink rock that they dig from the ground is used to carve the bowls for their pipes.
The visitor’s center had many displays showing items that had been carved from pipestone and also a couple craftspeople demonstrating the art of pipe making.
One room of the visitor’s center was devoted to a series of petroglyphs
that had been found nearby.
And though the displays and demonstrations were interesting,
the real highlight of our day was walking the path that leads past the quarries and out into the
prairie.
The fall foliage was past its peak, but if you looked closely you could still find pops of color and beauty among the prairie grass.
The trail led us to the Winniwissa Falls and then followed
alongside the river back to the visitor’s center. What a great
day to be outdoors enjoying nature!
It was mid-afternoon by the time we left Pipestone and we
were both hungry. Taking a different route home gave us a chance to stop for a
late lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the little Dutch community of Chandler.
(Not the kind of town where you would expect to find tacos and burritos being
served, but it wasn’t bad!) We were the only customers inside the little cafe. Main street was pretty desserted as well.
All in all a fun day and a reminder that we need to make
more of an effort to explore what is in our own back yard!
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