Palisades & Pipestone Revisited

Bob was disappointed that we hadn’t stopped by Palisades State Park after visiting nearby Good Earth State Park a few days earlier. When we saw the weather forecast was looking half way decent (at least for the earlier part of the day) he suggested we pack our lunch and go. 

The park was quite busy to the point we even had to wait in line to enter.  With the combined visits to Custer, Good Earth and now Palisades State Parks we will be breaking even on the cost of the South Dakota state park annual pass we purchased for $36 in the Black Hills. (Otherwise we would have paid: Custer-$20; other parks-$8 each for individual visits). The pass doesn’t expire until next May so perhaps we will have a chance to use it again in the spring. 

I won’t go into too much detail since I did a previous post and video from our visit in June. We started by going down the trail and steep steps to walk along the river bank at the base of the cliffs. A secluded picnic table at the top of the hill gave us a nice place to have our lunch afterwards. While we were eating, a long line of antique and classic cars drove by...most likely a car club out to enjoy a get-together at the park.  

From lower trail.

Bob standing next to "Balancing Rock"

Our remaining time at the park was spent on the opposite side of the river. After a little exploring, I found a nice rock to park on while Bob went off exploring. With so many people scrambling on the rocks in the river and on the rock faces, I fully expected to see some falls or splashes but everyone stayed safe. 

Without me realizing it, Bob climbed up King Rock and had this view from above.
(Glad I didn't find out until he was safely back down!)

Looking back across the river to Balancing Rock (see above photo where Bob was standing near the top of the rock.)
The steps were the ones we went down to get to the lower trail.

As the afternoon progressed, the blue skies and sunshine switched to clouds, wind and a dramatic drop in temperature. We moved our car the short distance from the King & Queen trailhead to park next to the 1906 historical bridge. We walked a short trail at the top of the bluff and then walked out onto the bridge to see the view down the river.

View looking down the river.

For the 2nd time that afternoon we encountered this couple taking photos in the park.
Bob asked permission to take her photo, but refrained from asking too many questions! 😲

A wooly worm...a sign of a harsh winter?

The smart thing to do would have been to head home once the weather changed. But thinking this could be our last outing of the year we wanted to stretch out the day a little longer and drove on to Pipestone National Monument. It was raining ever so lightly when we arrived, but we each had a rain jacket and decided we wouldn't let a little moisture stop us.

The visitor center was still closed due to Covid (as it was when we stopped here earlier in the summer). With the nasty weather, we walked the mile-long trail in record time!! The waterfall which had been fast-flowing before was now much smaller. (First photo below was in early June.)

   

As we reached the end of the trail, we could hear a pounding noise and Bob realized it was a group of guys quarrying the pipestone (catlinite.) I grabbed the car keys and went to get warm while he headed over to where they were working. Only Native Americans are able to get a permit to quarry the stone and there is a 10-year waiting list for the annual permits. Quarrying is labor-intensive and may take days, weeks, months, or years to reach the pipestone layer. Bob was quite excited to have had the chance to watch and visit with the guys as they worked.

Quarrying for catlinite (rock used to make Native American pipes.)

At the entrance into the monument we had noticed a VERY LARGE peace pipe on display and stopped to get a photo as we were leaving. 

World's Largest Peace Pipe

Before we could get back into the car, a guy pulled up behind us and said "Want to hear the story behind the pipe?" Turns out the man was Bud Johnson who had built the pipe! The world's largest peace pipe began with a vision shared by three spiritual people and was featured in the May 2008 issue of Reader's Digest. You can also read about it HERE.

Bud Johnson telling us the history of the world's largest peace pipe.

Stopping at Pipestone was an afterthought and did not even seem like a good idea once the weather had gotten worse. But Bob having a chance to witness the quarrying of pipestone and then meeting Bud Johnson turned out to be a day that couldn't have been planned but yet brought what I like to call "souvenir memories"!! 😉 Our visit to Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii was another such day with a chance meeting that we will always remember.

Note: It is a week later that I am getting this blog post online and this is what our yard looks like. At least 4" of new snow but our trees still have green leaves!  😥  A clash of two seasons for sure. Praying that there will still be some decent weather before winter sets in for good. 

Good Earth State Park at Blood Run

A chance to enjoy one of the last warm days of autumn got us out of the house and on the road. And having the annual South Dakota state park pass that we purchased at Custer State Park last month helped us choose our destination...Good Earth State Park at Blood Run. The park is just barely outside the city limits of Sioux Falls...an easy drive for us.

Good Earth State Park (a National Historical Landmark) is South Dakota's newest state park, but the land on which it sits has a history that goes back centuries. Archeologists believe the Blood Run site was used as early as 6,500 BC. Native American cultures were attracted to this settlement for its location next to the Big Sioux River, the abundant wildlife, the availability of pipestone (catlinite) and protection from the winds. The area was an important gathering place for ceremonies and a trading center for many tribal peoples from 1300 to 1700 AD. It is estimated that as many as 10,000 people would have been present at various times of the year. Blood Run is considered one of the oldest sites of long-term human habitation in all of the United States. 

The parking lot was quite full when we arrived but we took our chance and went inside the visitor center (which had just opened in 2017.) Only a couple of other people were inside...and wearing masks...so we took some time to look at the exhibits.

A large buffalo skin structure and wall murals showed what life might have been like to the early inhabitants of the area. 

We were on the look out for one of these boulders, but didn't see any.

Close up of previous sign.

Our main objective was to check out some of the six miles of trails that wind through the woods, prairie land and river bottom in the park. Even with a map, we somehow ended up on a different trail than what we had planned. Thinking we were headed to the Riverview Loop we found ourselves on the Cottonwood Loop instead.

Arrow pointing to Cottonwood Loop trail that we walked.

The beginning of the trail system by the visitor center.

Initially the trail took us through a wooded area and somewhere along the way we made a wrong choice at a fork in the path.

Once we realized we were headed the opposite way, the Cottonwood Loop looked like a good choice.

Beginning of Cottonwood Loop. Much of the trail was along tall prairie grass until we reached the river.

Someone had constructed a small shelter from tree branches. Chief Bob is pretending to smoke his peace pipe.

After almost no rain for the last few months, the Big Sioux River wasn't all that big. 

I used the app "Map My Walk" to record our hike which turned out to be a little over 2 miles. By mid-October, much of the landscape was brown, but there were patches of yellow leaves on the trees and if you looked, little spots of color in the prairie grass.

This flower was no bigger than a quarter.

A little pop of red in a sea of brown.

Along the river bank the sun was warm and the winds were light. Once we returned to the bluff by the visitor center a brisk breeze had us pulling on our jackets and cinching up our hoods to try and stay warm as we ate the picnic lunch we had brought along. 

Our initial plans were to make a second stop at Palisades State Park but instead we headed straight home. A short, but enjoyable outing. 

It was nice to explore Good Earth State Park for the first time, but unless we have an annual pass in the future, I'm not sure we would return. (A day pass is $8.) There are too many other places nearby that are equally good or better for hiking.