Pipestone, Minnesota - April 23rd to 24th, 2022
Sometimes you just have to embrace bad weather and go with the flow. Pipestone was one of those times. We worked around the worst of the weather and just bundled up for the rest.
Saturday was a travel day, from Pilot Knob State Park in Iowa to Pipestone, Minnesota. Along the way, we admired the barn quilts that we would spot every now and then. We don’t know why we never noticed them before visiting Door County in Wisconsin last year (Door County, Wisconsin - July 10th to 12th, 2021). Now we notice them all over the midwest.
It was a brutally windy day, 35 to 50 mph winds. The wind was coming from the south and we were mainly traveling west, so it was a cross wind. Keith slowed down so he could stay in control of our high profile van. It felt like the wind was tossing us around like clothes in a dryer. We stopped at a rest area for lunch. As Ann was walking to the restroom, a gust of wind almost blew her off her feet. The only good part about the wind was when we turned north, with the wind at our backs, and we noticed our gas mileage jumped to over 20 mpg as the wind helped push us along.
We went straight to the Pipestone National Monument. We wanted to visit on Saturday even though we were staying two nights in the area because, believe it or not, it was the better weather forecast of the two days. Even though there was a wind advisory for Saturday, the temperatures were in the 70’s and the sun was shining. The forecast for Sunday also contained a wind advisory, but it would be cloudy and 30 degrees cooler. However, after experiencing the high winds at the rest area, we weren’t sure we wanted to walk the one mile of trails around the monument property.
First we went into the Pipestone National Monument visitor center. The monument contains the quarries for the pipestone that most Plains Indians use to make prayer pipes. The area has been a sacred gathering place for thousands of years. A couple dozen Plains Indian tribes were consulted in the design of the visitor center displays and the park movie. The displays and movie were very interesting. It was refreshing to get the Native American point of view instead of the white man’s point of view. There were also three demonstration stations where American Indian cultural educators demonstrate how they carve the pipestone.
By the time we were done exploring the visitor center, the wind seemed tolerable, so we walked the Circle Trail and the path alongside the active quarries. Yes, it was still windy, but it was not blowing us off our feet. The trail wanders past a waterfall and beautiful Sioux Quartzite cliffs. No one was actively quarrying while we were out there, probably because it was too windy. The pipestone is a soft layer stone beneath the hard quartzite. It is hard work to break away the quartzite to get to the pipestone. It is all quarried by hand, using only hand tools. It can take months or years of hard labor for a person to reach the pipestone, but that is part of the journey.
Our campsite for the next two nights was in Pipestone Family Campground, right outside the entrance to Pipestone National Monument. When we checked in, we were informed that the water was not turned on yet. The owner had warned us that might happen when we called to make a reservation. The forecast called for two more nights of below freezing temperatures, so they needed to wait before turning the water on. That meant no bathrooms and no laundry facilities. That’s OK, we carry a camping toilet with us just for these types of situations. We also had enough clothes to last us until the next campground, where it looked like there was a nice laundromat a couple of blocks away. The friendly owner let us top off our fresh water from the hose at their house, so we had plenty of water to get through the next couple of days.
The campground is on the edge of the town of Pipestone. After dinner we went for a stroll around town to explore it and hopefully find a restroom. Although we have enough supplies for our camping toilet to last for days, it costs about $1 every time we use it once you account for the cost of the biodegradable bag (paid link) and the poo powder (paid link). It also probably isn’t very eco-friendly to use it, so we try to avoid it when we can.
Along Pipestone’s Main Street are some wonderful old buildings, built in the 1890’s using Sioux quartzite (https://www.progressivepipestone.com/165/Historic-District). There were two separate buildings with “First National Bank” carved in stone across the front facade. How can they both be the First National Bank? The Calumet Hotel looks like a wonderful and interesting place to stay. A couple blocks south of Main Street stands the impressive Pipestone County Courthouse.
Continuing east on Main Street, we came across the interesting water tower. It stands in Water Tower Park on 2nd Street. Right next door is a Casey’s gas station, with a bathroom. Score! Of course we bought a couple of items in the store so we wouldn’t feel guilty about using their restroom. We eventually fell asleep that night while listening to the roar of the wind as it rocked our Red Tail Lodge back and forth.
We were so glad that we were able to walk around Pipestone National Monument and the town on Saturday, because when we woke up on Sunday, it was not only windy and cold, it was raining. After lunch, it looked like the rain had stopped, so we bundled up and took a walk over to the Pipestone National Monument visitor center. During our half mile walk, it started sleeting. Our faces got a little cold, but otherwise we were comfortable. It felt good to get a little exercise instead of sitting in the van all day. We hung out in the visitor center for about an hour, chatting with the park rangers and taking advantage of the restroom.
We learned more about the quarry permits. Anyone who is a member of one of the federally-recognized American Indian tribes can apply for a permit. There is a long waiting list to receive annual permits. A permit holder must actively quarry at least once each year in order to not lose their permit. There are also weekly and monthly permits that are easier to obtain. One of the rangers at the front desk has an annual permit. Her brother, who is one of the demonstration carvers in the visitor center, is one of the most active quarriers.
All three carvers were busy on their own projects. One was working on a small art piece of a turtle. Another was carving a pipe which looked like a claw holding the bowl of the pipe. The third was creating a pipe that was shaped like an elk’s head, bugling. After bundling up again, we headed back to the van for a hot beverage. Our Espar heater kept us toasty the rest of the day.
Being prepared with proper supplies and clothing goes a long way to enjoying what otherwise could be a miserable time. However, the most important thing to pack is a positive attitude. We enjoyed our time at Pipestone, despite the strong winds, cold temperatures, rain and sleet.
Check out our related video: Pipestone, Minnesota
(Ann)