Fashioning a Pipestone
We left Wednesday for the start of our trip to the Maritime provinces of Canada. The wind was howling and the rain pouring as we went through North Platt Nebraska. We had trouble keeping the trailer from swinging in the rain, especially as the semi trucks went by. We spent the night at Morman Island State Park right off Interstate 80 near Grand Island, Nebraska.
Thursday, we crossed the rest of Nebraska, briefly entered Iowa at Sioux City and South Dakota at Sioux Falls to finally reach Pipestone, Minnesota. The National Monument here protects the quarries where the Indians come to find pipestone - a soft reddish stone that can be carved. It is only a 2 to 14 inch layer of what used to be mud. This stone was used from Georgia to the Pacific to create the peace pipes or small ornaments that were used by the Indians for several centuries. It's a stop that only requires about an hour and half. We went through the museum, a couple Indians demonstrated how the pipestones were made, and then we took a walk around the quarry area. The natural area around the monument was as interesting as the quarry - Winnewissa falls; the Oracle, a face-like rock formation; and the natural tall grass prairie, which has largely disappeared in the U.S.
Last night, we learned that it had rained over 3" in an hour and that part of our basement had flooded - no major damage done, but a few things have to be dried out. We're on to Interstate Park today.
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