Bob Kelly's Trip to Pipestone National Monument

We enjoyed visiting Pipestone National Monument very much. It is a large tract of native prairie land north west of the city of Pipestone, and is a sacred place to all Native American tribes, as only at this location can they quarry the red colored pipe stone used in peace pipes and other ornaments. Any Native American, no matter what their tribe may be is welcome to come here and go down into the small quarries on monument land and harvest their own pipe stone, using only hand tools and their own strength. It is not an easy task as the pipe stone layer of rock is about 20 feet below the soil you see here, covered by earth, layers of limestone, and the red and purple layers of stone used for building materials. Beneath all that is a narrow layer about four inches thick of the pipe stone material, that was compressed by the weight of glaciers over millions of years. It is this stone that is removed from the quarry in larger chunks and then cut, shaped, sanded and fabricated into peace pipes like you see with these photos, and also into key chains, pendants, and small ceremonial ornaments, all of which are for sale in the monument gift shop.



The visitors center at the Monument is beautifully designed and very user friendly. While there you can see Native American artisans working with bead work and with the pipe stone materials that are obtained only at this location. There is lovely hiking trail of about a mile that goes behind the visitor's center and around the native prairie grounds and rock outcroppings. First you see a lovely rushing stream, and enjoy its beauty and sounds. As you move forward on the trail you see a small waterfall that flows out of a lake, which feeds the stream. Upon further exploration you see that another stream feeds the lake, and soon after you determine that you see a large waterfall, which falls about 20 feet creating the stream which you have walked past on the trail. At one point a sign points you to a rock formation called the "Oracle." When you are there you look through a small hole and you can see the head of a Native American, and thus this spot was suppose to be a place where you were in the presence of a spirit that would help you make important choices. Hopefully as you scroll down through the photos you can experience the walk with me, and sense some of what I saw and felt in this incredibly wonderful and beautiful place.







Other things you see along the way:



This is a quarry for one person to use in mining the pipe stone. Notice the hand tools left there by a worker who was taking a rest as this photo was taken.
The pipe stone layer would be down below the water in the photo.

Petroglyphs found at the site and preserved in the visitor's center.