Across from the Pipestone National Monument, is Fort Pipestone. It's a full-size replica of a fort that houses a museum and a gift shop. The gift shop sells local items including handcrafted American Indian items, ceremonial pipes, pipestone crafts, and other gifts and souvenirs. During the summer, there are events held within the walls of the fort. I remember having a buffalo burger for the first time there one summer many many years ago. My memories of the fort also include a covered wagon.

While in Pipestone, my mother and I made a quick stop by the Pipestone National Monument. We were on our way to see my grandmother. It was nearing sunset, and I have been here many times before, so we didn't get many photos this time. We did, however, see a wild turkey and her chicks in the field.

The Pipestone National Monument is open to visitors year-round and there is a small fee required for entry, but it includes access to the Visitor's Center, the Circle Trail, and the Three Maidens. The National Monument allows visitors the ability to explore cultural and natural resources unique to the area. Specifically Pipestone itself. On your visit to the park, you can visit active quarry pits where the traditions of American Indians are carried on through quarrying pipestone.

Local flora, including numerous varieties of flowers and grasses, surround the quarries in the tallgrass prairie native to southern Minnesota. You can enjoy them as you walk along the Circle Trail. Along the trail are historical markers, quartzite rock formations, and Winnewissa Falls. Finally, you can enjoy a picnic near the Three Maidens rock formation. My sister and I have photos from previous visits of us on and around these rocks - we change and get older, but the rocks remain steadfast and stately as always. (The photo below is from a trip a few years back. Taken at the Three Maidens)



For more information about the Pipestone National Monument, please visit:
http://www.nps.gov/pipe/index.htm

As for the other gas station encounters, on the first day we stopped to refuel in Sheridan, Wyoming. A lady randomly declared to me that she was a blood donor. All I could think was "Why is she telling me this?" when I remembered I was wearing a blood donor t-shirt from the Spokane blood bank! I'll write more on being a blood donor later.

The other two were on a trip to Montana just a few days before the big trek across the country. A man in Missoula, Montana wanted to know if there was ethanol in the gasoline. It turns out he is a corn farmer from Iowa and wanted to be sure to use products his industry produces. The other, also in Missoula, Montana, wanted to know how to get to Starbucks, which was funny because it was literally next door to the gas station.

Missoula's Gas Station & Starbucks (Google Maps)

The beautiful Ramsey Falls

We finished our visit with a quick hello to the animals in the small zoo at the park, which features buffalo, elk, deer, prairie dogs, as well as species of upland game and waterfowl.

Melges Family Members

Working on a family tree of the people who were there on Saturday.

Dad, Uncle "Buzz," and Aunt Noreen

The calm between storms

Lightning Storm back in Redwood Falls