Pipestone National Monument – Minnesota
During our 1995 cross-country road trip, our route carried us through a part of Minnesota, where we stopped at one of the most remarkable sites: Pipestone National Monument.
Here, the soft red stone, pipestone, has been quarried for centuries by Native people and carved into ceremonial pipes used in prayer and spiritual life. This is not simply a historic site but a living cultural place. Tribes from across the Plains and beyond retain the right to quarry the stone, continuing traditions that long predate European settlement.
Pipestone was formally protected as a national monument on August 25, 1937, when it was designated by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The designation recognized the site’s profound cultural and spiritual importance and ensured that Native Nations would retain access to the quarries while the land was preserved for future generations.
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore – North Carolina
On our vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we visited the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This site was established in 1953 as the first national seashore in the United States Cape Hatteras protects more than 70 miles of barrier island coastline. Rising above the landscape is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which was completed in […]
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality Monument – Washington DC
In 2018, I visited the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument in Washington D.C., one of the newer additions to the National Park System at the time. In my pursuit to visit as many National Park historic sites as possible, I often made a point of seeing them soon after they were designated. When Belmont-Paul came […]
Mount Rushmore National Memorial – South Dakota
Carved into the granite face of the Black Hills are the towering likenesses of four of our presidential leaders. Visiting Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a ceremonial experience. Upon approaching the site, we walked the Avenue of Flags, with flags representing all U.S. states and territories. This walk takes us to the overlook where the […]
