North Dakota - Day 9 (Tri-State Markers, Pipestone Nat'l Monument, Le Mars)

Day 9 - We left our hotel fairly early as we had a full day of driving ahead of us, as well as a few stops. It promised to be a fun day though and the weather promised to be perfect!

Heading south, we stopped in Wahpeton, ND to see the World's Largest Catfish. 

Fun side note: We crossed paths with Dawnkey & Rocklun earlier in Wahpeton, ND. If only we knew ahead of time, or happened to show up at the same time for the same box . . . what a hoot that would've been. Still a nice surprise a bit after the fact.

Another 30 minutes south and we found the Tri-State marker for ND/SD/MN. We couldn't get over how beautiful the day was! The big, fluffy clouds against the blue sky and the green grass/crops!

Technically, I'm not sure if we are standing in One, Two or Three states (since we aren't *standing* on the Marker)...if one state, we were in South Dakota. Two States, North & South Dakota. Three States, North & South Dakota and Minnesota. We do know that our camera was in Minnesota and the car was in North Dakota. 

We've done a "Travel Scavenger Hunt" with the kids for years. It is a wonderful way to pass time and keep us all occupied while in the car for hours. One of the items on the list - a Wall Drug Sign! I FOUND ONE!!!!

We stopped at the Wilmot Rest Area/South Dakota Welcome Center - it was a really nice facility with super friendly staff.

We chuckled at this rendition of Mount Rushmore. It's like an AI version..."close enough"

While planning this day, we planned to drive from one tri-state marker to the other with no real stops in between. But looking at a map, I saw Pipestone National Monument and did some quick searches. Once I saw a few pictures and read about the significance of the monument, I knew that we would enjoy stopping there. It was a perfect stop to break up the drive!

Pipestone National Monument is home to over 50 active quarries. Within the quarries are the red pipestone (catlinite) - used for the sacred smoke pipe by Native Americans. This rock is only found in Pipestone and has been quarried for over 3000 years. While at Pipestone, we visited the museum (watching videos and looking at artifacts), watched a pipestone carving demonstration and walked the (approx) 1 mile loop that takes you along the Pipestone Creek and Winnewissa waterfall. 

Personally, I never realized that the pipe was made from stone (the "handle" portion). I guess I assumed it was made from wood. To learn that the pipe was actually made out of this (hard to find) stone - and to see how beautiful it becomes (after the carving) - I was so glad that we stopped here. I can understand why Pipestone (land) is sacred to Native Americans.

After grabbing some lunch in Pipestone, we continued south to the next Tri-State marker (SD/MN/IA). We took some pictures of the marker, set up the tripod and camera and then hit the timer.

Here are the first & second attempts at the picture via the timer. I was laughing too hard to be able to help Matt up on to the marker! After this second attempt, I offered to be the one to set the timer and climb up. Matt, very willingly, agreed to the swap! It was a fun stop with lots of laughter. Always good for the soul (and makes for great memories too!).

We stopped at the Wayside Chapel, just north of Sioux Center, IA. Matt has stopped here a few times and wanted to show me. He has found quite a few little chapels over the years - they are always nice stops.

Our final stop for the day was Le Mars, IA - Ice Cream Capital of the World! And we definitely indulged in the wonderful Blue Bunny ice cream that Le Mars is known for. 

We stopped at the visitor center to eat some ice cream. The center was nicely done and (for the moment) not busy. By the time we finished our cones, the parlor had gotten pretty busy. Perfect timing, I say! We headed out to walk around the downtown area.

Le Mars has over 50 fiberglass ice cream cones sprinkled throughout the town. We didn't need/want to find all of them, but we came across a dozen or so as we walked around. 

Le Mars holds a special place in my heart. My maternal grandparents moved here in the mid 1970s and from then on (until early 1990s) every Easter & Thanksgiving was spent with extended family in Le Mars. Easter Egg hunts, Easter Sunday Church, big dinners, Black Friday shopping (before it was really a big to-do like it is now), driving into Sioux City for more shopping and movies, Three Stooges marathons in the basement, Thanksgiving dinner (kids relegated to the basement), ice storms, snow storms, losing power for days, sitting around the large kitchen table playing cribbage with Grandad or cards with the family. Watching golf because Grandad wouldn't let us turn the channel (he's the reason I like sitting and watching golf now!). I know that if I talked with my siblings & cousins, we'd all have a few dozen memories to share about our time spent in Le Mars. Such sweet memories. 

I haven't been in Le Mars for almost 25 years. The last time was with my mom, aunt & baby Kaitee (2002). My grandparents had moved into an independent living (senior) community. On this trip with Matt, we finished our day driving by their old house on Prospect, visiting the school playground across the street where the adults often sent us kids to burn off energy and trying to remember what everything looked like back 40+ years ago. I will say one thing - I don't ever remember getting ice cream cones! Le Mars didn't receive that recognition until 1994. 

Here's the school playground - it has changed quite a bit (I don't remember any grass - it was all asphalt with the hoops (those might be original, lol) and old playground equipment). 

It was wonderful to go back in time as our day came to a close. I don't remember much about the city, but the family memories are there and that is what matters in the end.

We grabbed dinner and headed to our hotel for the night. Another day has come to a close and we are now (officially) making our way home.

Day 9 Favorites:

Matt: Wells (ice cream parlor) - getting there before it was busy/enjoyed the ice cream and exploring the visitor center, walking around downtown Le Mars

Becki: Tri-State Markers (weather, taking pictures), remembering Le Mars