September 2, 2012
A Beaut of a Butte
It was one of those silky summer evenings — comfortably warm with a gentle breeze when we arrived at Butte Saint Paul.We scrambled up the sharp incline — to the top of this 2,280 foot hill — just as the sun was setting and were treated to a marvelous panoramic view of the prairie to the south and some green undulating hills and ravines to the west. Gorgeous. We had the view to ourselves.
There’s a nice bit of history about the naming of this butte in 1850 by a missionary who got lost in a blizzard. The butte is now a state recreation area.
As you know, the Stone Bank blog loves all things stone, so we were pleased to see the 12-foot tall stone cairn at the butte’s summit. Sadly, it is surrounded by a chain link fence, but still striking, with some petrified wood among the stones and a cross at the top.
As luck would have it, we got a cherry on top of our Sunday view — as we drove away, a gorgeous full moon rose above the plain.
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