Writing on Stone

Writing on Stone Provincial Park is an Alberta Provincial Park in south east Alberta on the Milk River. I visited here briefly in 2009 and was keen to return to camp.

From their website;

“Welcome to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park / Áísínai'pi National Historic Site, Where Histories, Stories and Dreams Become One.

Set in the prairie grasslands of southern Alberta Canada, Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai'pi is a sacred landscape. Glaciers and erosion have carved the land over eons by into a richly diverse place of awe and inspiration.
The spectacular Milk River valley contains the largest concentration of First Nation petroglyphs (rock carvings) and pictographs (rock paintings) on the great plains of North America. The landscape also preserves fascinating stories of the North West Mounted Police, the settlement of the Canadian West and rural life in the community today.
The Blackfoot people believe that Spirit Beings dwell here and share their messages on the sandstone cliffs. First Nations people have been coming here for generations to receive them."

Clayton telling stories about writing

The second day at Writing on Stone started with a guided walk with Clayton – an authentic First Nation man of Blackfoot heritage, specifically of the Blood Clan. His job was to escort us to the restricted area of the park where we could truly witness some of the rock art which gave the park its name.

Clayton started by reminding us of some of the park’s rules; one being that if you leave your mark on the rocks you could face a  50 000 dollar fine and, perhaps, a year in jail. The warning was given mildly with a gentle voice, perhaps  as a mother warns her children of the dangers of sunburn.

The talk from Clayton was wonderful and even the kids were enchanted – no mean feat given that the excursion involved a two hour session which was mostly sitting and listening in considerable morning heat. Each of the pictographs and petroglyphs were explained and enriched by recollections of his extended family; his father and great greats as well as the heritage of the Black foot clans. The gentleness of the guy, who was at least six foot tall, solid and a keen rodeo bull rider as a young man, was impressive. Much of the rock art sadly had been vandalized with European engravings of names and dates extending down from the times of the first settlers into the area. “You could hardly blame them”, Clayton said matter-of-factly,”I guess they just saw a place where there was a tradition of engraving and they wanted to add to it.”

“ It’s a little sad they didn’t realize the cultural value of them,” he acknowledged.  He didn’t make comment of the many engravings still being left in the park -  I saw some from folks as recently as 2011 and they made me as mad as hell. The law that outlawed graffiti only came about in the 1970’s and it’s sad that even since then some people clearly ignore the fine and think that it is reasonable to add their mark to the rocks.  

The rock art depicts First Nation folk, apparently you can decipher roughly the age o f the figures by virtue of neck style; V necked signifies a period of 500 years plus where the straight neck is of a later fashion. Some of the figures are protected by large shields with black] feet extending below them and a head above. These depict a time pre horse culture when Black Foot soldiers were unmounted and fought on foot. The huge shields were crafted from the leather of Bison humps and were strong enough to deflect arrows. Also from this time period warriors were depicted with huge bows that had blades mounted on the ends, much like Bayonets. The coming of the horse  destroyed this weaponry and the art style that it inspired.

Many figures representing people lack eyes, as do Black feet children’s dolls, because they believe that the eyes are associated with spirits. Spirit figures are illustrated with eyes. 

Also of interest were a variety of horse figures which obviously reflect relatively recent times. The last authentic piece of native art was in the early 1900’s when a Black Foot man visited the area in an automobile from a reservation and recorded the visit on a rock face.  

The area is very picturesque generally; particularly so in the early mornings and in the evenings when the heat doesn’t make the blood in your temples throb so much.

The hoodoos and rock formations warn of Rattle snakes however we didn’t see any. During our short visit we managed to see one garter snake plus two Bull snakes which were pretty interesting. The bull sankes were large and colourful yet non venomous. All garter snakes are non venomous. Mountain Cottontails, Mule Deer are both common around the campground and Pronghorn are common on the prairie proper.

The information centre at Writing is first class with a small store and a variety of creative displays interpreting both the cultural and natural history of the area. Another bonus is a self guiding walk through the park, there are detailed coloured books / brochures that explain aspects of the walk via a number of stops.  Hawks, Eagles, Swallows were described and for the most part seen. Remnants of Pack Rats were also pointed out. 

Hide or blind at Frank Lake

Prairie Scene

To Boldly go.....................

To get to Writing on Stone called for about a four hour drive south of Calgary. WE went via another previously visited birding site, Frank Lake. White faced Ibis and Saunders Tern were the immediate FOY’s seen here. One birder who was leaving as we arrived boasted of a Bittern he had just seen in the reeds. Another birder arrived who was looking for his lifer Clarks Grebe, a bird I need as well. Apparently it had been edently claimed from here. However he lacked a scope as did I [not having room for it in the car] he was going to need very good luck or imagination to separate Clarks from Western across the lake which is where the Westerns were.

where no one has gone................before

We also visited Vulcan enroute, A small town in a wheat growing area which was visited for a few reasons. One the name, second the connection with Star Trek of which I am – to a small extent – a fan and third out of respect for Norm, Wren’s  Dad, who is a hell of a nice guy and he hails from there.

From Wikipedia -   "The town was named by a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1915 after the Roman God of Fire - Vulcan. Originally all the streets of Vulcan were named after gods and goddesses of the classical world such as Juno, Mars, and Jupiter. In July 1927, a major tornado destroyed many homes and the new curling rink in the town. That tornado was made famous when a photograph of it approaching Vulcan was used for the "tornado" article in Encyclopædia Britannica. At one time,^[when?] Vulcan had nine grain elevators, more than any location west of Winnipeg, making it the largest grain shipping point at that time. Due to the changing economics of the agricultural industry, the original elevators were taken down one by one. Today, Vulcan has only one of the "prairie skyscrapers" left that once could be seen miles away. Although not original, this last wooden elevator was built in the 1980s.

The town's name has brought some attention that has helped it become a tourist attraction.^[3] In the Star Trek television and feature film series it is the name of the homeworld of the Vulcans.

Capitalizing on this coincidence, the town has built a Star Trek-themed tourist station (the Tourism and Trek Station), which provides tourist information, displays Star Trek memorabilia, provides unique photo opportunities, and allows visitors to participate in The Vulcan Space Adventure virtual reality game. Nearby, a replica of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek V has been mounted on a pedestal which includes writing from Trek alien languages like Klingon. The town has also created space-themed murals and signs, and hosts an annual community-wide Star Trek convention known as VulCON: Spock Days/Galaxyfest. This convention attracts hundreds of Star Trek fans from around the world."

prairie scene

Live Long and Prosper.