Ken Bell Photography - Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

The Park area

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is located in the southeast of Alberta, near Milk River and the U.S. border. This park is famous for its amazing sandstone formations along both banks of the Milk River. It also is known for the petroglyphs (carvings) and pictographs (paintings) created by first nation people in the past. The park is small and has a nice campground in the river valley. There is a new interpretive center, and on the hillside by the center there are amazing varieties of wildflowers. Looking across the valley from a high point, you can see all the way to the Sweetgrass Hills in Montana, over fifteen miles away. In days past the RCMP knew this and they built an outpost that is now part of the protected area where the petroglyphs are. They would use the lookout point across the river to watch for smugglers coming in from the U.S., generally using the route following Policeman's Coulee to the Milk River valley. They built their outpost right at that intersection, and no doubt suprised many smugglers!

Petroglyphs

The early first nation people, ancestors to today's Blood Nation people, lived in this area for centuries. They used the sandstone walls to depict different significant events, including battles, hunting, and important ceremonies such as the death of a chief. There is even a petroglyph of a 1920's vintage truck that apparently a chief carved in the walls when driven out to the location. Sadly, the early RCMP defaced some of the carvings by carving their names and rank into the rock. Thankfully some of the best petroglyphs were not defaced. Today the area is restricted and you have to be guided into the area. The tour is a short one, not very expensive, and the guides are from the Blood Nation so they possess a lot of knowledge of the history of the area. The tour is well worth taking.

September 2009

From sunrise to sunset Writing-on-Stone can be an amazing place. The sky can be so clear at night you feel insignificant at the sight of all the stars in the sky. Dawn brings fantastic color to the scene if the day is right. This morning was particularly nice, cold and clear. Several deer were out enjoying an early breakfast before being interrupted by an inquisitive photographer.

There was serenity in the valley as the sun began to rise. A female northern harrier posed in a sage brush as I approached to within 10 meters. Exploring the hoodoos in the sunlight I discovered formations I had not seen before. The overall view looking toward the west from on top of the ridge was incredible. I wondered how many hoodoos there could possibly be. You have to be careful when exploring near the river's edge. In a lot of cases there are sheer dropoffs into the river below.

The mood of the day changed as the day progressed. In the late afternoon and on into the evening clouds started to appear to the west. While it created great evening light I knew it meant evening showers. The rains came, but not until well after dark. Unfortunately the clouds obscured what was starting to look like a great sunset. Still, there is always next time!

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