First published: 01/09/14.

Els Slots 3.5

Writing-On-Stone / Áísínai’Pi

Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi (Inscribed)

Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi by Els Slots

A visit to this park fitted in nicely with my Alberta itinerary, between Dinosaur Provincial Park and Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump. It is actually a bit of a mix of these two sites too: a stunning badlands landscape combined with Native American history. From the moment I arrived, I liked its vibe, somehow just a notch more exciting than the two other Alberta WHS.

First, there's the hoodoo extravaganza just below the visitor center. You can walk small trails and climb over the hundreds of hoodoos freely. There a so many of them, it looks somewhat like Cappadocia. Great for taking pictures or just a lazy picnic sitting on a flat stone.

And secondly, I really enjoyed my 'Rock Art' tour of the preserved area. My 2 p.m. tour had only 4 other participants. Our guide Abby, who is from one of the local Blackfoot tribes, lead us along a cliff wall where numerous rock drawings and carvings have been preserved. The oldest are reportedly over 5,000 years old, but most are much more recent. Even going up to 1924, when a returning Blackfoot native carved two T-Model Fords into the rock. Other scenes show battles and hunting. The cliff face also is covered with a lot of 'historical graffiti', going back to the late 19th century.

This area was and still is considered a sacred place where the spirits live. Labelled as a cultural landscape and displaying its peculiar type of rock art, I believe this site is a worthy WHS.

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment