Writing-on-Stone

Hoodoos are by now my favourite geological structure, and Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park at the very south of Alberta is beautifully full of them.  Our crew went camping on the second break in the far south, Montana within view, to try to spot some of the ancient petroglyphs left by the Blackfoot native tribe.

Hoodoos are formed when a sandstone base erodes more quickly than an ironstone level, leaving a mushroom cap of hard rock.  Hoodoos are great for climbing and investigating, filled with caves and new structures around every bend.  We took a hike around the Hoodoo Trail toward the main petroglyphs.  A hike with seven biologist takes a little longer than your average scenic tour, as everyone stops to investigate plants, bugs, birds, and tracks, so much that one kilometre of the trail took three hours.  We picked it up a little on the way back to camp to beat the sunset.

Dramatic reading of the interpretive guide, with attentative learners

We all crawled into this long, narrow cave to see what was in there, and were intrigued by the scat deposits coating the walls.  Again, only in a group of biologists would such debates as "nest or feces", or "mammalian or avian" occur.  We later learned that it is in fact scat, left by pack rats living in the caves - mystery solved.

The petroglyphs themselves were difficult to spot, and even more so to interpret.  We could make out a few bear claws, the sun, and some horses.  It's a shame such a piece of history is so difficult to preserve.

After an evening of playing games around a fire and marvelling at the stars, the next morning brought around a lively game of Hoodoo Hide and Seek.  The playing field had to be limited to a 50 metre radius, and the hiding spots were endless.  This must be the absolute best way to appreciate and experience hoodoos.

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