In 2007, we found Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park site as the result of a side trip while we were in Canada mailing food drops for our Great Divide Trail hike.
Writing-on-Stone was (and still is) a sacred site for the Blackfoot Indian nation. It was a site that they visited prior to making war - and for other reasons. For some years the valley was also the site of an RCMP post as well. The remains of the post are still visible.
The petroglyphs are spread along a half-mile of the cliffs. The major panel is a representation of the Retreat-up-the-Hill Battle. Explanation is below. Prior to the creation of the Park, there was some major vandalism here as illustrated in the photos. Some of the petroglyphs are very old, some are fairly recent (horses are a definite clue), at least one is a Southwestern glyph by a recent visitor, and there's one panel that depicts a journey on a train.
The following photo is the centerpiece of Writing-on-Stone Park. It's the largest rock art panel in the entire Northwest. If you click on the photo you'll get the full-size panorama. As always,the devil is in the details, which can be seen fairly well if you use some magnification. The explanation for the scene is in the center photo of the following group.
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| Retreat-up-the-Hill Battle full-size panorama. Best viewed with magnification. |
