One evening while camping, Audrey and I took the car to the nearby town of Milk River in hopes of freshening up our provisions with more eggs and perhaps some bread. The fact that the cold beer store is situated right next to the grocery store may have played a factor in my motivations as well.
It's a little more than half an hour from the campground, and a lovely drive, past fields and pastures through the occasional bluff and coulee. Sadly, we got there at 6:30, a half-hour after both stores had closed.
Bitterly disappointed, we began driving back to camp, where Fenya and Bobby were dutifully making dinner for us. The two of us speculated as to whether any local farms might have eggs for sale, or, failing that, some unsecured eggs we could perhaps make off with and leave a suitable amount of compensation for.
I began to decelerate the Corolla significantly and Audrey turned to ask what was wrong. I pointed to the road ahead where a dark line stretched across much of the lane. Pulling into the other lane as we passed it, we inspected it, and sure enough, it was a snake.
Bull snakes and prairie rattlesnakes are both familiar denizens of this part of the province - Medicine Hat is over an hour to the north of us, and their college's mascot is a rattler. I pulled off the side of the road just past the snake, thinking it likely to be a bull snake. The similarity between them is pronounced enough that bull snakes will actually pretend to be rattlesnakes when threatened, rearing up as if to strike and hissing in such a way that it sounds similar to the ominous rattle.
As I approached the snake from behind I increased the zoom on my phone's camera just in case, and sure enough, the distinct tail was clearly visible - not a bull snake. I slowed my advance a fair bit at this point.
The snake slowly made his way across the road. I would have sworn he only left about a foot on either side of the lines on the road when he was stretched out, and although he no longer seemed quite so gargantuan, he was still a decent 5-6 feet in length by my estimation.
I slowly followed him while recording his eerie, undulating slithering across the cooling blacktop. I didn't get to hear that unnerving rattle again, as much as I wanted to record it, but the moment he curled his head and neck into an s-position to facilitate striking, I felt it prudent to give the reptile as much space as he felt the situation warranted.
Having heard a rattlesnake just a few days prior, getting to see one (even a silent one) was a real treat, and we were grateful that it was able to slither away into the grass on the other side of the road untouched by the two other cars that passed by.
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There were many moments for education but we made sure to include plenty of time for recreation during our time at Writing-on-Stone as well. We hung a white sheet off the Bride of Frankentrailer and watched Thor Ragnarok through my phone's projector one night just to change things up.
One night we enjoyed a sumptuous and colourful meal of Taber corn, grilled, marinated pork chops and a Greek salad. In all honesty though, the Hamburger Helper cooked by Fenya and Bobby (and augmented with mushrooms and peas) was just as sumptuous a repast. Nothing fancy, but we feasted in a bacchanalic style nonetheless.
Writing-on-Stone is one of those rare provincial parks with direct and easy access to the river and a swimming area, which we were eager to enjoy due to the 25-28 degree heat that made up most of our week. Sadly, the water level was too low to really do any swimming in, but it was totally sufficient for enjoying a lazy float in the tubes and raft we had brought.
The Milk River is perhaps the laziest river I have ever been on -the current was indiscernible, and a kick off the nearest sandbar would let you drift for a considerable distance before coming to a gentle rest. Less of a river and more of a linear lake, perhaps, but certainly a great way to spend our last full day in camp.
Good weather, good people, lots to see and learn, and just enough nothin' to go 'round - a good time was had by all. I hope we can return to Writing-on-Stone again before too long.
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