Two weeks ago, after yet another early winter dusting of snow. I hiked the buttes again - this time with my videographer friend George. Dawn was subtle: splashes of pink over the high point in Grasslands Park.
The hiking was easy, although we did get adventurous and go off-trail to various vantage points. I've roamed all over this terrain for a couple of decades (even more!) and I know it well. It wasn't cold. It's always fantastic being out there with a huge prairie wilderness around us, no crowds - no people at all in winter - only critters and the sky.
Flickr is really slowing down as Christmas approaches, and I'm no different. Today I will do the 240-km round trip for last minute supplies. Might be too tired to think coherently after I return, but will catch up with everyone as soon as possible.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape winter dawn dawn light sky snow hills buttes wild prairie beautiful nature 70 Mile Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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One day in November I decided to hike the trail around Eagle Butte, carrying only two lenses: my ancient manual focus 24mm with polarizer, and a telephoto (for any chance wildlife encounter). Mostly, though, I just felt the need to walk, to move easily through a quiet place far from the nose, schedules, and concerns of humanity.
This somewhat monolithic sandstone outcrop has long intrigued me; many times I've stood on that ridge looking down at it. On this day, far below it, I noticed a deer trail going up the slope and decided, "What the hell, I can do this!"
It was a steep scramble over loose rock, but not a problem. I used to do this sort of thing all the time and I can still read terrain and make good decisions as to what is safe and what is not. The light was wonderful that day, and it felt good to be alone, moving and breathing under the limitless sky.
Photographed at Eagle Butte in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape sandstone rock stone ridge slope sky simplicity wild prairie Eagle Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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A lot of Aurora borealis photos from October 10th are turning up on Flickr, and I have finally gone through my folder and done some processing. For some time I've wanted to hike the buttes in Grasslands on an aurora night, and finally the cards fell for me. There was sufficient warning. I had enough physical energy. I didn't forget my flashlight.
Actually, there was so much light, I didn't need the flashlight to see the trail, only to check my camera settings and especially the focus rings on the two lenses I brought along. As I hiked around Eagle Butte, there was colour in every direction.
Here I set up the tripod to look back at Eagle Butte, to the north of my position. The green Aurora display at the lower right was just starting to build momentum. At the time I thought the red was also part of the Aurora, but thanks to several Flickr friends I now think it was a SAR arc, as it appeared rather amorphous and stable, and extended in a huge band across the sky. It was a scene of immense, breathtaking beauty.
More to come...
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Aurora borealis night sky Northern Lights October 10 display beauty Wow! SAR glow wild prairie Eagle Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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The top of 70 Mile Butte - same day as the rock-flower-lichen shot posted yesterday. It isn't magic hour. Just a bright day in spring, fresh with new green growth, and before the tourist influx that comes at the end of the school year. I was on this trail for about three hours and met a pair of hikers while returning. That was all. The rest of the time: sweet solitude.
In the middle distance is Eagle Butte and glimpses of the trail that circles it. To its left and farther back, Butte Road, giving access to this trail system. Directly above and far behind Eagle Butte, mostly in the shadow of clouds, is a long ridge that blocks the village of Val Marie from view. To the right and out of the frame, the buttes extend their long interconnected ridges deep into the Frenchman River Valley.
I have to say that I liked the buttes area better when there were only game trails. In those years, I would take different routes to the top, and back. I understand Parks Canada's mandate, but I am nevertheless dismayed to see the wildness slipping away, compromised by new infrastructure. What used to be a wild place is becoming more a showcase.
Tomorrow: one more shot from the top of 70 Mile... from the olden days of deer trails and no information panels or bridges over wet spots.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape the buttes spring green sky cumulus clouds wild prairie 70 Mile Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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I had not been to the top of 70 Mile Butte for three and a half years - since I shot a video there for Tourism Canada with Madonna Hamel in 2020. She wrote the script, narrated, and acted in it; all I did was visualize a sequence of short clips to tell the story. Then, the demands of telling a story in 90 seconds forced us to dumb it down, repeatedly, until there was almost nothing left, LOL. That said, here it is - all 90 seconds of it, with editing and a couple of additional shots by George Tsougrianis:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekeBfDyjdtA
it was a sweltering evening; I thought I would die from heat stroke. Seriously. I had two white spots on my cheeks and felt weak and nauseous. Managed to recover and finish the shoot. But video is not my forte, and I like the views OF this landmark butte from slightly lower elevations, so I have avoided that trail - one I've hiked countless times - in recent years. Until this spring. The cool, wet weather lured me back to the top. I took things easy and had a great hike. And what did I find on top? Flowers galore!
The Tufted Milk-vetch, Astragalus spatulatus, was at its peak. There are at least 19 Astragulus species in Saskatchewan, and this one is considered rare. It flowers in May in low-growing cushions of rich magenta blooms, favouring well-drained, exposed rocky places. Like the top of 70 Mile Butte.
If you've watched the video, you can see instantly why I prefer stills. The detail. The detail!!! I enjoyed the collaborative project with my two friends, but the images go by so fast, just like real life. My entire career in photography has been about stopping the world so I can really see it.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Tufted Milk-vetch Astragalus spatulatus plant flower wildflower rare hilltop hillside arid rocky well-drained spring beauty beautiful magenta cushion matted low-growing nature wild prairie 70 Mile Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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