Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2018 | Page 31

Not much beats falling asleep to the sound of rain on a
tent. But my rest is short-lived: I wake in the middle of the
night to the sound of howling coyotes. They’re loud, insistent
even. I click on my headlamp to check the time: It’s just before
four in the morning. Apart from the wail of the coyotes, it’s
silent outside. The rain had apparently ceased. A gentle breeze
buffets the tent. It’s the perfect time and the perfect place for some night-
sky photography.
I unzip the tent and step outside for a closer look: not a
cloud in the sky. Where there was a thick blanket of grey,
there is now a sea of more stars than I can count. It’s the
most impressive display I’ve ever seen in my life. One of only
22 areas designated by the Royal Astronomical Society of
Canada (RASC) as a Dark-Sky Preserve, Grasslands National
Park is also recognized as the darkest of them all. The following day, the sun is out again, but it’s still a bit
cloudy. In the morning, I begin to explore the park through
the many excellent hiking trails that have been marked. In
many respects, the rolling hills, lack of tall vegetation and the
long vistas remind me of being in the Icelandic Highlands. But
there’s one big point of difference: The Grasslands National
Park has bison, Iceland does not.
As I shoot away for an hour or so, I can’t help but believe that
the surroundings wanted to reveal themselves to me—and the
coyotes had played their part admirably. When I finally move
back in the direction of my sleeping bag, the clouds begin to
form again: The show is now over, the curtain is falling.
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