Alberta to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Saskatchewan

Day one of my Chicago road trip was an enjoyable start to my solo journey!
The weather was pleasant, and the route on secondary highways was very scenic as I drove to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Saskatchewan. One of the largest dark sky preserves in the world, I wanted to camp here and try some astrophotography.
I set up my tent and drove to the observatory to check it out, then made a fire and enjoyed relaxing alongside it until dark. Once it was dark, I had to go to the observatory parking lot to set up, as there were too many lights around camp.
The dancing northern lights lit up the sky, and I captured some nice colourful shots. While taking pictures, I heard something in the trees where I was parked and knew I was alone in the parking lot. When I checked into the campground, I was advised to watch for and report any cougar sightings. Having lost track of time, I was surprised it was almost 1:00 am, so I decided to leave whatever was in the bush alone and head back to my tent, wrapping up a wonderful day.