May 6 John Day Fossil Beds/Oregon

Minor disaster this morning as the coffee maker stopped working!  Somehow, Greg will soldier on…  31 degrees at 7AM, coffee and hot chocolate would have been good.

Lots of unfamiliar birds in this area.  This morning there was a small dark bird with a red tuft. We continue through the Ochoco NF  and cross Ochoco Pass where there are signs of a recent significant fire.  We are now on the “Journey Through Time Oregon Scenic Byway," and soon come to The Painted Hills, which is one part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Park.

  Some beautiful scenery despite the overcast, drippy weather.  We walk the Painted Cove nature trail

and do a few other stops.  The hills were all created by lava flows 16-40 million years ago and contain iron oxide and other minerals for color.    The soil is kind of a crumbly clayish material that doesn’t support much life.  There are frequent signs asking people not to walk on the hills, but there are also footprints, which they say can take years to heal.

We leave this area and next travel to the Sheep’s Rock part of the Park and the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center.  He was an early minister/settler/geologist who first recognized the importance of the many fossils in the area.  There is a short film and and many exhibits.  Most of the 2,000+ animals and plants that have been fossilized are now extinct and most of them are from 45-50 million years ago when this area was more of a tropical forest.

I take a rock I found that I thought might be petrified wood.  A couple people look at it and aren't sure, so they take it back to the lab and put it under a microscope, which displays in the museum.

my rock

Long story short it probably isn't petrified wood, but a rock with many very thin layers, possibly from a seabed.

 We do a few short trails at Foree before leaving. Still cloudy, but an occasional spot of blue gives us hope.

 

This formation was called The Cathedral.

We continue to cross Oregon, towards Idaho.  Who knew Oregon was so wide? There are still hills and mountains with trees and grass.  Some irrigation of the flat fields between mountains and lots and lots of cattle, sheep and horses.  We’re beginning to wonder why you hear of Iowa Beef and not Oregon Beef!  We see two cattle yards but most of the animals are grazing in pastureland. We see an occasional rancher on a 4x4 checking fencelines.

We stop at the town of John Day and use their library for a few hours.  Nice facility and friendly folks.  We check the forecast for Yellowstone and that area and it doesn’t look good, with lows in the 20’s and rain/snow predicted for the next week.  So we go with plan B and decide we will head south.

We hit a little rain and even a slight flurry of snow atop one mountain pass, and gradually the passes get lower, 5,000’, then 4,000’, 3,000’ and at Vale we are down to 2200’ and 55 degrees with sunshine!  The trees become less frequent, more sage and brush except for areas farmers have cleared and irrigated.  A sign boasts that this is Onion Country, with more than a billion pounds shipped last year from eastern Oregon and Western Idaho.  There are quite a few farmers working in the fileds.

We stop at a Walmart in Ontario, Oregon which is almost in Idaho and walk to a nearby Panda Express for a change of pace.  Good fried rice and the place is very busy. Greg’s fortune predicts a thrilling time in his immediate future!  Mine says I should not rush through life, but pause and enjoy it.  Trying.