June 2017
As we drive west through towns within the
path of totality for the 2017 Solar Eclipse, such as Baker and John Day are decked out with banners and signs announcing the upcoming eclipse. Looks like the locals are gearing up for an expected onslaught of visitors. As we get closer to
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, signs marking "Journey thru Time Oregon Scenic Byway" start appearing by the side of the road. You have to love how the state of Oregon makes visitors feel welcomed... or as the Oregonians joke to spend their cash and then go back home.
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| Ranch in John Day country |
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| Journey Thu Time sign |
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| Entrance to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument |
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| Basaltic columns speak to a volcanic past |
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Our first stop is the
Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, which also doubles as the Visitors' Center located in the
Sheep Rock Unit.
Thomas Condon was a missionary pastor and amateur geologist. While he was living in The Dalles OR, he became increasingly interested in fossils he was finding along the John Day River. Convinced of the importance of these fossils, he corresponded with other notable scientists of the time and provided specimens to major museums. In 1872 he became the first State Geologist for Oregon and shortly after became the first professor of Geology at the University of Oregon.
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| Sure glad this animal is extinct - nasty teeth |
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| Paleontology Lab within center - staff must be on a break |
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Several exhibits show how much the ecosystems have changed throughout the millenniums in the John Day area - from verdant jungles and swamps, to savannas supporting herds of wild horses and camels, and finally to the the current high desert of today.
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| Rhinos once roamed here |
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| Early horses and camels |
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| Petrified wood from a warm jungle time period |
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| Sheep Rock |
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This national monument is a patchwork of government lands interspersed with private ranches.
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| We must be getting close to the Painted Hills Unit |
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| Entrance to Painted Hills Unit |
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| Uh - apparently people are not taking this sign seriously |
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The Painted Hills Unit is a photographers playground. I take some short hikes madly snapping shots. Along the trail, I meet a German woman about my age with a man who first appears to be her son. Later she introduces him as her boyfriend - way to go girl! She had intended to take her boyfriend to see the Big Sur Coast, but with the roads still closed they ended up in Eastern Oregon. I console her by saying Hwy 1 through Big Sur won't be open again for at least another year, frustrating locals and visitors alike.
I also meet a young couple from just outside of Portland and we start discussing our favorite hot springs in Oregon. They like one at
Summer Lake almost directly south of here in an area dubbed the "Oregon Outback". It's out in the middle of no where and doesn't draw many people, other than lost Burners. Sounds like our kind of place.
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| Wildflowers are blooming profusely next to the barren hills |
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| Magical place |
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| One last look as we leave Painted Hills |
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It's time for us to make a beeline to Corralitos, so we hop on Hwy 97 and go south. We've had so much rain and snow last winter that this spring is lush in Northern California, especially compared to the John Day country. It's been a fun trip, but by this stage, we are looking forward to being home.
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| Mount Shasta covered in clouds |
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| A lingering rain shower |
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John Day is spectacular. There is now a campground near the painted hills inside of John Day Fossil beds. On your way on hwy 97 dont forget The Crooked River and Smith Rock State Park. So, where did you view the total eclipse?
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the suggestions. We didn't camp close to John Day Fossil Beds, but might like to another time we're in the area.
DeleteWe saw the eclipse in Camp Sherman in the Eastern Cascades not far from Sisters... but more on that later.
;-) Marti