Last Monday, we headed off for eastern/central Oregon to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. We returned late Friday. Bob and Mary from Salem house sat for us and took care of the girls. John Day is composed of three separate units that are one to two hours apart.
The first unit we visited was the Sheep Rock Unit.
The Sheep Rock Unit is home to the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center which had a video overview, fossil exhibits, an observable laboratory, rangers to answer questions, and gift shop. From here, we drove another 45 minutes to our motel in the "town" of Spray.
On the beams of the entryway was this nest of Say's Phoebes.
Spray has a population of 150, one tiny market with a gas pump and cafe, and a school. It is best known as "home of the best small town rodeo in The West".
The River's Bend Motel.
Our room for four nights..
We had the Moose Room, although moose are not found in the area.
We took a walk down to the park along the river. Unfortunately, the park had been wiped out by the John Day River about 10 days earlier. The restroom was undermined and off kilter.
Gail prodded me to show her my rock skipping prowess.
Old Packard in a yard. So many rural homes in Oregon have collections of old cars, machinery, and farm equipment. Sad to see some classics rusting beyond the point of no return.
Tuesday we hiked around the trails of the Sheep Unit. Looks like a California Ground Squirrel to me.
Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly.
Lupine.
Tuff with a harder cap of ignimbrite on top which is the pyroclastic flow from an ancient volcano. I learned just enough geology to sound like an idiot to a geologist.
Getting a little wind-whipped, but enjoying being on the trail.
Open vistas and big skies are a nice change of pace.
Gail's dream come true! Ha, ha.
Cushion Phlox.
As we climbed higher the different land forms contrasted beautifully.
Layers of tuff exposed by erosion. The layers are the result of the powerful volcanic explosions and lava flows over the past 50 million years.
The view from the high point of Blue Basin Trail. The light blue-green earth is volcanic ash.
We saw several Chukars in the area. Originally from the Mideast, they are doing well in much of the western U.S.
The Cant Ranch was originally homesteaded in 1890. Now it is headquarters for the monument and a ranching museum.
There are some very old apple trees and other trees in the orchard.
The Cant's ranch truck has steering and controls facing both directions.
Late in the afternoon, we headed back to Spray along the John Day River. Since there are so few cars, it is easy to stop for wildlife. You might see one car every 10 or 15 minutes during the day on the area's highways. We watched this Osprey kiting in its search for fish.
This large raptor nest near the top of Castle Rock seemed to be built on thin air.
Looks like it is built around a rocky knob sticking out of the cliff.
We were told by a ranger that there was a Great Blue Heron rookery at a certain point along the highway. When we got there, a drama unfolded before our eyes.
Two Bald Eagles swooped in and drove out the two remaining herons from their nests.
One eagle perched a few feet from a nest while the other eagle circled above, apparently harassing the two herons to keep them away from their nests. This went on for about 15 minutes before one of the herons came back and landed a few feet above the eagle in the tree.
The heron is fairly well camouflaged. When we came back two days later, there were no herons to be seen. We think the eagles raided the nests and destroyed the rookery.
Further down the river we spotted a group of Pronghorn in a field.
Life is good - we have time to rest!
The next morning, on the edge of town (Spray), we had some good bird sightings.
A pheasant in the grass.
A Western Kingbird.
And, unbelievably, high on cliff ledges were hundreds of nesting Canada Geese. The honking was non-stop!
Wednesday, we drove to Mitchell before heading to the Painted Hills Unit.
You could buy this place for $135,000! Mitchell is a very small town, but the market next door had some real food, not just frozen chicken pies like in Spray. There was a flood through town a few days before that left mud on the streets and in some of the stores and homes.
Mitchell looking rather brown after the flood. We were told that the water on the street was two feet deep in places.
We met the owner of this rock shop/museum/assemblage - a friendly talkative character. The scene reminded us of the folks who live around Desert Tower 60 miles east of San Diego.
Inside the museum.
Well, it was time to head off to the Painted Hills.
On the road into Painted Hills we came head on with a cattle drive. We stopped, and countless cows went by the car before we eventually ever saw any cowboys bringing up the rear.
The Painted Hills Unit has no visitor center, and you drive around on dirt roads. This is the most visited unit. We only saw a few people at the Sheep Rock Unit, and at the Clarno Unit.
The red is caused by iron in the volcanic soils.
The view most often depicted for the Painted Hills.
We hiked up to a ridge for an overview.
The manager of the Tiger Town Brewing Company in Mitchell recommended this route back to Spray. We drove for about 25 miles through scenic hills and a deep gorge. I don't remember seeing another car.
When we reconnected with the John Day river, I spotted this male Common Merganser.
Entering Spray we spotted a couple pheasants.
Thursday morning, we struck out for the Clarno Unit, a lengthy drive through beautiful landscapes.
We passed by this house at the edge of Spray that had this unique display.
The Clarno Palisades have public trails and kiosks. The fossil beds here are the most species rich area of fossilized wood of any age in the world - 77 species!
Once you see one fossilized leaf, you start seeing them all over.
A trail led to this dry waterfall below The Arch.
Reflecting on the past and what it might have been like with all the volcanic activity from 39 to 54 million years ago.
Our next destination was to drive north to the town of Fossil, about an hour's drive. We hoped to dig for our very own fossils right in town!
In the town park is an authentic shepherd's wagon and forge.
The inside pretty much has everything a modern mobile home has, albeit old school.
The public is allowed (encouraged?) to dig for fossils in that bare bank at the end of the high school football field. What was amazing in this day and age is that we just parked in the school parking lot while school was in session, picked up some digging tools at a little kiosk, and walked out to the hillside. After awhile of digging, we were joined by a middle school class that was digging all around us. It truly seemed like going back in time when life was more innocent.
Bob, the paleontologist!
Some of the fossils I found. I believe these are mostly metasequoia leaf fossils (dawn redwood) which is Oregon's state fossil.
Friday morning, and it was time to start heading home.
Leaving Spray, we passed a flock of wild turkeys out in a field.
We also caught an osprey on a nest along the river. I've noticed how ospreys use found rope to seemingly tie their nests together.
Good thing we didn't get caught misbehaving in Spray! This jail looks darned cold and uncomfortable.
Looking towards Spray from a bridge over the John Day River. This river is the longest wild river this side of the Rockies at 280 miles long.
We had one last little hike back at the Cant Ranch. The National Park Service actually has a paid farmer to work that green field to keep the Cant Ranch as original as possible.
On our drive home, we stopped for lunch at Smith Rock near Redmond which draws climbers from around the world. There were some neat looking trails going up and around these formations, but we had to save them for another trip. Our time in eastern Oregon opened our eyes to a wonderful new area to explore.
Well, thanks to Bob and Mary, all was ship shape when we returned home. They said we had a turkey visit the Cabana, and sure enough, it showed up on a trail camera.
2 comments:
Cool new region of Oregon you explored. It seems like the state's landscapes are quite diverse. These photos look nothing like where you and Gail live!
What a fun and fascinating post. I love everything about this--all the bird life, the "rugged Baba" look with beard, the fossils and museums!
The other evening, I was at Soren's baseball game while a drama of several small birds (blackbird-sized? -- they were far away, so color was hard to see) driving away a red-tailed hawk unfolded high above the field. It went on for a good quarter of an hour. I am not sure if anyone else noticed. It was hard for me to watch the baseball game while trying to see what was going on with the birds.
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