In Eastern Oregon, there is an alien landscape of striped, clay mounds laden with FOSSILS!!! How does this exist!? Evolution and climate change dummies.
This area is a fossil-nerd's wet dream. But seriously, don't touch the fossils. In fact...don't touch or walk on the clay hills either. And don't steal wildflowers to press and put in your journal or you'll get side-eyed and passively-aggressively muttered at, like moi. Or do and just act like you don't speak English, also like moi. Only the flower thing though. People that destroy the mounds and steal the artifacts are assholes.
This area is a fossil-nerd's wet dream. But seriously, don't touch the fossils. In fact...don't touch or walk on the clay hills either. And don't steal wildflowers to press and put in your journal or you'll get side-eyed and passively-aggressively muttered at, like moi. Or do and just act like you don't speak English, also like moi. Only the flower thing though. People that destroy the mounds and steal the artifacts are assholes.
The John Day area consists of 3 distinct sites with varying formations. We accidentally blew right past the Clarno site, and for some reason, when driving in Eastern Oregon and looking at a map, things appear to be located closer than they actually are...so although I intended to go back and document it, we didn't actually end up doing it. Next time, Meghan. Next time.
I am obsessed with the painted hills. OBSESSED!!! The color saturation differs greatly depending on waterfall and what-not. I can't even imagine how vibrant these colors will be after some storms. There are a few super short paved walkways to use to get a few different vantage points of the park, but there is absolutely no off-roading allowed...which made me sad but I'll have to get over it. The pooch and I skipped the Sheep unit because after seeing all of this gorgeous color, it just didn't seem worth it. Parking was crazy and I wanted to dig for fossils legally, in Fossil, Oregon.
Here is a fun fact: in Fossil, you can dig for fossils behind the high school. Yes, it's an actual thing. They even provide you with buckets and implements, AND a guide that helps you identify what you find.
If you bring your busted-ass beagle, be prepared for her to lay down where you are digging, and pant like she hasn't had a drop to drink for hours. You should know that there is a sign posted that asks nicely only to carry out what your 2 hands can carry...which I didn't see until we were leaving with a bucket full of loot. Woops. I am THE worst. Find info on it here. And happy fossil-ing.