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Oddly enough, nobody I asked seemed
to know who John Day was, and yet a river, two towns, the fossil beds
and a dam are named after him. Online, I found a small history which
may or may not be true. |
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| The sparsely-treed hills look dry
and parched, but the floor of the valleys in between were often verdant,
and small farms dotted the landscape here and there. |
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| Our first stop was the Story In Stone
Trail, a short hike offering wonderful views of colorful landscapes. |
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| 'Whoaaaa, Nellie!' remarks Tim as
he's dwarfed by a tower of rock. We stayed on the trails, as we'd read
that it was not uncommon to find rattlesnakes in the area. We didn't see
one, alas. |
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| Having just climbed a hill which
felt like Mount Everest, I took advantage of a nice bench that some kind
soul had placed there. Oh boy, it was hot! |
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| One of the signs along the way told
us that the rock in the top layer was much harder than the claystone underneath.
Both kinds will eventually erode away, however. |
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| Imagine rounding a bend in the road
and coming face to face with this amazing rock formation. I thought the
colors were lovely. |
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| As we drove to the Thomas Condon
Visitor Center, once again we passed rocky hills and green valleys. Who
was Thomas Condon? |
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| Tim has been kind enough to lend
his hat to his new pal at the Visitor Center. I was watching carefully,
thinking that if the sunblock came out next, I'd have to drag Tim into
the shade right away and feed him some water. |
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| Tim and I hiked up the Thomas Condon
Overlook Trail and were treated to a panoramic view of the valley. |
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| Little patches of color were visible
in the hills, here and there, along with small patches of green and some
evergreens amidst the sage. |
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