The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument took us waaay back in time on our Journey Through Time Scenic Byway. This is Picture Gorge.
There are two hiking trails at the historic Cant Ranch in the Sheep Rock area of the park.
On the way to the next site, we pass this formation called Cathedral Rock. Layers, colors, and textures in rock indicate geologic events that changed this landscape forever.
We started out early in the morning and Meadowlarks were singing.
I saw the deer, but did not realize what else was there until I put my photos on the computer.
She had what is surely a newborn fawn.
The dark layered rimrocks seen here mark ancient floods of basalt. These fiery basalt floods occurred every 15,000 years on average. Sixty-one different flows of basalt have been counted on the canyon walls here.
A view of the John Day River.
Views as we drove to the next fossil area, the Clarno Palisades.
This area showcases 40 million years of Oregon history. This view of rocky spires of the Palisades is seen from the Geologic Time Trail.
44 million years ago, a series of volcanic mudflows swept down hillsides to form the layers of the Palisades cliffs above.
To the west, these foothills and valley is all that's left of that ancient volcano.
The climate here at the time of the blast was semi-tropical, similar to what the country of Panama is today. The mudflow crashed through the forest, leaving many fossils of trees and other tropical plants, as well as tiny 4-toed horses and other animals that lived during that time. Along the trail we can see many fossilized leaves and branches in the rocks we pass.
These may be leaves of a Sycamore Tree.
These are either branches or roots of a tree.
Do you see the arch? We will follow the Arch Trail to its base and see more fossils along the way.
The round greenish circle is the end of a thick branch.
On the other side of the boulder you can see a smaller greenish circle which is the other end of that same branch.
The reddish circle is the end of a tree trunk.
Our trail will take us by the base of that white column.
Going by that column.
Thistle is having fun, but he is on a short leash as we look out for snakes. Didn't see any.
View from the arch trail. You see how high up we are.
Almost to the top of the cliff above us are two fossilized logs that were caught in that ancient volcanic mud flow. They came to rest in the shape of a T. Do you see them?
Can you see them now?
The trail ends at the base of the arch.
The view.
Two other people at the base of the arch.
As I was leaving the parking lot, a large family of turkeys was crossing the road...two adults and at least 15-20 babies in a row. I couldn't grab my camera before they started to run or fly.
You can see some of the little heads.
The last area we visited is called Painted Hills. This is a view from the road on the way there.
I just took some pictures of the painted hills from the overlooks. Both Thistle and I were too tired to hike any more trails.
The colors and layers indicate different geologic time eras. The red layer indicates a warm moist climate. Ponds and lakes would have dotted the area and annual rainfall would have been 30-50 inches per year.
The yellow and tan layers indicate a drier climate with not much standing water. Rainfall would have been 20-40 inches per year. Today's average is 12 inches per year.
Scientists are still making new discoveries at these sites, and identifying new species of plants and animals as they do.
Painted hills
There's a lot more science to be learned in the Paleontology Center, but my mind was filled to capacity for now. I am retired, lol.
