I just finished reading a book by Katy Bowman called Move Your DNA about movement, and how the human body is designed to be out in nature moving naturally, not confined to a chair all day long. I loved her brilliant words at the end of the book, and I think this pertains to spiritually as well as physically. Get out there and be a part of it…

There’s a tiny town in Central Oregon named Fossil because… you guessed it, there are a lot of plant fossils in the area! Behind the high school field anyone is welcome to wander up a small hill and dig for fossils. There is a little shed with tools for use, so with shovel and pick and plastic bag in hand, I headed up. Even by 8 am it was hot out, but I dug for about 45 minutes 🙂 I still have a bag full of rocks to clean and look through, but one I know for sure is the tip of a Dawn Redwood from millions of years ago. I think this is so fitting, considering the northern California redwood forests are one of my favorite places on earth!

Perhaps my favorite of the John Day Fossil Bed Units – this is where plant fossils are up close and personal on the trails and you can see many of them. All 3 units of John Day are impressive in their own way. I hiked all 3 short trails here, the Geologic Time Trail, The Trail of Fossils, and the Arch Trail. Again, very HOT, but worth it. Sunscreen, big hat, a lot of ice water.

The Geologic Time trail runs parallel to the road and has many interpretive signs showing what life was like in this area up to 40+ million years ago. From this trail there are excellent views of the Palisades, wonderful rock formations that change in the light and depending on what angle you’re looking from.

The Trail of Fossils has many signs that point you toward leaf fossils in big boulders, with specific instructions on where to look, since they’re hard to find. I had so much fun fossil hunting along this trail. It’s amazing to think that some of these plants are preserved from tens of millions of years ago!

Last but not least I hiked uphill on the Arch Trail, to the base of the Clarno Arch in the Palisades. There are 2 large petrified logs in a T-shape on the cliff walls as you hike up. Again, signs point out where to look and what to look for. Wonderful!

After the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds, I drove to the Painted Hills Unit. It was late afternoon and the heat had taken a lot of energy out of me, so I didn’t hike much here. Fortunately, not much hiking is needed to see some beautiful scenery. I stopped at the Painted Hills Overlook and hiked the Painted Cove Trail. This area is fairly small, and the roads are gravel. It’s a quick but beautiful stop.

The Painted Hills Overlook is mesmerizing. It almost looks fake, like someone spray-painted the hill in stripes. Different minerals in the soil make up the different colors. They also show different climates and weather patterns through history. Again, Mother Nature is simply amazing.

After stopping at the Overlook, I drove a bit further to the Painted Cove Trail (1/4 mile stroll). It’s a small section of other-worldly-looking hills in several different colors, again from different minerals in the soils creating the color palette.

Beautiful. Just beautiful…

More photos from my recent road trip with my Hiker Trailer 🙂 I spent 2 days exploring the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, which is made up of 3 different units. I didn’t hike as much as planned, it was 100 degrees and just a wee bit hot! But still very fun to explore. I also didn’t want to venture too far out because this is also rattlesnake territory.  A lot of sunscreen, a hat, and a never-ending supply of ice water came in very handy.

This is the Sheep Rock Unit, where the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center is. I stopped at the Mascall Overlook first, before driving through Picture Gorge toward the Visitor Center. There are excellent displays of 45 million years worth of fossils, dinosaur bones, etc. And air conditioning.  Let me say that again… Air Conditioning.

Across from the visitor center, I wandered around at the historic Cant Ranch. I can’t imagine a more harsh but beautiful place to raise sheep and homestead.

After the Cant Ranch, I drove north to the Blue Basin area and hike the Island in Time Trail. This area is surreal, I felt more like I was on the moon than in Oregon. Again: hot hot hot, but sunscreen and a lot of cold water did the trick. The scenery here is fantastic.

The last place I hiked in the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds was the Foree area, on the Story in Stone and Flood of Fire Trails. I was withering in the heat by this time, so these short but sweet hikes were just right for me.

From Lewiston, Idaho, I went on a 6-hour jetboat trip up the Snake River, through Hells Canyon. Hells Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon (when using drainages to measure the high and low points). It’s very desolate, and HOT in the middle of July, but still incredibly scenic and beautiful. We saw bald eagles, osprey, pelicans, geese, mule deer, and bighorn sheep. After the jetboat trip, I think I need to look into rafting this next summer in a multi-day trip 🙂

After the boat trip I drove from Lewiston to Joseph, Oregon, and then on Forest Service Road 39 to the Hells Canyon Overlook. There were many wildflowers blooming, but I really want to go back in springtime to see what this looks like when it’s all green. It’s a beautiful drive with several campgrounds along the way. I camped that night at Copperfield Campground at Oxbow, Oregon, but there are many areas to disperse camp along both sides of the river between Oxbow and Hells Canyon Dam.

The next morning I drove up the Idaho side of Hells Canyon, over Hells Canyon Dam, to the visitor center. The views all along this road and from the visitor center are stunning, well worth the drive 🙂  After visiting the dam I headed to Baker City, Oregon, to visit my niece, going through the small towns of Halfway and Richland along the way.

I need to go back in springtime when it’s not so hot and the canyon walls are green, and I definitely need to raft this!

Forest. Waterfalls. Ferns. Flowers. Friends. Yep, that just about covers it!

After spending a few days soaking in the incredible energy and beauty of the Northern California Redwoods forests, my husband and I spent a day exploring the Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor on the southern Oregon coastline. It was cloudy and cold, but still a beautiful day. The coastline is rugged and wild, and was not at all crowded this time of year. Just the way I like to hike.

We stopped at the many viewpoints and beaches along the corridor, exploring and hiking as we went along. Our favorite was hiking down a sketchy and steep trail to the Natural Bridges. While we didn’t go out onto the actual bridges, we hiked to the base of them and enjoyed the view for a while before climbing back up.

We had a picnic lunch on Waleshead Beach and spent a long time walking the sands, exploring rocks, finding caves, listening to the pounding waves, and feeling the peace one gets from spending time at the ocean.