In late June, Heather and I loaded up her Audi and headed east toward the John Day Fossil Beds to see yet another portion of the beautiful state of Oregon.

Headed East for Adventure

• The Three Sisters from Sisters on the way to the John Day Fossil Beds – A wonderful view of The Three Sisters from the town of Sisters.
• Rest Stop by the Deschutes River – We found a duck sitting on a rock in the river.

The Painted Hills

• Approaching the Fossil Beds – Colors explode from the painted hills.
• Painted Hills Overlook – The stark beauty of the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Bed starts to reveal itself to us.
• The Painted Cove Trail – A boardwalk took us through some small painted hills.
• Red Hill Trail – A pretty little lizard greeted us at the start of the Red Hill Trail.
• Leaf Fossil Trail – A mound of dirt produces amazing leaf fossils.
• Information Rest Stop – The little information kiosk at the entrance to the Painted Hills Unit provides some great veiws.

 Prineville to Smith Rock Via Paulina and the Center of Oregon

• Prineville Trains – The City of Prineville has long run its own railroad to keep it connected to the outside world.
• A Rock Outcrop and a Boot Along the Paulina Highway – We found an interesting rock outcropping and a lonely cowboy boot on the road to Paulina.
• The Geographic Center of Oregon – The little hamlet of Post, Oregon holds a place in the record books for being in the exact center of the state.
• Paulina – The little town of Paulina is far away from anything else.
• Smith Rock at Sunset – The most famous climbing rock in all of Oregon is magnificent at sunset.  One of these days I should really get around to climbing it.

Sheep Rock

• Wheeler Battle Site – The place where the namesake of Wheeler County was attacked and robbed of his load of mail.
• The Shoe Tree – Out in the middle of nowhere on the highway we found a tree covered in shoes.
• Picture Gorge Overlook – The gorge that the John Day River plunges through on its first course correction to the north.
• Proceeding Through Picture Gorge – Heading north through the gorge at the top end of the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
• Thomas Condon Paleontology Center – In addition to great fossil exhibits, there are also great views at the visitor center.
• James Cant Ranch – A pretty little ranch preserved forever in time.
• Along the John Day River – An interesting rock outcropping along the river.
• Blue Basin – It’s more of a blue-green but it still is absolutely amazing.
• Cathedral Rock – A rock that looks like a cathedral.  Fancy that!
• Floods of Fire – No fire here but once there was.  Now it’s just a bunch of beautiful land.

The Road Home

• Back Toward Bend – Rain loomed on the horizon as we headed west toward Bend and home.
• Head of the Metolius – The Metolius River bursts forth from the ground with a small gurgle as a fully-formed river.
• Camp Sherman – The little community of Camp Sherman is tucked away along the Metolius River and among the big pines.
• Heavy Rain Over Santiam Pass – Heading back to Corvallis, we encountered heavy rain.