Sunday, June 16 The John Day Fossil Beds is made up of three main areas – “units.” Yesterday we did the Sheep Rock Unit, and today we tackled the Painted Hills and Clarno Units. It was a 40-mile drive to the start of the Painted Hills where we did two hikes: The Leaf Hill Trail and The Painted Cove Trail. It was still cool in the early morning, and both walks were short and easy. Aptly named, the colors of the Painted Hills was straight off my favorite paint palette: brick reds, dusky yellows, muted lavenders, sage greens, and warm tans. On top of the color array of the rocks and hills, there was also a mass bloom of wildflowers adding bright yellows, purples, and oranges. Out in the middle of this high-desert-wilderness, we passed this tree. It was heavy with shoes! We have no idea what the significance of this was, but I had to get pictures! Our campground had accommodated us for two nights, but only if we could change sites midway! We were back at the campground by 11:30 where we quickly swapped sites, packed a snack/lunch for the car and set out again for the Clarno Unit. Supposed to be the most beautiful of the areas, it was an 80-mile drive covering new territory for us. It was very different with towering Palisades – craggy cliffs looming up to 150 feet over the valley. There were also some new wildflowers to see.. But, it was 90 degrees and just one .25 mile trail that was open. There are two significant fossil sites that are open “by appointment, only.” Jasper and Charlie did not appreciate the trail at all – probably the heat. They stopped every 50 feet for water, and when they found a bit of shade, they collapsed! We didn’t even finish that ¼ mile trail – just grabbed some pictures . . . and left. We were back at the Silvermine by 4:30, and I had an agenda: I wanted the dogs and the bedding washed, and the inside of the trailer cleaned. With laundry facilities at the campsite, the bedding was easy. Even though they acted grump about baths, I like to think that the whole process added to cooling-down from the hike and their general well-being. Cleaning the trailer was really a practical means of using all our on-board water . . . so that we could empty black/grey water tanks and fill the fresh tank before heading for 4 nights of boon-docking at Crater Lake National Park.
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |