Painted Hills: Wonderful world of color

Last official day of my road trip! I left Winnemucca, NV and headed north into Oregon. I would occasionally see small ground squirrels run across the highway...I almost ran over one! I also saw the corpses of some that DIDN'T make it. But, in the circle of life, they became food for the crows and magpies. At one point, I saw a large bird land on the sagebrush and as I passed by it, I saw it was a magnificent golden eagle! I'm sure the ground squirrels are included on its menu, too.

After driving about seven hours, I made it to John Day Fossil Beds Painted Hills Unit. I had visited this park on a past road trip, but didn't get a chance to see this area. The colorful hills are evidence of past climate change events, and the late afternoon is the best time to see them. First, I drove to the Painted Cove Trail. Because of scattered clouds, the colors weren't showing too well, but I was still impressed. I captured some animal tracks...probably deer...preserved in the dried mud.

Next, I went to the Leaf Hill Trail. This area has actual fossils with leaf imprints. It was a bit hard to see any actual fossils...it was fenced off to discourage people from collecting...but, I took a few photos of the shards anyway. Maybe you see something in there?

The third place I checked out was the newest...the Red Scar Knoll/Red Hill Trail. This is almost an understatement. The hill is really, really red! By this time, the sun was shining brightly and I got awesome pics!

 

The last area that I visited was the Painted Hills Overlook. I saved the best for last. The sunshine was holding out and I was treated to magnificent views of many colorful hills. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

 

 

 

It was a wonderful ending to yet another fun road trip. Tomorrow, I do the final leg of my road trip...driving home! Hotel beds are usually pretty comfortable, but nothing beats my own bed! And, I can't wait to hug my cat!