John Day: Painted Hills

Our last stop in eastern Oregon was the Painted Hills. Supposedly this area is at its most beautiful at sunset, but we didn't wait to see that {at the moment, the sun doesn't set until well after 9 and we still needed to drive back to Portland}. Fortunately it had rained a little before we arrived {how often do you hear me say that?}, which brings out the colors...an array of reds, yellows, and tans. It was quite beautiful.

Mark is obsessed with sage and was trying to figure out a way to dig up one of these plants to take home. Since this land is protected by the national park system and all he was equipped with was a spoon {he keeps it in his pocket for soil collecting} he left empty handed.

So thank you John Day for a lovely Memorial Day weekend. I didn't find any dinosaurs, which was a tad disappointing, but it's not your fault. You can't help that all you had living nearby were leaves and a handful of insects and small mammals.