(Route 26 in that area is also known as the Journey Through Time Scenic Byway - and the name most certainly fits. California has microclimates - the temperature can vary by 10-20 degrees just crossing over a hilly area, but Oregon... well, Oregon has microtopography. I don't know how else to describe it. One minute I was in a forest and pheasant hunters were my enemy, the next minute I kept looking over my shoulder for velociraptors.)
Despite the overcast skies and occasional rain, the views were amazing.
near Dayville, OR
Mascall Formation ~ John Day Fossil Beds
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument area
I want to live... in a van...down by the John Day River
The new list includes "go back to John Day when it's not raining." Some sort of backpacking trip is in order for my next warm weather 4-day weekend.
It got dark and the drive back to La Grande was pretty intense, what with the rain and windy roads and deer (and rabbits and mice) that didn't get the memo about prime road-crossing time being dawn and dusk. I stopped in the middle of a windy road to take this picture...
... and kept glancing in my rearview to make sure no one was coming. I saw nothing. Absolutely NOTHING - just black. Much like watching the Pacific Ocean on an empty beach, grand scheme perspective was acknowledged and appreciated.
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