The painted desert can wait til summer.

After the hike from hell I headed west on Route 26 toward John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

(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.

I don't think I'm in the Columbia River Gorge anymore.

Early the morning of Day 3 I saw this sign:

I didn't think much about it as I headed to Strawberry Mountain Wilderness for a 9-mile hike.

Let me rephrase that. I didn't think much about it as I headed into the woods dressed in brown and green clothing, to wander alone for hours after not telling anyone the details of my plan for the day.

Dumb, dumb city girl.

I got about three miles into the Joaquin Miller trail, which was right around here...

... before hearing a shot, and then another shot. Dumb city girl did a quick 180 and high-tailed it back. (Loudly, and with ample arm-flailing.) On the way I passed two of the hunters armed and ready for the next pheasant that crossed their path. They were polite but coldly so, and being in such close proximity to guns always makes me a little nauseous.

I got back to the trailhead where I ate my sandwich, slowed my heart rate and stared at this sign, which I'd missed on the way in:


I'm sorry, but I just don't get sport hunting.

In other news, I also saw Ponderosa pines for the first time. Their puzzle piece bark was fascinating...


... and this cow almost made up for the nerve-wracking hike.


Almost.

Fire it up.

On the road again...

This week marked the start of my part-time status (read: four-day-weekends) for the next few months. To celebrate I headed east to check out Hells Canyon.*

La Grande was home base for the weekend, so Day 1 was supposed to include a visit to their visitor-center-slash-fire-truck-museum (really) to see what the town had to offer. Natch, it was only 3pm but they had just closed along with just about everything else in town. So most of Day 1 involved exploring every inch of the only antique store and bookstore still open, relaxing in the crappy motel, planning my route the next day... and wondering what people who live in small towns do for fun.

Day 2: Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. Five observations about the 218 mile loop:

1. "They" say it can be done in as little as five hours, but to really appreciate it you should take 3-4 days. "They" are probably right. I opted for the five hour journey with a few sidesteps for nature time. Most of the trails I wanted to hike were snowed in but I found an accessible one... and vowed to return in the summer to explore the rest.
   
   
   Wallowa Lake - bottom of hike
   
   
   
   Wallowa Lake - top of hike
   
   
   BC Falls - Wallowa Lake hike
   
   
   
2. There are lots of little towns along the route. Everything I read about every town emphasized how "nice" and "friendly" the people were (quotes added, of course), which seemed odd before the drive. Along the drive I saw many trucks with gun racks inside the cabs (for easy access?), and several rather blunt handmade anti-abortion signs in front of houses... and started to understand the emphasis.
   
   
3. They keep it weird out there too.
   
   
   (apparently shoe trees are a widespread phenomenon...)
   
   
4. You know you live in a small town when your city map is hand-painted and fits on a piece of chart pad paper.
   
   
   (map drawn to scale)
   
   
   
5. Hells Canyon itself is pretty amazing, and I highly recommend it.