Who was John Day anyway?

We are camped just outside the town of John Day at a state park along the John Day River and I’m super hyped about our visit to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Who was this guy anyway? I was thinking maybe an early explorer, statesman, or scientist. Must be somebody important, right? Actually, no. In fact, he’d probably rather not be so well known. 

In 1812, John Day was camped where the Mah-hah River meets the Columbia when he was robbed of all his belongings, including his clothes. He was rescued by a party of trappers headed to the trading post in Astoria, OR. John Day, and the story, became well known. Whenever someone would pass the site of the incident, they’d point out where John Day had been robbed. Soon the Mah-hah River became known as the John Day River. Which in turn gave its name to the town and the fossil beds. Go figure. There's your history lesson for today. :)

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is comprised of three units (Sheep Rock, Clarno, and the Painted Hills) that are a couple hours drive apart. From Clyde Holliday State Park outside of John Day (the town) we hit the Sheep Rock Unit, which is the largest of the three. Since this unit also has the visitors center and longest hiking trails (about 5 miles total) we left Riley to nap in air-conditioned comfort. We stopped first at the Mascall Overlook and then did the Blue Basin hike. The colors of the mud (very green!) and the rocks (blue, green, yellow and cream) were fascinating. Erosion has revealed the different colored layers, each representing distinct geological events and eras. It’s like a multi-hued layer cake millions of years in the making!

Mascall Overlook.

Blue Basin.

Facial anyone?
That green mud looks just like a clay face mask I once used. :)

This hill is really GREEN - the photos don't do it justice.

Love the layers.

Green hills in front, bright red behind.

Racing the rain. Thunderstorm heading our way.

Cathedral Rock.

Another interesting trip back into more recent history is the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in the town of John Day. Chinese immigrants flocked to the area for work on the railroad and in the mines. In the 1880’s, John Day had the third largest population of Chinese immigrants in the country. In the face of tremendous racial bigotry, violence, and discrimination, two immigrants (Ing Hay and Lung On) established Kam Wah Chung & Co, a successful dry goods store, herbalist shop, and import business. When the mining boom ended, most of the immigrants moved on, but they stayed. They lived for 60 years in the same building and became respected members of the community.

Lung On died in 1940. In 1948, Ing Hay locked up the building for what was supposed to be a temporary stay in a nursing home, but he never returned. The building and all its contents remained frozen in time. Now a State Heritage Site, the treasure trove of artifacts, personal records, and letters includes one of the largest collections of Chinese herbal medicines in the US. Their records are still being translated from Cantonese and reveal a fascinating and challenging way of life. It was especially fun for me to see a whole building full of the period antiques I routinely buy and sell just as they were when Lung On locked the door in the 1940’s.

This unassuming little building is really a time machine!

It's like walking into the 1940's. So cool!

Coffee or tea?

The very interesting and popular apothecary specializing in Chinese herbal remedies.

Thursday was a Riley day and we took him to Magone Lake to play. With shaded trails and water to splash in, this was his idea of a fun outing!

Magone Lake.

Shade and water, Riley approves!

Busy Beavers!

What do you see, Riley?

Friday, 5/25, we moved to a boondocking site on Burnt Ranch Road outside of Mitchell, OR. That evening we had the whole area all to ourselves. Saturday it looked like Woodstock! There must have been at least 7 or 8 other campers set up. Then Sunday we were totally alone again. It was hilarious. Riley liked playing in the stream and we enjoyed the quiet and solitude – at least on two out of three nights. Lol.

Campfire buddies.

From our spot near Mitchell, we drove to the Clarno Unit. Since it was a couple hours each way and Riley was still being squirrely in the back of the CRV, we decided to try him in the back seat. He settled right down. He likes resting his chin on the center console between us; typical mastiff, if he’s outside of touching distance he’s not happy.

The Clarno Unit had a few short hiking trails and Riley got to come along. The trails were in the sun, steep, and there was no water anywhere. Riley wasn’t a fan.

Hike to the Palisades.

Clarno Arch.

On Sunday we finally made it to the Painted Hills. Actually we went three times. :) This area is one I was really looking forward to seeing. Fossils are cool, but I just fell in love with the vibrant colors and air-brushed look of the Painted Hills. It’s a small unit, so you can see everything in a couple hours. We took Riley in the morning and did the drive through and shorter hikes. Then we dropped him off at the coach and Rog and I returned to do the longer Carroll Rim Trail. It was only 1.6 miles, but Riley wouldn't have been happy. The trail was a lot like the Clarno Unit (hot, steep and dry) but the views were spectacular. Then I returned around sunset to see if the evening light made a difference. The light did bring out the colors a little more and the shadows highlighted the contours. Definitely worthwhile. The only downside – I now have about 150 pictures to show you! Lol.

Red Hill.

Check out the lavender at Painted Cove.

A lovely lake is just outside the park boundaries.

The Painted Hills.

Not all the awesome views are inside the park.
The hillside next to this field is a work of art.

Another roadside vista - basalt cliffs framed by colorful hills.

Back in the park, view from the Carroll Rim Trail.

Another shot looking down from the Rim Trail.

Third time's the charm. Let's see how it looks in the evening light.

Gorgeous!

Full moon above the hills.

Last one, I promise! :) 

Our next stop is Tumalo State Park outside of Bend, OR. We managed to snag reservations for Memorial Day and the day after. Rog is hyped about the mountain biking trails and visiting Crux, one of his favorite breweries. Should be fun!

A Likely Spot and Hot Spring Heaven

The last week has been pretty mellow. No strenuous hikes or mountain biking marathons. It's hard to get motivated when you feel like a limp noodle, but more on that later. We spent three days, beginning 5/17, at the Likely Place Golf & RV Park near Likely, CA. We’ve enjoyed this park before and, as I mentioned, were looking forward to introducing Riley to the giant jack rabbits. While we did manage to spot a few, none were bold enough to come over and make his acquaintance. 😊  

Check out those ears!

When the big males stand up, I swear they're over three feet tall!

The RV park has a lot of fun amenities, including the use of bikes, kayaks, and paddleboards for free. We borrowed two fat tire bikes for the 3.5 mile trail around the property. It was a really fun and easy ride. You don’t have to be a golfer (and I’m not!) to appreciate the beautiful grounds.  

The course is lovely, and I don't even golf!

Fat tire fun!!

Gorgeous views from the trail.

Old homestead and barn.

Our first snakey encounter this trip.
He turned out to be harmless, but still gave me a scare.

We all liked the nature trail, Riley managed to find a small stream to play in and we enjoyed the sunset from Jose’s Point. We were excited to see a Great Horned Owl standing guard over a brush pile. If the number of ground squirrels scurrying around are any indication, I’m guessing he eats very well!

Somebody is a happy boy!

Great Horned Owl.
How cool is that!

View of the our happy little home from the hilltop. 

Sunset from Jose's Point.

Rog had read about a hot spring near West Valley Reservoir which wasn’t too far from Likely. Unfortunately the route was down a dirt road, which was deeply rutted and extremely muddy after the recent rains. Likely had gotten dumped on, an inch of rain, the day before we arrived. We came a little too close for comfort to getting stuck, so turned around and left this one on the list for a drier time.  

Since the hot spring was a bust, we decided to check out the other side of West Valley Reservoir. We found a great spot for Riley to play in the water and several possible boondocking sites.  The only potential drawback was the range cows. Some of the nicer spots were already *ahem* occupied. The cows and calves were adorable. I just wanted to get out and smooch their little faces. Then we caught sight of the range bull. Ah, not so smoochable. Huge, squinty eyed, snot dripping from his nose, and emanating pure evil. He stared us down, daring us to get out of the car. Nope, moving right along.

Riley was very interested in the neighbors.

Awwwww. What a cute clown face!

Mom and a Mini-Me.

More water fun at the reservoir.

Eyes on the prize!
Retrieve might be a strong word, but he did chase the stick. :) 

On Saturday we did a 3 ½ hour scenic (or so it was billed) drive which entailed close to 30 miles on dirt/gravel roads. For some reason Riley just wouldn’t settle down. He kept trying to crawl into the front seat and managed once to make it completely onto my lap! We had to pull over several times to haul him bodily back into the rear of the CRV. We’re not sure what had him in a tizzy. We thought maybe the rumble of the cattle guards (of which there are many), but the behavior didn’t seem consistent with any trigger we could identify.  I’m convinced he just wanted to ride shotgun! He gets to sit up front in the motorhome, why not in the CRV??

I wanna ride shot gun!
(Notice my arm trying to hold him back?!)

At one point, we thought he might have to go potty, so Rog pulled over in a forested area. We got Riley out, but he was more interested in sniffing around than doing his business. At first we noticed just a few mosquitos, then all of sudden the word went out there was fresh meat and we had hundreds of them swarming over us, Riley, and the car. We were descended upon by ravening swarms of bloodsuckers! We quickly loaded Riley back up and sped away. I spent the next 10 miles fending off the ones that made it into the car and trying to protect both Rog and Riley. Whew! We narrowly escaped or some poor motorist would have found our desiccated corpses alongside the road.  Lol.

The scenic part of the drive.

Warner Wilderness.

On Sunday, 5/20, we moved to Crystal Crane Hot Springs. No trouble finding this one, we had reservations! Lol. They have campsites, rooms for rent, cabins, teepees, private soaking rooms, but the best thing is the hot spring pool. It is by far the largest hot spring I’ve ever seen. The pool is so deep you can’t touch bottom in the middle, a 101˚ swimming pool – Yesssssssss.  The water coming out of the hot spring is about 165˚, so the folks who operate the place manage the flows in and aerate the water to moderate the temps. The average temp is around 100˚, but it is a lot warmer near the inflow. Can you guess where we hung out? Lol.

A hot spring pool so big you have to swim across? Yesssss!

There were lots of steaming pools around the property.

We managed an afternoon soak on Sunday after we arrived and then later that evening. The camping fee includes 24-hour access to the hot spring, and after 9pm all the day-use people have to leave so it’s just the overnight guests. Lovely!! Let’s just say we got our money’s worth.

On Monday, lots of folks were leaving so Rog and I were having a leisurely morning, figuring we’d hit the pool after checkout time and probably have it all to ourselves.  Ha! Just as we were about to head out, we noticed not one, but TWO, school buses pull up and disgorge a veritable horde of high-schoolers. Arrrrrgh! Oh well, we found out that they were scheduled to depart by 2pm, so we settled in with a book to wait them out.

We had some fantastic sunsets (still dodging those thunderstorms!) and hit the pool several more times before we pulled out on Tuesday. Let’s see… hot spring in the early morning (check), mid-day (check), early evening (check), under the stars (check). Yep, we were thoroughly soaked!

I'd never seen pink rain clouds before!

No hot springs for Riley, he likes his water cold. :)

Bird on a post.
Couldn't decide which picture I liked best, you choose.

Ahhhhh. Last soak before heading out. 

Next on the agenda is the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. It’s been on my “must see list” for quite a while. So excited!