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Man, it was cold last night. It was the coldest of the three nights. The temperature had dropped below freezing point. In the morning, we saw there were ice formed on the car. I have never slept in a sleeping bag in a tent in this kind of weather. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not frozen to death in my sleep :).

We packed everything and started for our todays destination: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. On our way we passed the beautiful city of Bend and we had breakfast there. We drove almost through nothingness for miles and miles and for hours and hours. The drive always seems longer when you are not driving. I don’t recall anything interesting happening on our way – but the drive was beautiful with many interesting geological formations.

Some information:

Within the heavily eroded volcanic deposits of the scenic John Day River basin is a well-preserved fossil record of plants and animals. This remarkably complete record, spanning more than 40 of the 65 million years of the Cenozoic Era (the “Age of Mammals and Flowering Plants”) is world-renowned.

Our first stop was the Painted Hills Unit. It was a beautiful and colorful place. The color-splashed hummocks and hills are the eroded remnants of the lower John Day Formation. The weathering of volcanic ash under varying climatic regimes resulted in vividly-hued rock layers of red, pink, bronze, tan, and black.

Here is a picture from the cell phone: (More pictures in the gallery later).

The next stop was Calrno Unit.

The cliffs of the Clarno Palisades were formed when a succession of ash-laden mudflows (lahars) inundated a forested landscape. Two trails begin at the base of the Palisades. Winding up through the lahars, they allow observation of embedded plant remains. Picnic facilities and water are available.

Within the boundaries are significant fossil sites not yet open to the public. In the Clarno Unit Beds, more than 300 plant species have been found. The Hancock Mammal Quarry has revealed an unusual ancient fauna still under investigation.

My archeological bend of mind ends in a dead end – so this part of our trip did not enjoy me much. To me, it was a nice and quiet place with really interesting rock formations.

Then it was a return journey – and interestingly, this was the high point of my day. The wonderful scenic drive along highway 84 along the Columbia river made my day. That was gorgeous. We also stopped in front of the Multnomah Falls on the way and took a couple of pictures. There was not enough time to hike to the top of the falls (there is a trail) but it was gorgeous.

We drove over 450 miles that day.

I stayed the night at Portland with Dipu – and I still remember the wonderful Chilli Chicken of the Indian restaurant in Portland in which we had dinner that night – one of the best Chilli Chicken that I have tasted in this country.