Past Activity

Fossils, Ghost Towns, Painted Hills, Museums, etc.

Start date: 06/04/2012
Start time: 12:00 AM
End date: 06/07/2012
End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

Come with us on a journey through time as we spend four days exploring geologic, historic and scenic areas of central Oregon. Enjoy lovely scenery as we travel to John Day via highways 126 and 26, there will be rest stops along the way, please bring a sack lunch. We will spend two nights at the Best Western Inn at John Day. Day trips will take us to the Painted Hills, Sheep Rock and Clarno units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. We will travel through Picture Gorge, ghost towns of Richmond and Shaniko, visit Mascall Overlook and the Oregon Paleo Institute in Fossil. In John Day we visit the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site. Then it’s off to Prairie City to visit the DeWitt Museum and Prairie City Depot. We will check out the Oxbow Restaurant and Saloon in Prairie City to view the historic mahogany and rosewood bar with its “Twin Virgins” carved in Milan, Italy, about 1879. Leaving this area we head south on Highway 97 to Bend for a night at the Riverhouse Hotel. A late start on day four will allow time to enjoy a leisurely hot breakfast and the river walk near the hotel. Before heading home we will visit the Paulina Lake and Obsidian Flow area, as well as the High Desert Museum. Cost includes three breakfasts, one lunch and one dinner. A detailed day by day schedule will be available on Rally Day, Sunday, February 26th.

Cost: members $430.00; non-members $438; deposit due now $50.00.
$200.00 due April 1; Balance due May 1
Reservations and checks to: Janet Speelman

Event Leader: Sharon Cutsforth
Event Leader Phone: 541-735-4703
Event Leader Email: skcutsforth@comcast.net
Assistant Leader:
Event category: Bus Trips
Area Type:
Departure Location: See Trip Description
Rating:
Roundtrip total drive miles:
Season: 2012
Permits Required:
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required:
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance:
Member Fees: 430
Elevation Gain:
Non-Member Fees: 438
Committee: Bus Trips
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Wow! Here are just a few things you missed by not going on this fantastic trip: small group on a large bus; blueberry cobbler at Paulina Lake Lodge; exploring Oregon’s diverse geology and history; Bullock’s Oriole family nesting in Elm trees and Raven family nesting on cliffs along the John Day River; discovering fossils along the trail at Clarno Palisades; spectacular scenery; Twin Virgins at the Oxbow Restaurant and Saloon.

This busy four day trip to John Day and Bend found us traveling through lava fields, high desert country, Ponderosa Pine forests, along the beautiful John Day and Deschutes Rivers, high prairies, up mountains and down into canyons. Sometimes we drove for miles without seeing another vehicle. We saw a few antelope, elk, deer, jack rabbits, various birds, many cattle, horses and sheep. As we traveled along we learned about how some communities received their names. We experienced a variety of weather, but each time we made a stop at a place of interest or to take a short hike it wasn’t raining. How lucky is that!

Museums we visited: Kam Wah Chung in John Day, Dewitt Museum at Prairie City, High Desert Museum near Bend, Lava Lands Visitor Center. Other fun stops were: a lunch break in Fossil; a quick visit to Shaniko; the amazing view from Mascall Overlook; walking several trails in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument; talking to a few of the local people along the way. There is such an incredible amount of history and geology to learn about in these areas it was impossible to absorb it all. Most of us left the area feeling like we want to return!