Staying Power - Hiking Through Time

Mother Nature is not afraid to scorch the earth and start over.  This leg of my journey took me through Shaniko, OR, on the way to John Day Fossil Beds.

Shaniko

Shaniko, OR, was created as a railroad terminus in 1900.  Unfortunately, the railroad tracks could not to go any further than Shaniko due to terrain issues and the great railroad race of Harriman and Hill built tracks from the Columbia River along the Deschutes River, headed to Bend from 1908 to 1911. A fire in 1911, and suspension of railroad service in 1942, led Shaniko to become the ghost town you see today.  The community continues to restore the old buildings and keep the history of the town alive.

John Day Fossil Beds

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is made up of three separate units:  Clarno, Sheep Rock, and Painted Hills.  Each unit tells a different story of how the earth has changed over millions of years.

Clarno Unit

You stand the best chance of viewing fossils in the Clarno Unit.  There are two short hikes that take you through the story of how the land changed as well as provide a close up viewing of leaf and tree fossils in the rocks along the path.  Once your eyes get used to looking for the leaf fossils, you can spot them all over the place.  It's worth the hike up to the arch to see a large, fossilized tree trunk stuck high up in the wall.

Sheep Rock Unit

Along with the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center and the historic Cant Ranch, there are two major hiking areas in this unit.  The Foree section was created by floods of lava that seeped up through the earth and left dark striations in the rock to mark each event.

The Blue Basin section was created by volcanic ash that has turned to claystone.  You won't find many plant fossils in this area as the volcanic ash flows incinerated everything in their path.  They are still finding animal fossils in this section today, however all fossil displays you see along the trail are replicas.  Check out the palentology center to learn more about the techniques used to recover fossils in this area.

Painted Hills

The Painted Hills formations were created by alternating swamp and forest climates.  The bold pigments are startling at first, but then become playful as the sun dances in and out of the clouds.