Trip to John Day, Oregon

We finally made it to John Day in Oregon--Alyosha's birthday wish come true. If you ask him a question he will find a way to include dinosaur, paleontologist, fossil, petrified wood or something of that genre in the answer--no matter the question. We had a beautiful time and a peaceful weekend in Eastern Oregon. The geography is just amazing there. While we were rolling through we couldn't help but imagine what the pioneers were thinking when they were traveling this way to make their homestead somewhere in this vast silence yet enormous explosion of land. I describe the great rifts and bulges almost like being on the moon. Enormous hills and valleys--then cracks so you can see 50 million years worth of layers like an epic tale unfolding as quickly as you can lay your eyes on a new inch of earth.

On the road to John Day. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We were all beginning to get a cold-or maybe the swine flu, you never know, but as soon as we got into the dry sunny high desert, the sniffles and coughs disappeared.

The kids were pretty good--reading books and marveling out of the window

Alyosha put his eyes on every piece of dust floating around John Day. He found a fossil or imprint in everything--and even though we weren't allowed to disturb the environment in the monument, Alyosha still came home with a ton of rocks. (most were legitimate finds in places that are legal--Alyosha follows the law to the letter, no matter how much he would want to keep something, he wouldn't if it isn't allowed.)

Barry, the camp host, told us about a special place that had exposed volcanic ash from a volcano that erupted about 12 million years ago. The ash has been compressed to fragile rocks--kind of like chalk. If you look closely, you can see imprints from the plants when this area was a swamp and horses, camels, bear-dogs and rhinos lived in the area. So much to discover if you search out. Alyosha's best find here was a 'rock' that had tree ring imprints--a tree that lived 12 million years ago.

adventures of a paleontologist

Luka was more interested in finding poop--not the fossilized kind. You can even tell what he is saying in the photo!

We stayed 3 nights in the Fish House Inn in Dayville and Barry was our host. He was wonderful and warm. He told us some secrets about the area and just shared about life in general in Eastern Oregon--pretty opposite from life in Portland, but still interesting. People come from all over the world to study at the fossil beds. This is pretty much in the middle of no where. There is one cafe, occasionally open and a Mercantile--for sale--by the way. I will admit that we imagined buying the little Mercantile and fostering the kids interest in everything ancient and turned to stone. Even better, there is a little ranch for sale next to the Dayville Mercantile--perfect to host a R.V. and camping site...any takers on our Eastern Oregon adventure?

The Fish House Inn is in the background here. We cooked out on the grill they provided every evening. I am sure the cafe in Dayville was nice, but we had German brats and steak with Washington state Merlot and whole milk, depending on your age... It was DELICIOUS.
We did a 3.4, can't leave out the .4--you will see why, a 3.4 mile hike with the kids up and down the Blue Basin Trail inside the fossil beds monument. The kids, excluding Niki, walked the entire trail. According to the official travel guides, the Blue Basin Overlook hike is "Strenuous, 600 ft. elevation gain. A strenuous, but rewarding, loop trail brings you to a spectacular vista overlooking the John Day River Valley. It is dusty in places and may be impassable in wet weather" Alyosha and Luka hiked every step of the 3.4 miles and they explored and wondered at everything-the complaining was minimum and only for food--which we stopped for 2 snacks along the way. They enjoyed the hike and the beautiful fresh air. Four hours for 3.4 miles isn't too bad. I love it, and it is really encouraging for when the boys get older; we are going to get into even more amazing adventures together.

Papa and Niki at the start of our hike. It was chilly, but perfect for our hike. The sun was shining and the air was crisp and fresh. At the beginning of the trail we had 2 choices; either the .75 mile walk inside the valley or the 3.4 mile hike around the valley. We looked at each other and wondered which road to choose--the difficult one was a thousand times worth it.

Alyosha and Luka spotted a deer that was finished off by a cougar a while ago. Of course, the deer skeleton wasn't a deer on our discovery mission--it was a plant eating dinosaur who stopped to take its last drink in the ancient river then got attacked by a velociraptor and died here.

One of our picnic stops. We had sandwiches and apples on the side of the trail and only a couple of other hikers passed us along the way. October is definitely the best time to come here. You can really experience the quiet and the significant spirituality of the area when you have it to yourself.

Look at that view in the background. Luka kept saying "it is dangerous, dangerous" because the trail was so steep on one side. He kept imitating falling down the slope with his sounds..luckily not his body. I held his hand the entire walk!

Bench brake on the walk. Luka didn't want to sit still--keep going, keep going. We are only a third of the way through at this rest stop.

Here we are at the peak. The blue-green claystones began as volcanic ash-falls deposited 28 million years ago by the ancestral Cascade Mountains. These volcanoes were precursors to those active today like St. Helens. I want to emphasize--that is volcanic ash--that has been compressed for 28 million years. Can you imagine the volcano that erupted? Those eruptions are inspiration for almost every picture Alyosha paints right now.

Niki needed his snacks about every .75 miles too. He loved the fresh air and the hike just as much as we did. Roma made sure not to miss a step either--I don't think that Niki would enjoy a roller-coaster fall down the Blue Basin into the valley.

Roma's reasoning for staying ahead of Luka and I on the downhill of the trail was so that he could catch us in case we fell down the 'dangerous' slope. Can you picture Roma jumping with Niki to grab onto Lukas 'arm' (leg in Luka language) before he slips over the edge? That is a scene for a movie.

grand

Luka looking over his triumph.

Here is a picture of all of us on the downhill slope of our hike.

The daze after a hike is a good feeling

Exploration in the old West

This barn has been here for over a hundred years--this used to be a prime sheep herding area. Unfortunately sheep wool production doesn't pay off anymore and cattle have taken over.

Alyosha the photographer

Our car is comfortable and made the trip smooth and cool. We don't use it in the city much, but I am so thankful that we have it--and that it is paid off!

That is Sheep Rock in the background. Sheep Rock, is 1,100 feet above the John Day River.

Here we are on the 45th parallel, exactly between the equator, my home climate, and the North Pole, Roma's home climate. It is a perfect compromise for us--maybe we should move here.

Camping at Timothy Lake

The boys are off on a journey to explore Timothy lake. These are three fossil hunters on the search for deep sea, high mountain lake, ancient sea monster fossil ekletons (skeletons in Luka language). You will not believe how much evidence of their existence in this lake there is on the shore. Did you know that there were THOUSANDS of million year old rocks to look at?

Niki is a little skeptical of the million year old rocks. He prefers sitting in my lap to going out on the expedition. Maybe he is the CEO direction all operations from shore.

Here is the stash of the million year old rocks with evidence of ancient life. Every one was carefully chosen and 'scienced out' as Alyosha puts it. Only 3 made it home, much to the fossil hunter's chagrin.

Here they are. Always looking forward to their next expedition.

Possum Kingdom State Park

This is the train that we took out to Possum Kingdom Lake for our 4 days of camping out in Texas in June just before the official start of summer. It was hot and we sweated our way through the day and listened to the crickets chirp us to sleep at night.
It actually wasn't too bad. When you keep in mind that this area has been inhabited by people for the past 10,000 years, you know that the luxury we had of modern tents to keep out the flying and annoying bugs and the soft air mattress to get us up off the hard ground--it makes it easy to enjoy roughing it. We even had air conditioner to give us some reprieve from the hottest part of the day. The lake was cool and felt wonderful. I actually enjoyed sleeping outside under the blanket of stars and the quiet night. It is funny that it still feels quiet even though there are a million crickets chirping in unison.
Patricia and Jeremy joined us for the first two days. They are babysitting Harley while Stacy is off exploring the Greek Isles. They supplied us with plenty of beer and bratwurst, two necessities when you are camping out! The boys loved that Aunt Trish came to swim with them.
Niki had his first experience with the red waters of the Brazos.
Granny came and camped out with us too. Harley kept her company in her camper during the night. Luka was pretty wary of the boat at first and he stayed put right next to Granny so he wouldn't fall off of the boat.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was just riding on the boat in the lake. It seems so peaceful and the air is so fresh.

Trisha and Alyosha on the tube behind the boat. Luka didn't like it too much, but I think Aleks will be the first on the water every time. I am sure Luka will join him when he is just a couple years older.

Niki had his own life-jacket and stayed in my lap while we were speeding on the boat. He was happy most of the time even though he was in his cocoon of water protection.



It seems like Niki has found his tongue and likes to show the tip of it to anyone who is interested in watching him.
Grandpa let Alyosha drive his first boat. He did a great job and didn't run over any fish or run into any docks.

Even Roma, the man from the cold North, enjoyed the heat. It may not be something he wants to experience every day of his life, but for these 4 days, it was actually a nice change of environment--it is 50 in Portland! I will take a nice crisp 95 and a cool dip in the water anytime over that!


Luka is now king of the world by the end of the boat trip.
Possum Kingdom at sunset is probably one of the most beautiful sights in the world!

Slip N' Slide

We are having a beautiful time in Texas, even though the heat index is 110 degrees. Yes, you read right-with the humidity and storms and heat-- 110, 43 celsius!! BUT, we are having a nice time. Tomorrow, Sunday, we are packing up to go camping for the week at Possum Kingdom State Park-so no pictures or updates for the week. Today we had a wonderful party with many friends, check back for the pictures. For now, enjoy Roma and the kids and their Slip N' Slide adventure.

A day at the Lake!

Oh my! I haven't been to the water in Texas since the summer of 2003 and I have been dreaming about it for years! AND the water is just as good as I remember it! The water is warm and nice and we all just jumped right in. Well, Niki only stuck his toes in but he liked it too. Next week after Roma arrives we are camping on the lake for 4 days-right beside a nice little beach and hiking trails.

The boys are building a sand castle with the most important feature, a moat. We just happened to run into Sara McCall and her boys just as we pulled up to Sandy Beach.

Mama and Luka taking a swim. He is a little hesitant but if you take it nice and slow he likes it.

Auntie Trish is looking on while Luka fills my hair with sand--this is also a warning of the week to come. I just have to get used to being like a piece of sandpaper while we are camping.

That is our boat behind Luka--Joe Hall was great to let us just use it as much as we want while we are visiting. We will use it a lot!!! Niki rides well on it--he doesn't like his life jacket too much, but the motor of the boat puts him to sleep so he forgets about the thing around his body and head. (sorry no pictures, but it is kinda cute--next time maybe). The best thing about this boat is that next week when we have me and the 3 boys and Grandma and Grandpa and Trish like we had today, we will also be adding Jeremy, Roma Granny and maybe even Jeb and we will all fit comfortably!
Niki dipping his toes in to the lake