Tuesday, 2 August 2016
Fossil – The Dalles, Oregon
Weather: Clear blue skies – Hot in highs of 100-105 degrees Fahrenheit, clear. Cool late night 50-60’s lows.
Sir Thomas, Lady Etain, and the Prince got ready and packed up to leave Fossil as yesterday was the last day of the project. The Crew Chief pulled Sir Thomas aside and told him the hotel manager had major complaints about how messy Lady Etain left the room during the stay and wasn’t picking up after the child. He was disappointed, so was Sir Thomas, considering it a warning. This of course caused an argument with Sir Thomas and Lady Etain causing more stress on their marriage. Apparently Prince Cian left sticky maple syrup hand prints on the mirror. It was odd because Sir Thomas had looked the room over before they left, but apparently it was during the daily cleanups while Lady Etain and the Prince were still at the hotel and Sir Thomas was out in the field with the crew. Lady Etain was distracted again with her phone and not paying attention to the Prince as he ran around cars, Sir Thomas was annoyed and concerned. Something or someone was captivating Lady Etain’s attention on the phone and she was clueless of her surroundings. She was irritated with how the reception was bad. The previous night while Sir Thomas was meeting with the crew, she took off with Cian for a walk downtown and again glued to her phone screen. She took hours to come back and Sir Thomas was in panic mode not able to find them as the Prince just left his cars on the basketball court next door in the city park and they didn’t leave message where they were going or when they would be back. It was quite a dramatic moment as Sir Thomas scoured the streets looking for them finally finding her down the tiny main street on her phone and Cian being bored and unattended to. He even alerted the crew as to his concern and the drama.
They packed up and drove out of town heading to the Pallisades. On the way out Sir Thomas thought he spied the haunted hotel / bed and breakfast that the haunting sites spoke of – it at least matched the description. They passed an intriguing barn covered with antlers and wagon wheels – definitely remnants of the Wild West days. They followed the “Journey through Time – Oregon Scenic Byway” and made their way to the John Day Fossil Monument Park – the Clarno Unit. They stopped at the Pallisades Picnic site for a snack – apples and cracker, and drinking up some water before their hike into the geological time trail. The Prince became a little camera shy and toyed around with mom and dad.
They set out from the Pallisades Picnic site along the Clarno Unit trail for a hike. Lady Etain was distracted from her family and walked off ahead of Sir Thomas and the Prince, leaving them in the dust. The Pallisades loomed over them as they took a geological walk through time. They present the site as a different world today than the original ancient forest that once surrounded this area. The fossil records tracked over 50 million years and the major changes that took place on this site. The paleontologists described the cliffs known as the Pallisades as a time capsule containing records of a lush tropical forest instead of the desolate desert of sagebrush and junipers in the area. It is sites like this that shows its visitors just how real climate change affects the world. The decimation of the prehistoric creatures that once roamed this valley. There is evidence in this shale of a tropical forest with amazing nuts, fruits, leaves, and twigs embedded as fossils with evidence of ancient rhinos, brontothereses, primitive four toed horses called epihippus, the bear-like hemipsaladon, and crocodiles once living here over 40-54 million years ago. There was once a watering hole here where all the animals congregated. Around 48 million years ago catastrophic events took place with volcanic eruptions spewing plumes of ash and fire into the sky blocking out the sun. Boiling mud called a lahar rushed the valley and forest killing everything in its path.
The valleys, river, parks, and area was named after an explorer named John Day. John came to Oregon in 1812 with an overland expedition pursuing the new Pacific Northwest fur industry in Astoria. As the expedition party dissipated into smaller groups, John and his party were robbed at the mouth of the mah-hah river meeting the Columbia river with all of their possessions taken including their clothing. A party of trappers came upon them and rescued them, taking them back to the nearest trading post where their story was embedded into legend. As travelers passed the confluence of the rivers, they began calling it the John Day River.
The hiking trail they took was called the Geologic Time Trail as well as part of the loop as the Trail of Fossils. It was 3/4 mile hike for them which was perfect for the young Prince.
Embedded in the rocks along the trail were fossilized leaves telling the story of the events that took place here. Leaves, sticks, branches, and logs fossilized can be found. The craggy cliff sides looming above called the Pallisades were formed when a succession of lahars (volcanic ash made mudflows) swept through the forested landscape 45 million years ago, eroding out the earth creating this cliff. There have been found over 300 plant species, 175 species of fruits and nuts alone including chestnuts, walnuts, bananas, magnolias, palms, and moon seeds.
After their hike they piled into the Explorer and headed back west towards Hood River and the river valley they called home. They passed deer in the road and other wildlife during their drive. They passed historic ghost towns and ice cream shops collecting the attention of the Prince and Sir Thomas. In the ghost town of Shaniko, they stopped for a rest break walking the streets of the old ghost town, admiring the old historic hotel, post office, church, and home style cafe. The Shaniko sage museum was unfortunately closed. They had good views of Mt. Baker and the John Day River. They headed north to the Columbia River grabbing Chai Creme Frappacinos from Starbucks in the Dalles, a gas top-up at Safeway, and an Oil Change at Oil Can Henry’s. They processed an Etsy and Amazon sale, got cash for the road trip from the ATM, and then headed west along the interstate to the Pacific Ocean. They would be heading southwest to go vend at 2nd Star in Florence and campout at Tillicum Beach. It has been a crazy adventure.
Mileage: 364
Accounting: Etsy sale 5.57, Washington Federal deposit 300, Etsy fees 63.03, amazon sales 2.99, starbucks chai creme frapp -9.90, oil can henry’s oil change -46.48, safeway fuel -22.33
A view of this day in 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.
Trail of Fossils. The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
eologic time trail: “This boulder contains rounded rocks that are evidence of the incredible power of volcanic mudflows called lahars. The larger the rocks that were tumbled in the flood, the deeper or faster the lahar was. look above to see large rounded boulders in the cliffs. Imagine what it would have sounded like as a mudflow crashed through the semitriopical forest. The source of the clarno lahars is to the south across the highway. Those foothills are all that remain of an ancient volcano. ” The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
“50 mya – dense with vines and climbers a near tropical forest existed here. tiny 4 toed horses browsed the forest. Annual rainfall was about 100 inches. ” Geologic Time Trail. The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
“Geologic Time Trail: This mostly level trail connects to the picnic area arond the corner. The time period signs you see are spaced dating along the path at intervals representing various time periods over the last 50 million years. From this end of the trail the markers tart at the beginning of clarno time, 50 million years then they become progressively younger. ” The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
“44 mya – A series of volcanic mudflows swept down hillsides to form the layers of the pallisades cliffs above. ” Trail of Fossils. The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
Lady Etain leaving us in the dust, Prince Cian looking up at the Pallisades. Trail of Fossils. The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
Lady Etain on the Trail of Fossils. The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
John Day Fossil Beds site – clarno unit info board: “Clarno unit:
Arch trail – 1/2 mile round trip. This rough trail climbs steeply on the base of the palisades, two fossilized logs form a t about 40 feet above the trail. a delicate stone arch is found at the trails end. Trail of fossils: 1/4 mile loop. This rough trail climbs steeply through a boulder field. It is the best trail to see leaf and wood fossils exposed naturally in the monument. Look for the fossils on the fallen rocks along the trail. Geologic time trail: 1/2 mile round trip. this trail starts at the picnic area and provides a fantastic view up toward the rocky spires of the pallisades. This trail connects to the trail of fossils and arch trail. From here all 3 trails are 1.25 miles round trip. ” The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
John Day Fossil Beds site – clarno unit info board: “Who was John Day? John Day came to oregon in 1812 as part of an overland expedition to the new pacific fur company post in astoria. The once large party split up and into many small groups efore reaching the oregon territory. While camped where the mouth of the mah-hah river meets the columbia, John Day and Ramsay Crooks were robbed of all their belongings, including clothing. Luckily they were rescued by a party of trapper also headed to Astoria. John Day became well known at the trading post. Whenever others would pass the spot of the incident, they would point out where he had been robbed. Thus the mah-hah river became known as the John Day river. John Day never came here. It was Thomas Condon who named this area the John Day fossil Beds because of the river’s role as a landmark and its importance in eroding and exposing fossil bearing rock layers. “The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
John Day Fossil Beds site – clarno unit info board: “Devastation: The clarno palisades are all that remain of an event of catastrophic proportions that took place 48 million years ago. Many miles from where you now stand a series of cataclysmic eruptions rocked the landscape sending plumes of ash and fire into the sky, blocking out the sun. A wall of boiling mud roared through the forest, killing everything in its path and instantly burying them uder hundreds of feet of debris. This raging mudflow called a lahar created one of the most unique and fascinatingn collections of cenozoic fossils in north american, frozen in time on a day of devastation.” The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
john day fossil site – clarno unit info board: “Few places in North America offer such a unique look into the distant past than the clarno unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. From the glimpses of the tropical forest captured in the rocks of the palisade cliffs to the spectacular nuts, fruits, leaves and twigs preserved in the one of a kind clarno nut beds, to the rhinos, brontotherese and hroses unearthed in the hancock mammal quarry pictured here. The fossil of clarno provide an extremely rare and surprisingly complex record of life in ancient oregon 40-54 million years ago. … massive brontotheres – left, primitive four toed horses such as epihippus center and hapiohippus right and a powerful bear-like predator hemipsaladon – upper right are just a few of the fascinating animals unearthed in the hancock mammal quarry. The quarry located only a mile from werhe you stnd may have been a watering hole where animals congregated in large numbers as in this artist’s depiction. Many fossil specimes unearthed here are on display in the Thomas Condon Paleontological Center near Dayville Oregon. ” The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
The Pallisades (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
Prince Cian and his mom at The Pallisades picnic area (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27413) – Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil National Monument (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27401). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
Possible haunted bed and breakfast. is this the old bridge creek flora inn? (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27397) Fossil, Oregon (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=27373). Volcanic Legacy: Chronicle 25 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf, Lady Etain, and Prince Cian. Adventures in Oregon. Photos taken August 2, 2016. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21521. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2015/2016 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan, Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Productions. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography