Fossils, Family and Friends

Our view at the Port of Arlington campsite.

When we get ready for our trips, we always set a departure schedule and are almost always on the road within ten minutes of that time. For this trip we did the exact same thing, we developed a departure time of 11:00 AM and actually were on the road by 11:09 AM. It makes me smile that we are so punctual, then again I am married to Linda Bennett, the schedule Queen.

This trip could be divided into three parts. The first part is an exploratory adventure down into central Oregon to visit the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The second part of our trip is to visit Linda's sister and her family in Eugene. The last part will be a visit to Sunriver, Oregon to connect with Don and Caroline Samuelson again before winter sets in.

Getting some reading done.

On the first day, we drove into the Columbia River Gorge following I-90 to HWY 395 and then to US 84.  We spent the night at our usual spot in Arlington. We were excited to find that as we drove down, the wind was at our back and our diesel mileage was great. Normal driving gives us about 12.5 miles to the gallon, but with the tailwind, we got 17.5 MPG! I was so excited I almost could not sleep. Well, actually I didn't sleep well due to the train noise, but who cares with that MPG!

We got on the road and traveled HWY 19 up out of the gorge through Condon to Fossil, OR. In Fossil, we stopped and looked at a very old large building that is used as the County Seat of this community. From there we drove out HWY 218 to Clarno, where we found the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds.

Visiting the fossil beds was my idea. I have heard many people talk about the area and everyone felt that it was worth visiting. We opted to visit the Clarno Unit first. The main area, the Sheep Rock Unit, is located near Dayville. This area holds the main visitor center, but the center was closed so we decided to forego a visit. At the Clarno Unit, we read all the posted information and hiked all the marked trails.  We saw some fossils, we think. Both Linda and I had a hard time picking out the fossils that were described on the info signs.  We really didn't know what we were looking for. Past fossil viewing always presented large leaves or tree branches that were easily distinguished from surrounding rocks, but these fossils were a bit different. A rock enthusiast would enjoy the area, but Linda and I came away a bit perplexed. We were a bit disappointed. Maybe you have to be smarter...

After the Clarno Unit, we drove to the Painted Hills Unit which was well worth the visit.  The colors in the soil were amazing. We hiked the area and took a ton of photos. 

If we were to recommend anything, we would probably say you should visit all three areas. Start at Sheep Rock and visit the visitor center then drive out to Clarno and end in the Painted Hills.  This route will give insight into the beds and how they were formed. It also would give you a good idea of just what to look at when you go searching for fossils.

After viewing the Painted Hills we drove up HWY 26 to the top of Ochoco Pass, elevation 4720. We pulled into Ochoco Divide Campground and spent our second night.

Info from the board at Clarno.

In the morning we packed up and drove to the town of Sisters. We decided to stay at Cold Spring Campground four miles out of town. We drove to the campground, set up some chairs, and registered, then we went into Sisters and spent the afternoon shopping and eating. Everything was great, a bit expensive, but very good. We munched down on two Bear Claw pastries from the Sisters Bakery and bought two other items for breakfast. That cost $20, then we had street tacos. Four tacos were $20 but very good. So Sister's economy got a $40 boost while we were there. The afternoon was enjoyable and relaxing.

The next morning, we drove down HWY 20 along the McKenzie River into Eugene and to Linda's sister's family's driveway.

We visited them for two nights. During the day on Saturday, we all loaded up and drove to the Oregon Garden at Silverton. There are over 80 acres of botanical gardens in this special area. We were able to make it to about 76 acres during our visit.

Back at the Sollinger's homestead, we played Left, Right, Center and ate some very delicious meals. It is always fun to get together with the family.

On Sunday we drove to Sunriver. To make this happen, we drove back up to Sisters and turned south through Bend to the resort. This was a bit longer of a drive, but if we had followed HWY 58 out of Eugene, we may have been stopped by the Cedar Creek fire which had been causing problems the past few weeks.  The drive was very busy. There had been a folk music festival in Sisters and all the attendees were heading back from the weekend. In Sisters, we stopped briefly and again bought a couple of pastries from the Sisters Bakery.

Leaf?

We arrived in Sunriver and settled into the condo with Caroline and Don.  The next few days were filled with walks, bike rides, crawfish trapping, and food.  To make things clear, no crawdads were harmed in the trapping portion of this visit. I caught one little guy and we immediately set it free. 

Each evening after dinner we watched a movie. The first night was "Top Gun, Maverick" a very entertaining flick. 

Monday we loaded up and went sightseeing. Caroline drove us to an unexplored section of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, where we visited two lakes Pauline and East Lake (we had previously visited and explored the area just north of Sunriver). We hiked to the base of Pauline Falls. We cooked dinner - enchilada bake - this evening. Our movie of the evening was called Dog. 

Tuesday was spent relaxing and enjoying the sunshine and beauty of this area. More great food and time with wonderful friends. Evening's movie - Abandoned. 

On Wednesday we headed home. We traveled north through Bend and Madras, dropping down to the Columbia River at Biggs Junction. At that point, we drove upriver to our stopping spot at Arlington, and then in the morning, we drove home.

Happy birthday, Jacquie!

Petrified wood in a rock.

Deer or elk tracks on the hillside.

Our campsite at Ochoco CG.

Al Dee, Alayna, and the best sister-in-law ever!

My Bug sitting with a damselfly.

Caroline checking the crawdad traps.
(look for her blue jacket)

One is the loneliest number.

Paulina Falls near Paulina Lake.

Small Towns and Friends

Whenever you travel, if you have been in that area before, you remember the different experiences you have had based on the towns you travel through.  On this foray into Montana, my memory brought forth images of me as a nine or ten-year-old traveling with my uncle Bill as he went from small town to a small town making his service/sales calls. 

Our first campsite at Aspen Grove.

Uncle Bill was a Pfaff sewing machine sales and repair man. He would load me in his van and off we would go to Drummond, Deer Lodge, or Ronan, so he could make repairs or sell machines. I would wait in the van while he worked, but as soon as we finished business we would drive to the nearest river and spend a few hours fishing. My Uncle loved to fish and he always had his gear with him wherever he went. Those were great memories and fun times! I got to see a lot of country and fish some great rivers.  

Traveling with John and Loretta Sutherland to visit our friend, Dan Breeden, took us along the Clark Fork River on I-90, through Missoula to HWY 200 where we then followed the Blackfoot River northeast. We climbed over the Continental Divide and dropped into the Missouri River valley. We stopped for the night at a Forest Service campground called Aspen Grove.  We got out of our rigs and, oh boy, was it cold and windy. Our exploration of this area was short and sweet. That night the temperatures dropped into the mid-thirties and we all scrambled for our winter blankets to keep us warm.

We woke up and got on the road to Great Falls. We did some shopping and used the rest room and then it was back on the road for the final leg. Leaving the big city we followed HWY 87 farther north to the quiet little town of Fort Benton where Danbo has chosen to settle in and establish his home.

As we drove we kept our eyes open for wildlife along the highways on the open grasslands. Just outside of Ft. Benton we pulled over at a scenic viewpoint to take a closer look at the panorama provided by the river valley.  As we took our photos a group of three domestic goats came wandering toward us along the railroad tracks.  Our first big game! To say the least, we were a little disappointed when we saw that they were domesticated goats, but we counted them as big game anyway.

The basis for this adventure developed when Dan bought a parcel of land that included a house, a large outbuilding, and ten city lots for his retirement home. John, Loretta, Dan, Linda, and I had just gotten through with a river trip where we all talked about Dan's new home and we made plans to drive over and explore the town and area around his property. 

View from the scenic overlook west.

We spent two days exploring the area near his new place. We got a good feeling about the town, checked out the work he had completed on his new home, and laid to rest many questions we had been asking concerning the location.

Fort Benton is a pretty cool place. It is a small farming community where everyone waves at everyone else. The town has a lot of history and is known for being the oldest continually established town in Montana.  The Mullan Road begins in Ft. Benton and runs from there to Coeur d'Alene and beyond. This was a fascinating bit of history that tied the town to our area as everyone is familiar with Mullan Road.

Looking east over the Missouri River.

During our stay, we walked along the Missouri River to the heart of downtown.  Then the next day we all got on our bikes and extended our exploration of Dan's new home to include the southern part of town where the fairgrounds are located. 

Each night we would gather outside around the fire and talk and laugh.  It was good to see Dan so happy!

On our final morning, we went into Dan's favorite coffee shop and had a big breakfast. We all packed up and said our goodbyes.  We now know enough about this small town to understand the draw Dan had pulling him to the area. We get it.  We feel happy for Dan and this next chapter of his life, though we'll miss having him here in Coeur d'Alene.

Wild goats? Nope!

After we left Ft. Benton we drove back via the Wolf Creek area, HWY 15. The drive would have been beautiful. We followed the creek and wound through jagged rock formations and lush green meadows. Unfortunately, the smoke from forest fires in Idaho and Oregon was blocking the sun and skies.

At Drummond, we pulled off the highway and found the city park/fairgrounds.  John and Loretta had used this hidden spot many times for overnight boondocks when they traveled back to the midwest. It was a nice spot, close to the Clark Fork River, but far enough away from the railroad tracks so the trains didn't bother you. The cost was $10 a site which was fairly inexpensive. The restrooms were not the best, but we were heading home and very much self-contained, so that was not a big problem.

On the final day, we hugged John and Loretta and headed home. 

Great story behind this statue of Shep.

The starting point of the Mullen Road.

John Mullan on the right,
a Pioneer woman on the left. Nice shades!

The guy in the coon skin cap
does not look happy!

The rather unimpressive Great Falls
of Great Falls, MT.