June 8, 2008--John Day Fossil Beds and Traveling

After we left Clyde Holliday we only traveled about 25 miles before we stopped to visit John Day Fossil Beds Sheep Rock Unit. As we neared the area, the landscaped changed again.
This area has many fossils which people from around the world use to correlate the ages of the fossils they find in their areas.

There was a great museum with fossils of now extinct mammals that lived in this area after the dinosaurs died. Some of the fossils were found in the mountain behind us--Sheep Rock.The museum takes you back in time. Cases with fossils line the rooms in chronological order. There is a mural painted around the rooms to let you know what the plants and animals looked like. You can also view the areas where paleontologists work to date and catalog the fossils.About a half mile down the road is Cant Ranch which was purchased by the National Park Service. It houses the offices and a museum dedicated to ranch life in the area. It is a well maintained area. This arbor marks the entrance to the house. (The house was closed Sunday).

The house was situated near the John Day River. We loved the wrap around porch on the house.

The house was not the first building here. The cabin below was built by the first owners of the ranch.

The orchards are still going strong. Some of the older trees have been replaced, but the park service still grows apples, pears, peaches, and cherries.

The field behind the orchard is still planted with wheat or hay every year.

The owners planted many shade trees to help keep the house cool in the summer months. Otherwise, the area would look like the background of the picture above!
From John Day Fossil Beds we continued on our way toward Springfield. We knew it would be too far to go in one day so we kept our eyes open for a US Forest Service (USFS) or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campground.

We stopped for gas in Prineville and found out that besides being more expensive ($4.20), there are no self serve stations--an attendant has to pump the gas! Fortunately, propane was only $2.45! We filled up even though we were only down about 5 gallons.

We continued on to Sisters, Oregon which is named for the view of the 3 sisters mountains in the Cascade Range. About 5 miles beyond Sisters we found a USFS campground--Indian Ford. We pulled in for the night. There only 2 other campers staying the night. We parked in a pull through site which happened to be near the bathroom. That had to be the most popular bathroom in that area of Oregon! People of all ages stopped to use the facilities and then drove on! We left Indian Ford hoping to drive to Springfield for the night, but with no definite plans, as usual!