Blue Basin from loop trail
I hurried to take hike to the southern side of the Blue Basin loop trail, to catch the last sun of a winter's day, lighting up the spectacular Blue Basin landscape. The Foree Area is in the upper center portion of this photograph.
Friday 3 Feb 2012 fog as thick as potato soup hugged the road over Eastern Oregon from Biggs to Spray, Oregon. Then the sun broke through. Great day for a hike!
There are three units of the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument: Sheep Rock; Clarno; and Painted Hills. My wife and I stopped and hiked at the Painted Hills and Clarno unit in December of 2011.
These photos were taken on hikes in the Sheep Rock Unit: First two short walks in the Foree Area; then a 3 mile loop trail in the Blue Basin and a short up and back hike in the middle of the loop of the Blue Basin hike (called The Island in Time hike).
After the hiking it was a quick trip over to the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center to look around and learn there (I learned a lot).
No other hikers were on any of the trails but at the Foree Area there were two scientists down on hands and knees, looking for, finding, carefully removing, and using GPS and other modern methods, listing where each and every fossil is found and what type of strata.
One of the scientists (who turned out to be Joshua X. Samuels), stopped his field work and walked over for a visit. Joshua is the Museum Curator and head paleontologist at John Day. He got his B.S. in Idaho and PHd in L.A.
What a bright articulate man he was to talk to. He fielded every question I came up with and I felt privileged to be able to learn so much standing right in the middle of the area where some of the current field work is being done.
One side note, is that there was a poster placed at the trail head of the Blue Basin hike alerting hikers to the "active presence" of a cougar. I didn't see any track or other signs of a big cat, but it would have been great to have caught sight of him.
I hope you enjoy the photos from this hike. The winter weather was terrific, and if you haven't yet visited all three units of the John Day Fossil Beds, I encourage you to do so.
Note: I had always thought that the blue green colors of the John Day Fossil Beds formations, was a result of copper content (Cu) BUT a helpful lady ranger at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center was kind enough to correct me, as she say she has done with MANY other (that made me feel better).
The pleasing aqua marine color of the John Day Fossil Beds formation is not because of any copper content but of "Celadonite" ~ pronounced Sell-a-don-ite (al, si,o,h,k, mg,fe,oh) - a high iron content, blue-green clay mineral. Never too old to learn something new.
Comments and faves
merrittglenn (4 months ago | reply)
Love the variety of colors. I think i've come across the same blue clay around Succor Creek.
but not as abundant as in this area..
Would very much would like to see this place.
oldmantravels (4 months ago | reply)
Hi Glenn - - Just got home from several days hiking with my wife over on the Oregon Coast. Quite a contrast between the warm, already signs of spring west coast and the topography and weather of Eastern Oregon. Do put the Blue Basin hike on your list though. Your entire family would enjoy that hike. No dinosaur fossils for the kids though. All the fossils of the John Day Fossil Beds were created after "dino time". OMT
merrittglenn (4 months ago | reply)
I've come across I few pics of Blue basin in the past. I wasn't aware of the age of the fossil beds. It is on my perpetual hiking list.
My kids are small enough they are happy as long as they get to stretch there little legs.
Hope to meet up with you in somewhere down Utah way.
merrittglenn (4 months ago | reply)
I'll be looking for your costal pics.
oldmantravels (4 months ago | reply)
Thanks Glenn - - Coast photos will be organized for posting tomorrow. Not many but always glad to share some hiking and road trip photos with Flickr friends. OMT