A lot has happened since I last posted...I got a 25 out of 26 on my tree test, and I went on the fossil hunting trip...
I got up early on Saturday and mom took me to the HR pool where I met the guides and the group. We took two different vans and headed out, stopping in the Dalles to pick up a man with his 3rd grade daughter. We went from Maupin to Fossil on one heck of a winding road which really put me out of the mood to eat lunch. We stopped at a great rock formation called the Palisades, where we met up with a couple from Boise, Idaho, and looked for fossils in Fossil. There was a slope behind the school there and I ended up finding one small plant fossil-a thin leaf. We drove a lot, and stopped frequently to get out and look at rock formations.
Outside of Mitchell, it started raining hard. We got to do an hour long stop up this little road in the forest and I found some great fossils-leaves, branches, etc. Also found a huge petrified stump and I collected some petrified wood pieces. We finally went to the hotel, which was a quaint little place in Mitchell. An unusual note-right across from the hotel there was an old gas station, and behind that, a brown colored black bear in a cage! The owner of the cafe and hotel owned the bear. There was also a small store by the name of "Antiques and Needful Things."
We ate at the cafe, and that was about it for day 1, as it was really late and we had to get up early the next morning.
The next day we all had coffee (except me) and donuts-I had a cinammon and sugar one, and it was absolutely delicious 'cause they are hand made right there at the cafe. We headed out of Mitchell and saw some wild turkeys and deer. We stopped at the Painted Hills, which are gorgeous-bright red and orange swirls that literally look painted on. Also got breakfast at an isolated B&B way up in the hills, owned by an airplane mechanic. There was an airstrip that seemed to continue till the very edge of a cliff.
After breakfast, we went on a long hike out in the sagebrush and juniper trees hoping to find some fossilized mammal bones. There was a big cave in the face of a hillside that I decided not to go in because it looked a bit precarious getting there. We all searched the slopes for fossils, a few found some pieces of bone. Our guide from the area found some huge teeth from some extinct herbivore sticking out of a slope. He was going to have the local paleontologist take a look at.
After the hike, we went to the Visitor's Center where there were many fossils on display from the John Day area: three types of saber tooth cats, entelodonts (the skull alone was over 2.5 feet long), oreodonts, the dawn horse, camels, rhinoceros, early dogs, and bears. Pretty amazing stuff.
On the way home, we went through Condon, where there were dozens of wind machines. We got back to Hood River around 7:30, and I still hadn't written my story. I knew what it was going to be about, but I still hadn't eaten dinner or washed my hair. I started writing and didn't get it done, so I opted to sleep in (had gotten up at 5:30 that morning) and skip English. I still need to finish the story and I'll turn it in tomorrow. I feel rather guilty, but I just didn't have time during the trip.
Well, that is quite the long post. Throughout the trip our guides discussed creationism and evolutionism and how the landscape formations supported the idea of creationism. That was interesting.
I suppose I better go and get that story done now.
I got up early on Saturday and mom took me to the HR pool where I met the guides and the group. We took two different vans and headed out, stopping in the Dalles to pick up a man with his 3rd grade daughter. We went from Maupin to Fossil on one heck of a winding road which really put me out of the mood to eat lunch. We stopped at a great rock formation called the Palisades, where we met up with a couple from Boise, Idaho, and looked for fossils in Fossil. There was a slope behind the school there and I ended up finding one small plant fossil-a thin leaf. We drove a lot, and stopped frequently to get out and look at rock formations.
Outside of Mitchell, it started raining hard. We got to do an hour long stop up this little road in the forest and I found some great fossils-leaves, branches, etc. Also found a huge petrified stump and I collected some petrified wood pieces. We finally went to the hotel, which was a quaint little place in Mitchell. An unusual note-right across from the hotel there was an old gas station, and behind that, a brown colored black bear in a cage! The owner of the cafe and hotel owned the bear. There was also a small store by the name of "Antiques and Needful Things."
We ate at the cafe, and that was about it for day 1, as it was really late and we had to get up early the next morning.
The next day we all had coffee (except me) and donuts-I had a cinammon and sugar one, and it was absolutely delicious 'cause they are hand made right there at the cafe. We headed out of Mitchell and saw some wild turkeys and deer. We stopped at the Painted Hills, which are gorgeous-bright red and orange swirls that literally look painted on. Also got breakfast at an isolated B&B way up in the hills, owned by an airplane mechanic. There was an airstrip that seemed to continue till the very edge of a cliff.
After breakfast, we went on a long hike out in the sagebrush and juniper trees hoping to find some fossilized mammal bones. There was a big cave in the face of a hillside that I decided not to go in because it looked a bit precarious getting there. We all searched the slopes for fossils, a few found some pieces of bone. Our guide from the area found some huge teeth from some extinct herbivore sticking out of a slope. He was going to have the local paleontologist take a look at.
After the hike, we went to the Visitor's Center where there were many fossils on display from the John Day area: three types of saber tooth cats, entelodonts (the skull alone was over 2.5 feet long), oreodonts, the dawn horse, camels, rhinoceros, early dogs, and bears. Pretty amazing stuff.
On the way home, we went through Condon, where there were dozens of wind machines. We got back to Hood River around 7:30, and I still hadn't written my story. I knew what it was going to be about, but I still hadn't eaten dinner or washed my hair. I started writing and didn't get it done, so I opted to sleep in (had gotten up at 5:30 that morning) and skip English. I still need to finish the story and I'll turn it in tomorrow. I feel rather guilty, but I just didn't have time during the trip.
Well, that is quite the long post. Throughout the trip our guides discussed creationism and evolutionism and how the landscape formations supported the idea of creationism. That was interesting.
I suppose I better go and get that story done now.
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