Day 19: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and Bend

Just 30 minutes beyond Clyde Holliday State Park lies the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, the visitor center for John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. One wonders, who was this John Day after whom a river, a town, a National Monument, and somehow the whole area were named. A failure according to the values ​​of the Wild West. As a young man, he participated in the Pacific fur Company's overland expedition from 1811 to Astoria. Along the way, he was attacked, robbed, and abandoned by Indians, then found and rescued. About that, he lost his mind. The exhibition is worth seeing and is about the fossils found here and the formation of the geological formations. The tasks in the Junior Park Ranger program are too difficult for Erik and I can hardly translate them. Erik still receives his badge, he made an effort after all. We drive a short distance further and then choose a 1.6 km hiking trail. The route passes a green-blue rock made of clay sandstone. Due to the rare rain last night, the little stream turns the same color. It feels like clay and looks a bit like sand castles. Three fossils are available as replicas and displayed at stations. Then you reach the end, surrounded by blue-green clay formations. Looks good and then we walk back. Now an hour's drive and to the 2 of the 3 formations. However, we will only visit 2, the 3rd is not on our route. The drive is curvy and almost deserted. Sometimes a car passes by and we pass through 2 towns. Then 7 kilometers beyond the main road we reach the Painted Hills. Layers formed in the most diverse colors through different eras, which were washed away over time and formed red-yellow-green hills. We see a very beautiful picture. We hike 400 meters to the viewpoint and admire what nature has created here. In conversation with the ranger, we find out that she speaks German very well. She was an exchange student in Osnabrück and studied German. We have a nice conversation and find out that about 10,000 rangers work in 400 national parks. They are civil servants and have 3 weeks of vacation per year. Not that much. Since she started the job at under 30 years old, she can retire at 57. Not bad.
After chatting, we walk along a small path at the Painted Hills. The rock is very soft and must not be stepped on, as the uniqueness would be destroyed in no time. We start the last stretch at 2 p.m. We want to stay in Bend, which means another 2 hours of driving. We are in the middle of nowhere, the guidebook says that not even the residents of Oregon know this landscape. After 1 hour, the landscape changes. It goes uphill and pine forests decorate the area. Gradually, the surrounding area begins to be settled and we realize that we will reach Bend soon. David has been crying for half an hour, Erik annoys every few minutes, asking when we will finally arrive, and René hasn't smoked for 2 hours. We head to the campground recommended in the guidebook. Everyone is relieved when we arrive. Then the shock, $70 for one night. The place has nothing special, no pool, no playground, and is right on the main road. But I can't handle driving any further. So I pay the high price. The other places in town probably aren't really cheaper. At least I hope so. There is a supermarket around the corner and we pick up a few things. Then I want to do laundry. There are 2 washing machines and 2 dryers available. Unfortunately, the laundry room is only open until 9 p.m. Once I have to wait for 25 minutes, leave the laundry and come back later. A woman has cut in line and cheekily asks if I also want to do laundry. I'm extremely angry because now there is no time left. So I have to walk across the entire campground with the laundry and barely manage to dry it by 9 p.m. Then we sit outside, our kids sleep, and relax.