On a blistering hot day, we left Clyde Holliday—Russ hoping to make it to Mitchell and the legendary Spok’n Bike Hostel, and me hoping to find a spot at Lake Walton in the Ochoco National Forest. Along the way, I made a stop at the John Day Fossil Beds and Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, just outside of Dayville.
The drive, through Picture Gorge and over Sheep Rock summit, was so amazing that I nearly forgot the heat. At the center I took a short hike to an overlook above the center to stretch our legs, then put the dogs in the camper with the vent open and the windows closed against the heat (it was still cool from the AC we’d been running up until our departure). Even so, I could barely get through the exhibits before people were reporting dogs “dangerously overheating” outside. They were barking, as per usual, but otherwise fine. I went back out through the gauntlet of disapproving stares and got back on the road.
I should say that the exhibits were very interesting, and divided into the major paleontological eras in which fossils have been found. Most of central Oregon is rich in fossils—the three separate areas of the John Day Fossil Beds only cover a tiny segment. You could watch paleontologists at work at the Condon Center, though having worked in archaeology, I knew there was only so long you wanted to watch someone painstakingly chipping away at a rock matrix with dental picks and tooth brushes.
Leaving the fossil beds, the heat just slammed down, and I quickly abandoned my idea of stopping at the Painted Rocks area and hiking in to get pictures. Instead, I headed to Walton Lake, hoping the Subaru wouldn’t overheat and that I could get a site there. Indeed, none of the reservable sites were available; I was aiming for one of the non-reservable sites.
The first camp area looked crowded, so I headed around the lake to the sites on the far side. And there, close to the toilets, was the perfect, shaded site! I quickly backed up the camper, leveled it, opened the windows to air it out, then unhitched the car to drive back to the fee station and pay for two nights. Success!!
Well, not quite. On my return, I saw the ‘Reserved’ tag I’d somehow missed the first time around. So I had to undo everything and set off in search again. Fortunately, I found an open site just three places down. Not as much shade, but…. I set up camp, put out my site tag (which has the wrong site # on it) and decided I’d let the rangers figure it out.
And then it was time for lunch. Now all I have to do is wait half an hour until it’s safe to take a dip in the lake (do parents still do that?)—the first body of water I’ve found out west that isn’t pure, icy snow melt.
Whew, it’s hot! Hope Russ is OK. No cell service here.
P.S.: the lake was fabulous!