John Day Fossil Beds, a US National Monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon and located within the John Day River basin. The park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived in the region between the Eocene Epoch, about 45 million years ago and the Miocene Epoch, about 5 million years ago.

In 1864, Thomas Condon, who was a missionary and amateur geologist, recognized the importance of the fossils in the valley and reported their existence to the world. It was in 1975 when the river basin became a national monument

There are three geographically separate units which are: Sheep Rock, Painted Hills, and Clarno.

These three units cover a total of 13,944 acres, which area are semi-desert shrublands, riparian zones, and colorful badlands.

About 210,000 people visited the park in 2016 to engage in outdoor recreation or to visit the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center or the James Cant Ranch Historic District.

Thomas Condon Paleontology Center

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans in the 19th century, the John Day river basin was frequented by the Sons of Hadoram, more specifically, the Sahaptin language indigenous people who hunted, fished, and gathered roots and berries in this region.

With the advent of road-building to and within the John Day river valley, settlers began to established farms, ranches, and a few small towns along the river and its tributaries.

Bates State Park (44.5925230, -118.5098305)

Clyde Holiday State Park

Priest Hole Recreation Site (44.7390674, -120.2716386)

Ochoco Divide NF Campground (44.5006040, -120.3871207)

John Day River

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

Very comfortable sleep last night with the thermostat inside the Windjammer set to fifty degrees. I awake and go directly to the men′s room for a hot shower.

At eleven this morning, I am on the road and drive first north on the high desert and find that Newberry Volcanic National Monument is still closed, so I head east towards the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

Although there are few actual fossil beds to point my camera at, and far fewer actual park locations to drive a car to to look into a hole in the ground to see fossils, there are three units of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument which are spread out over a very large area of north central Oregon.

These three units of this national monument are situated somewhere between Coastal mountain range and the Blue mountain range in eastern Oregon.

The path traveled to drive to these three very remote sites is quite remarkable indeed with a wide variety of scenes, landscapes and sights along the way.

Sometimes, in the live of a wayfarer, his journey is to a remarkable destination.

Other times, a wayfarer takes a remarkable journey.