7/23 John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

This looked like an interesting place in Oregon on my way to Washington and east, so I went out of my way to stop here.  https://www.nps.gov/joda/index.htm   Interesting scenery on the way in because of the varied layers.   

So, who in the heck was John Day?  There is a town named after him, several roads, a couple of parks, and more.  Luckily, there was a sign in the parking lot that I am sure reduces the number of questions the rangers inside have to answer!

This is NOT another dinosaur museum.  In fact, this area contains only early mammal fossils.

I had no idea there were so many mammal quarries and that there were so many ages of mammals, as shown by the timeline at the bottom of this display.  Learned something here. No comments on the following photos as they are pretty self-explanatory.

Headed northeast to Plymouth Park, which is a Corps of Engineering campground near McNary Dam on the Columbia River.  More interesting scenery on the way, and as I get close, it changes to rolling plains.