One of my favorite places that hardly anyone seems to have heard of is Oregon's John Day National Monument, which I returned to during my Oregon 2004 trip. Its three main units preserve landscapes and fossil beds created millions of years ago by massive volcanic eruptions that covered what is now eastern Washingon and Oregon. Ash deposits and minerals at Sheep Rock and Painted Hills have resulted in color-streaked claystone hills. The hardened lahar flows at Clarno are less colorful, but feature fossils and arches. Small enough ... (more)