"Come with me to a place that we don't know" - Pete Yorn We drove all night and saw less than 5 cars along the highway in the middle of Oregon. We pulled into the Painted Hills around midnight and parked at the trailhead for the Lookout. The next morning, I woke up at 5am to make sure I could watch the sun rise from the East. I was shocked at the alien beauty of the hills and spent the next 3 hours walking up and down the ridge in amazement. Even more amazing was the fact that I was the only one taking in this beautiful sight. Not one other soul in the park to witness another day beginning in the John Day Painted Hills.

Martian landscape. Looking like gigantic ant hills, these painted hills were created over 30 million years ago by volcanic activity. The area continues to be one of the most active fossil research sites in the world.