Geo 890: Saber-Toothed Nimravid and Trip Outline

Cast of saber-toothed Nimravid display along the Island in Time trail, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Sheep Rock Unit. Nothing for scale, but I think box is ~3 feet on the sides. In terms of representing the area, the above, to me, is perhaps the most iconic fossil photo of the trip

Interpretive sign associated with the fossil cast above. (Open pics in new tab for larger size and readability.)

I've got this written up, and I'm going to go ahead and post it, but I need to double check and clarify a few things in the outline below, so I may make some minor changes and expansions in coming days

Day 1 (Wednesday, Sept. 7): Travel to Dayville, Oregon, stops at

1. Lost Lake to see "drain hole." There are *two* of them now.
2. Gravel quarry on back side of Hogg Rock.
3. Overlook viewing area, Prineville. (Whole trip was in OR.)
4. Roadcut of Clarno Fm. near milepost 53 on Rte 126 (Folds, faults, leaves)
5. Mascall, Picture Gorge Overlooks, 4 miles west of Dayville.
6. "Home" for four nights: house rental in Dayville.

Day 2: Exploration of two of three John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Units, Sheep Rock and Painted Hills. Stops/hikes:

1. Mascall Overlook to check out morning (vs. evening) light.
2. Blue Basin, Island in Time trail. (Photos above)
3. Foree, Story in Stone trail and Flood of Fire trail.
4. Thomas Condon Paleontology Center. (Holy Cow! My head was swimming!)
5. Visitor Center, Painted Hills Unit.
6. Red Scar Knoll trail.
7. Painted Cove trail.
8. Lower Meyers Canyon- mostly to fritter away daylight until early evening at next stop. (Outside JD Fossil Beds NM.)
9. Painted Hills Overlook Trail. (Wished we'd been there an hour later, but still awesome.)

Day 3: Return to Painted Hills Unit for morning light, then on to Clarno Unit, and Nut Beds in Fossil.

1. Painted Hills Overlook for morning light. ( Not *quite* as spectacular as evening, but still...)
2. Leaf Hill trail. (Meh)
3. Caroll Rim Trail. (OMG overwhelmingly gorgeous! For n=1->infinity, repeat.)
4. Drive to Clarno Unit, several roadside stops to puzzle out stratigraphy.
5. Clarno Unit, Geologic Time trail and Trail of Fossils
6. Fossil, OR High School, digging in famous Nut Beds- found some leaves.
7. Return to Dayville through Sheep Rock Unit. Stopped to photograph Sheep Rock. (Lighting is poor midday.)

Day 4: Baker (ophiolite) and Izee (Crazy metamorphosed and folded seafloor sediments atop Baker) Terranes.

1. Two stops in Baker Terrane on Rte. 395 just south of (City of) John Day.
2. Five stops in Izee Terrane between mileposts 11 (I think- need to check) and 15 on Rte. 395.
3. Return to John Day and explore ultramafics and associates of Baker Terrane from Forest Service roads (This had a number of stops, and is complicated. But a companion GPS'd 'em all, so I'll get better info.)
4. Home.

Day 5: Return to Corvallis. Stops at:

1. Smith Rocks State Park and a hike. I was too tired and sore to really enjoy this, misinterpreted a map, resulting in an extra mile or two of hiking, and lost my lens cap to the Crooked River. But better than I'm making it sound, plus I'd never been there before.
2. Crooked River Gorge. A nice, easy amble, with a spectacular gorge 300 feet deep, and sheer basalt walls.
3. Niagara County Park along N. Santiam River.
4. Yay! Back in Corvallis.