Geo 730: September 15, Day 623: Cheshire Cat

I've already posted a number of items about the Cheshire Cat Quarry in the Quartzville area; more on that in a moment. But when I was up there earlier this summer, I wanted to get a photo of the contact with something for scale. Unfortunately, the light wasn't good, and I didn't notice at the time, but the photo is poorly focused as well. However, the contact between the hackley-jointed basalt and the underlying buried soil (paleosol) is evident to Bobby's left- your right. That soil sits atop the older, hydrothermally altered rock that characterizes most of this area.

(Click the photo to open full-size)

Above is a panorama showing why I refer to this as the "Cheshire Cat Quarry." It's a smile without a cat! Nearly two years ago I posted this for Earth Science Week to set the stage for a puzzle... "What will we see when we cross the road?" See that post and the following for clues; see if you can solve it before reading the last two posts below.
Followup, Oct. 18: Clue 3
Followup, Oct 19 AM: Clue 4
Followup, Oct 19 PM: Clues 5 and 6 
Followup, Oct 20 noonish: Clue 7 and a Question 
Followup, Oct 20 PM: A Sketch of the Quarry Area
Followup, Oct 21: About Clue 2...
Followup, Oct 21: We Can Haz A Winner!
Followup, Oct 21: The Whole Story 

I've tried to avoid reusing photos for the "Geo" series, so I won't be posting any more shots from this spot- nor this area, for the time being. This has traditionally been my last stop in the Quartzville area before returning to Corvallis. Tomorrow, on to some new area, which I haven't chosen yet. I have a number of options, though. We'll see.

Photo unaltered. June 14, 2014. FlashEarth Location.