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Rekindling Hope and Vision for our Nation's Youth through Film, Interactive Media and the Internet | |||||
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Rekindling Hope and Vision for our Nation's Youth through Film, Interactive Media and the Internet | |||||
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Central Oregon contains a large area with a river and several towns named after an early American trapper. In the early 1800s, John Day and another trapper got separated from their party while traveling along the Columbia River at the mouth of the Mau Hau River. They were taken by surprise by a group of First Nations people and deprived of their clothing. Eventually they were rescued, and the river was renamed after him. Later on, the towns of John Day and Dayville were named after him as they sit on the John Day River. It is believed that John Day never in his entire life set foot in any of these inland areas that bear his name. The John Day River winds through this area in which is found the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. This is comprised of three distinct areas of interest, which are rich in fossil finds and unique geological formations. Fossil Camp, an outdoor Creation camping experience designed and run by IMM's Jim Au, took place in the early spring. The five campers consisted of Jim and his four children, Vivian (11), Madelaine (9), Clarissa (6), and Daniel (4). The weather was unseasonably cold and wet, with night time temperatures near freezing. Camping conditions were not ideal, which made the areas of interest relatively unpopulated during spring break. Each day, the campers visited a different part of the national monument. The first visit was to the Sheep Rock Unit, which contains a fossil-rich formation known as Blue Basin (as pictured above). This contained some replicas of significant fossil finds made in this very place, including a tortoise and a saber-tooth tiger. The next outing took place at the Clarno Unit, which contains some magnificent inland palisades. The park brochure speaks of a petrified forest which is embedded in these cliffs; the campers discovered only two logs forming a cross which are clearly visible. This was a disappointment since the literature's mention of a petrified forest peaked everyone's interest. Regardless of that, this was a stunning hike, even though very short, about a half-mile round trip. Their final outing was to the Painted Hill Unit. It snowed and rained heavily on this day, so viewing of the uniquely colored hills was not optimal, but the campers braved the thick, soupy mud. On the day they visited the Clarno Unit, they also spent time in the town of Fossil, OR, in which there is an area open to the public located behind the high school athletic field. They recovered a number of well-formed leaf fossils in that hill and enjoyed meeting other fossil hunters from around the region. On this day, a favorite activity was skipping rocks on the John Day River in the town of Spray, OR. Due to aberrant weather, a planned outing on the final day to a site with a wide reputation for high fossil density was canceled; by the time the campers would have reached the site, it was covered in about a foot of snow. Each day involved driving relatively long distances from camp to the target area of interest. Some of this driving time was used for reading aloud the book "The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible" by Paul S. Taylor. Activities at the camp included meal preparation, cleanup duty, free time (hide-and-seek using FRS radios), hiking along the river, camp fires and watching DVDs, including "Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution, Part 2." In addition, each camper had access to a digital camera. Several of the cheap cameras proved to be ineffective in capturing the moment, yet this still provided each one the ability to record this great and memorable outdoors experience. A special outing was made on day 3. The campers drove 140 miles to Smith Rock State Park near Redmond, OR, located nearly half-way back to Portland. They engaged in a challenging 4-hour hike circling the Smith Rock formation. This series of crags attracts climbers from around the world. In contrast, the campers stayed on a well marked trail and occasionally spotted rock climbers on the towering walls. The most grueling part of the hike came right at the beginning, on a portion that switchbacked its way up to Misery Ridge. Once atop the ridge, this afforded excellent views of the Crooked River, Cascade mountains and surrounding area. Inspite of the difficulty involved, all five campers completed the hike without anyone needing to be carried by anyone else. A photo below illustrates the campers' exuberance and energy remaining at the end of the hike (click here). An effort prior to the hike to equip each camper with food and water really paid off. A special side trip was made to view up close actual First Nations petroglyphs made in Picture Gorge on the John Day River. These hand paintings on the hard rock walls are not reliably dated, but estimated to be several hundred years old. What did
the campers learn during these 6 days?
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