Journey Day 6

The Painted Hills - another amazing landscape that seems like a moonscape in a way. These bands of color, the red in wetter Oligocene climates, and the yellow when it wad drier, date back 33 million years ago. The colors change with the time of day, year, and what is happening overhead with clouds and sun - duhhhhhhh! So we were there during the middle hot part of the day - not ideal but still astounding!

There is an area away from this photo called Leaf Fossil Hill which looked like a pile of rubble and was fenced off with signs asking folks not to take fossils - how trusting! Something about leaf fossils that I am in love with - I have seen them before but somehow now I "get" it. This area was also a jungle like environment back 33 million years ago.

Highlights:
1. Not much driving - really only may 45 miles today.
2. All I described above.
3. Great campsite just off the highway on a pass, so high and a nice breeze and quiet. Stars startling again, only this time through a canopy of Jeffrey Pine which smell like vanilla.
4. (And since I am writing the next morning - a car wash, and free coffee and a fabulous little coffee shop celebrating the year anniversary! I am going to stick a photo of the gals who are WIRED in blip folio now.