It pays to be flexable...

When we were at my niece's, her husband asked me if we had ever been to the Painted Hills in Eastern Oregon.  I had never heard of them.  He likes to look up places to go hiking and came across images of them on his iPad, so showed them to me.  We checked out where they were and figured out it wasn't that much out of our way to go check them out - so we decided "why not?"   Adjusted out route, a jig and a jog,  and found a campground about 45 minutes from where they seemed to be and made reservations!

Once settled in, off we went!  Wow, it was worth the the trip!  They truly are beautiful.  Sometimes places don't live up to the pictures people post because they are seasonal, or it's after the rain, or the time of day, or what have you .  We were there at probably the worst possible time one could be - late summer, mid-day, full sun, and still the colors were outstanding!  I can only imagine how incredible it would be in springtime when the wildflowers would all be in bloom as well.

The town of Mitchell - isn't really.  It's about six buildings, one being a cafe of sorts, but I wouldn't count on it.  I was glad we had made a picnic lunch and ate it at the small ranger station.  All that actually is, is a small picnic area with trees and a few picnic tables along with a couple of bathrooms.  So bring your own water, food and plenty of gas for the day if you come!

Its little reminders like this, when people tell you about a place, or you hear about it, that I'm so glad we are flexible and can just adjust our schedule and our route, because you just never know what wonderful treasures are just around the corner!

 

Catching up in Arizona,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/