Andy, you goonie!

Painted Hills in John Day National Monument

Sheep Rocks at John Day National Monument
Sunset on Oregon Coast

John Day Fossil Beds are fossil beds whose sedimentary rocks preserve a 40 million year record of plant and animal life. There are three units in the area. 1) Clarno Unit; 2) Painted Hills Unit; and 3) Sheep Rock Unit. In the Clarno Nut Beds, there are more than 300 plant species. The Painted Hills Overlook you can see how the weathering of volcanic ash under varying climatic regimes resulted in vividly-hued rock layers of red, pink, bronze, tan, and black. This was by far my favorite of the fossil beds.
One day on our 5 days off, I drove to the Oregon Coast. I visited Astoria where Goonies was filmed. While there, I took a hike up to the column and walked up the 164 stairs to a nice 360 view.
I then made my way down to Seaside. Got out and walked along the main shopping strip and walked along the boardwalk and beach. That night, I watched the sunset in Manzanita and on one of the viewpoints on HWY 101.