The flowers swayed with the soothing evening breeze blowing up the ridge. It was a welcome respite on that hot dry afternoon atop a ridge in a remote corner of Oregon. But the heat didn't matter, for the landscape was enchanting: an undulating hillscape made special by the multi-colored layers of various metals exposed in the eroding landscape. Spots and lines of black, red, brown and pink made their appearance at various levels along the multitude of ridges. And even after spending an entire day capturing different perspectives of this unique geology, I never got tired of this captivating landscape.

The Painted Hills region of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is one of the few places were nature's palette is as visible as it is here. And with the late spring wildflowers adding to the kaleidoscope of color that is this region, it was quite a memorable trip to this unique region.

Painted Hills
OR USA