Family Road Trip

A couple of weeks ago we drove to Boise, ID to visit my sister and her family. Instead of taking I-84 (for the millionth time) we cut across central Oregon and visited the Painted Hills on our way over. Something to break up the usual 7 hour trip.

The hills are striped with different colors of clay making the entire landscape look like a water color painting.

It was hot, hot, hot... but the sky was intensely blue which made the red clay seem even more vibrant.  Our little explorers found the whole thing very interesting.

There is a short 1/4 mile trail that goes around one of the small red hills.  Easy walking and matches the attention span of Mister e.

The colors were amazing!  One minute you are driving through dried grass and scrub and the next hills swirling with color come into view.

The hills were very dry so the surface was all pebbly and cracked.  The sign said that when it rains the hills become smooth with the cracks sealed.  That would be worth the drive to see!  It's about 4 hours from our house in Portland, so that trip will have to wait for a bit.