John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

To celebrate my 52nd birthday, a milestone that we’ve aptly named 26x2, and as a cancer survivor who embraces every extra trip around the sun with gratitude … we visited one of Oregon’s 7 Wonders, and also a National Park Servicer Unit … The Painted Hills at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument!

As a former nod to my career in advertising, I must say that the Painted Hills has the best teaser campaign. The build up to the park is epic indeed! Words cannot describe the beauty and I loved sharing this experience with my boys.

I have now visited three of the four NPS Units in Oregon … and all of them in the past year. As a lover of the NPS parks and as an Oregonian, I find this wonky because I have visited so many other parks around the USA prior to those in my home state. However, I have talked to so many friends that have not been to Crater Lake, nor the other sites, and I love encouraging them to get out and explore in nature.

A reminder to all NPS Unit Explorers, if you adventure to a park and do not visit the Visitor Center, you can most often send a request to them afterwards to request your official stamp. I write a nice letter and include a picture of my visit along with a self-addressed and stamped return envelope. During the pandemic when cleaning out a storage area, I found some vintage stamps from my wedding invitations, so I use those to make the request a little more fun.