Oregon Micromineral and Fossil Trip
Lemolo Lake - Kahler Creek
Burnt Cabin Creek - Fossil
May 7-12, 2005
By Doug Merson
dmerson@wavecable.com

Page 2

The snow stayed with us until we reached Bend. It was then up to Prineville and east to the BLM campground at Mule Creek. This is near the junction of Service Creek with the John Day River. The John Day is running full as there has been 3 -4 inches of rain in the past few days. This is close to half the normal yearly amount. This is the country of juniper, ponderosa pine and sage with basalt cliffs cut into valleys by the rivers and creeks. The air is fragrant with the scent of sage and juniper. The cliffs have water streaming down them from the recent rains and the John Day is mud brown. We plan to spend two nights here before heading home. After camp is set up it is time for dinner. We are serenaded by many unseen birds during dinner. So far it has been cloudy but dry. During dinner the clouds thicken and during our after dinner walk the rains start again. It is off to bed with the hopes of a sunny day on the morrow. The music of the rapids lulls us to sleep.

Wednesday, 11 May

We awake to find the day dry but cloudy. During breakfast, a Bald Eagle is soaring overhead looking for his breakfast. We decide to head for Burnt Cabin Creek to look for zeolites. On the way we stop at Kahler Creek and spend time collecting zeolites from the road cut. There are many road cuts along the various branches of the John Day River that produce good zeolites. We find a number of good pieces to take along. A Golden Eagle is soaring above us while we collect. The walls of the cut are splashed with color from the wild flowers in bloom. Burnt Cabin Creek is a road cut north of Spray. The collecting is in the boulders below the road. We had been here on 18 May, 1980 and heard Mount Saint Helens explode. The collecting is more difficult now as you must break into the unaltered core of the boulders. It is surprising how much the rock has weathered in 25 years. We find several good boulders to break up and haul off plenty of material. While collecting we do not notice that the clouds have disappeared and the sun is out. The collecting must have been good. While eating lunch a deputy sheriff stops by to see what we are up to. He seems interested in what we are collecting. Maybe he will become a rockhound. After loading up the truck, we head back to camp. Along the way we find several promising spots to collect, but no safe place to get off the road without having to walk to far. We should have brought a backpack along. What a change for the evening, no rain gear, no gloves, just clear and warm. We enjoy the evening and spend time exploring the area around the camp.


Thursday, 12 May

The day dawns clear and bright. After eating and packing it is on to Fossil to collect fossils. We arrive at the collecting area behind the high school at 0900. It is hour before the lady shows up to take the #3.00 fee. A school employee tells us to go up and start collecting. When the lady running the dig shows up, I head down to pay our $6.00. She has a trailer set up for working with fossils and teaching groups of school kids that tour the site. She shows me some of what is available. Most of the fossils found here are leaves. Some nuts and cones can be found. A few fish bones have also been found. We collect until 1300 and take our material down for the gal to look at. You are allowed three fossils per person with rare ones being kept for research. We had dug more than we could keep so we picked the ones we wanted. The lady running the site helped ID what we had found. Until a year or two ago you could keep as much as you dug. The site was not properly managed and important finds were often damaged or lost. The site is now trying to pattern its operation after Stone Rose in Republic, Washington. We headed home about 1430 and arrived home in Port Orchard, Washington about 2130. It had been a great break from work and I am sure we have some good material. It is still in the truck as I have to find a place to put it.


We have now been busy for two days trying to tame the jungle the grew up in ur absence. The cat was very happy to have us home. The next trip, no matter how soon, is too far off. Full-size pictures of the trip may be found at http://imageevent.com/microcollector under the field trip folder. As I now have cable internet, the upload went much faster, 10 minutes instead of an hour or more.

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