If you think the colorful landscape of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon is interesting, just wait until you see what’s hidden among the unique rock formations. The erosion that created the painted hills and deep ravines also revealed one of the longest records of evolutionary change on the continent. On the park’s 14,000 acres, scientists have uncovered fossils of plants and animals dating back from 5 million to 44 million years old. If each time period recorded here is a page in a book, John Day Fossil Beds holds an entire chapter of Earth’s history. Photo by Lucie Jiraskova (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Check out this peaceful scene at Table Rock Wilderness in Oregon for International Day of Forests. See old growth Douglas fir and western hemlock along four terrific trails as you hike up to the “fortress” of Table Rock. Breathe in the rich, forest air and remember the poem by Robert Frost, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep.

And miles to go before I sleep.” Photo by Bureau of Land Management, @mypubliclands.

Happy first day of Spring! Let’s welcome the season with a blanket of wildflowers at Carrizo Plain National Monument in California. Only a few hours from Los Angeles, Carrizo Plain offers visitors a chance to be alone with nature. Prominent features of the monument include the white alkali flats of Soda Lake, vast open grasslands and a broad plain rimmed by mountains. When conditions are right, numerous wildflowers can carpet the valley floor, creating a beautiful, but temporary landscape of color. Photo by Curtis Kautzer (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).