Even without the spectacle of a total solar eclipse, the Painted Hills of Oregon’s John Day Fossil Beds National Monument are a striking piece of high desert. Scroll down for photos of the total solar eclipse. Click here for a total Painted Hills/eclipse gallery.

Finally getting back to the eclipse, August 21: On the Path of Totality, total solar eclipse, Painted Hills, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon. The top two photos are when the eclipse was total, but there was a lot more to see: the sudden gathering over a few days (and especially the night before) of an instant village of a few thousand people camped out on the arid, sage-brush land around the Painted Hills; the drop in temperatures as the moon began to cross in front of the sun; the sudden cool twilight at totality; cheers, applause, whistles, and then the return of light and warmth. Click here for a Painted Hills and eclipse gallery.