Farewell Bend, We Will be Back!

September in Bend, OR is absolutely delightful; the summer tourists depart following Labor Day, the nights are cool and crisp and there are still many events going on every weekend. We've enjoyed Oktoberfest celebrations, the annual Roots Revival Festival, and some very good live music at the local McMenamins Old St Francis School.

The special visitor I alluded to in my last post was my daughter Chantal, who drove over from Roseburg to spend five nights with us. We loved showing her some of our favorite sights in the area.

It's impossible to drive through central Oregon on highway 97 without noticing the abundance of volcanic activity that shaped the current terrain. Newberry National Volcanic Monument, just south of Bend, is a great place to learn about the forces that created this unique landscape.

Chantal shows off a beautiful piece of obsidian on the Big Obsidian Flow, one of the highlights of a tour of
Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Love the iridescent shine on a chunk of obsidian!

There's an excellent view of the Newberry Caldera from the top of Paulina Peak.
The 17 square mile caldera contains the Big Obsidian Flow seen here.

Mother and daughter framed by the fabulous Newberry Caldera.

Newberry volcano spreads some 1,200 square miles across central Oregon and is still seismically and geothermally active. Numerous cinder cones and vents dot the landscape, one of which is Lava Butte just south of Bend and home of the Lava Lands Visitor Center. You can drive to the top of the butte and take in expansive views of the area as well as hike an interpretive trail through the 7,000 year old lava flow.

A cloud mimics steam rising from Lava Butte.

Views of the Cascade Mountains from the lava trail.

Another favorite place to explore near Bend is Smith Rock State Park. (Here's a link to my post about Smith Rock from our visit in 2013.) The scenery is stunning, the hiking can be as easy or as hard as you desire, and it's great fun to watch the rock climbers too.

Even on a week day morning there were climbers on this rock face...

Fascinating to watch!

Words are not necessary...

Here we have completed the easy trail along Crooked River and are about to head up over Misery Ridge.
Notice the pillar of rock above Chantal's left shoulder, that's Monkey Face.

There happens to be a bunch of climbers on Monkey Face on this day!

As we hike around the back of Monkey Face we got to see a climber rappelling  down.

A group of climbers scale Monkey Face while we enjoy the amazing views atop Misery Ridge.

The trail down the other side of Misery Ridge.

One of many breweries we visited during our month in central Oregon, Wild Ride Brewing was an easy stop in Redmond on our way home from Smith Rock.

We bid Chantal good bye and spent our final week in Bend exploring new-to-us places. Bessie Butte and Boyd Cave are just two of many trails accessed from China Hat Rd, just a few miles south of Crown Villa RV Resort.

Boyd Cave is a lava tube cave.

View of Horse Butte and the Three Sisters from the high desert south of Bend.

We spent one day mountain biking along the Deschutes River from one of the many trails accessed off Century Drive.

Biking along the Deschutes River.

One cool day we headed east on highway 20 to the Oregon Badlands, high desert filled with ancient junipers and lava mounds. Our destination was Flatiron Rock, an easy hike to an interesting lava flow.

Magnificent old junipers dot the landscape.

Flatiron rock is actually a quarter mile long lava moat jutting out of the surrounding desert.

Though I have no photos, I want to mention a few really tasty meals and venues we've enjoyed in Bend.

The Sparrow Bakery located in the Old Iron Works Art District on Scott Street serves up delicious baked goods; the Ocean Roll is highly recommended. Also worth a look are the unique art shops in this plaza.

Jackson's Corner restaurant was recommended to us by locals and did not disappoint. Fresh and inventive pizza, pasta and salad's are served up in a sweet rustic country-style setting. It's popular so there could be a line and a wait on busy days.

Thanks to a tip from locals we also visited the Broom Closet at McMenamin's Old St Francis School. This cool speakeasy is hidden away in the new Art House hotel building on the McMenamin's property, half the fun is finding this bar! We also discovered a secret room on the first floor of this building...

We've absolutely loved our time in Bend, September is just beautiful in central Oregon! But it's time to move on and we're currently spending a couple of days visiting Chantal and James for the last time in 2016 before pushing south for the winter.

Hanging out in a Happy Place: Bend, OR

We're spending September in Bend, OR, one of our very favorite places. Crown Villa RV Resort, a swanky RV park at the south end of town, lowers their rates in September, making autumn the perfect time to visit this lovely town. The weather is starting to feel like fall, most of the tourists have moved on and there are fewer crowds at the most popular outdoor recreation sites.

One of our favorite places to walk or hike is along the Deschutes River. There are paved trails along the river through town and beautiful single track trails along the river further out of town that go through forests and lava flows. (Here's a detailed post about the Deschutes River Trail from our stay in 2013.)

Rafters approaching the little rapids at Big Eddy.
Note the lava flows along the opposite shore.

 

Scenes like this are commonplace along the Deschutes River.

Dillon Falls tumbles through a lava chute.

Enormous Ponderosa Pine.

Steelhead Falls is reached by a short hike through juniper and ponderosa studded ancient lava beds near the rural community of Crooked River Ranch, about 30 miles north of Bend.

The Deschutes River has cut a deep path through ancient lava beds.

Steelhead Falls is small but mighty.
Looked like good fishing all along this section of river..

On a week day we were the only hikers, and just a couple of fishermen...so peaceful!

 
I'm still babying my foot due to plantar fasciitis so all of our hikes have been short and easy. We did a nice 5 mile out and back on Soda Creek trail, which could be turned into a beautiful 12 mile loop when my foot finally heals.

Crystal clear Soda Creek crosses a meadow surrounded by pine forest.

South Sister looms above the forest.

 

Devils Lake is a turquoise beauty along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway.

The whole family enjoying a Saturday paddle.

My search for easy, uncrowded hiking sites turned up Metolious Preserve. Managed by the Deschutes Land Trust, a group that works to conserve local wild lands, the Preserve was a peaceful place for an easy stroll among pines, over small streams constantly on the lookout for the deer and elk whose tracks we were following. A grouse surprised us by bursting from the scrub and patches of fall color popped against the green pines and golden grasses.

 

We met up with former fulltimers Pam and Vic who now live in Bend and shared a couple of meals and a wonderful afternoon kayaking on Elk Lake. They have a lovely home near the center of town, perfect for enjoying everything Bend has to offer.

Tasty picnic lunch with Pam and Vic.

Thanks Pam and Vic for sharing this fun afternoon with us!

We also had a fun meet up with Laurel and Eric who were in the area for the Sisters Folk Festival. Laurel writes the wonderful blog Raven and Chickadee, which caught my eye years ago for her beautiful writing style and incredible photography. We had a fun hike in Shevlin Park and a delicious Mediterranean lunch at Kebaba...next time perhaps I'll remember to take a photo!

We love this town and have all sorts of plans for our remaining two weeks, including a special visitor...stay tuned....!

Two Weeks in Portland

We spent the last two weeks of August in Portland having a blast with local friends, RV friends and a San Diego friend passing through. We even had to replace a bolt that holds the leafspring to the frame on the 5th wheel...talk about a harrowing project for the two of us to tackle! But it all worked out in the end.

We love the McMenamins "chain"; it's a company that buys up historic buildings and revamps them into bars and restaurants, some with hotel rooms and spas and movie theaters. They fill these venues with art created by local artists that represents the history of the property. A walk through any of their historical buildings is a treat, add in a delicious meal and some of their own brews or wine, or even spirits and you've got a great afternoon. Our friend Kathryn from San Diego joined us at McMenamins Kennedy School (a former elementary school).

Boiler Room Bar, much of the decor is made from old plumbing pieces.

Kathryn joined us on a day trip up the Columbia River Gorge. Although we only drove about half of one side of the Gorge, we easily saw half a dozen waterfalls, and ended the tour with a tasty brew along the Columbia River at Thunder Island Brewing, and then dinner at McMenamins Edgefield (a former county poor farm).

View of the Columbia River from Vista House.

Latourell Falls, 249 ft.

Columnar basalt.

Latourell Falls, with crazy people at the top...

Looked like a scary descent to their resting spot!

Multnomah Falls upper level.

Hans, Lisa and Kathryn!

Bridge of the Gods with stern wheeler.

Veggie garden at McMenamins Edgefield.

Another day we toured Pittock Mansion. Built in 1914, the mansion was home to one of Portland's influential families. The last of the Pittock family moved out in 1958 and the house was heavily damaged by a major storm in 1962. When developers proposed demolishing the building (the last historic mansion still standing in Portland) to build a subdivision, a grassroots effort was successful in helping the city buy the property and refurbish it for the public to enjoy in 1964.

Pittock Mansion

City view from Pittock Mansion. On a clear day Mt Hood would hold center stage in the distance.

St. Johns Bridge

We enjoyed many other outings during our stay in Portland such as the Organic Beer Festival (52 organic brews to choose from!), several evenings of live music, and a visit with a surprise RV neighbor, Suzanne of Take to the Highway fame and her brother Don. We always enjoy a stay in this vibrant city, even though the traffic can be annoying.  ;-)

We've now moved on to Bend...a happy place for us! We'll see what kind of shenanigans we can get up to during our month in beautiful Bend!