Days Inn Bend Or

We drive alongside the Clackamas River, so beautiful we run out of adjectives as we point out to each other the views we want to share. Driving up towards the Cascades we see Mt. Hood in the distance, alone and majestic. At 4800 feet we drive through Santiam Pass and start the long road down, final destination Bend. We set up camp in Tumalo State Park. It is the weekend, there are so many people in the state parks we pass, we decide to stay two nights right here.

... we took a quick break, then arrived at the fairly rustic Riverhouse Resort for dinner and lodging. They upgraded our room to a "jacuzzi suite (though it wasn't one you'd want to use) and were kind to give us a bottle of champagne to celebrate our 14th anniversary. We took a drink coupon and had a great meal of filet mignon in the restaurant, overlooking the Deschutes River and, somewhat later, the full moon.

Bend, Oregon, United States lisajagmin

We stopped in La Pine and walked.

We stopped in the Volcanic Monument.

We walked on the Lava Fields.

We drove through Bend, Redmond & Madras.

Past Warm Springs, the car overheated and we pulled over.

We waited for the car to cool down.

We, slowly, drove up the mountain to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood.

We went to the Crook County Museum.

We drove north into the Ochoco's.

We went to the Painted Hills, John Day Fossil Beds.

We drove through Mitchell and failed to find food.

We drove through Dayville and failed to find food.

We had food in Mt. Vernon.

We drove down the S. Fork of the John Day river and slept near Izee.

We drove to Bend.

We drove up Pilot Butte.

We walked around Drake Park and Bend downtown.

We went to a comic shop.

We had tea at Townshend's.

We met my old friends and walked to Old Mill district.

We ate American Chinese food.

We watched a cinema.

We drove back to Prineville.

We had a couple family dinner's.

We walked around Prineville.

We went to the court-house.

We went to the round-up at the park.

We sat in the yard and watched 4th of July fireworks.

We drove up to the Prineville Reservoir and watched deer.

We traveled to Bend intermittently.

... the sencond night. On the first, they made us "Curry Copia," Lynn's dream business of setting out a curry stand at the entrance to Smith. We'd buy it for sure! They made us the most authentic green curry, barbequed chicken in the best peanut sauce, and Tom Yum soup. Man were we lucky! For those of you who might be ...

... off. Avis and Andy (see the Tahoe entry) had been kind enough to put us in touch with friends of theirs who live in Bend, Oregon. Late in the afternoon we made it to Bend and to the home of Shane and Julie. Drinks and dinner ensued, and we learned about life in Bend. It's a tough life. A 20 minute drive to the nearest ski slope for downhill and cross country ...

... the weather wasn't too bad. The wind was blowing pretty hard and visibility at the top of the lifts was low, but the snow was decent and there were no crowds. However, every subsequent run the fog at the top of the mountain crept further toward the bottom. After taking several runs we decided to make a quick stop for coffee to get a break from the wind and fog. Our next ...

... Sara picked a huge bucket of wild blackberries and treated us to cobbler that evening. We liked it so much we are planning to spend next summer there. This visit allowed us to reconnect with my sister Sara and her daughter Meghann.. Sara is still dealing with the loss of her husband Henry, who died of a heart attack this past spring. She misses him daily, but seems to be doing fine. Meghann, 25, is pretty, outgoing, and hard-working, and has just become a licensed real ...