Phoenix Inn And Suites Bend

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 decided to spend the night in Bend and found a place to stay online before we left our Hampton Inn. Stopped by Costco (again!) to gas up before we left town, then took highway 84 West past the Columbia River, Mt. Hood, and a huge re-planted forest from the Patterson exit. On 97 South we were on the Scenic Byway Journey Through Time. We passed the Moro State High Football Champs notice, then in Grass Valley (a tiny ...

We stopped in La Pine and walked.<br><br>We stopped in the Volcanic Monument.<br><br>We walked on the Lava Fields.<br><br>We drove through Bend, Redmond &amp; Madras.<br><br>Past Warm Springs, the car overheated and we pulled over.<br><br>We waited for the car to cool down.<br><br>We, slowly, drove up the mountain to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood.<br>

We went to the Crook County Museum.<br><br>We drove north into the Ochoco's.<br><br>We went to the Painted Hills, John Day Fossil Beds.<br><br>We drove through Mitchell and failed to find food.<br><br>We drove through Dayville and failed to find food.<br><br>We had food in Mt. Vernon.<br><br>We drove down the S. Fork of the John Day river and slept near Izee.

We drove to Bend.<br><br>We drove up Pilot Butte.<br><br>We walked around Drake Park and Bend downtown.<br><br>We went to a comic shop.<br><br>We had tea at Townshend's.<br><br>We met my old friends and walked to Old Mill district.<br><br>We ate American Chinese food.<br><br>We watched a cinema.<br><br>We drove back to Prineville.

We had a couple family dinner's.<br><br>We walked around Prineville.<br><br>We went to the court-house.<br><br>We went to the round-up at the park.<br><br>We sat in the yard and watched 4th of July fireworks.<br><br>We drove up to the Prineville Reservoir and watched deer.<br><br>We traveled to Bend intermittently.<br>

... 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 ...

I'm trying to soak up all the beauty that Bend has to offer. Ironically this area is so full of natural beauty my quest could take a lifetime. Not a bad problem to have if you ask me! To begin my exploration of the area I decided to take a hint from the Bend Visitor's Center and hike Tumalo Falls. Lucky for me, my room mate Matt has some time off ...

... middle of nowhere literally covered in sneakers, boots, thongs, - you name it but every kind of shoe under the sun! No hint of what the whole idea was but we couldn't resist stopping and gawking at the strange sight. We stopped n bend and stayed at the most exclusive hotel in the area - well apparently it is known as being so - and promptly made ourselves look like a couple of nincompoops after we had to go back to the reception and tell them we couldn't get back ...

... the road, ate mysterious food and saw the world from a whole new view. He may actually be going back if a proposal he wrote up is accepted for him to travel and document what needs to be done and what's already being done so the Red Cross can be more effective. I couldn't be more proud of him and both of us are excited to see how God will use our respective experiences and put us to work as a team in the future!