Red Lion Bend North

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.

... town) we saw a very old man pitch forking hay into a trailer by the side of the road. We laughed at an advertisement for "Lock &amp; Load Towing", and just outside Shaniko we saw a shoe tree--it was a tree that had been decorated with hundreds of old shoes!<br><br>The 2-lane road was slow, but scenic, with what we assumed was Mt. Ranier in the distance. There was a scenic viewpoint for the Crooked River Canyon ...

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>

... Canyon/ Flaggstaff/ Jack's Canyon/ Sedonna, AZ 5/28-6/2 Bishop, CA 6/3-6/20 Yosemite, CA 6/21-6/25 Lover's Leap (Lak Tahoe), CA 6/27-6/29 Elko, NV 7/1-7/10 Salt Lake City, UT 7/11-7/15 City of Rocks, ID 7/16-8/4 Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, Wind Rivers, WY More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benkunz/se ts/72157616646028326/

As we crossed over the mountains moving East from Eugene we hit lots of snow, which cleared once we made it over the pass. This would become a common theme in our many trips back and forth over the rocky (and associated) mountain ranges. We luckily had picked up a new set of tires and some snow chains in Eugene, which we were forced to employ only an hour after we ...

As I explore so many wonderful places around the Bend area I find myself falling more and more in love with this place. It comes over me in waves and is caused by the littlest things, like the way the residents are so warm and friendly. When you pass by people walking they look you in the eye, smile and say hello. There is something about the elevation that makes the sky more brilliant - when it is blue it is a deep rich ...

... and with a trailer, it didn't sound like a good idea.  So we chose the Deschutes.  We drove a few hours to Maupin and then down stream to a put-in. We camped at the put-in on Tuesday night and began our rafting journey the next morning (or rather, afternoon... we like to get our rest). The days were semi warm- but the river was cold. Amy and I were in the back and the raft holds a little water back there so most of the day ...