Riverhouse Resort 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 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.

We arose at 3:40am to catch our flight home from Quito, arriving in Seattle 13 hours later. Jet lagged but eager to begin phase two of our trip, we raced through two and a half days of logistics in Seattle and embarked on the open roads of the west, our GMC Jimmy loaded down with food and climbing gear. For those dear friends we ...

... 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 ...

... when the sunrises (yes I have been up that early!) it is a brilliant pink, and sunset is a painting of autumn colors. The views, anywhere you look you see mountains in the distance. The smell - much like a campground with fresh pine. The way the city has grown since I moved from Oregon is really remarkable and a testament to good city planning. The entire West side of the city has roundabouts instead of traffic ...

... feet were either on the side of the raft or completely numb from the water. We made Gabe do most of the work with his oars. Camped for 3 nights along the river- gorgeous scenary, etc etc. (I'm in the mood for descriptions, right?) Canyons, old cars, railroad, herrons, raccoons, a few deer, ospreys, eagles, hawks, etc etc and the sky was blue. I think the photos do a better job than I want to do at the moment. So I'll get right on that.