We were really anticipating the next stop on our summer trip in Bend Oregon. I’ll explain why, as we’ve been here a few times:
Our first trip to Bend was in 2016, in our first Motorhome, was amazing. Weather was great, lots of family time, kayaking, biking, and trying out local restaurants and coffee places.
Our second trip in 2018, was equally great. We actually stayed in Sisters this trip and enjoyed the town as well as trips to Bend and also Smith Rock State Park for an amazing hike with spectacular views.
Unfortunately, our third trip was a disaster, as heavy forest fire smoke was everywhere, I broke my arm in a bike accident, and 4 out of 6 in our group caught Covid.
As a result, we were counting on this trip redeeming our perception of Bend! Thankfully, we had a great trip that exceeded our expectations, once again!
The drive from Klamath Falls was easy and we set up camp at Sun Outdoors Bend, which is a very nice park with lots of shade.
We enjoyed a drive up Pilot Butte to see the city. Great view.
Then we went down to Riverbend Park to see the kayakers and paddlers. Because of a shoulder injury I had to leave my kayak at home this time, but Bend is a great place to kayak!
There were even a few surfers on the river!
What a beautiful setting for a beautiful city.
Of course, Bend is also known for good food, craft brewing, and good coffee. We sampled all of these while here, including a tour of the Deschutes Brewery.
Lunch at Jackson’s Corner and Bend Public House were both great. After both, we had a great walk along the river and coffee at Backporch Coffee Roasters, my favorite.
South of Bend
We ventured south of Bend a few times. We visited Lava Butte and enjoyed the trail around the top and the paths carved into the lava fields.
A short hike takes you all the way around the cinder cone.
That’s Highway 97 leading to Bend, which you can see in the distance with Pilot Butte on the right.
To the East are snow covered mountains.
I liked the look of this little tree against the solid blue sky and stark landscape. Life finds a way.
This is a lava snowball! Believe it or not, this giant boulder started as just a small chunk of molten rock. As it rolled and tumbled in molten river channel, it grew in size, just like a snowball rolling downhill and growing larger as more snow sticks to it. Cool!
A little further South is Sun River Resort, a planned community made for fun, winter or summer.
We go for the 30 miles of paved bike trails. Here we are riding along the Dechutes River.
After a long ride, lunch in The Village was just right. We enjoyed the Village Bar and Grill, and then Brewed Awakenings for an afternoon cappuccino.
Also south of Bend is The High Desert Museum. It’s worth a visit for the museum which depicts life for the immigrants traveling through the high desert in covered wagons. It also has exhibits of rescued wildlife from the area, including bald eagles, owls, and bobcats.
North of Bend
We also ventured North and East of Bend. We always enjoy a day in Sisters. There is a lot of great shops, including a great bakery and a unique clock store that is really fun to browse. When Sisters Bakery opened there was a line outside the door and down the sidewalk!
Beacham’s Clock Company store must have a reputation because they were on the phone the whole time helping people with their time keeping needs. One of the clocks was valued at well over $100K!
A little further down the road is Black Butte Ranch, a similar development to Sun River. Here we saw many more horses. It was really windy that day so we didn’t do much bike riding, but we enjoyed the beautiful vistas. We also found out some old friends moved here when they retired!
We really enjoyed our time in Bend this year….and no broken bones, illness, or fire!!
But it was time to continue our trip up into Washington. Our route took us along Highway 97 through some beautiful country.
When we turned west along the Columbia River, it got really windy, but the Bay Star with Liquid Springs Suspension handled the 35 mph wind well. We had a great evening with my cousin Rachelle in Portland, including our first book of Pho, then headed north to Seattle. On the way, it downpoured! Wet and windy! At one point the driver side windshield wiper got stuck, and I got to enjoy the weather as I tightened the wiper bolt. Luckily, someone on the Facebook Bay Star group had a similar problem, so I knew just what to do, which saved a lot of time.
While I was getting wet, Lucy was snug as a bug in a rug, and looked up as if to say “are we there yet?”
It’s just around the corner. 🙂
We look forward to sharing our experience in Washington in our next post.
Al & Deb
MobileMosers.com 
I’ll have an apple fritter and a glazed cinnamon role from The Sisters’
Definitely. Great place! I think I would gain weight if I Lived there!