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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Bend, Oregon - Our Second Week; Now Heading to the Coast!

Greetings to all!  I type this from O'Brien, Oregon where we spent one night as we work our way towards the Oregon Coast.  This post will recap our final week in Bend.  We had the great joy of spending 13 days there and it was fabulous - between Bend and all there is to do there in its scenic beauty and cool vibe and spending time with our dear friends Carol and Chuck Varland and their family.

We ended the month of June taking the Cascades Scenic highway to Mt. Bachelor - this included enjoying Salt Creek Falls and a chairlift ride on Mt. Bachelor.  And the weather was once again spectacular.





We kicked off July on Suttle Lake with Carol and Chuck's son Justin and his wife Chris - it was a glorious morning on the water - it was very low key and lovely.  We spent the afternoon doing errands and getting a few things done around the rig - including an afternoon nap!  

The most amazing hikes we did were on Wednesday - we went to Blue Pool, and then Sahalie Falls.  This area is about an hour northwest of Bend along the MacKenzie River and I have never seen water this color in the middle of the woods.  The trail was difficult in the sense that it was filled with tree roots and lava rocks so you really had to watch where you were going.  We made sure to stop frequently to take in the stunning scenery.  










Here is Sahalie Falls:





After these hikes, we were ready to sit a spell - so we went to Clear Lake "Resort" and enjoyed a cold drink.  I put Resort in quotes as it was essentially a simple cabin on a beautiful lake and the sign out front was HILARIOUS.  A long way from  cold beer . . . LOL.


The next day we went to another beautiful area - Paulina Lake - there were more lovely falls and we enjoyed a nice lunch (with cold beer!) right on the lake . . .  This area was about 20 minutes south of Bend.






That evening, we went to the Bend Elks game - they are a summer college wood bat baseball league.  It was a super fun event and we enjoyed it with the entire Varland family.  There were supposed to be fireworks after the game, however, a storm rolled in creating a dramatically beautiful sky and we high-tailed it to the car before the rain started.  The Elks won after 7.5 innings before they made the weather call.  


The 4th of July was a fun day in Bend - they have a Pet Parade that has been going since 1924.  It was the 98th parade as they cancelled only 3 times - once during WW2 and twice during Covid.  It was mostly dogs who were decked out for the 4th and also included a "protest" for cats as they are not currently allowed to participate - all in good fun.   It was a blast!  We then barbecued at the Varlands and saw great fireworks that evening.  





Our final weekend in Bend was spent running some errands and getting ready for the next leg of our trip - we took advantage of all the stores near our campsite - Costco and Trader Joe's were just 5 minutes away!  On Sunday, we took a quick trip to the Redmond Caves where there were some Lava Tubes - such a cool experience and yet another interesting thing to do in Bend.



As our time in Bend comes to a close, I would be remiss to not mention the craft beer scene here.  Although it's popular throughout the country, Bend has dozens of micro-breweries / food trucks and it's a fun aspect of their culture.  Their beer names are fun and creative and after several samplings, we have concluded that the beer is quite tasty as well!  




After 13 days, we left Bend yesterday and worked our way southwest - the ride was beautiful and we made a quick pitstop at Rogue Gorge - essentially a rest stop with a beautiful short walk and more falls!




We spent the night at Lone Mountain Resort Park - a great site and Paul cooked a delicious steak and red bell peppers on the grill.  We got some laundry done and met a few nice people.  Today - we head to the coast and we are so excited to see it and explore.  More to come!


Thanks for following along and for all your love and support - Jen & Paul

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Bend, Oregon - WOW

Greetings from Bend, Oregon!!  We have been here since June 24th and we have so enjoyed this area!  The weather has been glorious - beautiful sunshine in the low 70s to mid-80's with very low humidity with overnight lows in the high 40's / low 50's.  We have dear friends who live here - Carol and Chuck Varland - and they have been outstanding hosts, sharing so many beautiful areas with us!  

Our last post we were in Vale, OR for one night.  On Tuesday, June 24th, we continued west towards Bend - it was a gorgeous drive.




We arrived to Tumalo State Park Campground - we love our campsite - and our reservation is for 13 nights, so lots of time to explore the area.  Near our campground was a beautiful hiking trail along the Deschutes River.  The pine trees here are incredible - abundant and so tall!




Our first major adventure was going to Crater Lake National Park - it's about a 2-hour drive south of Bend.  It is spectacular - beautiful sweeping views and we enjoyed a picnic near the Crater Lake Lodge - this is a "must see" if you are in the area and we were so fortunate to have beautiful weather.






The next day, we explored two beautiful areas closer to Bend.  The first was Tumalo Falls - there are many beautiful waterfalls here and this one is closest to Bend proper.



That afternoon, we went to the Lava Butte - there are multiple lava fields in this area and the scenery was breathtaking with the snow-capped mountains in the background.



We took a quick break from sightseeing and Paul fixed our air conditioner (my hero) and we had an easy casual dinner at our campsite with Carol and Chuck.


The next day, went to Smith Rock State Park - a real "WOW" with spectacular scenery and beautiful hiking trails.  It is well known for rock climbing and we watched several as we ambled along!




After Smith Rock, we grabbed sandwiches and picnicked at a rest area just north of Bend - called the Peter Skene Ogden Rest Area - it was a lovely park that is situated along the Deschutes River flowing through a dramatically steep Canyon.  There are 3 bridges that cross the canyon - the highway, a pedestrian bridge (where they had people bungee jumping - check out this cool video here) and then a railroad bridge.  Such a stunning area!!  If you go and have a dog, make sure you keep them in the car and/or on a leash - this prominent sign is right where you park:





I will post again soon with the second half of our time here in Bend.  This is such a beautiful area and it has been wonderful to spend time with the Varlands.  Two of their children - Justin and Emily - also live here with their families and it has been a joy spending time with them as well.

Until next time - thanks for following along - cheers and love, Jen & Paul