BEND, OREGON

August 31 – September 4, 2024

We left Caldwell, Idaho and headed west into Oregon via the Central Oregon Highway, route 20, also known as the Oregon Trail. We traveled 313 miles amidst desert-like scrub fields with scattered farms and cow pastures. Haystacks were plentiful along this road, too! (No photos, I was just enjoying the scenery)

We arrived at our destination, Sun Outdoors RV Resort in Bend, Oregon. We were planning our arrival to coincide with the resort check-in time. However, we forgot that we gained an hour on our drive and were actually arriving one hour earlier than we planned. When we pulled into the RV resort, we were the only one in the check-in line and all was good.

The RV resort we selected was spectacular! It was located in a quiet residential setting in south Bend, OR. Each site was a 70’ long pad constructed of decorative paver bricks with unique patterns and designs on each pad. Each site had 1500 square feet of grass and trees. The amenities included; clubhouse, spa, fitness center, tennis courts, etc. We gave this resort a 10!

The site we were assigned was a back-in site with plenty of surrounding space. After guiding Ken to our space, it was my job to direct him into the back-in site. Things did not go as planned! Ken did not have our 45’ RV lined up with the space and I FAILED at my job! Ken backed into a short block wall on the edge of our site! Minor scratches and scrapes on the lower RV rear. The short block wall moved a few inches but was still standing. And that is the whole story!

It’s hard to believe our four days in Bend, Oregon have come to an end. We divided our time between exploration and relaxation. Central Oregon features everything an outdoor adventurer could dream of: verdant forests, towering snow-capped mountains, arid desert, and ancient lava flows.

As we drove through the Cascade Mountains, we discovered that the east side of the Cascades was lush with Douglas Fir and red cedar forests that conceal lakes and waterfalls. On the east side, Pondersona pines stand tall into the cloudless blue skies. We did encounter some smoke in the air along with a few rain showers throughout our stay. We also saw fire-charred forests giving birth to new life and Lava fields reminding us of the past.

The Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway is a historic highway that winds its way through miles of towering mountain peaks and lakefront vistas. It passes alongside the most beautiful alpine lakes in Oregon. As we drove along, we could see some of the lakes through the roadside trees, but, decided not to venture off the roadway.

As we traveled along, we passed Mt. Bachelor, a dormant volcano in the Cascade Range that is a popular ski area with one of the longest ski seasons in North America.

We drove into the western themed town of Sisters. The traffic slowed as we drove through town. Every parking space was full and people were enjoying the holdiay weekend.

After Sisters, we found the scenic McKenzie Santam Byway. The byway journeys through dense forest and at times provides peek-a-boo views of snowcapped volcanoes. We stopped at the MOUNT WASHINGTON VIEWPOINT for views of Mount Washington and the iconic Three Sisters. Mount Washington is one of the most impressive attractions in Oregon’s Cascades with its craggy peak. The three tallest peaks in Oregon, after Mt. Hood and Mt.Jefferson, are the snowcapped Three Sisters. The North Sister (10,085′), Middle Sister (10,047′), and South Sister (10,358′), are all very popular with climbers.

To our surprise we came upon the Dee Wright Observatory. The observatory sits atop a barren blanket of lava, in the Oregon Cascades. It overlooks a 65-square-mile sea of black lava rock. In 2014 we stopped at this location on a very dark and rainy day Everything was so black! Today, was a beautiful day a ken climbed to the tope of the observatory! I was taking photos and saw him on the path to the top!

In Bend, Oregon we stopped at the Old Mill District, a shopping and entertainment area. This area occupies the site of a former sawmill. Since, it was Labor Day weekend, the town was “hopping”! We found a a food truck area, but, the food was not appealing. But, I did think the are was photo worthy!

On our last day we set out to locate Bend’s historic district. We found the Drake Park neighborhood, with it’s stately homes, built during the 20th century, and Ponderosa Pine tree- lined streets.