Bend, Oregon June 4-8

Monday morning greeted us with...what else rain, but that didn't deter our plans to head over to the Thousand Trails Park near Bend and Sun River, our first stop being at the McKenzie River Bridge ranger station on  Highway 126.  I wanted to get information on the McKenzie River Scenic Trail.  It is a 26 mile biking and hiking trail along the McKenzie River and suppose to be one of the premier mountain biking trails.  We stopped and talked with the ranger and I got the information I needed.  I hope to hike or bike some or all of the trail while I am in Leaburg.

We stopped at Sahalie Falls along the way which is on the McKenzie River Scenic Trail.  It was cold and pouring rain, and the trail was very slick,  but the falls were beautiful. I can't wait to return on a nicer day.

We stopped in Sisters for lunch at the Three Creeks Brewery, an quaint little place.  If the weather had been better I would have walked the town.  Put it was still raining big time, so we will have an excuse to return someday.  We picked up an Ale Trail Passport listing eleven different breweries . If you visit all eleven and get the passport stamped you get a prize when you turn it in at the visitor  center in Bend.

 We arrived at the campground late in the afternoon and got things set up, which didn't take too long in the Born Free. It was obvious there had been a lot of rain and the campground was pretty soggy as well as  empty.

The next morning we headed over to Bend to explore the town.  It was partly cloudy when we started out, so the day was promising to be a little better.  We saw the "Cycle Pub".  The folks sitting at the bar pedal the pub through town.

Then we headed over to the city park along the Deschutes River and saw these guys.  No, he is not walking on then air.  He is walking a tight robe which is barely visible.  He told us it was a great way to increase ones balance. Hmmm. The park runs along the river and has an abundance of walking and biking paths.  Bend is really big on bikes.

Of course we had to visit the Deschutes Brewery in downtown Bend, one of many included on the passport.

We decided to go and check out Mt. Bachelor along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Road.  We had looked at the map and determined we could do a loop back to Thousand Trails.

But it started to snow and continued to snow heavily

And the lakes were still frozen over and none of the campgrounds were open so we turned around and went back to Bend and to the campground.

Wednesday promised sunny skies.  So we dug out the bikes and went over to Sun River.  There is a nice bike trail along the river which ends up at a Marina.  On the way we stopped at the Great Hall.  The interior is beautiful.  It was hard to get a picture of the exterior, but the Hall was built as a training exercise during WWII, using all  free local materials and buying only what couldn't be obtained locally. The amazing thing is it was built in six months and then wasn't used much. It had been used as a storage barn and had been run down until the 1990s when it was restored.  Now it is a beautiful lodge for events and meetings. The dance floor is huge!

 We continued on the bike trail and I finally saw some of the beautiful mountains that had been previously obscured by clouds. I believe the picture below is the Sisters.

This is Mt Bachelor.

We continued on the bike path to the Marina and stopped for lunch and we were entertained watching the paddle boarder  paddle around the river with a toddler on board.  See how bundled up the toddler is.  It was pretty chilly.

The Newberry Lava National Monument is a huge area located not far from Bend and Sun River. The sunny skies had disappeared on Thursday, but we decided to drive up and check out the area.  We stopped at Paulina Falls and walked the short trail which takes you from one side of the falls to the other.

We then continued to the Big Obsidian Flow in the Newberry Crater. Large chunks of obsidian (glass) are exposed.  There is a short trail which takes you to the top of a ridge and you can walk in the obsidian fields.  But first you have to walk up several flights of stairs. There are warnings everywhere not to let your pets loose due to the obsidian glass.

Next we headed back to Bend and the weather seemed to clear.  Pilot Butte is the high point of Bend and affords panoramic views.  I didn't realize Bend was so spread out.  This is looking towards the east.

This is looking towards the west. I think Mt. Jefferson is the taller mountain.

The past few days went by really quickly and it was time to return to Leaburg to meet up with Joel's  son, Bradly. However, Bradley had called and said he had to work and wouldn't be able to meet up with Joel for his birthday.  Soooo we decided to go to Portland for the weekend to meet up with his son and daughter and Joel would be able to spend his birthday with them.

Oh, and we will returning  to Bend  before the summer is over.  Joel still has 5 more breweries to visit before he can claim his prize. :) Check back for more adventures.