BEND, OREGON
7/19/04-7/21/04
Gotta love Bend. Mike learned to board at Mount Bachelor and two of Ruthie's close friends live there - Debbie and Tucker, and their spouses, Jeff and Audra. If you have never been, it is a must. It is a little community nestled next to Mount Bachelor, and the Three Sisters Wilderness. Bend has great art, food, outdoor culture, and for better or worse, is booming. Due to what seemed like endless housing development, LA style restaurants (such as Marz where we at the first night - delicious ribs and seared ahi salads) and the rebirth of old logging mills into a Third St. Promenade type outdoor mall, buying property in Bend can't be a bad idea. Always good news for Debbie and Jeff's "new development house" as well as Tucker and Audra's newly remodled classic. At any rate, we all agreed that we hope it stays in check, and doesn't lose its charm.
We spent a great 3 days running local trails, and hiking in the Three Sisters' Wilderness. The nights were spent pouring over Jeff and Debbie's photo albums from their own year around the world, whioch they did 3 years ago. Lots of good advice, and pictures of places which we can't wait to see in person. With regard to the hikes, in particular, we recommend the Tam Mc Arthur Trail in the Three Sisters' Wilderness, which was a 5-6 mile hike with a 1,500 foot elevation climb that paid off with panoramic views of Bachelor, the Three Sisters, Broken Top, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, and even Mt. Hood which is about 200 miles away. And finally, we can't forget to mention Pizza Mondo, a must eat on Wall St. We went twice. |
