Apr 4, 2013 - Biking in Bend

We drove inland from Bandon to the high desert town of Bend. We stayed at a great boutique hotel called the Pine Ridge Inn. Good location and great views of the Descutes River valley. We really enjoyed our ride on the Twin Bridges Loop, an Oregon Scenic Bikeway! It was a 60km loop that started from our hotel and looped around quiet country roads with great views of the Cascade Mountains. Also enjoyed 9 holes of golf, running and walking the extensive pathway system along the river and checking out the downtown shops. We couldn't keep track...

Aug 11, 2012 - Bend, OR

Hi All, Here we are in Bend and the end of our adventure. We are staying here for a couple of weeks to relax and spend some time with friends. This will be my last entry and I would like to thank my friends who took the time to respond to my journal. We had a great adventure and we are greatful and fortunate that we were able to do this. As I close this I would like to say go out and enjoy the good ole USA, there is so much to see and do, it's beautiful out there and we still have a lot of travels to do, so much to see. Love to all, Jim and...

Jul 21, 2012 - Bend OR....Pickeball tournament

It took us 2 days to get to Bend. On the morning we left Coarsegold, Chuck hurt his back moving a chair in the motorhome. He was in a lot of pain and could barey walk. Once we got to Bend he went to the ER. They gave him some strong meds and a coupe of shots but he won't be playing pickleball. We camped in the driveway of our good friends, Jeannie and Dennis Branin. Jeannie and I played in the Intermediate division and took the GOLD Medal! Dennis and I played mixed doubles and took the SILVER Medal.Several other peope were there from...

Jul 7, 2012 - Beautiful Drive to Bend and Back

Another early day and another long day for us! We decided to drive back to Bend and explore a bit more along the way and that necessitated an early start. What gorgeous countryside throughout the Willamette Valley heading east. A map is provided to show our route going and coming back – see the directional areas to follow our travels. We both commented we can definitely see why there are so many logging trucks on the highways with the amount of forests we traveled by the entire route. The unfortunate part was seeing some of the...

Jun 23, 2012 - Heading Back to Pendleton

We finally got underway after the last performance around 5:00 p.m., heading northeast to Bend where Steve had made a reservation for all of us at a hotel he had stayed in previously when he played in Bend. Beautiful facility and we didn't arrive until after 9:00 p.m., and all exhausted - especially Steve from performing and doing all the driving. Long day for sure. A lot of beautiful scenery seen along the way but we didn't want to stop for pictures to allow us to make good time to get to Bend and get settled in. We also knew we'd be back...

Jun 20, 2012 - Bend & Newberry Lava Nat Mon.

Was going to stay nearer to Sisters, but the park was completely taken over by something called Flying Women or such - they are fly fisherman. Went to Newberry NAtional Volcanic Monument. It is a LARGE volcano that went off last 1300 years ago. The caldera is 20 miles across! Lava flow was 10 miles long!

Mar 27, 2012 - Oregon is a big state!

Time to get out of here! It's snowing, blowing and about as cold as we have experienced in a heck of a long time...enough!! We drove back over to Burns then Bend and made the decision to not go over a mountain pass today because there was a serious storm hovering over the Cascades and it was very cold and snowing. So North to The Dalles which is along the Columbia River where we will hook into I 84 which goes over to Portland. A good day of travel, lots more intriguing countryside, ancient volcanic flows, sagebrush, the odd juniper tree...

Sep 24, 2011 - Journey's End in Bend

As I write this we are some 1000 miles east of Bend, OR, headed back to Arkansas. When we left Yakima we headed south to the Sunriver/Bend TT park located about 20 miles south of Bend, OR. I continued to have kidney pain and what I thought was diverticulitis. On Sunday, Sept. 18 we had to go to the ER in Bend where I had yet another CAT scan, which determined that my problem was not diverticulitis, but a blocked kidney. They referred me to a urologist, which I saw on Monday. Tuesday I was back in the hospital to recieve a stent to bypass...

Sep 23, 2011 - Day #15, 9-23-11

Day #15, 9-23-11 We woke up to a chilly coach again this morning. It doesn’t take long for the heaters to warm it up. It was time to break camp and head north. Barb had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and I passed on it. I’m cutting back Don! We headed back north (10:30am) past the entrance to Crater Lake and up HWY 97 till we reached Crescent Oregon. We wanted to take the scenic route to Bend Oregon and had to take a turn off from Crescent. I’m still struggling with this “wave,no-wave thing! I waved at every Motor Home going up HWY 97 with...

Sep 23, 2011 - High Desert Museum, Bend, OR

Several people had suggested that when we got to Bend we should go to see the High Desert Museum. We did that today and it was a very pleasant afternoon. We could not have picked a more beautiful day, as it was about 75 degrees and sunny. This is a very nicely done museum with both indoor and outdoor displays. The museum's purpose is "to enable a deeper understanding of the region's arts, culture, history and natural sciences through the presentation and interpretation of visual art exhibits, historical artifacts, living history...

Sep 22, 2011 - Bend, OR

Today we drove from Diamond Lake to Bend, OR. It was a relatively short two-hour drive, and not very interesting, especially since most of the way the only view we had was the back of a tractor trailer. We are in a very nice RV resort, quite similar to the one we stayed at in Bay Harbor, MI. All the sites are paved with colored brick, and each site has a brick wall around the electric and sewer hookups, which is nice because you don't have to look at your neighbor's sewer hose. Each site also has a locked storage shed for bikes, etc., for...

Sep 15, 2011 - Hiking in Obsidian

Date: September 15, 2011 Tonight’s Location: Tumalo State Park Mileage: End - 84791 Start - 84672 Total Miles for the day: 119 Weather: partly sunny Temperature: start 47º High 53º Wildlife count: chipmunk, Douglas Squirrel, Mule Deer, Pine Marten Had a relaxing morning and then drove south to the Newberry Volcanic National Monument, where we hiked to Paulina Falls, viewed Paulina Lake and East Lake and up Lava Butte. We were actually within a 17 square mile caldera, at the summit of a 500 square mile volcano! We were up and down over...