Bend, OR

This past Friday a friend and I ventured out to the Tumalo Falls area to check out the trails and find a sunny spot to catch up on some reading. Neither one of us knew much about Tumalo Falls except that it features a cascading chute of water and some wooded stomping grounds. With the trusty (and entertaining) black lab Mokie as our guide, we had a fun afternoon exploring the trails, tromping through the lingering snow patches, and marveling at the beauty of the waterfall.

I have always been fascinated by the steep canyons & largess in which Columbia River resides; the barge boats that pass through occasionally and the wheel house boat , where as a kid I was intrigued by the fact that the large wheel on the back of a boat propelled this boat forward; the myriad waterfalls and extravagant views that I see in the 14 miles that I normally travel.Columbia River itself is a 1200 mile river spanning 7 states (not including Canada) from Canada to Oregon and is the largest in the Pacific Northwest and flows into our Pacific Ocean. The majority of the Oregon part of the river is nestled within a deep canyon providing extravagant & exceptional panoramic views.

This past weekend I went to another of my pirate gatherings as I do each year and it was at a place I didn’t know that existed, a place called Horning’s Hideout. What a cool place. Over 100 acres, some treed, some grassed with a 2 streams, a 5 acre stocked fishing pond and a separate breeding ground to keep the fish continually stocked. Three separate playgrounds for all the kids, an island in the middle of the lake, all kinds of wildlife and about 100 colored & albino peacocks & peahens. This area is absolutely stunning and no one knows where you are and would ever even know this place existed if the owners didn’t allow public use.

Stand along the high wild edged coastline and feel the wind, the sea breeze and watch the sun set or rise amongst this craggy face of the cliff that hosts Cape Perpetua. Wander among the 2700 acre forest that is denser than the Amazon Jungle, see the meat eating plants throughout this same forest and no they do not eat us humans. Take the little ones up to visit the giant spruce tree that is at least 30 feet thick and is written as 185 feet tall.

As soon as I moved to Bend a few weeks ago, I started hearing rumblings about Bend’s annual Pole, Pedal, Paddle, a six-part race in which participants ski (Alpine and Nordic), bike, run, kayak, and sprint their way from Mount Bachelor to the Les Schwab Amphitheater. Tongue twisting title aside, the Pole, Pedal, Paddle celebrates the essence of Bend: serious outdoor sport that takes full advantage of Bend‘s mountains, rivers, and trails. Plus, the entire population of Bend seems to show up, either to compete or cheer on the thousand or so participants. The sextuple-threat contest attracts everyone from elite athletes, to teams of friends or coworkers, who divide up the legs of the competition and often dress up in costume.

Haul Road Trail runs alongside SW Century Drive, and I picked up the trail at the corner of SW Century Drive and SW Reed Market Road. According to the Bend Parks and Recreation District Map, Haul Road Trail is only a little more than a mile long, but connects to the Deschutes River Trails heading Southwest.

Never having been to a waxworks museum but always wanting to go I decided it was time to wander amongst the dead, regaled in the historical form and see how they spoke to me.

Recreated in waxy life forms and reminiscent of the past were several very lifelike characters, some I knew and some I was being introduced to. Of course the ever famous Dracula was the first one to see. There were displays that reminded me of the prohibition, back alley bar fights amongst gangsters. Maybe these folks should have paid their dues in the business.

Florence seems to be my own central point of my coastal trips as it is always the 1st coastal town I come to. Maybe because Florence is the central location for Hwy 101 on the Oregon coast. I go to Florence mainly for 3 reasons, to travel to other destinations on 101, to visit the casino once a year and to hit the sand as often as possible as Florence has probably the biggest area of dunes in which to play on as well as long beaches in which to walk or ride horses.

The OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center gives a different meaning to dealing with science. The center has a different approach to help visitors better understand the why’s of the actions that are taken when it comes to marine science. The way the different sciences are explained and shown are easy to understand, even for the younger children. While most children would not understand the complexity of sciences the Marine center has interactive displays with easy to understand interpretive signs

Down on the bay front of Old Newport are the docks which house mainly commercial fishing vessels. These vessels are what bring the fresh seafood to Newport. During the day, wandering among these ships, which seem bigger than life due to its size is one thing but at night it is a totally different world and atmosphere. I found this out quite by accident. While in town I chose to have dinner on the bay front and when I was done I wasn’t ready to move on down the coast to my next destination and so I wandered and somehow or another I wandered among the docks, past these ships that seemed so quiet when just an hour before they were full of life.