Sept 19, 2021 - Day Thirteen: Prineville to Bend

 

Title:Sept 19, 2021 - Day Thirteen: Prineville to Bend
Hike Info : Description 

Trail head: Parking Lot by Ben&Jerry’s

 

 

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking : Car
Trail: Deschutes River Trail
Destination: Undecided
Distance:  2.68 miles 1
Elevation Rise: 187 '
Descent: 186‘
Maximum Elevation: 3,645'
 ¹Data and maps are derived from Google Earth
Car Mileage: 37 Miles

Description:

Woke up a little after six this morning, stayed in bed while inquiring about lightning activity in my area of the Sierra-none, fortunately. Finally got up around 7:30. Today we head for Bend and camp at Tumalo State Campground. Andrea has been here before and really liked it. I think she is eager to show it to us. It is so good having a daughter who enjoys sharing the good things in her life with her parents.

We are not in a rush or anything to leave the hotel. It is only about an hour drive to the campground. We have breakfast, pick up some coffee-for those who indulge-and are on our way. When we pass Redmond-no, not the Microsoft Redmond, but Oregon’s, it looks like a large fire must have passed through an area just east of it. Andrea talks about Redmond as a possible, affordable place to live.

We continued on to Bend, turning north for a few miles until we came to the Tumalo Campground, our home for the next couple of days. The campground looks quiet, well taken care of and the site has plenty of space for a comfortable stay. Plus the campground has showers! We are still good from the hotel stays, but this is nice.

After getting the campsite set up, we go downtown to REI. Maybe, just maybe it has a replacement air mattress-nope. But as a side benefit, where we park is a Ben&Jerry’s. How can we pass that up? It is a pretty cool day, but we still enjoy the ice cream outside.

As we are enjoying the ice cream, our eyes turn toward the outdoor stairs in back of the building. I am thinking San Francisco is not the only place with interesting stairs. These stairs are painted a sort of baby blue with storks and stuff. Where do they lead, we wonder? Only one way to find out.

And that is to climb them, which we do. This starts us off on our walk. It leads to a bridge across the Deschutes River. Once on the other side of the River, we walk a paved path about 15’ above the river. This is a multipurpose path-walkers, bikers, a few kayaks are around-not on the path. A good day to go on a gentle walk, following the flow of the stream. It looks like all on it are also enjoying their time as well.

There is something about walking without purpose, just enjoying your company-I think I have said that before. You get to talk with each other, maybe not about great ideas or deep personal stuff. When you can just talk about the small things in your life, there is a good measure of bonding which will be drawn on when serious matters need to be addressed (no I am not foreshadowing anything.).

One of the thoughts which wanders through this old man’s mind, who also happens to be a father, is, is this place a good fit for my daughter? Not that I have too much say in the matter. But I do have my eyes on that. So far, it is really nice. Wonder how the winters are? (I am writing this close to Christmas, and the answer is, while we will have rain, they will have a combination of snow and rain-does not sound fun.) Still, at least, this Fall, it is pleasant.

We come to the end of the pavement and walk further on a dirt path. We go a couple hundred yards on this and then decide we are getting hungry. So back we go, retreating up the same route we came down. But there are some exceptions. First, there is a nice park, with bathrooms which are open. We make use of this. Also before we cross the bridge again, we wander a little ways further up. We have been seeing posters for various acts at an amphitheater. and here it is. Not a large one, maybe about as large as where Fresno holds its Shakespeare plays at Woodward Park. It does look like a fun venue, assuming the weather is not cold.

Now to find a place to eat. We wander around, via car, in downtown Bend. Eventually we come across a parking area and make our way over to an eating establishment called Deschutes Brewery. An assortment of food, but what really caught our taste buds was a giant pretzel with a cheese sauce. It all tasted good. We then traveled by the house where Lawrence and Andrea will be staying in Bend. It looks pretty good.

By this time, we are ready to head back to camp. We do a little wander around camp before going to bed. A pretty nice, low-keyed day.