Hike Info:
Type: Hiking : Car
Trail: Deschutes River Trail
Destination: Undecided
Distance: 2.68 miles
1Elevation 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.
