Going Around the Bend

Bend was awesome, and we met the loveliest couple on our last night. We popped into the Jackrabbit Grill after walking through the Bite of Bend food and drink event downtown. We were just in for a pre-dinner drink before heading back to our room but ended up having a nice conversation with Molly and Rory, a couple of locals who have been in the Bend area for 9+ years. They were in for Rory’s birthday dinner which we trust was lovely. They offered to show us around the next time we’re in the area, and we turned them onto the TrustedHousesitters website for upcoming travel planning.

Here is more of our wanderings around (the) Bend. Our second day in town, we started with a hike up Pilot Butte, an in-town hike that offered lovely views of the city.

Pilot Butte, a little over a 2 mile hike to the top from our motel

View 1 of the city as we made our way up

Shameless Selfie in front of the much more beautiful surroundings (Cascade Mountains in distance)

Part of the city from the top. We started on the Main Street in the photo after our descent to hook up with a canal path

We walked from the butte to the Larkspur Trail which went through residential areas and parks before connecting with the Central Oregon Canal Trail and back to the Deschutes River. Bend had a much higher than normal snowfall this winter, so the canal is pretty full.

A bridge connecting a residential area to the trail

Getting checked out by the local wildlife along the trail

Once we met back up with the Deschutes River Trail, we headed north back into town via the Old Mill District. This section of the Deschutes River is popular for canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, rafting lessons, or just floating. The Old Mill District is a historic area formerly occupied by two lumber mills. It is now a popular retail and restaurant area. There is also an amphitheater across the river from the Old Mill District where Paul Simon was scheduled to play on the night we left.

Walking along the Deschutes towards the Old Mill District, with Pilot Butte in the background

The green (and water) space at the Old Mill District — the circles in the water are part of a casting challenge course for kids

Bend has quite a few traffic circles and has a public art effort to incorporate statues in the center of these circles. We tried to capture the ones that we passed on our walkabouts.