Our week in Bend, Oregon

We had a great time in Bend. Visited the family, went on walks with them and also toured a few spots I had not yet seen.
Bend is great if you are an outdoorsy person, with plenty of places to hike, bike, kayak, fish, camp, climb rocks, golf, paraglide, and ski/snowshoe.
Here is where we went on walks:
Shevlin Park, where the trees are too tall to fit into one photo...

And where there is a covered bridge across the river...

The Old Mill District with its park and trails... and snow capped peaks popping above the horizon...

a kayak flower sculpture

Hiking up Pilot Butte with views of Bend below and snow capped volcanoes beyond...

Dillon Falls with its rushing river and lava flow banks on the opposite side...

Benham Falls, equally spectacular and upstream from Dillon Falls...

Mount Bachelor ski resort...

Bachelor on the left, Broken Top on the right, and you know-who 

We met up with Willy and Vic Egg a couple of times too. They are our role models for surging forward with full-timing. We of course had dozens of questions, which they kindly and patiently answered. We also went dancing with them (those who know me, will be smiling) at the Elks where they were staying. There was a Texas two-step lesson before the dance which was fun if not also challenging because it was the third lesson in a series. The dinner was very good too. We had a good time and I actually got to boogie on this trip  - quick quick slow slow.....

In addition to having the troublesome right jack repaired, we also had some other work done at Bend RV Repair. In fact Michael got to cross off several more items on his Alpine to-do list. It turns out that Bend is the go-to place for all sorts of RV-related things, be they repair, maintenance, or custom work. And what a terrific place Bend RV Repair is, with Jeff persevering with our right jack that ended up misbehaving several days after he replaced the solenoid.
I guess our family will get to see us slightly more often now!

Tomorrow we continue north along route 97, to Toppenish, Washington, where we plan to spend the night, before continuing to Anacortes where Alpine will once again take up residence at Fidalgo Bay Resort.
We have been on the road for so long that the thought of going home is rather strange. The good thing is that in just a matter of weeks, we will be heading back out again to the NoWaca rally in June.

Made it to Bend, Oregon

we came down the red road I-5, stopped at Pismo Beach
which is just north of Santa Maria, continued down to the Los
Angeles area for the Pomona Rally, and then drove the
blue marked route to Bend

Another clear and sunny day dawned and we were off on the last leg of our journey. This is the first time we approached Bend from the south along route 97.

It was a scenic drive, and what amazed me most was how volcanic this stretch is. We were following a ridge of volcanic cones and occasional lava flows. Several tall peaks, many with snowy caps, towered over the smaller Hershey Kiss mounds that dominated the landscape to the west and east. 
Interspersed in valleys between these conical mounds were farms and pastures.

Eventually the highway wound its way into forested areas.
We were back in familiar territory, rich in trees with occasional logging trucks carrying their loads to lumber mills.







Here is what we saw along route 97 from Klamath Falls to Bend - 

Upper Klamath Lake

snow capped volcanic peaks begin to appear

interesting soil strata and colors

flat topped buttes

more soil variations

Mt McLoughlin (9,495 ft) viewed from the east side

a giant Hershey Kiss in the sky

more snow capped crater tops

familiar Ponderosa Pines and  lots of fields

further  along route 97

Aspens amongst the pines

a section of "sand dune" banks

amazing sandy banks 

still further along route 97 

forested cone ahead

red and yellow soil along this stretch

probably Mt Scott and the other volcanic peaks that surround Crater Lake, which
is just west of us along this stretch

logging trucks carrying their loads

volcanoes every which way you look!

blackened rocks of a lava flow

approaching Bend 

We drove straight to Bend RV Repair, and Jeff took care of the hydraulic leveling jacks that were not cooperating.  He replaced a solenoid in the one that was retracting, and thoroughly inspected the one that Michael thought might be leaking. 
Happy to have those repairs done, we continued on to Crown Villa RV Resort to set up home for the next week.