Pacific Northwest journey to Bend

On the second day of our Pacific Northwest journey, we headed for Bend, OR.

When I set up this trip there were a few places we specifically wanted to see. The hotel selections were based on how far I had to drive and how close the town or city was to one of the places we wanted to go.

Bend was between Mt. Hood and Crater Lake National Park and I could drive there in a day. We didn’t know much about Bend, OR, but their was a Marriott there!

On Monday when we stopped at the National Forest Service office in Zig Zag we just happened to pick up the map for the Mirror Lake Trail. It was nearby and the hike looked reasonable. We told the Rangers that we didn’t want very challenging hikes.

It was out first day, we don’t hike and we live at sea level. We didn’t do the Mirror Lake hike on Monday because we went to Mt. Hood, White River and did some 4-wheeling on a road to no where.

Mirror Lake Hike

Mirror Lake was only about 90 minutes from The Mt. Hood Resort, just east of Government Camp. This was our planned stop for the day.

There is a large parking lot and facilities which you can use at your own risk. Some are less stinky and disgusting than others. Just gotta say.

When we pulled in there were a few cars in the lot. And when we returned from our hike the lot was full! I know it was the week before the 4th of July, but it still seemed odd that so many people were out hiking on a Tuesday morning.

The trail was paved for the first quarter mile and then became a forest path. Eventually the path had more stones and roots to walk over but anyone in average shape could handle this hike.

The total elevation gain for this hike was 679 feet over about two miles. And we started at about 3,600 feet in elevation. Not too bad of a hike. Some places were steeper than others, but nothing too challenging.

Monday involved all the hectic travelling to get to Oregon and gave us some time to explore and relax. Tuesday was out first real day of vacation where we were settling in. This was a nice relaxed and casual hike.

We took lots of pictures and saw twenty or more people on the trail. Some couples and families and one stunning young lady as we approached the parking lot.

They call it Mirror Lake because when the wind is still, Mt. Hood reflects in the lake like a mirror. The lake was pretty still and my photos came out as well as you could expect.

The water was remarkably clear for a muddy forest pond. We knew the water was clean when we saw two salamanders in a shallow area of the pond. Here are a few photos from our hike.

The Road to Bend Oregon

Our next stop was almost two hours away. This gave me time to get used to driving the Jeep. I was getting the feel for where the bumpers and fenders were and when to give it the gas to climb a steep hill.

The thing about driving out west is that your ears pop several times a day. You are constantly going over mountains and ridges and going down into valleys. You see elevation signs all the time and sometimes road grade signs. Passing/slow traffic lanes are common. Trucks pulling campers, boats or semis just cant fly up many hills. Though some try.

In the middle of nowhere we saw a sign for Clear Lake Campground and figured we’d check it out. Why not?

We drove about a half mile off of the road and found a turn out. We didn’t get to the camp ground but the overview from the turn out was pretty cool. It was really hot, so we only stayed for about five minutes.

The southern border of the Warm Springs Reservation is the Deschutes River. We weren’t in a hurry and it looked like there might be a good view of the river.

There was a barbed wire fence and a “No Trespassing” sign along the small parking lot. The canyon was so steep that we couldn’t get close enough to see the river. Between the fence and the steep hill, there wasn’t much to see other than the huge bridge that crossed the river. So we moved on.

Tires issues and Enterprise Rent-A-Car

When we drove down the access road from Mt. Hood we had the windows down. I could hear the familiar clicking noise of a rock stuck in the tire. Not unusual for where we had been.

I planned to look at it when we got back to the hotel and then at dinner, but didn’t get around to checking until Mirror Lake.

As we walked up to the Jeep I could see something shiny on the front driver’s side tire. When I checked it out, I found a large nail or small bolt head sticking out of the tire. The tire pressure was fine, so I wasn’t too worried.

As we approached Bend, I had AnnMarie check if there was an Enterprise office there. Sure enough there was. Getting to the shop was a bit of a to-do because of the screwy roads in the area and the lag in navigation telling us where to turn.

When we got to Enterprise I told them what I found and they checked it out. They didn’t have any Jeeps but the guy offered to exchange for a pickup truck. Neither of us had any interest in that.

So they had us drive to the local Goodyear Auto Care Center where they swapped out the tire. Fortunately, Jeeps carry a full-sized spare. It was a solution, but now we had a compromised spare tire.

It was 3:30 by the time we got to our hotel in Bend. We had wasted about an hour getting the tire issue addressed.

By the time we hauled in our luggage and took a breath it was time for dinner.

Checking out Bend Oregon

We had been told there were a lot of brew pubs in Bend and plenty of good places to eat. When I asked at the front desk they made several suggestions including Monkless Belgian Ales.

I’m not a big fan of Belgian Ales since they tend to be sour. But the lady at the front desk mentioned that they also served German food, and that’s all I needed to hear.

I had the Pork Schnitzel Plate which was awesome. Even though I was quite hungry, I managed to take a picture before I dug in.

As you can see from the photo it was a healthy pork schnitzel with egg noodles and a nice mustard sauce. The side of apple cabbage slaw was good also. I ate every bite!

For dessert we had beignets which our waiter said were awesome. And he wasn’t kidding.

The plate came with five large beignets that were moist and cakey with a slight vanilla flavor and a sprinkling of cinnamon/sugar. The strawberry sauce had a nice balance of sweetness and strawberry tartness. We ate three and had the other two for lunch the next day!

I had three beers and remembered to take photos of two. I started light and went from there.

First up was the Reverie Pils. It was light and hoppy at 41 IBUs. I was worried that all of their beers would be sour, but was pleasantly surprised.

My first beer of the day after many hours of driving. This was a very easy pils to drink!

Next up was the Brother’s Bier which was also fairly light, 31 IBUs, and not too sour. I do recall it as being a bit more sour than the Pils. I got this one in the middle of my meal and forgot to take a photo. The food was that good and so was the bier!

I finished with the Shepplekofeggan Belgian wheat beer with only 16 IBUs. The name was tough to say but this beer went down quite easy. With a traditional wheat beer flavor and not very sour at all.

After a great meal and three delicious brews, it was time to explore Bend, OR.

We had noticed what looked like a sound stage across the river. You can see it to the right of the photo below. Our waiter told us that The Indigo Girls were playing that night and we should check it out.

We decided to walk around and see if we could get close enough to hear anything. But they had this all planned out with guards in strategic areas to keep people from listening in for free!

We wandered around the Old Mill District and over to Riverbend Park. Bend has done a nice job of redeveloping the Old Mill District. There are nice walkways along the river and lots of shops.

There were lots of kayakers, paddle boarders and people floating on tubes in the gentle Deschutes current. It looked like a lot of fun.

This is an old lumber town and many of the old buildings have been repurposed. The three huge smoke stacks in the above photo are from one of the old mills. The support cables for the stacks stretch across much of the Old Mill District.

While I’m no fan of pillaging natural resources, the place must have been something in it’s day.

Bend is still an interesting city and we saw way more than any of you want me to write about here! Check out this web site for more on Bend, OR.

I would recommend Bend, OR for a visit. During ski season I hear the place is mobbed. Hard to believe, but summer is the off season. There is so much to do in Bend and the surrounding area.

The next day I had an almost 200 mile drive towards Crater Lake with a planned stop at the Volcanic National Monument.

Travel well my Friends!

Andy