Our next move was to Bend, Oregon. We were here around this time last year and I knew we really liked Bend, but after a year I had forgotten why but it didn’t take long to remember what it was that we liked about Bend. I have to say… I think Bend is at least in the number 2 position of future places to live. It is a great little city. There is this amazing river that runs through the town with parks and water recreation everywhere. I really love Bend!!! We enjoyed a number of great restaurants also. Crux Fermentation Project, Wild Rose (Thai), Spork, and 10 Barrel Brewing to name a few.
We also really like the Thousand Trails Park we stay in there. It’s huge and plenty of sites to choose from where you aren’t so close to your neighbor and you get a little privacy. I loved it for my morning walks.
We also got some sightseeing in there too. Last year while we were in this area… there were lots of fires going on and smoke everywhere…. so it made it hard to do much. This time we got to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. We walked the “Trail of the Molten Land” trail, which loops out across the basalt lava flow for a little over a mile to its source at the base of Lava Butte.
Drove up to the Lava Butte and walked around the rim of a cinder cone which is part of a system of small cinder cones on the northwest flank of Newberry Volcano.
Then we hiked around the Big Obsidian Flow. At just 1,300 years old, it’s the youngest lava flow in Oregon. It covers about one square mile near the Newberry caldera. The flow was the final stage of a bigger eruption, formed as magma containing little gas made its way to the surface and cooled, creating obsidian.
We also took a day and drove through Sisters, Oregon and enjoyed a day hike at Sahalie and Koosah Falls. This was such a gorgeous hike. It was nice to be out hiking again.
After our hike we drove on up to Dee Wright Observatory which is an observation structure at the summit of McKenzie Pass. The structure is an open shelter constructed with lava stone. It is located in the midst of a large lava flow, and offers an exceptional view of numerous Cascade peaks.
All in all we had a great time in Bend. Leaving Oregon after this stay and looking forward to our next stay here in Bend for sure!!!