Bend, Oregon - June 19th, 2024
Wednesday was a travel day from Diamond Lake to Crooked River Ranch RV Park, just north of Redmond and Terrebonne. We turned it into a long day, by spending most of the day in Bend, Oregon.
Just south of Bend is Newberry National Volcanic Monument, run by the National Forest Service. It looked like the Lava Butte overlook would be a quick stop right off of highway 97, but that turned out not to be the case. We spent about an hour there.
The monument not only includes the Lava Butte, but also encompasses the Lava River Cave and Newberry Caldera. The Caldera is further south from Lava Butte, just east of La Pine, and includes Paulina Lake. The Lava River Cave is a mile long lava tube that you can explore, but parking at the trailhead now requires a reservation.
There were two reasons why stopping at the Lava Butte overlook was not fast. The first was that highway 97 is limited access in that area and there is no exit for northbound travelers to get off there. Google Maps directed us 6 miles north to the next exit, where we got back on 97 going south. The second reason is that, even though there is a road up to the overlook, no private motorized vehicles are allowed. You either have to pay $3 to ride a shuttle bus or walk or cycle up the road to the top. According to AllTrails, it is 3.8 miles from the Lava Lands Visitor Center to the top and back, with an elevation gain of 593 feet.
The shuttle bus runs about every 20 minutes. We lucked out and got on a bus right away. Then we spent about 20 minutes up on top of the butte, walking the short trail around the rim. There are great views in all directions. From up top, you can see the Cascade range, including Mount Bachelor, Tumalo Mountain, Broken Top, and the Three Sisters. It was well worth the stop, even though it took longer than we expected.
As we entered Bend, we stopped at a grocery store, then headed over to REI to pick up a package Keith ordered. His Altra trail runners had already worn out. He just bought them when we got back from Season Five. Altra shoes just don’t seem to hold up as long as they used to. Ann already replaced the Altra trail runners that she bought the previous fall. However, she went with a different brand that she heard might hold up longer, Topo. Keith tried a pair of Topo, but he didn’t like the fit. So he ordered another pair of Altra’s and will shop around for something different when we get back home in the fall. Hopefully, this new pair will last the rest of our travel season.
The REI store is located in a wonderful pedestrian shopping area called the Old Mill District. It sits right along the Deschutes River. We didn’t spend much time there. Ann strolled around a little bit while Keith picked up his shoes. It was a lively place.
For lunch, we drove over to the downtown area to go to Deschutes Brewery Bend Public House. We knew finding a place to park Red Tail (our Winnebago EKKO) might be an issue, so Keith called the Bend visitor center to get their advice. They thought our best option would be to parallel park along NW Riverside Boulevard, next to Drake Park. You can park there for free up to four hours. We drove along there, but Keith thought the few spots available were a little tight to get into. However, we found a spot along Tumalo Avenue that allowed three hour parking. It was a little confusing because the sign posted identified the pay area. Did we have to pay? A little internet searched revealed that the first three hours were free, but you could stay longer if you bought a parking pass. Great!
It was a lovely walk through Drake Park and the downtown area to reach Deschutes Brewery. At the brewery, Keith ordered a flight of six beers while Ann drank a lovely lavender lemonade.
The Public House was running a special that day, hot honey pizza. It was a pepperoni and basil pizza topped with pepper-infused honey. That sounded good to both us, so we ordered two. They were 11 inch pizzas, but they seemed larger than that when they brought them out. We probably could have split one. Maybe one of these days we’ll learn. However, the pizzas tasted so good, we managed to consume three quarters of it. The pizza had a wonderful New York style crust, just the way we like it. The hot honey added an interesting combination of flavors with the pepperoni and basil.
We boxed up the rest of the pizza and strolled around downtown. The town has a lovely feel to it. Once you get past the traffic and find a place to park, the city seems laid back and very pedestrian and bike friendly. People were lounging in Drake Park, lying in the grass and in hammocks hanging from the trees. Pedestrians and cyclists were enjoying the path alongside the river. Tubers and paddle boarders were floating down the river.
There was a farmer’s market along the promenade on the edge of downtown, facing the river. However, by the time we finished our late lunch, the market was closed and packing up, so we didn’t get a chance to see all of their wares. We should have researched that ahead of time. Ann could have picked up some of our groceries there instead of the grocery store.
Since Keith drank a flight, Ann drove Red Tail the rest of the day. Normally Keith drives all the time. In fact, Ann hadn’t driven a motor vehicle of any kind since we left for the season. Driving within a city is not Ann’s favorite place to drive a large vehicle, but she did fine.
Our last stop for the day was at the U-Haul store to get our propane tank filled. It has been cool temperatures so far on our trip and we’ve been using the furnace quite a bit at night. Without running the furnace, the two tanks of propane would last us the whole summer. With the furnace, we burn through a tank every week or two.
We arrived at Crooked River Ranch RV Park before 5 pm. So we were able to see the sights along our drive and still arrive at the campground before dinner. Of course, after all of that pizza, we probably didn’t need to eat dinner. We’re glad we checked out Bend along the way. It was a very enjoyable, although short, visit.
Check out our related video: Bend, Oregon
(Ann)