Bend, Oregon (Part 2)

After July 4^thwe finally had a chance to really check out Bend, which we did… for a whole week. I have to admit that I went back and forth with this love/hate relationship with Bend.

Love: bike lanes everywhere. Bikes everywhere. Boats (kayaks and SUPs) everywhere. Friendly people. Friendly drivers. Tons of great restaurants, parks, coffee shops, you name it. Also, Bend is ridiculously close to a huge amount of outdoor activities, like trail running, mountain biking, and paddling. Our nightly campsite was a mere 20 minutes from downtown Bend.

Hate: Bend is overwhelmingly white, and from what I could see, pretty straight. Not that I was checking to see who was holding hands or anything, but it seemed like I just didn’t see too many gay couples. The lack of diversity is odd. But here’s the thing for me, my most overwhelming impression: This town is money. The cars are new and shiny. The houses are gigantic. The people have all the latest toys. Hell, even the tattoos here are money. People here don’t just have a little bit of ink on their arm or on a shoulder. It’s a sleeve, rich with detail. A full back piece. Stuff like that.

Some days, I looked around, and I just saw all the things I will never have.

Michael had to remind me to stop playing the comparison game. Because really, our rig is pretty awesome. Our life is pretty damn awesome.

And Bend is a pretty sweet place.

One of our first discoveries was the dog “beach” at Riverbend Park. There wasn’t any sand in the dog area – just a bunch of giant rocks – so I don’t know why it’s called the dog beach. But Bailey had an absolute blast launching off those rocks and into the water. We kept throwing the tennis ball until we realized he was actually shivering. That water was pretty cold! Riverbend Park became a daily stop for us. Especially since we tended to wade in to the river as well. Almost as good as a shower.

On Thursday we found ourselves a shady spot alongside Drake Park. (There are lots of parks in Bend, and most of them border the Deschutes River, which runs through town.) Lucky for us the spot we found had shade for the entire day, so we were able to check out the weekly “Munch & Music” event in Drake Park.

Good thing the event was better than the name. There were food trucks and carts, beer aplenty, and live music. Thursday the 6^th was actually the first Munch & Music of the summer, and the band was called Arrival From Sweeden. They’re an ABBA tribute band so they played all ABBA’s greatest hits and dressed like it was 1980.

As hokey as it sounds, it was a blast. Arrival From Sweeden was pretty good and the crowd was into it. I’m not sure if the band brought the dancing T-Rexes or not, but either way we had a ton of fun.

We checked out the nearby Newberry National Volcanic Monument, including the super cool Lava Cave and the Big Obsidian Flow. The mile-long Lava Cave is actually a tube, formed by an eruption long ago. It’s the largest intact lava cave in Oregon. The thing I actually liked the best is that you need to bring your own light source. Places like Carlsbad Caverns are already lit up, but you see the Lava Cave pretty much how the early explorers saw it. Well, more or less, unless you go in there with candles or something, but you know what I mean. You can rent lanterns for just $5 from the Forest Service (they manage the cave) but I wore my headlamp and carried a flashlight. I also wore a jacket, a hat, and wished I’d worn pants and gloves, even though it was 90^o outside. Cave temperature is constant at 42^o.

Michael and I went separately into the cave. It was hot out, like I said, and there was no shade to be found in the parking lot and we were not about to leave Bailey in that kind of heat, even in the topper. I went first. It was a bit strange – the cave was pretty crowded, but people tended to bunch together. So there were times when I could see really well, even up to the 30-foot ceiling, from all the lights bouncing around. There were other times when I was the only person around. I couldn’t see any other lights. The only sound was the soft dripping of water. I felt like an intrepid explorer or something. It was cool.

I spent about an hour walking through the cave. When I got back to where we’d parked, Michael had set the hammock up between two trees, and he and Bailey were enjoying the shade. When we switched places I enjoyed my hammock time enormously.

After leaving the Lava Cave, we headed south, towards Paulina Falls. We found shade in that parking lot, although it was okay to bring Bailey with on this hike.

I took a few pictures and then we hiked up above the falls. Maybe 500 feet from the lip we found this sweet little pool. Michael took off his shirt and waded in. I watched jealously. I hadn’t worn my suit but that water sure looked nice. Did I mention that it was hot out? And as I glanced around, the only other witnesses were a family of ducks.

So did what Jack Burton always does in a time like this. And ol’ Jack says, what the hell. (If you don’t get that reference, click here.) I tied Bailey to a tree, stripped down to my undies, and waded in after Michael. The water was deliciously cold, and about 4 feet deep at its deepest. Right about the time I was ready to get out I heard voices. An older couple came up the trail. The guy noticed me straightaway, even though I was submerged almost to my neck. Then – and I swear I am not making this up – he got out his camera.

*Sigh*

I guess if he ever bothers to enlarge those pictures, he’ll see I wasn’t actually naked.

Eventually the people wandered off, and when they did I climbed out, got dressed, and headed back to the truck. Our next stop (and last for that day) was nearby, part of what’s called the Newberry Caldera: The Big Obsidian Flow.

Volcanic activity in this area goes back some 70,000 years but the Big Obsidian Flow was formed a mere 1,300 years ago. During that eruption, a 100-foot tall “wall of lava” flowed across an area about one square mile. As this lava flow cooled, three layers emerged. White pumice on top, obsidian (or volcanic glass) in the middle, and gray pumice, the heaviest, on the bottom.

Obsidian forms when lava cools rapidly, which prevents an orderly crystal growth. Pumice is the result of gas bubbles in the lava as it cools (again, rapidly).

There is an interpretive nature trail winding for about a mile through the Big Obsidian Flow. We were there in late afternoon and the light was wonderful. Shades of gray broken with shiny bits, as well as the occasional tree. It was beautiful.

We camped out that night on the east side of town, close to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Bend is surrounded by National Forest and we never once had a problem finding a place to camp.

We’d arrived at a curious time, though: an outbreak of Pandora Moths.

Pandora Moths are native to central Oregon, and these “outbreaks” happen about every 10 years. The moths have a 2-year life cycle, you see, but their numbers build up over time, and this year the numbers were high enough to call it an outbreak. Apparently after an outbreak such as this one, their numbers drop. So next year, nobody will be sitting on a bucket toilet in the middle of Deschutes National Forest and watch a brand-new Pandora Moth come crawling up out of the ground between their feet like something out of a horror movie. Or worse, be standing at the table making coffee, and suddenly feel something crawling up their leg. Something that looks like this.

I’m not even going to ask forgiveness for my girly scream.

The wings don’t stay that small for long, which helps make the Pandora Moth a lot easier on the eyes.

Our last hike in Newberry National Volcanic Monument involved the Lava Cast Forest. This area was formed from an eruption 6,000 years ago and covered about 5 square miles. This was slow-moving lava that surrounded the trees, which killed the trees but left many of the stumps intact. Eventually the stumps rotted away, leaving behind tree molds, also known as lava casts.

We both thought the lava cast forest was super cool.

One last stop we made in Bend was the Cascadia Vehicle Tents showroom. The company originated in Bend (they have a new showroom in Chattanooga, TN) so we wanted to drop in, check it out, and say hi. Which we did. And then (eventually) walked out with a new addition to the rig, thanks to Michael’s parents. (Thanks, Beth and Steve!)

Yep. An awning. Can’t wait to run the Revel Gear lights around this one!