Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Bend Trip Part 1

We are back from our trip to Bend! The weather was definitely not optimal as our visit to Oregon coincided with the arrival of the remnants of Typhoon Songda. So there was heavy rain and high winds for most of our visit. But we made the most of our time there even though the weather was pretty awful.

We arrived on Wednesday morning, got our rental car, and headed to Bend. We stopped on the way at a great Mediterranean restaurant called Nicholas Restaurant in the town of Gresham. We both got lunch bowls which were delicious. They even had GF pitas which is something I have never seen. We would highly recommend this place!

After filling our tummies, we headed down to Bend. The drive was gorgeous as we drove by Mount Hood.

The views on the drive were amazing!
We knew that Wednesday was going to be our only day of sunshine so we stopped at Smith Rock State Park on our way, which was a hike that Lauren had recommended. We did the misery ridge trail, which was super challenging as we hiked up to one of the peaks of this rock formation.

Sizing up the rock formation before our hike

At the base of the hiking trail. I was soooo overdressed as it was warm and sunny!

I'm on top of the world!!  Err, a giant rock!
After getting to the summit point, the trail leveled out and took you to the back of the rock formation. There were great views of the surrounding area.
I talked Phil into taking a picture (he HATES posed photography!).
Eventually the trail wound back down to the river. We took stops along the way so Phil could skip rocks, which is something he just has to do when we are by water!


After our hike, we continued onto Bend, which is about 30 minutes from Smith Rock State Park. As usual, we rented an airbnb for this trip. We stayed here - and below is a picture of the exterior of it.  It's a small home, but perfect for 2 people!  We'd highly recommend it to anyone visiting Bend as the location was perfect.


On Thursday morning, we woke up to rain. Lauren was planning to come over for the day but I told her to stay at home as there was a high wind advisory so I didn't think it would be nice enough for a hike, especially since she'd have her little guy Henry with. So we made plans to see each other on our way back to Bend.

After hemming and hawing about what to do, we decided to brave the rain and hike Tumalo Falls, which is about 30 minutes outside of Bend. This is what we had envisioned that hiking in Oregon would be like as it was so lush, green, and beautiful. You can see the waterfall in the parking area so after snapping some photos there, we headed up the trail.

Phil was very excited to take a photo together as you can tell from this picture
We followed the trail for a couple of miles and saw several waterfalls!


The views of the area were stunning! Of course photos just don't do it justice. I kept saying, "this area is beautiful!!"


After hiking for awhile, we headed back to Bend, got cleaned up and grabbed lunch. At 2 pm we did a tour of the Deschutes Brewery. The tour was very interesting, even for someone like me that doesn't drink beer. After the tour, you get to sample 4 different beers. They had homemade ginger ale and rootbeer for the non-beer drinkers, which were very good.

The brewery was HUGE. I can't remember how much beer they produce a year but it's A LOT! They are also the 2nd highest purchaser of hops, 2nd to Sierra Nevada.
That evening we went to dinner and then came back to our house and relaxed for the rest of the day! The next day ended up being quite interesting, but I'll tell you about that in my next post!

Have you visited the Pacific Northwest? I've been to Seattle multiple times, and this was my 2nd trip to Oregon as I was in Portland for the 2010 marathon.

15 comments:

Charbelle said...

I've been to Washington State a handful of times since my Dad still has family in that area but only Seattle. He and my Mom were out there 2 years ago and visited where they have the apple orchards and all that and it was gorgeous! Seeing your pictures of Oregon I'm blown away!!! I knew it was beautiful but wow, just wow!!! That is so nice that they had options for the non beer drinkers! I've visited several breweries this year and some have been awesome some not quite my taste!

Marisa A. said...

Jealous you got to tour Deschutes! I loved the pop up street pub the had in Minneapolis in September. We really want to get out to the PNW but Europe keeps calling!

Marlys said...

Great smile on Phil's face! He is like your Dad in that way, as he just freezes up for a photo. The scenery is beautiful. I have never been in that area, but Paul was there when he was young, and once when he was in Idaho for training, and they took them up to Oregon and he thought it was beautiful, too. I think he was in the Snake River area of Oregon.
Anxious for your post tomorrow!

Emilie said...

The PNW is high on my list of wish-list travel destinations! Looks like a really fun trip despite the crummy weather. The scenery is absolutely amazing. Now you get to plan for Spain!!

Leigh said...

I've been to that area, but would love to go! The hike looked gorgeous

J and A said...

Wow what a great place! I would love to visit there. So glad you had a good trip!

Amber said...

This is making me really want to look into planning a trip to Bend. Hiking and breweries sound PERFECT for us!! That is really too bad about the weather, but it's awesome you guys made the most of it.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

What a gorgeous place! I haven't visited the Pacific Northwest really at all in the US. I'd love to do a hiking trip, and see more of the beautiful outdoors.

katielookingforward said...

FUN!! I loved bend but haven't been in forever, and when I went it was with family. Looks like a great trip!

Jeanie said...

This looks like such a good trip for the two of you and I'm so glad your hip was up to the hiking. Those look like some pretty heavy duty climbs. I've never been to Oregon or Washington. Seeing your photos remind me how lovely it must be.

Gracie said...

I've only been to the PNW for the Hood to Coast relay last year, and of course, it was mostly dreadful weather, but your pictures certainly make it look beautiful (we also honeymooned in Vancouver, BC, which was simply lovely).
David also has to stop and skip rocks at any body of water.

Stephany said...

Ugh, I'm sorry the weather was so horrible for your vacation! That's such a bummer. But it seems like you guys made the most of your time!

Maybe it's a guy thing, the posed photos. My brother hates them, too. I have, like, 3 pictures of us as adults because he HATES posing for pictures. Sigh.

San said...

It looks like despite the weather you made the best of your time in Bend. I haven't been to Oregon, but would love to go.

Linda said...

The nature is so beautiful! I've been to Seattle in 2012 and went to Portland for World Domination Summit. I didn't get to explore the nature though so of course I need to find my way back!

Abby said...

Beautiful! I am sorry you didn't have the best weather, though :(

Pacific NW is definitely on my bucket list of places to visit. Even though your pictures look cold and snowy - that one of you by the lake is just incredible!!

Your VRBO home you rented looks so cute! I love finding little gems like that :)

I just ran into one of my old coworkers, and he said his 2 son's live in Bend, Oregon - and every summer he goes there for a week long bike trip. I wonder how much he gets rained on during that trip?? ;) lol