More Biking and Breweries

 

We had signed up as volunteers for the Blitz 2 The Barrel mountain bike race scheduled for Wednesday. Unfortunately it had to be postponed since the ride went through a fire evacuation route. Darn, we were looking forward to helping out and getting a free t-shirt and 10 Barrel beer.

Even though the Two Bulls Fire (which is now under control) has some of the best mountain biking and hiking trails closed, there are still plenty of other places to ride. Since our “work” was cancelled for Wednesday we took the bikes down to the Lava Lands Visitor Center about 10 miles south of Bend and rode a little over 4 miles on the Black Rock trail to Benham Falls. It is fun single track with lots of ups and downs and some lava rock. The trail goes right along the lava bed, which made for interesting scenery.

At Benham Falls, which we were unable to view because the bridge is closed due to construction, we found the Deschutes River trail to Sunriver, a planned residential and resort community. Miles of paved trails go through the community, which although lovely was a bit too groomed for our tastes, and it must be too early in the summer as there were very few people around other than some golfers.

Parts of the trail had nice views of the river.

We ended up coming back on the new asphalt trail from Sunriver to the visitor center, even though it isn’t quite finished. We were tired and just didn’t feel like fighting the uphill rocky parts of the single track, so we snuck around where they were working and managed to ride a good portion. We ended up doing a 20 mile ride, which of course required another brewery stop on the way home.

Jim had to return something at NAPA, and Worthy Brewing just happened to be around the corner. The beer was good and their veggie burger was great. They have a really nice outdoor patio, where we sat to keep an eye on our bikes since we forgot the locks.

Thursday we took another bike ride on a different part of the Deschutes River Trail. This time we started at Lava Island Falls off the road going to Mt. Bachelor. We were determined to see Benham Falls, and it was about a 6.5 mile trail to get there from that side. We read that this was fairly easy single track, but somehow early on we must have diverted to the difficult trail, as we were doing lots of steep ups and downs over rocks and roots, and had to do quite a bit of hike and bike. It finally got better so we continued riding and made it to the falls.

We had views of the river almost the entire trail.

Benham Falls, we made it.

This is a popular rafting and kayaking area since there are lots of rapids.

We were dreading the ride back over the technical parts, but somehow we must have stayed on the right trail and our ride back was fun, fast and mostly downhill. Time for a beer!

We had heard good things about Crux Fermentation Project, so that was our choice of the day. We thought there must be an event going on because cars were parked everywhere and an employee was directing traffic. But he said that it was just a normal afternoon. They don’t even have happy hour prices but it was packed with people inside and out. Apparently it is THE place to go in Bend for a beer. The other brewpubs we’ve visited have not been crowded at all. We did get a table and ordered a six beer sampler because they had so many different kinds. Jim really liked the Doublecross Strong Dark Belgian Ale and ordered a pint for himself. I just drank the rest of the samples, and saved my favorite for last, the Half Hitch IPA. Best one I’ve tasted so far, and the Drunken Mushroom sandwich was very tasty.

Colder temps and rain were in the forecast for yesterday, so we hung around and researched some options for when we leave Bend. Still no decision. I did go pick up a few groceries and got rained on by maybe a dozen drops. Today is cooler and partly cloudy, so it looks like a good day for a hike.

Our friend gave us some presents for the cats that hers doesn’t like. We have resisted getting something like this and have a couple of small scratching places for them, but since this fits between the front seats and we don’t use that area anyway, it looks like it’s a keeper. Elvis and Sophie are loving it!

This is a 12 week old St. Bernard puppy we met at one of the breweries the other day. Talk about a people magnet! How could you resist that face? The owner told me her parents are big so they are expecting her to get to 160 pounds. Won’t be so cute then!

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

 

I got the call today from the urologist. My CT scan was perfectly normal, no tumors, kidney stones, nothing out of the ordinary. He said it’s possible I had a very minor UTI that could have caused some bleeding but didn’t show up on a urinalysis the day I went to Urgent Care. Mystery unsolved, but at least my urological organs are healthy. Lots of money spent on probably unnecessary tests, but peace of mind nonetheless.

So on to our regular life, which yesterday included a wonderful afternoon spent at Smith Rock State Park just north of Redmond, Oregon, about 25 miles northeast of Bend. We had read about this place on several blogs, and a few other people emailed and told us not to miss it. We are so glad we went!

We spoke with the very nice volunteer couple who gave us a trail map and a description of the trails. She said most of the hiker injuries that occur there involve people who slip and fall on the steep Misery Ridge trail coming down. So we opted for a loop where we would go up Misery Ridge, pass by Monkey Face rock, come down on the Mesa Verde trail, and back to the parking lot via the River trail, a four mile loop.

We knew the Misery Ridge trail was going to be a tough climb up, 700 feet in a half mile. And it was.

But what great views once we caught our breath. Crooked River.

We took a short detour to get a better look at Monkey Face. No, it didn’t look at all like a monkey. At least not from that angle.

This is some gorgeous scenery. We both agreed, we enjoyed the trails through the redwoods, but we’ll take a hike like this any day over hiking through a forest of tall trees where there are no views.

We even spotted a couple houses we could see living in.

We aren’t sure it was any less steep going back down the other trail, but we were glad we each brought two hiking poles.

Finally down on the Riverside trail, we saw where Monkey Face got it’s name.

It actually looked more like a gorilla face.

The last mile or so along the river was level and very pretty.

And we got to see quite a few climbers. This is a famous climbing destination, very popular with foreigners.

Crutches and a litter, just in case.

I have a hard time watching this.

This is a great park, not what we imagined for central Oregon, and well worth a day trip if you’re ever in the neighborhood.

Oh, and of course after our workout we had to check out one of the four breweries in Redmond. We chose Cascade Lakes Seventh Street Brew House. We really liked their beer. Jim tried the new Misery Ridge Stout and loved it but they aren’t bottling it. He did buy a 6 pack of Monkey Face Porter which was almost as good.

Now we have to figure out where we’re going the rest of the summer. Back to the coast, stay inland, Washington, Idaho? Decisions, decisions.

Wildfire Season Gets an Early Start

 

And every summer we somehow manage to be much too close.

Yesterday we were trying to decide on a bike ride or a hike. After pondering which would be more crowded on a Saturday, we opted for a hike at Tumalo Falls, about 10 miles west of Bend. It turned out to be an excellent choice.

The main falls were impressive enough, but if you continue upstream along Tumalo Creek, the North Fork trail passes at least a half dozen other waterfalls, and although none are as tall as the 90+ feet Tumalo Falls, they were all impressive in their own way.

After a little over 3 miles of the moderate uphill climb with rushing water either heard or seen for the entire hike, we came to an impasse. Way too much snow for us to be comfortable walking in.

It sort of took us by surprise, but we were almost at 6,000’ so it shouldn’t have been unexpected.

This was one of the prettiest trails for waterfalls we’ve ever been on, and not too difficult, either. We didn’t quite make it the 4 miles to Happy Valley but everyone we passed on our way down asked if we got there. Apparently the valley is full of wildflowers in the summer, but I think we were a month or so too early even if we would have pushed on through the snow.

We could see odd clouds and possible smoke as we were coming back down, and there was a sheriff’s car in the parking lot. He was telling people the trail was now closed due to the nearby forest fire. It just started yesterday afternoon, two small fires that merged. Cause yet to be determined, but since the weather has been beautiful it sure wasn’t from lightning, so most likely it was due to human carelessness.

We caught this on the way home. Getting a bit too close to some really nice neighborhoods.

What was burning a couple hundred acres yesterday has now grown to over 6,000. The fire is just 10 miles northwest of Bend, so hundreds of homes are being evacuated. Not a good way to start the summer.

Jim took the Subaru to the dealer Friday to get the brake fluid changed and to diagnose a problem with the power windows (not covered by the extended warranty, of course). Today he changed the oil and replaced air filters on both the Lazy Daze and the car. Always nice to get those things out of the way for awhile.

We didn’t make it to a brewery yesterday, so this evening we are meeting Gary and Leslie downtown at Deschutes. Too many breweries, too little time.

And can anyone identify this bird? They have a nest inside a hole of a tree next to us. In the left photo you can barely see the parent feeding one of the babies. I gave up looking for it in my bird book and online. A blue-gray gnatcatcher is the closest thing I could find but it doesn’t look exactly like the pictures. They are very cute and noisy, and probably no more than 4”.

All’s Well In Bend

 

Common snowball bush.

The cystoscopy went fine, in fact the test is a breeze. Not something I’d want to do every day, but really not uncomfortable in the least. The anticipation was much worse than the actual procedure itself, and it only took a few minutes. So my bladder (a place no camera should have to go) is healthy.

But, that still doesn’t rule out something going on in the kidneys, so I had a CT urogram this afternoon. Except for the IV and the dye injection, which caused a very disconcerting warm sensation, there was nothing to it either. But since it’s Friday afternoon I won’t hear from the doctor about the results until next week. No big deal, I will enjoy the weekend and will deal with whatever news I get. I’m confident it’s nothing.

We did get to go mountain biking on the Phil’s trail system just west of town. There are many miles of trails of varying difficulty, easy to get lost on when you’re new. But it seemed like every time we stopped to check the map some nice biker would go by and stop to ask if we needed help. We only did a 6 mile loop, which was plenty since there was some climbing involved. Coming back down was loads of fun, though, and the trail we returned on was one way going down so we didn’t have to worry about anyone coming towards us. I only had to stop once to let a fast guy pass me but Jim was way ahead of both of us. For an old guy he is a crazy fool on downhill runs and just loves it. I’m rather cautious, especially on a trail for the first time until I know what’s ahead. Jim just lets it rip, which is why he falls more than I do!

Art on the trail.

Last evening we went for another walk downtown and along the Deschutes River, starting at Drake Park. There are some lovely homes on the river, a great location to live but probably pretty pricey.

Then it was time to try another brewery, this time Mcmenamins Old St. Francis Pub, located in an interesting old Catholic schoolhouse in downtown Bend. Very good beer and a decent vegan hemp burger.

After leaving the imaging center late this afternoon following my CT scan we dropped off an old computer for recycling at Best Buy, then decided it was time for happy hour and another brewpub. There are 19 breweries in Bend alone, so it will take some time to check them all out!  Riverbend Brewing Company was on our way home, so that’s how we chose it. Again the beer was very good. I think Jim liked the Coconut Porter a little better at Mcmenamins last night, but the Riverbend Stout he had tonight was quite tasty. I like really hoppy IPAs and so far I don’t think I’ve ever met one I didn’t like, no matter who’s brewing it.

We have a little creek right next to where we are parked. Every day we see this family of ducks float by. Actually we aren’t sure if it’s the same family.

They spotted me outside with Sophie so they took a land detour on the other side before getting back in the water.

We hope to do some more biking and maybe hiking this weekend. More beer tasting is also a real possibility. The weather has just about been perfect here and we are glad to be back in low humidity after our time spent on the damp coast.

From Sisters to Bend

 

We liked Sisters so much we decided to hang around a few more days. We almost never stay at a place that’s right in town, so it’s been fun to walk or bike from the campground. In two days we rode about 25 miles on the local mountain bike trails, Peterson Ridge and Sisters Tie Trail. Nice, easy trails if you don’t mind a little dust. And Jim only fell once.

On Sunday we met up with fellow RVers and bloggers Gary and Leslie (Next Horizon), from Green Valley, AZ, on an extended trip escaping the southern Arizona heat. It was a beautiful evening so we wandered around Sisters and found a strange little bar with outside seating for a beer and some good conversation. They will be here all month so we hope to meet up again at one of the many Bend breweries.

Yesterday I visited the urologist in Bend and have to return on Thursday for a cystoscopy. He said the bleeding I had could be the result of a small tumor, kidney stone, or nothing.  If the cystoscopy is normal the next step will be a CT scan. He also sent my urine off for a culture to rule out an infection. I really don’t like being a patient.

We scoped out some places to boondock near Bend and found a few possibilities. We really wanted to camp near Phil’s Trailhead and the huge network of mountain bike trails a few miles west of town. Jim spoke with a forest service ranger who said it is okay to camp there but they are discouraging it because it is such a popular biking area. We drove down the road to check it out and found a locked gate that said the area was closed due to noxious weed spraying. So why didn’t he just say it is closed??

We did find a couple other places farther out of town, and had decided to move to one of them today, but then yesterday we had a generous invitation to park in the pasture of a friend of a friend who lives in Bend. We are so very grateful!

How great to be camped less than a mile from a Trader Joe’s and just a couple miles from downtown. This afternoon we went over to Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint and climbed the mile long trail to the top of an old cinder cone. We had great views of Bend and the Cascade mountains and were surprised we could even see Mt. Hood way off in the haze.

Since there are quite a number of breweries in Bend we decided we might as well give one a try after our hike, so we stopped downtown at Bend Brewing Co. We both liked our selection and look forward to visiting some of the other breweries while we’re in town. We also walked down along the Deschutes River and through some of the downtown. I think we’re really going to like it here.