Heavenly Day in Bend

Maybe I had angered the Gods. Maybe I had jinxed myself (by telling someone in Lander that sunshine seemed to follow Jeff and I). Maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But today....my prayers were answered. It was GORGEOUS. And that meant Jeff and I were able to (once again) drive the Cascade Lakes Highway and this time actually see the beauty that is the Cascades. We actually went from south to north today which meant we started out with beautiful Wickiup Reservior and a distant view of Mt. Bachelor.

This was a huge reservoir with a very long beach area (and we only saw the western tip). I can only imagine the fun the locals and visitors have on the lake in the summer. Driving a ways north we stopped at Osprey Point, hoping to see some. But they migrate in early October so we hiked a very nice trail through the woods and came upon a babbling brooks that was being fed melted snow from underground channels. The water was as clear as the sky was blue. We even saw Brrok Trout swimming in the pool!

After a pretty good little hike, we continued up the road and kind of stumbled upon Hosmer Lake. We got out to get a (closer) look at Mt. Bachelor. There was this old guy in waders and flippers preparing to go out on the lake to do some fly fishing. He even had this miniature paddle boat that looked like one of those walker things you put babies in! I have always wanted to fly fish but I picture more standing in a beautiful mountain brook, casting my fly. Not sitting in an infant seat in the middle of a pond!

Mt Bachelor



Finally we came to the spot where we could plainly see the ranges and peaks all around us...Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, and the Three Sisters. But photographing them...Not so easy. There are few turnouts along the road and they always seem to be in the wrong place. Here are a few shots of Broken Top at any rate!











After completing our drive for the day, Jeff suggested we go to downtown Bend, which I thought was a great idea! The downtown area is like our "uptown"...cool shops, great restaurants, people walking around (safely). We asked a shopkeeper for a Brewpub recommendation and she quickly said that 10 Barrel was her favorite and provided directions. Now despite the fact that we actually got kind of lost (and I actually got kind of testy) the walk there was , again, stunning. We had to walk through what equated to Bend's "Central Park". Actually, it surrounded a "lake" that reminded me so much of Lake of the Isles. Gorgeous homes surrounding the parkway, people walking thier dogs, playing with the kids, skate boarding, feeding the ducks... Truly one of the prettiest city parks I have ever seen. Well, we finally made it to 10 Barrel and had a scrumptious lunch/dinner and a couple pints of thier dark porter. Super cool brew pub that again, just had the greatest ambience and the nicest people.

This evening I did make my trip to TJ Maxx and left Jeff at home to play "Rage" on Xbox. I think he enjoyed the time to relax as I do tend to go,go,go. I certainly enjoyed my little expedition and though it wasn't necessarily for the shopping, it was therapeutic!

The highlight of my day though was getting to see Katie and Amilia via Skype! I miss them so very much and seeing thier faces versus just hearing thier voices was fabulous. Now, time for a glass of wine and maybe an episode of Deadliest Catch. Then I better get Jeff to bed, we have a busy day tommorrow!!!

PS- We decided to stay here in Bend til Sunday and I am thrilled! So is Xena!