It’s all been written before. Bend ,Oregon is hot, considered the BEST place to live for outdoorsy people, adventurers, retirees, young people starting families, pretty much everyone. It has been named BEST place to live in many major magazines for the past few years. We were eager to explore this high desert city of 90,000 souls. I had read the accolades and were curious to see if the hyperbole was true.
The drive from the coast was beautiful, by the time we reached the pass, the sun was shining on several inches of snow. Our first stop was Sisters, an old western town where we grabbed lunch at a vintage burger and shakes shop. We took some time to explore the small town, it had a great indie bookstore and the first ever HOPS Spa. I kid you not, this struck me as odd but it was a bona fide business. Soaking tubs with elixirs of hops. Better yet, while bathing one could indulge in a few good IPA’s. It was closed or else I would have been a customer in two seconds.
I had arranged to stay at an airbnb for our days in Bend, the choices were bountiful, an indication I think of the cool factor of this city. We considered staying in town but the Cricket always poses a challenge to parking so I’d booked a space called The Shed, ten minutes from the downtown but in the farm country west of the city. What a fantastic surprise! Becky greeted us upon arrival to their sweet working farm. The Shed was a tiny outbuilding they had added on to, a small bedroom adjacent to a living space. Cozily decorated in chic country style, The Shed was a literal home away from home. Becky had filled the fridge with local microbrews, fresh goat milk, fresh pressed apple cider, locally made kombucha, yogurt, jam and bottles of water. Muffins, homemade granola, bagels were in the bread box. The piece de resistance was Becky had cooked up popcorn made with coconut oil in a big vintage pot for us to watch with a Netflix movie in the evenings. I AM SERIOUS. I felt like I was a beloved family member who came to visit. This is the best of what airbnb is capable of and the efforts were deeply appreciated by us. Coming off sleeping in the Cricket for 6 days to this little oasis of comfort was beyond satisfying. We were elated. This was our home base for three days. Every morning, I would hear the cows mooing and open the curtains to the chickens pecking the ground right outside our sliding doors. Becky and her husband had raised their children in Bend and had reinvented their later years as farmers. It seemed to me to be a very attractive way to spend your retirement years.
Bend beckoned. The downtown is thriving. Three blocks of locally owned businesses make a stroll enervating and curious. What’s around the next corner? Cocktail bars, brewpubs, ethnic restaurants, carefully curated shops, old restored theaters, the streets were filled with locals and the energy was palpable. People enjoying their place and loving on it. This was a common thread as we explored the different neighborhoods and outlying sprawl. There was a feeling of joy in the air, of prosperity not in terms of monetary value but almost a “Didn’t we luck out?” and its not just because the city has everything one might desire in terms of culture and food. The key is the natural beauty surrounding the town, the endless opportunities to engage and indulge in outdoor pursuits of any persuasion. Mountain biking, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, winter sports, everything is right at your fingertips. The key is that to be in nature you must only drive a few miles outside town. And the food…well the food is varied, ethnic, vegan and fabulous. The food trucks alone are an inexpensive, to die for food, all served in a community environment, heated seats and a bar serving local brews and ciders, I mean….what more could you possibly want?
Our visit to Bend was made infinitely better by getting to spend time with some great people. Our good friends from Holland, Paula and Dale have family out here. Dale’s son Josh and his wife Katie live and work in Bend and we spent a lively evening at a great local joint called Brother Jon’s Public House, where we got the scoop on what its really like to live in this town(awesome!). It was so much fun to talk with people who felt like friends. After so much time on the road, conversing with strangers and each other, it’s entirely refreshing to hang out with Midwesterners who know where you’re from and can relate to your backstory. It seemed to us that Bend was everything it was cracked up to be, the only detractor was the real estate. It was through the roof and everyone we talked to said infrastructure was suffering due to the population influx. Everyone loves Bend.
It was tough to pick a hike to do here as there so many to choose from, but we decided on the Upper Deschute’s River Trail, a 104 mile trail system just outside of town. Some of my favorite hikes are those that parallel a river and this was no exception. The fall colors were peaking and the trail was known for its stands of larches and birch trees. We hiked from one set of waterfalls and rapids to the next. The lemon yellows were so vibrant it seemed the forest was on fire with sunlight.
We were enjoying Bend so much we decided to stay another two days and The Shed was unavailable so we booked an airbnb in town so we could walk the neighborhoods and be close to downtown. Our highlight was a Saturday night jazz concert featuring the divine Kandace Springs. We had been walking around reading posters of local music, craving a little culture. I hadn’t heard of Ms. Springs but the poster mentioned she was a Prince protégé prior to his death. That’s all I needed to hear. I bought tickets and we stayed 2 more days in town to catch her show. Turned out we had front row seats in a very intimate jazz club on the river. I was mesmerized by Ms. Springs voice and stage presence. She covered Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald classics, and did her own rendition of The Beautiful Ones by Prince. In a 2 hour set she regaled the audience with original tunes that left us all begging for more. After weeks of quiet evenings in nature, this was an unexpected and very welcome treat.
Our time in Bend had come to an end. I have to say we were ready to go, with a promise that this was one of the places we would return. There was so much we hadn’t explored and Bend was a town that had everything we loved. But being in an urban setting for 5 days left me hankering for the road and the Cricket, and the loose boundaries of the wilderness.