On sunday I drove from Eugene to Bend. The drive took took me from the lush, green Willamette Valley to the arid high desert of Central Oregon. The Deschutes River gave me the chance to try something I'd seen in a few places on my trip, stand-up paddleboarding. This sport which has been gaining in popularity requires you to stand on a board, similar to a surfboard, and padde in an upright position. It took me about 30 minutes and some advice from a few local paddlers on the river to get the hang of it. Paddleboarding was a lot of fun and something I'll do again in the future. After paddleboarding I did some hiking around Tumalo Falls.
Sunday night I headed to a neighboring town called Sisters to camp in their Municipal Park. I found a good spot at the campsite and started to unload the camping gear when I small problem came up. My tent was missing. I'm not sure if it was lost or stolen but it wasn't there so I didn't have a tent to sleep in. Since I already had a good spot at the campground picked out and it was late at night my solution was simple, sleep in the car. This turned out to be more comfortable than expected and I manged to get a decent night of sleep.
The next night I was in luck as I had a friend of a friend lined up to spend the night with. I stayed with Tannus & Heather Quatre and their 3 kids. Tannus and I did a 2 1/2 hour hike up Mt. Tumalo. The view of the buttes, forests, and surrounding mountains was spectacular. After car camping the night before I was especially grateful for a home cooked meal, warm shower, comfortable bed, and generous hospitality.
Heading south from Bend I stopped at Crater Lake National Park. I squeezed in a hike up to the top of Garfield Peak for a great view of the lake. Crater Lake was a wonder to see with its almost indescribable shade of blue water.
From Crater Lake I headed down to Ashland, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I stayed at the Ashland Hostel which was conveniently within walking distance of the festival, Lithia Park, the Ashland Co-Op, and everything else in downtown Ashland. Wednesday afternoon I biked the Bear Creek Greenway up to Medford and back. In the evening I checked out a free concert given by the Portland Cello Project and saw an exciting presentation of Macbeth in the Angus Bowmer Theater.
