Sometime in the Spring my sister, Laura, started trying to convince me to spend my summer in Bend. I told her she might have to “twist my arm.” So she started sending me text messages and pictures of wine, fresh produce and cute puppies.
She also promised adventures. You know how I love adventures! I think I have to be careful when I ask this sister for adventures though. This Sunday we ventured on a hike categorized as “obscure.” 60 minutes, and two dirt roads outside of Bend is an area called Alder Springs and getting there itself was an adventure: off-roading and breaking through cow herds (no animals were injured in the making of this adventure)!
We chose the 3 mile route to the Deschutes River, 6 miles roundtrip. The first quarter mile, was flat and moderately tame, with just a little but of wind.
As we wound down into the canyon things got a little crazy and a lot beautiful. We forded a river (with dogs in tow) and bush-wacked through the trail in overgrown areas.
The only way to continue along the trail was to ford the river (above) and it was faster and wider than it looks! After a couple hours of hiking, laughter, and losing the dogs amongst the brush, we arrived at the confluence of the Wychus River and the Deschutes River! It was pretty amazing.
6.5 hours after we began our adventure, we arrived back safely to the house. Scrapes on our legs, mud in our shoes, and a song in our hearts (I know that last part was cheesy, but I needed a third thing). It was a great adventure! I even scaled the side of the “cliff”, trying to find a shortcut home. Do I ever have to leave this beautiful place?
Sarah Lynn Smile 
Sarah, I’m so glad you got to experience Bend. It is such a great and unique place. I used to live in Corvallis, but I have a nephew and friends in Bend. E. Oregon is so different than W. Oregon. Did you get to the museum yet? It’s pretty cool.
Yes! I love the museum! I actually used to live in Bend. It’s been really good to be back. 😉
Looks like you had an awesome time! Also, the brown dog could be my dog’s doppelganger! Similar coloring on the body and the ‘mask’ on the face. My dog loves the water too 🙂
That’s too funny! Abby LOVES the water, in fact I thought we might lose her to some rapids a few times. What kind of dog do you have?!
Breed wise? That is a very good question. Basically, we have no idea. I like to say she is a sweetheart x goofball mix. Some people think she’s a husky/hound mix (‘mask’ on face and howls/sings) others think she is an australian cattle dog/ hound mix because of her white/brown spots only on her belly and arms (I call them freckles; I like to think she and I share a common trait), but truly I have no idea. As for size, when she had all 4 legs, she was about 70lbs (now only ~60), I guess ‘medium to large’ type dog? If you visit my page, you will see a couple pictures on the right hand menu and a link to my other blog, a dog blog.
Love all the cool adventure pictures!