Sunday August 14, Bend, Or

Realised this morning that the two batteries that run all the lights etc in the living part of the van were just about flat. They are normally charged up when the truck runs and have never had any problems. Bend is a town of about 80,000 and knew there would be somewhere we could get it sorted out.

It was a really pretty drive from camp following the river on HW 20. As we approached the town of Sisters, the road became really busy, this is a big area for outdoor activities and people were out and about doing things.

Sisters is a tourist town, with the mountains close by, and has been done out in a Western theme. Stretched our legs and walked through town, but not very inspiring.

Several weeks ago in central Idaho we met a couple from Bend, Honor and Jim who were parked in a forest camp not far from ours. All trip Ian had been joking about needing his chainsaw to get plenty of wood for campfires, so when he heard Jim start his up, he needed to have a chat…with a real man!!! Had quite a chat, especially when we found out Honor had spent time in NZ. She is a surfer and both of them are mountain bikers (Honor has been a west coast champion for a number of years), so super fit outdoors people. Jim has a company constructing houses, some amazing places… www.timberlinebend.com

Anyway they were keen for us to call in to see them, made contact by phone when we got to Bend and when they heard we needed to stay in town overnight and to have electricity to charge the batteries, they were adamant that we should park at their place and hook up to power.

Bend has a really great feel to it, the Deschutes River runs through the centre of town, and snow capped mountains for a great backdrop. What was the old timber mill on the river in the heart of town has now been developed into a great upmarket shopping area with lots of cafes and apartments. Spent time looking around the area and were amazed to see heaps of people lying on air beds and tubes rafting down the river enjoying a really warm Sunday afternoon. Evidently this is a favourite pastime on hot days and there is a shuttle that takes people back to where they started.

Arrived at Honor and Jim’s late afternoon just in time to enjoy the last of the afternoon sun with a beer … or two. Neighbours joined us and it turned into a great afternoon. Got lots of information about places to visit on the rest of our trip through Oregon. Just around the corner is a brew pub, a good place for pizzas and more beer to finish off the evening..