Goin' 'Round the Bend

09/01/2005

When Mari was feeling good enough to travel again, we made a bee line for Bend, in central Oregon.

Driving south on Highway 197 from Dufur (a town a half hour south of the Columbia River flowing along the northern border of Oregon), then onto Highway 97, the terrain changed from sharply rolling hills mostly devoid of trees to hills and canyons with lots of short coniferous trees.

The area around Bend reminded us of the area around Santa Fe, New Mexico.

We wanted to find a nice place to park for a month or so and get caught up on work, or at least make headway toward that goal. We thought maybe Bend would be the town, if we found a suitable RV Park. If not, then a bit further south, possibly near the small town of LaPine.

As it turned out, circumstances dictated the latter.

We arrived in Bend in early afternoon and did some food and comfort shopping for us and the critters. Then it was time to find a place to park overnight.

Three RV Parks are listed for Bend in the several directories we consult.

One was never seriously considered. Their fees are about twice what we were willing to spend. We had plenty of time to find something more suitable (or so we thought).

The park we went to first was crowded. The sites were in and among the trees, which is good for many people, but when you must have Internet connection the trees can block dish to satellite reception and transmission. We still had plenty of time.

So we drove toward the third park on the list. On the way, we saw another park, one not on our list. When we stopped by, they were full.

Upon arriving at the third park on the list, we found it closed. Not full, closed. There was nobody there. It looked like it had been quickly abandoned a month or two earlier. The rate sheet was still posted on the front of the office. But the office furniture was gone. Many of the electrical boxes were removed from the RV parking sites. Pretty much everything that could be quickly and easily removed was gone. It was eerie.

With no inns in Bend, the direction was out.

So we went back onto Highway 97 and headed south. An hour before sundown, we found a nice park a few miles north of LaPine. We've decided to stay here for a while.