You can draw a circle around Richland, Washington encompassing central and eastern Oregon, most of eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. This large circle includes some of the most beautiful parts of the Pacific Northwest for hiking, biking and camping – all within a 4-hour drive of the Tri-Cities.

One of our favorite destinations within this grand circle of outdoor adventure is the greater Bend, Oregon area.

Our first adventures in Bend were in 2018 after moving to Washington – and we spent a weekend with Andrew at the Bend KOA.

Noel had not been back to Bend since that visit 8 years ago – so we loaded up the Atlas for one last journey.

Did I forget to mention that we also headed to Bend to trade in our Atlas for our new coach at Beaver Coach Sales?

So – our time in Bend had a twofold purpose – enjoying the greater Bend area and taking our new camper on a shake down trip.

Our first night was spent in a hotel since the Atlas was empty and we spent the next day going through all of the systems and features on our new motorcoach.

Confident that we could successfully drive our new 35 foot camper – we left Beaver Coach Sales about 4:30 p.m. and headed to Bend Sisters Garden RV Resort in Sisters, Oregon. After successfully navigating the 20 minute drive and pulling into our campsite we managed to successfully get the leveling jacks deployed and the slides out to enjoy our first night in the camper.

After a long day – Aurora enjoyed a bone and Noel and I had well deserved Gin & Tonics to celebrate the new camper and the nice campground.

Before going to bed – we wondered if we should perhaps set an alarm so we did not sleep too late. We forgot to ask Aurora about an alarm as she woke up promptly at 5 a.m. and was ready to explore the campground and watch some geese parading around.

After successfully fixing breakfast in the camper, taking showers, and organizing a few more cabinets – it was time to head into downtown Bend for a quick lunch.

We split a chicken salad sandwich and cinnamon role at the Great Harvest Bread Company and then drove south of Bend to spend time at The High Desert Museum.

It was a beautiful day so we were able to enjoy many of the outdoor exhibits which had been closed on our visit in 2018. Our timing was perfect as we arrived just in time to listen to a Volunteer Ranger talk about the reintroduction of Gray Wolves into eastern and central Oregon – including some of the challenges with wolf packs and livestock coexisting.

After the museum we headed back to the camper for a little bit of a break and a short nap before heading back into Downtown Bend for dinner at Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails which specializes in a New Orleans style cuisine. The food was fantastic, the drinks were creative and tasty, and the deserts were really good. It was one of the best all-around meals we have had in several months and will certainly be near the top of the list for a future trip to Bend.

Our “Aurora-alarm” woke us up promptly at 5:15 the next morning – so Kirk and Aurora enjoyed another early morning stroll around the campground.

We headed back into Downtown Bend for some shopping and to explore the interesting shops, breweries, and unique summer time atmosphere downtown. We enjoyed lunch at Old St. Francis Pub at McMenamins Old Francis School and had a coffee and pastry at a local coffee shop before heading back to the campground for the evening.

On the drive from Bend to Sisters we stopped at a roadside pull-out viewpoint and got some nice pictures of the “Three Sisters” mountains.

The next morning it was time to depart from Bend and head home to Richland. Yes – Aurora woke us up again at 5:15 a.m. so once again there was no danger of sleeping in.

It was an adventure for both of us driving a 35 foot motorcoach towing our Ford Bronco – but the Newmar drove really well and we both got the hang of highway driving quickly.

If you want a fun weekend place with mountain town vibes – be sure to put Bend, Oregon on your list. It took us 8 years to camp there for the second time – it will not be 8 years before our next visit!

One last bonus of my early morning walks with Aurora was spotting a California Scrub-Jay near the entrance to the campground – which was a new addition to my Merlin lifetime bird identification list.

Until next time ….