After Portland we headed back into the woods at Clear Lake in Mt. Hood National Forest. We got a nice view of Mt. Hood from Trillium Lake before we settled into our camp ground. It was VERY cold, in the 20s-30s F at night. It was so cold that we really didn’t do much of anything because we spent so much time trying to stay warm. A bird landed on Mike’s head. It was still a beautiful location though and very peaceful.
Our next stop was the town of Sisters, Oregon. It was a charming little town with a very old west feel. The campground was conveniently located right next to the main drag in town that had lots of shops and restaurants. After another freezing cold night in Sisters we decided it was time for some warmer bedding so we picked up two sleeping bags which has turned out to be the best decision ever made. It is getting harder and harder to fold up the tent though, since we also added a 2 inch memory foam topper on top of the existing foam mattress. Soon we may add a hand carved wooden headboard, multiple throw pillows and two night stands.
Our original plan in Sisters was to try to find public transit to get us to Bend and 
spend a day there trying out some of their 22 breweries. After checking in at the Sisters visitor information office with a very kind information lady, we found out that there are very few buses to Bend and if you go, you might NEVER BE ABLE TO RETURN(her words). So we held off and decided to spend one night at a hotel in Bend to be able to sample some beers and not worry about driving.
While in Bend we hit up Deschutes Brewery and Bend Brewing Company and also had a walk through a public farmer’s market. Later that day we went out for a delicious dinner at Zydeco, a Cajun restaurant in town.
Post Bend, we headed to the town of Sunriver which was about 30 minutes away. A guy at a bike shop in Bend recommended that we come to Sunriver since we were inquiring about bike paths for people with mountain bikes who don’t like to use them on mountains or any other rough terrain. Sunriver was the perfect place for us, 30 miles of paved pathways that ran through the town. You never even had to be on a road with a car at all. We were also able to bike right into Newberry Volcanic National monument and check out a waterfall and some old lava. Towards the end of the bike ride we saw a coyote which chased us for miles we before fought it to the death, or something like that.
After making it away from the coyote, we drove to Eugene where we stayed at a campsite on the outskirts of town. We spent some time at the library trying to do 
internet chores (blog!) and then did bike trip along the Willamette river one afternoon. We also went out for a nice lunch at Morning Glory Cafe and checked out an amazing Saturday Market which had some of the most beautiful produce ever grown on earth. Prettttyy, pretttty good. Then it was off to Crater Lake, which is the deepest lake in the USA. (1,943 ft). It formed 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 foot tall volcano collapsed after a huge eruption. The lake is a beautiful blue color and is the cleanest large body of water in the world. This is due to being fed by rain and snow rather than rivers and streams. After Crater Lake we popped by The Oregon Vortex, HOUSE OF MYSTERY. Perspective or paranormal?
So here ends our days in Oregon. It is such a gorgeous laid back state and we could have spent months here, but the road trip clock is ticking, sort of. After Oregon we spend some time looking at big trees in Redwood National forest and now we are currently in Berkeley, California and heading to Yosemite tomorrow. Will post about this soon. We have about 2 more weeks of travel in California. Friends and family, please let us know where we should go, if we can visit you and if you want to go on a trip with us!
Leave a Reply