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That’s A Wrap: Our Breakfast Burrito Shortlist

Photo of Bend Breakfast Burrito, by Tambi Lane Photo

Starting your day with a breakfast burrito is a ritual we can all get behind. Whether you’re heading up to the mountain, hiking among the pines or just looking for a little comfort food to jumpstart your morning, these Central Oregon breakfast burritos make mornings something to look forward to.

From food trucks around Bend to tucked-away cafes in Sisters, here’s your ultimate guide to finding the breakfast burritos worth waking up early for. Each spot offers its own spin on this morning classic, packed with flavors that’ll fuel your day from first bite to last.

Central Oregon’s Best Breakfast Burritos

Bend Breakfast Burrito

Locations: Boss Rambler, Midtown Kitchen, Bend | Open 7:30 a.m.

When it comes to quick, hearty breakfasts, Bend Breakfast Burrito has become a legend in its own right. The burritos include options like bacon, chorizo, veggie and even vegan, offering the perfect grab-and-go meal before heading off on your next adventure. And yes, they’ve thought of everything—each burrito is perfectly wrapped for easy handling, so you won’t be left juggling your breakfast mid-hike or between ski runs.

Burrito Sunrise

Location: Bend | Open 7:00 a.m. (Monday-Saturday)

Bright yellow and hard to miss, Burrito Sunrise is as cheerful as the California-inspired breakfast burritos served. Parked downtown, this food truck is your answer to a little SoCal flavor in Central Oregon. The breakfast burritos range from classics like bacon and chorizo to choices like chicken and veggie, all rolled up in a fluffy tortilla that’s easy to eat on the go.

Sisters Coffee Company

Location: Sisters | Open 6 a.m. daily

Sisters Coffee Company may be best known for its roasted espresso and cozy log cabin vibes, but don’t overlook its breakfast burritos. Each burrito is crafted with fresh, locally sourced ingredients, packed with flavor, and wrapped up snugly for you to savor as you wander through the charming town of Sisters. Whether you’re just out for a leisurely day or planning a rugged mountain adventure, this burrito will keep you fueled in all the right ways.

Market of Choice

Location: Bend | Open 7:00 a.m. daily

Market of Choice is like your one-stop shop for all things tasty, and the breakfast burritos are no exception. Wrapped and ready for a quick grab, this burrito is ideal for those who need a solid meal fast. It’s packed with eggs, cheese, and all the classic fixings, but with just enough spice to keep things interesting. These burritos are saucy, flavorful, and ideal for those passing through on their way to the next Central Oregon adventure.

La Posada

Locations: Redmond and Madras | Open 24 hours

If you’ve ever needed a breakfast burrito at 3 a.m. (no questions asked), La Posada is there to answer the call. Open 24/7 with multiple locations, the burritos here are no-fuss but packed with flavor—just what you want for those early-morning hikes or late-night cravings. They are consistently satisfying, with no frills but plenty of flavor.

Strictly Organic Coffee Co.

Location: Bend | Opens 6:00 a.m. (Monday – Saturday) 7:00 a.m. (Sunday)

Strictly Organic Coffee Co. is where you go for the double-whammy: caffeine and burrito, both ethically sourced, delicious and available at the drive-through window. The breakfast burritos here have a loyal following, combining fresh ingredients with bold flavors, and there’s a solid vegetarian option that doesn’t skimp on taste.

Taco Salsa

Location: Bend | Opens 6:00 a.m. (Monday – Saturday) 7:00 a.m. (Sunday)

Late-night Taco Salsa fans know the allure of this westside gem, but don’t sleep on their breakfast burritos. Just as satisfying as their evening counterparts, these burritos are perfect for those after a tasty, budget-friendly breakfast. Taco Salsa’s burritos are straightforward but flavorful, loaded with all the good stuff to get you through a busy day.

Los Jalapeños

Location: Bend | Open 7:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday

When it comes to variety, Los Jalapeños on Bend’s eastside has you covered. With eight different breakfast burrito options, there’s truly something here for every craving and dietary preference. From chorizo to veggie, Los Jalapeños serves up burritos that are reliably delicious, with generous portions that won’t leave you hungry.

Hungry for more? Explore our Central Oregon Dining Guide to find the best places to eat, drink, and discover all year long. Don’t hit the slopes or the trails with an empty tank, grab one of Central Oregon’s best breakfast burritos. Delicious and great as a one-handed, on-the-go meal, the breakfast burrito is the ultimate adventure fuel. Before you head out of town and into the mountains, grab tortilla-wrapped goodness from one of these hotspots in Central Oregon. Click here to read more about our local food and restaurant scene.

Wild Rides: Tubing and Sledding Spots in Central Oregon

Where to Go Tubing or Sledding in Central Oregon

Central Oregon is known as a downhill skiing destination, but you don’t need a set of expensive skis or a snowboard to feel the pull of gravity. The region also has ample opportunities for sledding or inner tubing when you just want to play in the snow. From lift-powered tubing hills at area ski resorts to the DIY experience of sno-parks, here’s our list of the best places to sled and tube in Central Oregon.

Autobahn Tubing

Where: Hoodoo Ski Area, Sisters

For the adventurous, Autobahn Tubing at Hoodoo Ski Area features an 800-foot tubing hill for an exhilarating inner tubing experience. Choose to walk back up the hill or let the rope pull you and your tube after each run. For a smaller hill, Snow Bunny Sled Hill near the Easy Rider lift is also available. Bring your own sled or tube, or opt for rental tubes offered by Hoodoo.

Diamond Lake

Where: Diamond Lake Resort, Diamond Lake

This is a bit of a trek from Bend, but Diamond Lake Resort boasts a 470-foot conveyor belt that effortlessly transports eager tubers uphill. There are multiple lanes to ride down. Tubes are provided, and tickets must be purchased online.

Santiam Sno-Park

Where: Santiam Sno-Park

Santiam Sno-Park offers a sledding hill, generally free of trees or obstacles. While the snow conditions can vary, providing a slick surface for faster tubing with less control, this park is the sole tubing or sledding hill recommended by the National Forest Service in the Santiam National Forest. Restrooms are available on-site, though there are no warming huts.

Wanoga Sno-Park

Where: Wanoga Sno-Park, Bend

If you have an inner tube or sled, Wanoga Sno-Park is the place to be. The park includes a warming hut for breaks between runs. Situated in a dog-friendly area of the National Forest, it offers fun for the whole family, including furry friends. Additionally, the park provides opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.

For more winter recreation, check out where to go snowshoeing in Central Oregon or our guide to fat biking.

Leather and Lace: Experience Central Oregon’s Ice Skating Rinks

Whether you’re in Sunriver, Bend or Redmond, Central Oregon offers ample opportunity for ice skating. Dust off your skates (or rent a pair if you don’t have your own) and get to these ice skating rinks before the snow melts.

Downtown Redmond’s Outdoor Ice Skating Rink

The ice skating rink in Redmond is located downtown on 7^th Street between Deschutes and Evergreen. It’s one of the only ice skating rinks that is completely outdoors, and the rink is open most afternoons and nights for skating. It’s also one of the cheapest places to skate in Central Oregon, especially if you have your own skates.

When: Open every day

The Pavilion, Bend

The newest ice-skating rink in Central Oregon, The Pavilion opened two years ago to large crowds with no signs of slowing down today. Through Bend Parks & Recreation, you can join pick-up hockey games, join a curling league, or ice skate at one of the open sessions. The Pavilion is mostly open air, so you’ll want to be extra bundled on colder days. When you’re ready to warm up, there’s a café on the site where you can find hot chocolate and other warm drinks.

When: Open every day, but times and sessions vary. Check online for an updated schedule.

Seventh Mountain Resort

Ice skating at 7th Mountain Resort | Photo by Sebastian Foltz

Located on Century Drive on the way up to Mt. Bachelor, the ice skating rink is completely outside and open air. The rink is part of Seventh Mountain Resort, but open to the public. With the all-day rate, you can come and go as you please. One of the best times to skate is at night, when there is a laser light display while you skate under the stars.

When: Open every day

Sunriver Village

Part of the growing Village in Sunriver, the ice skating rink was recently updated with an expanded and remodeled warming area. The rink is located in the middle of the village allowing skaters to enjoy the village ambiance as they lap the ice sheet. When you’re done skating, there are lots of places in the village to grab or a treat or a warm drink, including the adjacent Sunriver Brewery and Goody’s confection shop.

When: Open every day but sessions vary. Check online for updated skate times.

Reynolds Pond, Mayfield Pond, and Beyond

You don’t need anything more than a spell of cold weather and some ingenuity to make your own ice rink. Central Oregonians have been skating on frozen lakes and ponds since long before the Bend Pavilion opened in 2016. While the freezing and thawing cycle can make for unpredictable conditions, there are a few reliable locations for DIY skating when the weather is right. Reynold Pond in Alfalfa is good bet, as is Mayfield Pond just east of Bend. Closer to home, there are areas around the Seventh Mountain Resort where conditions can allow for skating on the natural sloughs adjacent to the Deschutes River.

When: After a good week of consistently below freezing temperatures.*

*Note: Venturing out on ice can be dangerous and should not be done alone. Adults familiar with ice conditions should be present with children. If you are unsure, avoid it.

A Bold, Modern and Sustainable Home in Bend

Builder Nick Holdeman combined green building principles with bold modernity when he built his family’s Westside Bend home.

When Nick Holdeman contemplated the lot where he was going to build his family’s new home, he thought of the Jetsons. “I like modern, and I thought about how that house reached up. This lot is small, maybe sixty by sixty feet, so I knew we would have to go vertical. I was talking to a friend Steve Write about it, and he just sketched it on a piece of paper, and we took it from there.”

While there is no Rosie the Robot, and the family can’t work on Jupiter or play on Neptune, the 2,186-square foot home does reach into the sky, and it’s built on Bend’s west side where accessing work or play is right around the corner, not an interplanetary undertaking.

The resulting building was designed to comfortably accommodate the family of five and one dog. On the bottom are a 564-square-foot rental apartment and a two-car garage that connects to the home above; on the second, or main level, is the main entrance, public living areas and master suite, and on the third floor are three bedrooms, an open family room and a bathroom.

**Central Core:** All the living spaces are organized around an open core with the kitchen and dining area at its base.

All the living spaces are organized around an open core with the kitchen and dining area at its base. Light streams down into the central space from a pod of four-by-four foot skylights, comes in from floor-to-ceiling windows in the living area on the main floor and from similar windows in the family room on the top floor.

Central to the home’s success was Holdeman’s vision of its construction as a healthy, comfortable, sustainable home built with “real” materials. “I had firm ideas and I stuck with them,” he said.

**Light Effects:** Light streams down into the central space from a pod of four-by-four foot skylights, comes in from floor-to-ceiling windows in the living are on the main floor and from similar windows in the family room on the top floor.

Holdeman, who owns Alcove Construction, had already built several Earth Advantage homes and wanted his own home to meet the organization’s criteria for platinum certification. “Our criteria is higher than that of building codes,” explained Matt Douglas, senior green building consultant for Earth Advantage, “so the finished house is more sustainable and energy efficient, more comfortable and has lower utility bills.”

Using a score sheet that awards points in the categories of energy, health, land, materials and water usage, buildings can qualify for silver (60 points), gold (80) or platinum (100) certification. In addition to the point sheet, an Earth Advantage consultant also performs periodic inspections during construction and a final inspection once construction is complete.

**Efficient Design:** Decks wrap around the home’s south and east sides to provide additional living areas and mitigate summer heat gain.

“Probably the least well-known but most appreciated benefit is that there’s a second set of eyes on the home construction,” said Douglas. “The city has its own inspectors for such things as safety and electricity, but I look at it from a different perspective to make sure the house is built well and will perform as it should.”

To fulfill the requirements for the platinum certification, the home was oriented to take advantage of solar gain and constructed with staggered framing, which allows the use of continuous insulation. Decks wrap around the home’s south and east sides to provide additional living areas and mitigate summer heat gain. Additional climate comfort comes from a high efficiency gas furnace that divides the home into two zones. On the roof, a white rubber membrane reflects the sun, and a collection system provides water for the yet-to-be planted native landscaping.

Inside, modern meets organic with wood trim and bamboo flooring. Walls were finished in low VOC paints in colors chosen by Holdeman’s wife, who also chose the exterior’s distinctive orange spice color. In the dining-kitchen area, planks are spaced with gaps over black painted plywood for a three-dimensional effect that disguises a pantry and helps provide visual cues to the end of the kitchen-dining area and the start of the living room. Stainless steel Energy Star appliances, dark alder cabinets and black granite complete the area’s palette.

Completed in May 2016, the home was part of the Bend Energy Challenge Week green tour last fall. Since then, however, it has quickly and easily gone from show home to family home. “Our initial idea was to build and then sell this house,” said Holdeman, “but that has changed. We really like living here.”

Ten Questions for 10 Barrel on its Tenth Anniversary

Garrett Wales, a third of the team behind 10 Barrel sat down with us to talk beer, Bend and what 10 Barrel looks like in the next ten years.

What’s been your favorite beer you’ve made?

Every beer we’ve ever made has been designed out of the intentions of something we’ll love. To me, it’s ISA. ISA has been my all time favorite.

What 10 Barrel projects are you excited about right now?

We’ve got a lot of cool stuff. Our new pubs are really exciting. We’re going to open the San Diego pub in the next week, and that’s been a really long process. It’s exciting to see it come to fruition. The Denver pub just turned out really beautiful. I’m really proud of those. And this project—this is huge. The offices alone, just having this space. Getting everyone back under one roof. The pub out here I’m really excited about. We’re going to get maybe a lot of locals back, a lot of folks on the east side who don’t want to wait in line or deal with that. We’re a lot closer to a lot of neighborhood homes. We’re really excited to get back in touch with those guys.

How has 10 Barrel changed in the last 10 years?

What’s more important, and what’s easier to list is what hasn’t changed. Because obviously everything has changed. We went from bootstrapping, literally delivering kegs out of our truck—Chris, Jeremy and myself and one employee—to this. It’s a path that none of us saw coming. We didn’t plan for it. It’s just the way it went. We were just aggressive and young enough and dumb enough to think we could pull it off, and it just happened. But what hasn’t changed is who’s leading the charge. The passion for the product and what we’re doing and the passion for our team and our people—bringing in the best people we could find. That’s something that’s never taken a backseat. And also just having fun with the product. It’s definitely a business and the business side of the industry is what catches people off-guard, but it’s also really fun. And we started to make products that we were really proud of and stoked on and keeping that mentality and that approach and being able to maintain that, not only through the last couple years and the acquisition but even through our initial growth.

What have you learned from 10 years in the brewing industry?

We’ve learned everything, and most of it the hard way, and proudly. It’s a little cliché, but the importance of staying true to the foundation of the company and sticking with what’s most important and being very authentic. I think that’s one thing about our brand that no one could ever knock us on is that we’ve always been authentic to who we were as a company and what was important to us. If I had one lesson to share with a business class it would be that.

How do you think Bend’s craft beer industry has changed in the last 10 years?

Dramatically. I think especially if you go back, not the last two, but the prior five years to that, that was when we were kind of the first of the second generation of breweries in Bend, if you look at what Deschutes started. That’s one of the reasons why the craft scene has been so successful here is because of Deschutes and the early approach that they took. We’ve had a very educated consumer, we’ve had a much larger market share than nationwide, even statewide for a long time. You’ve seen a lot of people come into it. Obviously it’s grown, the reputation has grown. It’s become a legitimate tourism industry just like the mountain or the golf courses. So that’s been pretty cool. We’ve mostly had successful breweries join, putting out a lot of good beer. I think even now the industry itself is in a bit of a right sizing across the board, across the country. We’ll see the quality of the product and the strength of the brands and how that withstands whatever may be coming down the road.

How have you dealt with some of the reactions to 10 Barrel opening brewpubs in new cities?

The reaction in general has been extremely positive. There’s a very small but very vocal minority [that is negative]. We’re getting great feedback, the neighbors are excited. Especially in San Diego, we’re first of the revitalization in a worn down neighborhood. The support we get here is awesome and people from Bend are so stoked to share a little piece of Bend and what we started here and these new markets. It’s not an accident that we picked some of the most craft-centric markets in the country to go into. People come in [to those pubs], there’s still great beer that’s brewed locally. We’re providing a lot of jobs, a really fun experience and staying true to the brand and people are having a really good time.

How do you think 10 Barrel’s role has changed in the craft beer industry?

It hasn’t. Not at all. Our goals have always been to be a good part of the community. We help people out whenever we can. We always answer the phone. If anything now we’ve got more ability to help people. We just want to continue to be innovators. We want to continue to be pushing the edge. We want to continue to be out in front of trends just like we always did in the past. Our role is just to put out a quality product and stay true to what we wanted to do and see where it all shakes out. When it’s within the family, within the AB portfolio, we’ve been a resource for almost everyone that’s been purchased.

What do you wish more people knew about 10 Barrel right now?

The people that are fans and that enjoy the product know all there is to know. That’s all it’s about at the end of the day: It’s about the beer. Maybe those that are critics of the deal, I maybe wish they could see the inner workings a little more, and everything we’re saying about who’s in control, who’s making decisions, who’s driving the creativity, the autonomy that our brewers have, things like that, are all very real. Seeing that, and seeing who’s been the driving force and seeing who’s been making the decisions, it’s the exact same people it always has been, which is good.

What trends are you excited about in the brewing industry?

Not hazy IPAs. Not New England-style IPA. I think we’re kind of caught in between trends right now. Session IPAs are still big, but that really was last year or the year before. Getting back into the lighter-style beer, a little less complicated style beer. Those are all still hot and they’re what’s moving, but I wouldn’t say they’re what’s next. The crush and sessionable sours I know we played a real driving force in creating, and it’s huge for us and it’s huge nationwide. I’m excited to really see what’s next. We’re trying a lot of things.

What does the next 10 years look like for 10 Barrel?

I have no idea. That’s the thing. There never was a five-year plan. There never was a three-year plan. Just make as much [beer] as we can, sell as much as we can. That’s really what our strategy was, to grow organically, grow healthily as a business, and that still maintains today. We’re expanding into a lot of new markets, the beer is going further than we planned. The plan isn’t to become some big new national powerhouse. The plan is to focus on the home market of the Northwest, and just continue to have fun.

TEDxBend to Explore the Human Question

Local entrepreneurs, inventors, teachers and more will share their stories and ideas on the TEDx stage in Bend.

Written by Danielle Meyers

Photos courtesy of TEDxBend

In an age of digital sound bites, dizzying production and celebrity driven news, TED is an enigma—an event that captivates audiences with a simple premise: one person, one stage, one topic for 20 minutes or less. It’s a reason that the TED talks and their local spinoff TEDx are worth noticing. They are a provocative and thoughtful form of civic dialogue at a time when Americans seem less inclined than ever to listen to alternative viewpoints.

Not surprisingly, Bend was an early adopter of the TED model. This week, local organizers are putting the finishing touches on the sixth annual TEDx conference that will take place Saturday, May 13 at Bend Senior High School. TEDxBend is a day-long event that showcases the ideas and creations of local entrepreneurs, inventors, teachers and community members. There will be twenty-five talks throughout the day based on the theme “Us Humans.”

“We are all human, so the theme is all encompassing,” said Moe Carrick, volunteer and lead coordinator.

Carrick highlighted a few presenters she’s excited to watch, including CJ Neary a ten-year-old violinist and Ayayat Idait Tena Numu, a dance group from the Warm Springs and Paiute Tribes that performs traditional dances learned from the Wasq’u (Wasco) tribe elders.

Carrick hopes TedxBend attendees will be encouraged to start conversations and possibly change someone’s point of view, maybe even their own.

“There is always a ripple effect after each TEDx,” said Carrick, a corporate facilitator and team building specialist who has been involved with the event for two years. “It’s exciting to be a part of a community with so many ideas worth sharing.”

Due to its growing popularity, the event will be split into two sessions, essentially allowing twice as many attendees as previous years. Tickets are available for the entire day or by session. In between, there will be performances from Mosley Wotta and Ubuntu as well as free lunch from local food carts.

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” The short talks, usually 18 minute or less, are delivered by today’s leading innovators, designers and educators. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Sir Richard Branson, Pope Francis and many more.

Tickets for the event are available at tedxbend.com

Newport Market Butcher Breaks Through the Well-Marbled Ceiling

Johanna Wallace, a butcher for twenty-five years, recently took over as the head butcher at Bend’s Newport Market.

Written by Cathy Carroll

Craft butchery has been a top trend in the food world recently, with boutique butcher shops opening in cities such as New York, New Orleans and San Francisco. The latest trend within that trend is female butchers breaking through the well-marbled ceiling. When Bend’s Newport Avenue Market hired Johanna Wallace to run the meat department, however, it was not kowtowing to trends.

Wallace has been a butcher for twenty-five years, having worked her way from the sawdusted ground-floor up. As with most male-dominated jobs, it wasn’t handed to her on a silver platter. She’d been working at the seafood counter at Ray’s Food Place in Brookings, and less experienced men were being promoted to meat-cutting ahead of her.

“I took the initiative and I’d go in on my own time to shadow them,” said Wallace, 49. “I’m 5-foot-3-inches tall … and I had to show them I could handle carrying big, long boxes of whole pork loins of ninety to 100 pounds.”

She learned most of the craft on the job, and moved on, working at Ray’s and Albertsons grocery stores around Central Oregon. At the end of 2015, when Newport Avenue Market was looking for a new manager for its meat department, one of its meat cutters who’d previously worked with Wallace recommended her.

“When someone recommends a person who would be their future boss, that means a lot,” said Randy Yochum, Newport’s director of fresh food.

The biggest question wasn’t one of gender. Rather, it was whether Wallace could successfully transition from a corporate environment to an independent, employee-owned market catering to discerning tastes.

Wallace has embraced her new autonomy. She works with her five-member team to decide what dishes to offer as samples, and she knows the origins of her products. Last spring, she traveled with staff to visit McCormack’s Ranch in Brothers, the fourth-generation family ranch that supplies lean, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat through the Country Natural Beef cooperative. She observed the care given to the cows, the seven types of grasses they eat and the restoration of trout habitat on the ranch’s Bear Creek.

This all prepares Wallace to fulfill the level of service her job requires. Being a woman butcher may be gaining cache as a modern development, but it is not anything new in Wallace’s family. Wallace is the youngest of eleven children, and, at one point, she and six of her sisters were working in the meat industry—despite the fact that their mother was a vegetarian.

Although Wallace has been a role model to her 18-year-old daughter, she doesn’t expect her child will follow in her footsteps. She wants to be a vegetarian, like her grandmother.
“It’s killing me,” said Wallace.

Sudara Makes Pajamas with a Purpose

Sex trade survivors form the backbone of an international fashion collaboration based in Bend.

INTERVIEW BY KELLY KEARSLEY

At first glance, you might assume that Shannon Keith’s mission is to sell exotic pajama pants to women and girls. But the founder of the Bend-based e-commerce company Sudara has a much loftier goal: to free women who have been victims of India’s sex slave trade. The fashionable pajama pants, known as Punjammies, are proving to be just the means.

The social enterprise company, which just relocated its headquarters to Bend last year, employs about a dozen people stateside. Keith, however, is most proud that over the past eleven years, her nonprofit turned social enterprise has also employed more than 300 Indian women, giving them the economic means to leave broth-els and provide for themselves and their families.

We sat down with Keith to learn more about Sudara’s beginnings, the jobs it creates and the significance of its transition to a B Corporation.

What prompted you to start Sudara?

I had visited India as part of a service project with our church in 2004 to help orphans, and went back the following year to dedicate a freshwater well as a gift to my in-laws. The well happened to be in the Red Light District, and I started to meet women and children who were modern day slaves. There were young girls who had been sold in the sex trade, young women who were trying to feed their families and orphans with no other option.

Through that experience my heart swelled and broke at the same time. I realized that while they needed a lot of services, at the most basic level what these women needed was a job so that they didn’t have to sell their bodies. I started Sudara as a nonprofit that year.

Can you explain how Sudara’s job creation works?

We work with nonprofit partners in India to identify sex trade survivors as well as girls who may be at the highest risk. For instance, a young girl whose parents may have died or girls who have grown up in brothels and are getting ready to work. We then work with Indian partners who have sewing and vocational training programs, where women can come to learn to sew our products as well as receive other services. We pay them a living wage that is twice as high as the fair trade baseline.

How did you land on pajamas as your first product?

I knew that if I could sell something that the women could make, then we could have some sustainable job creation. India has beautiful, high-quality textiles, and a pajama-style pant is simple and something that the women can succeed at. For consumers, we are slow fashion, which means we want to create good quality products that will last, and not turnover in a few months.

You transitioned to a for-profit, B Corporation in 2015. What prompted that decision?

The nonprofit form became a hindrance to our growth; and the more we grow, the more women we can offer jobs. A business is a tool to create jobs—that’s what they’re set up to do. Also with my background in sales, that’s where I’m more comfortable. By becoming a registered B Corp, we preserve our nonprofit values and set ourselves up to scale. It’s a way to say that we’re committed to aligning our business and values with our operations. I also think it’s a great litmus test for people. We’re transparent with how we do everything, and people can look at us and see that our business truly reflects our values and heart.

You moved to Bend in 2006, and brought Sudara here last year. What drew you here?

Yes, I moved to Bend when the nonprofit was still in California. My husband and I had visited and thought about retiring here, but we realized that we didn’t need to wait until retirement to build the life we wanted. After we transitioned Sudara to a business, then I became CEO and Oregon was a great fit. Oregonians are more socially conscious as a group, and the entrepreneurial spirit here is robust and very collaborative.

An Interview with Erika Kightlinger, Dakota Access Pipeline Work

Community Q & A

Written by Megan Oliver

Longtime Bend resident Erika Kightlinger, who has a honey and honey bee business, is one of the “water protectors” who spent months working to block the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). She was one of many Central Oregonians who donated money or other resources to the protest encampment on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Kightlinger raised more than $130,000 in resources and helped construct and deliver 70,000 pounds of supplies. She told Bend Magazine a bit about the cause and her experience supporting it.

Starting in September you spent four months as an active protector, organizing and implementing supply deliveries. How did this role come about?
While participating in a Native American church ceremony I was shown that I was to take woodstoves to Standing Rock. My helpers and I worked directly with the stove crew on the ground at Standing Rock and all three onsite camps to deliver the supplies that were needed. We transported more than 70,000 pounds of supplies during five trips between Bend and Standing Rock. We transported 131 wood stoves, 119 tipis, and 150 cords of wood, in addition to thousands of pounds of food and gear for the water protectors. We raised more than $30,000 to fund the efforts, plus more than $100,000 of in-kind donations.

What was the primary purpose of the encampment at Standing Rock Reservation?
To protect the Missouri River and the surrounding water sources for the [up to] eighteen million people—plus the animal and plant life—who depend on these water sources. The goal was to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from being built, due to the high probability of an oil spill.

How did you see people mobilize for the cause?
Everything I accomplished was due to others helping. I couldn’t have done it alone. Many people in Central Oregon donated time, funds, support, food, and clothing and helped build the stoves. It took all of us stepping up to help. That is progress! That is a movement! United, people came from more than three hundred indigenous North American tribes. People came from across the globe, working for the earth to keep the water safe for all people and the next seven generations. We stepped up to demand change.

Given the federal government’s recent decision to grant the final pipeline easement, what is the general reaction within your network?
There are many layers to the movement. We made progress at the level of awareness, helping people to see that they are powerful when united. They can step up, work together and divest from systems and companies that do not support humans, health and life more than profit.

The Story of Partners in Care, Oregon’s First Hospice Service

Partners in Care wants to educate the Central Oregon community about end-of-life care.

“We’re trying to make the community aware of all the things Partners in Care can do and to get rid of the mystique of dying.”

From Madras to Christmas Valley, Partners in Care provides hospice care to people all over the region. With 60 percent of the tri-county area’s population over 65 years old—that’s more than 45 percent higher than the national average, according to the last U.S. census—the organization has its fill of requests for care.

“We’ve emerged into a regional leader because we’re the oldest and probably the most experienced, and we have welcomed that,” said President and CEO Eric Alexander.

The hospice service began in 1979 when a group of nurses started volunteering their time and services to provide end-of-life care. It was the first organization of its kind in the state.

Today, the nonprofit provides in-home hospice and palliative care to about 100 people a day. The main campus at Partners in Care includes a specialty hospital with six
suites for patients who need care that can’t be provided at home.

“It’s a real active form of compassion,” said Marlene Carlson, the director of development. “When you come onto our service, you have a whole team available to you.” This patient-centered care practice aims to provide an authentic sense of presence for patients and their families.

Partners in Care’s mission extends to more than just end of life care. It also encompasses a community education component that includes a camp for children who have experienced loss.

“Our vision is to make sure that people are aware of end of life issues,” said Alexander. “Aware of the issues of aging as people grow older and approach the end of their lives and really be mindful and how to plan for those things instead of it being a sudden shock.”

LINDA COHEN VOLUNTEER

Linda Cohen, often along with her service dog, Zultan, has been a volunteer with Partners in Care for nine years. She visits patients and their families, giving companionship and comfort to them while they work with Partners in Care. Cohen is also on the board of Friends of Hospice, an education and awareness organization under Partners in Care. “We’re trying to make the community aware of all the things Partners in Care can do and to get rid of the mystique of dying,” she said.

Get Involved

ABOUT PARTNERS IN CARE:
Partners in Care is a nonprofit organization that provides hospice care and services to Central Oregon. Learn more at partnersbend.org

BY THE NUMBERS:
Operates three branches in Bend, Redmond and La Pine
Provides a specialty hospital in Bend with six suites
One of four hospice houses of its kind in Oregon

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Individuals and businesses can donate money that supports the care and services. Volunteer opportunities range from spending time with patients to educating the community on hospice care.

Recharge Sport Brings Cutting Edge Exercise Recovery to Bend

Recharge Sport is a new athletic recovery lounge in Bend’s Old Mill District.

Written by Cathy Carroll | Photography by Alex Jordan

It’s common to associate Olympians and elite athletes with the notion of using high-tech equipment and sophisticated techniques to recover from workouts. In Bend, however, everyday athletes as well as those striving to get back into shape are discovering that these methods can help them, too. Austin Baillie, a recovery specialist, trainer and massage therapist at Recharge athletic recovery lounge in Bend, said a range of people are increasingly tapping into the professional athletic recovery methods they offer. Baillie co-owns Recharge with, Renee Metivier, a professional distance runner and personal trainer. They created Recharge after living at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where they realized that recovery is a crucial and often overlooked component of fitness.

The lounge in the Old Mill District is in some ways like a traditional gym, offering training and fitness classes, but with much of roughly 4,000 square feet devoted to massage, acupuncture and a spacious lounge with innovative recovery tools such as an infrared sauna, ice compression wraps, massage boots and sleeves, cold and hot tubs and cold lasers for electrical stimulation of muscles. These things can be used for recovering from injury, preventing the risk of future setbacks or increasing training potential.

Although these methods may be new to the general public, they have been around for a decade or two, said Baillie, adding that doctors have the technology to force blood flow to vital organs of their patients. “It takes a while for these things to move from the medical, military, and tech community to professional sports, then to college athletes and down to weekend warriors, as they become more accessible and affordable,” he said.

At Recharge, NormaTec leg boots, hip shorts and arm sleeves use a sequential pulse system for external compression aimed at speeding the athletic recovery process. The sleeves mimic muscle pump and push out inflammation, old blood and lactic acid. “It feels like you’re getting a massage with big gorilla hands,” said Baillie.

He likened the therapy to a road crew after a crash, “It’s clearing the debris so that workers, supplies and fuel trucks can get in to repair.” Clearing out the metabolic waste helps alleviate muscle soreness and helps the body heal exercise-induced micro tears in muscle fibers.

On a recent Friday morning, people ranging in age from 20- to 60-something came through the lounge. Several relaxed in spacious, comfortable recliners while watching big wave surfing on a large flat-screen as the compression equipment went to work on them. Nearby, a couple of people sweated in the infrared sauna, which heats the muscles three inches deep to stimulate the immune system.

Amid it all, there was nary a sense of elitism. “Everybody with a body is an athlete,” said Baillie. “It’s about acknowledging that you have a body and it’s a huge gift, and there’s a responsibility to take care of it.”

Expert Advice

An Ounce of Prevention
Austin Baillie—a recovery specialist, trainer and massage therapist at Recharge athletic recovery lounge in Bend—offered these easy recovery tips:

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

Do a simple, preventative maintenance routine, which can enhance recovery. Two times—or at least one time—a day, do a routine of squats, lunges, jumping jacks and push-ups (ten each), plus a plank for core strength. It’s old-school, Jack Lalanne stuff, and that’s why he stayed so healthy for so long.

HYDRATE

Stay ahead of thirst. The body is mostly water and the more you have, the more your body can eliminate waste. It helps with digestion, stress and sleep. It’s like the oil of a car.

SELF-MASSAGE

Do self-massage with a foam roller. Or, have a massage therapist do gua sha, (a Chinese technique of scraping the skin). You can also use your own thumbs or have a partner use their thumbs to do this, moving muscles away from the bone and loosening scar tissue

Learn more at: rechargesport.com

A Booming Marijuana Industry Lures Entrepreneurs to Central Oregon

Marijuana has gone mainstream in Central Oregon, and savvy entrepreneurs are cashing in on a fast-growing industry.

WRITTEN BY DAVE SEMINARA

PHOTOS BY RYAN CLEARY AND ADAM MCKIBBEN

In the November 2016 election, the biggest winner wasn’t Donald Trump or even the Republican Party—it was good old Mary Jane. And she won big. Voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada approved recreational marijuana initiatives. Measures to legalize medicinal marijuana passed in Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas. Voters in Montana voted to roll back restrictions on medical marijuana use. A proposal to legalize possession and consumption of marijuana in Arizona, which failed by two percent, was the lone defeat for a product that’s clearly been on a roll for the better part of the last decade. Newly pot friendly states joined a party started by Colorado, Washington state and Oregon voters who had already shredded marijuana laws and turned America’s clandestine cash crop into a main street cash cow.

Beau Whitney, a Portland-based economist, has estimated that the legal and illicit cannabis industry in Oregon will have a total market sales of $750 million in 2017, with an overall economic impact of $3 billion. Recreational marijuana sales, which have been legal in the state since July 1, 2015, come with a 17 percent sales tax, and voters in the City of Bend approved an additional 3 percent tax on sales within the city limits. (There is no sales tax imposed on medical marijuana.) The Oregon Department of Revenue said that the marijuana tax generated $54.5 million in revenue from January 1, 2016 through November 30, close to $5 million per month.

The money continues to roll in. Early indicators show that 2017 should be another strong year for marijuana sales in the state. We talked to a host of local marijuana entrepreneurs about the past, present and future of an industry that has taken Oregon by storm.

The Boutique approach

Oregonians no longer need to speak in code or meet dealers in dark alleys to buy cannabis. But while the industry is booming in Central Oregon, it still exists in a kind of limbo—embraced by many, but still shunned by banks and in some corners of polite society.

David Ordonez said that he and his wife, Serena, had to max out credit cards to start their cannabis retail business because no bank would give them a loan.

“We get doctors, lawyers, some of the most important professional people in the city are our customers,” said Ordonez. “But some of them still park around the corner because they don’t want to be seen coming in or out of our shop.”

I visited Top Shelf Medicine, Ordonez’s recreational and medical dispensary, on a mild, clear Tuesday morning in December, six days after a snowstorm coated the city streets with a foot of snow. If some of Top Shelf’s customers feel the need for discretion, it isn’t based on the store’s exterior, which betrays no hint of what they sell, just an illuminated sign featuring three prominent red crosses and a caduceus—a symbol from Greek mythology that is used to represent the medical profession.

Inside the waiting room were white leather couches that wouldn’t look out of place in a posh Danish furniture store, warm mood lighting and an artificial Christmas tree with wrapped presents that presented a balmy contrast to the wintry scene outside. Save for the state-mandated bilingual warning signs on the door, the vibe is more high-end Beverly Hills plastic surgery clinic than Central Oregon weed purveyor, and this is exactly as Ordonez prefers.

“Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is growing pot nowadays, but we’re trying to be the Nordstrom of the industry,” he said as I complied with state law by signing in and placing a visitor’s badge around my neck.

Ordonez led me into their cannabis showroom, which has security cameras, motion detectors, bars on the windows and Christmas stockings next to the cash register. All the weed, the edibles, the pipes, and accessories save for the shop’s own swag and a fridge full of cannabis edibles are kept behind well-polished glass counters.

Jars of cannabis—including strains such as Gorilla Glue, Girl Scout Cookies and his own creation, Jenke Kush, which Ordonez said won a High Timesmagazine award—are on display behind the counter, along with their THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) scores. (THC essentially signifies potency, while those in search of pain relief look for a high CBD score.)

Regular customers Natasha Newby and her fiancé, Ray Atkinson Jr., both of Bend, said they typically looked for high CBD score strains, which helps her cope with fibromyalgia, and gives him relief from the rheumatoid arthritis that is at times debilitating.

Atkinson, who is in the process of trying to qualify for disability, said that before cannabis was legal, he had to buy from dealers he met on the street.

Ordonez said that a big chunk of his customers are people like them: technically recreational users but ones who could qualify for medical cards if the cost and red tape were less prohibitive. For him, bringing customers like Atkinson and Newby out of the shadows and into a safe, regulated retail environment is a reward that makes all the hassles and frustrations of running a marijuana business worthwhile.

Now that all Oregonians have a right to access to marijuana for recreational and medical purposes, Ordonez said, “I want to be the guy who sells them the very best stuff.”

The Next Generation Farmers

When Jocelyn Anderson quit her job as the principal of a K-8 charter school in Chico, she declined to mention that she was planning to open a farm-to-table cannabis business in Bend. When her husband, Andrew—a fifth generation farmer who had specialized in growing almonds, walnuts and rice—broke the news to his grandparents that he was shifting to cannabis, they weren’t exactly encouraging.

“Their generation lived through the reefer madness era—they were misinformed,” Andrew, 30, said. “But once we educated them, told them it was legal, they started to understand.”

Nearly two years after the Andersons took the plunge into the marijuana industry, by purchasing a forty-five-acre farm in Alfalfa, they no longer worry about what people think of their new vocation. Her colleagues are mostly supportive, his grandparents have come around, and most of their friends are impressed by and envious of their new career. Business is good—their Plantae Health dispensary opened in Prineville in July 2015, they expanded to Madras three months later and their third location, a new retail outlet on the east side of Bend, opened in January.

But they’ve also discovered that running a cannabis business presents a unique set of challenges. The couple, who met on a blind date at an Italian restaurant in 2010, said that the staggering startup costs, the ever-changing regulations and the local politics surrounding marijuana make producing cannabis a lot more complex than the traditional crops they used to grow in California.

With the end of the transitional recreational marijuana phase on December 31, consumers can now buy one ounce of cannabis—quadruple the previous daily limit of seven grams. The Andersons are optimistic that their investment and sweat equity will pay off in what could be a record-setting year for cannabis sales in Central Oregon.

On a blustery Saturday afternoon in January, Andrew, who handles the farming end of their partnership, looked the part as he inspected their new location prior to its grand opening. Dressed in a pair of work boots and overalls, with an oversized smartphone protruding from a breast pocket, Andrew also sounded a lot like any farmer who is passionate about his crop, and his right to grow and sell it.

As a former teacher and school principal, it’s come natural for Jocelyn to offer tours of their locations in order to educate locals and attempt to dispel misconceptions, such as the notion that one could get high inadvertently from living near someone’s cannabis greenhouse or that the plant’s roots contaminate the soil. Most people, she said, have been receptive to her message.

Nearly a year after they started these efforts, the Board of County Commissioners voted in August 2016 to repeal the “opt out” moratorium that prohibited marijuana-related businesses in rural Deschutes County. Andrew said that most of their neighbors in Alfalfa are farmers, so they’ve had fewer conflicts than growers in Tumalo, where cannabis farms are much closer to residential dwellings. He insists that the biggest problems facing the industry aren’t neighborly relations but rather over-regulation, licensing issues and the fact that banks won’t work with marijuana businesses.

Despite the obstacles, the Andersons think that the cannabis industry is slowly but surely gaining respect and acceptance in the region.

“Bend is built on breweries and cannabis,” said Andrew. “With our elevation, the water, the air quality, this is one of the best places in the country to grow [cannabis]. And it helps drive our economy.”

Jocelyn, 29, is thrilled to be part of a movement of young cannabis entrepreneurs striving to change how the public perceives the drug.

“We’re changing the image of this industry—turning it into something people perceive as legitimate and professional,” she said.

The connector

Kelly Martin is one of Central Oregon’s most innovative marijuana entrepreneurs, but you wouldn’t know it from walking into the office building he shares with four attorneys in southwest Bend. There are no Bob Marley or Grateful Dead tunes piped in from the ceiling, no patchouli incense wafting through the air and no dreadlocked interns preparing spliffs. Martin has a firm handshake and the build of a wrestling coach. On a wintry Friday morning in December, he was clean-shaven and his medium-length brown hair was neatly parted on the side.

“The stereotype of people in this industry being hippies is grounded in reality, but there are clean-cut types like me, too,” he said. “It’s becoming a business just like other businesses.”

Martin, a self-described “serial entrepreneur,” has a strong basis for comparison. Before founding Dakine 420, a Redmond-based marijuana fertilizer company, in 2013 and a website about all things cannabis called CannaFo in 2015, the Portland native tried his hand at a host of business ventures. He was a builder; he owned a landscaping company and a sporting goods store; he bought and sold cars; and for fourteen Christmas seasons he sold some of Central Oregon’s most beautiful trees to Hawaiians on the Big Island.

“Some trees fetched as much as $150,” he recalled. “I was like the Neiman Marcus of Christmas tree sellers.”

Martin also grew marijuana before it was legal and lost three years of his life behind bars as a consequence. Unlike his other business ventures, CannaFo is more personal. The website aims to connect people in a stigmatized industry, where sharing information and ideas in a transparent forum has been more of an exception than the norm.

“I want to be the Google of the cannabis industry, a resource, kind of like an encyclopedia,” he said.

Martin launched CannaFo in late 2015. It has 165,000 Facebook followers. The site’s CannaFo Connect feature is essentially a trade platform that allows producers, processors and retailers to connect. Producers can share photos, lab results and other data about their products, dispensaries can post their menus, and consumers can rate strains and retailers.

Subscriptions are free for at least ninety days, and the site now has more than 4,000 dispensaries listed. CannaFo is also a sort of clearinghouse of information, where consumers and industry experts alike can learn about different strains, growing techniques, industry news and more.

Clearly there’s money to be made in the industry—researchers have estimated that legal, domestic sales of marijuana in 2016 may have reached $7 billion—but Martin says the so-called “Green Rush” isn’t what motivates him. In prison, he lived among plenty of other non-violent marijuana offenders, and he’s passionate about changing the nation’s drug laws and the public perception of cannabis.

Even as an outspoken advocate for the decriminalization of pot, Martin recognizes that legalization has also taken a little of the cloak and dagger, countercultural appeal away from buying marijuana.

“I think some people do miss the old days,” he said, a smile creeping across his face. “How cool and rebellious is it to simply walk down to the store and buy your pot?”

Cascade Lavender is a Purple Oasis in the Heart of Central Oregon

Driving along Central Oregon’s rural highways, fields of golden wheat or green alfalfa are a common sight. So the spots of purple, in perfect lines, that appear between Culver and Madras can’t help but catch your attention. And if the sight doesn’t do it, the aroma will.

The purple oasis is Cascade Lavender, an organic lavender farm owned and run by Terry and Wayne Pearson and their daughter, Holly.

Terry and Wayne had no farming experience when they purchased the property in 2007. “This was a brand new adventure,” said Terry. “That’s what’s great about retirement. Sometimes it’s overwhelming—where am I going to live if I could live anywhere? What am I going to do? The nice thing is that you have the opportunity to reinvent yourself.”

Reinvent themselves they did, becoming lavender experts and learning how to run a successful agritourism farm in the High Desert.

“They are the perfect partnership, mom and dad,” said Holly. “She’s got this wonderful vision, and my father is the hardest working man I know.”

Together, the family transformed the property, digging the irrigation and rebuilding the house and barn. The farm has three acres with hundreds of varieties of lavender, as well as horses, alpacas and chickens running around the forty-acre property that backs up to an unobstructed view of the Cascade Mountain Range. The Pearsons also created a line of products made from the lavender, including essential oil, lotion, bath salts, culinary lavender and more.

The work, from watering the plants and hand cutting the lavender to distilling the oil and making the products, is all done by the family. Like the lavender itself, the work is therapeutic, they said.

“I wouldn’t do all this just to raise a beautiful flower,” said Terry. “It’s because it’s such a beneficial, useful plant that really motivates me, and [it] makes me happy to share that with others.”

In the arid, warm climate of Central Oregon, lavender has an early growing season. The plants are in full bloom in June and July and are harvested by August. At the peak of bloom in late June, the farm hosts an annual lavender festival for the community.

Though the plants are only in full bloom for a short time, the fragrance lingers year-round thanks to the dried lavender scattered throughout the property. Especially when they are distilling the lavender to make the farm’s signature oil, the aroma can reach neighbors a mile away.

Cascade Lavender | 5000 SW Feather Drive, Madras | 541.546.9390

In Sisters, Old West Charm Complements a Vibrant Outdoors Scene

Whether hitting the trails or the town, Sisters has plenty to offer, including world-class singletrack, road bike routes, dining and entertainment.

Written by Cathy Carroll

The trails that Native Americans made as they gathered huckleberries, fished and hunted were followed by fur trappers and explorers before becoming settlers’ wagon roads through forests surrounded by the Three Sisters peaks. When the first post office was to be established here in 1888, it was to be named for those mountains, but postal officials went with, simply, Sisters. In this spot where the McKenzie and Santiam roads meet, itinerant sheep men passed through for sustenance and supplies en route to grazing pastures in the Cascades. It later thrived as a timber town until 1963, when the last mill was shut down.

Today, the spirit of its history remains, with the old West-style down-town façades, and the same mountain vistas and towering pine trees that call for breathing deeply the forest-scented air. Spring is a great time to soak it in, before the peak season kicks off with annual traditions—the Sisters Rodeo in June, followed by the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in the second weekend of July. An entrenched community of artists and outdoor enthusiasts mingle with small-town friendliness to form the atmosphere. Don’t be surprised when you’re walking into a local brewery on a busy Friday night and the person behind you says, “Howdy—we can share a table if you like.”

The slower pace and open spaces inspire a range of artists, especially folk musicians and singer-songwriters. The Sisters Folk Festival, held every year on the first weekend of September, is the apex of this folksy spirit. Not to worry, live music is easy to find year-round at intimate venues such as Angeline’s Bakery and Café or at The Belfry, a performance space created in a 100-year-old church. Picturesque trails and quiet, country roads beckon, too. Trails begin just six blocks from the downtown streets lined with galleries, shops and restaurants. At just a fraction of the size of Bend, Sisters offers the pleasurable option of being car-free and carefree, inviting the calm that comes with exploring on foot, as did its earliest residents.

eat

Cottonwood Café Pacific Northwest and traditional breakfast fare served in a quaint, family-friendly cottage and backyard with a fire pit and heaters. Well-behaved pups are welcome on the patio, too.
Sisters Meat and Smokehouse Grass-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free Oregon meats, cheeses, and a knowledgeable staff that can offer advice on how best to prepare their ingredients. Serving sandwiches, wine and beer.
Cascade Street Distillery Family-run, small-batch distillers of bourbon, gin and vodka.
Latigo Fine dining inspired by ingredients from the ranches and farms of the Pacific Northwest.

stay

FivePine Lodge & Spa The main lodge blends modern and rustic architecture, incorporating the design elements of historic forestry stations. A thirty-foot rock fireplace is at the center of the lounge with eight suites. Twenty-four modern, craftsman-style cabins wind through a sprawling pine forest. Shibui Spa taps Asian elements to create a serene atmosphere. Relaxation rooms have fireplaces, and a thermal soaking tub is adjacent to a private sun deck. The FivePine “campus” includes a conference center, Three Creeks Brewery, Sisters Movie House and Sisters Athletic Club.

Sisters Bunkhouse An intimate inn with four rooms, each with a queen bed and private bathroom, and innkeepers who strive to offer exceptional service.

arts

For live music, check out Angeline’s Bakery and Cafe or The Belfry. Looking to kick up some dust with a more raucous crowd? Try Hardtails, a “biker” bar that doesn’t require patches and hosts plenty of live rock and roll bands.

Galleries throughout Sisters stay open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Fourth Friday for the Sisters Arts Stroll. Each month, galleries feature artists, serve light refreshments and sometimes host live music.

play

Hoodoo Spring skiing typically lasts until mid-April at this uncrowded, affordable, family-friendly ski resort with three high-speed quad lifts, thirty-two runs, and 806 skiable and rideable acres.

Biking Once the snow melts, excellent singletrack for mountain biking abounds, along with premier road biking. Eurosports offers free maps and information about nearby trails and scenic road rides for all abilities. The Peterson Ridge trail system has more than twenty-five miles of singletrack that begins a few short blocks from downtown. The Sisters Stampede mountain bike race on May 28 is Oregon’s biggest mountain bike race with 500 participants tackling the Peterson Ridge trail system. It begins and ends at FivePine Lodge.

Other rides, flat to rolling, range from the fifteen-mile Indian Ford Loop to a fifty-mile jaunt around Camp Sherman. For an epic climb, the thirty-mile McKenzie Pass ride is a state jewel. Climb 2,000 feet through ponderosa pine forests, follow an 1860s wagon road and emerge above the tree line to reveal a staggering view of Mt. Washington and a 2,000-year-old lava flow. This ride runs along state Highway 242, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The pass is closed during winter, but the state Department of Transportation briefly opens the pass only to cyclists for a short but glorious window after they plow the roads in spring. Check tripcheck.com or rideoregonride.com for updates.

Bend’s Pole Pedal Paddle is About More Than Competition

The coveted Bill Earhart ceramic mug, the singular “trophy” bestowed at the annual Pole Pedal Paddle, has become somewhat of a lighthearted status symbol in Bend. Its widespread presence has even birthed a locally-used verb: “mugging.” Yet talk to anyone who’s been involved in the legendary Bachelor-to-Bend race that takes place in late May, and you’ll realize that the event is about more than posting a winning time.

Dating back to 1976, this event played a pivotal role in establishing Bend as the athletic hub it is today. Spanning six segments—alpine and Nordic skiing, running, biking, and kayaking—the race showcases Bend’s favorite sports, guiding participants, whether competing solo, in pairs, or as teams, from Mt. Bachelor’s Red Chair to the Old Mill District. With roughly 3,000 participants annually, nearly half from outside the region, its allure extends far beyond local borders.

And it’s an appeal that lies less in athletic prowess and more in the joyful sense of community prevailing throughout the day. The race welcomes all, and longtime attendees know that the competition is as much about the best costume as it is about the fastest time. While it’s often assumed that only the athletically gifted participate, diversity is the race’s true charm. Athletes of varying ages and skill levels, racing individually or as part of a team, find themselves united by a shared passion for sport and a desire to push personal boundaries.

As racers tackle each leg of the course—be it the adrenaline-fueled sprint uphill at Mt. Bachelor’s Red Chair, the exhilarating Nordic course, the scenic descent into town, the riverside run along the Deschutes River, or the paddle through the Old Mill—they are uplifted by the collective encouragement of spectators and fellow competitors alike.

This atmosphere of encouragement and camaraderie sets the Pole Pedal Paddle apart as more than just a race—it’s a celebration of community spirit. Dedicated volunteers kick-start the event at dawn, setting up stations from the Old Mill to Mt. Bachelor, while enthusiastic spectators, rain or shine, line the route offering unwavering support. From the whimsical costumes to the friendly competition among participants, the Pole Pedal Paddle fosters a vibrant spirit of community.

Extending beyond race day, the Pole Pedal Paddle serves as MBSEF’s largest annual fundraiser, providing crucial support for the organization’s efforts to offer life-changing athletic programs to over 800 athletes each year. In doing so, it embodies Bend’s dedication to nurturing the next generation of athletes and fostering a legacy of excellence both on and off the field.

In a city experiencing rapid growth, this enduring tradition unites the Bend community in the joy of outdoor recreation, friendly competition, and support for the community as a whole. Its legacy is deserving of celebration, inviting a collective toast—perhaps, with a mug in hand.

Click here to check out the 2024 Pole Pedal Paddle. | Click here to check out the Pole Pedal Paddle website.

Bend Startup Voilà Coffee is a Game Changer in the Coffee Industry

Written by Megan Oliver

The mere mention of instant coffee elicits strident reactions from many coffee drinkers. Caffeine connoisseurs tend to believe that great instant coffee is a contradiction in terms. Out to prove the naysayers wrong, Bend entrepreneur and self-proclaimed coffee geek Kent Sheridan has developed Voilà Coffee using his proprietary freeze dry production method.

“We’re inventing a new way of brewing coffee that doesn’t compromise taste,” said Sheridan. “Voilà has a low barrier to entry for people looking to expand their palate and find what types of roasts they like, but we also cater to the seasoned coffee drinker because everyone is on the go these days.”

Sheridan and his business partner, Nick Holmboe, source beans from top roasters such as Portland’s Upper Left Roasters. They purchase overstock coffee at a discount when it’s two weeks off-roast, just before the sell-by date. Voilà can brew large batches in a day, turning soon-to-expire roasts into a crystal form that has a significantly longer shelf life.

Coffee servings comes as a five-packet set in flip top boxes reminiscent of a cigarette pack. The packaging play is both humorous and functional. Committed to transparency from farm to consumer, Voilà prints the roaster and its location on every label. This may sound obvious, but “you would be appalled at how other instant coffee is made and sourced,” said Sheridan.

The company came out with a bang last fall with a fully funded Kickstarter campaign. Order fulfillment for backers came in March after some production delays due to continued testing and adjustments on the new equipment that was needed to bring production to scale. Now, Voilà is taking one-time and subscription-based orders through its website, where customers can pick the notes they would like to see in their coffee: Structured, Complex or Lively. The coffee is also available at the cafés of their roasters.

Sheridan said the product has been well-received so far. He is working with tastemakers to spread the instant coffee gospel as he seeks an investor who can “help us take the company to the next level.” voila.coffee

Free Range Equipment Partners with Local Artists

Free-Range-Equipment_RF_PC_Ely-Roberts_Bend oregon — Photo by Ely Roberts

Tosch Roy puts a lot of thought into the backpacks he makes—and not just in the product development sense. Roy openly wonders if his business, Free Range Equipment, and his work are essential, or if he’s just producing one more product in an oversaturated outdoor gear market.

It’s a lot of weight on the shoulders of a 26-year-old.

“One of the biggest hurdles for me is that, at the end of the day, you’re manufacturing a new product for people who don’t really need it,” Roy said from his studio in Bend’s Maker District. “That’s been really hard for me.”

For now, he’s staying the course and letting consumers decide whether his Free Range packs are more than just another sack.

“I realized that there are things that you can’t stop doing even if you try, and those are the things that keep coming up in your life. For me, I love creating stuff, I like making things more efficient and I love being outside,” said Roy. “This was a really good match for me, because it brought all those together.”

Free Range started out of necessity. Roy, then 20 and in college in Montana, needed a skimo (ski-mountaineering) pack for a backcountry race. Not willing to shell out the money to buy a new pack, he designed and made one himself. Soon, he started making them for friends. Within a year, he decided to leave school to pursue the business full time.

Six years later, he’s created a range of packs for climbers and backcountry skiers and brought his sister onto the small team. Roy designs the packs, and works with a local production sewer to manufacture each product. Each pack is made to order.

Instead of letting himself get burnt out on the constant work needed to make a startup successful, he’s finding a way to make the work inspiring to him again. Partnering with local artists, he’s created a line of urban commuter backpacks featuring local artwork. “It gives me a lot of motivation in that it’s hopefully helping other people, or helping these artists,” said Roy. The packs will be available to order in April. freerangeequipment.com

The Outdoor Apparel Doctor Is In

To walk into Kimberly Kinney’s two-car garage turned sewing shop is to experience the antithesis of America’s disposable culture. Outside, a string of Tibetan prayer flags greets visitors along with a modest sign for her business, Rugged Thread. Inside, racks of coats, ski jackets, pants and other pieces of gear flank a cluster of sewing stations, each of which is centered around a mid-twentieth century cast iron sewing machine. These are little relics of the era’s industrial engineering, and bear more resemblance to the streamlined fenders of a 1953 Buick Skylark than to the plastic contraption my mother occasionally trotted out to the dining room table. The machines are the engine of Kinney’s burgeoning gear repair business that she runs out of her Westside Bend home with one part-time employee and another on-call resource.

In a town that is obsessed with outdoor gear, Kinney is the gear equivalent of country doctor and emergency room surgeon rolled into one. Her specialty is zippers, that critical but often prone to failure wonder of industrial technology that has cut short the life of many a tent and jacket. But zippers are just the beginning: Kinney also works on any piece of fabric you can find in the outdoors, including sailboat sails. Her work is driven as much by personal philosophy as profit.

“I think there is an ethical component to keeping things in their life cycle,” said Kinney, who began her career in outdoor apparel business after dropping out of college in Minnesota and chasing her passion for mountain living out West.

Kinney landed in Utah where she apprenticed with an experienced seamstress at Snowbird. Within a year or two, she had taken over the business, Wasatch Designs. Kinney sold the business at 26 years old and has worked off and on as a garment designer and consultant in the ensuing years. She came to Bend in 2004 when her husband’s work brought them here, and dedicated the next few years to raising her kids. She decided to get back into the gear repair business five years ago, and has been growing her business gradually since then. She now counts REI and Giant Loop as clients. She also does most of the gear repair for Mt. Bachelor employees.

It’s labor-intensive work and the margins are slim. Still, there is room to scale up with more warranty contract work and improved efficiency. Just as importantly, said Kinney, is the need for an increased awareness that a broken zipper or even a fabric tear doesn’t mean the end for an otherwise functional piece of gear, adding that “education is the biggest component of gear repair.” ruggedthread.com

How Organic Lipstick Company Axiology Makes a Global Impact

Axiology is not just lip service.

Like many great entrepreneur stories, Ericka Rodriguez’s started at home. Specifically, in her kitchen. Over the last four years, what began as a passion project for natural and organic lipstick has grown into Axiology, a nationally distributed product on the path to becoming a full makeup line. Even more impressive, its impact reaches far beyond Central Oregon.

Rodriguez, 30, graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a business degree in 2009. She was working odd jobs before taking the leap to start her own business.

“It was a dream to have my own business, but when I started [making lipstick] I didn’t know this was it,” said Rodriguez during an interview at her Southeast Bend studio. In 2012, she started making her own lipstick with organic and natural ingredients, developing recipes in her kitchen. “I just became obsessive about it and I was wearing it for me, and then slowly but surely along the way I thought, ‘Oh, was this it?’”

Rodriguez has practiced a vegan diet since she was a teenager, and is also dedicated to using beauty products that are vegan, cruelty-free, natural and organic. Products that check all those boxes are hard to find in the beauty business.

“I not only wanted something vegan, I wanted something that was cool and hip and represented who I was,” said Rodriguez. “I found that a lot of the natural vegan products either didn’t perform well—like left my lips feeling really cakey—or I wasn’t happy with the ingredients, or they didn’t have the color selection.”

Building the business took Rodriguez from Brooklyn to Bali and, finally, Bend. She spent six months in Bali, an international hub for startups and entrepreneurs. While living there, she stumbled upon a packaging solution in a female-owned company specializing in recycled paper products. The factory employs mainly female workers, and is focused on making the packaging with sustainable practices.

“Everything we do is with intention,” said Rodriguez. “Everything that we do should have an ethical standpoint behind it. We try to be a very ethical company.”

Rodriguez moved to Bend in 2014, and Axiology quickly outgrew her kitchen. She worked out of Willow Lane, an artist’s co-working space, until moving to her own studio in the industrial district. Today, the Axiology team remains small, with two other full-time employees who make and package the lipstick by hand, but it won’t stay that way for long. Axiology has recently caught the attention of Free People and Sephora, and Rodriguez is figuring out how to increase production while keeping the company true to its roots.

“I stand strong in the fact that the product has to come first,” said Rodriguez. “There’s all these ethical bonuses that come along with purchasing our product, but I think that for us to be attainable and reach the mass market, the product has to stand alone”

NATURAL INGREDIENTS

Primary lipstick ingredients include avocado, castor seeds, orange, elderberry, coconut, candellila, grapes, vitamin E oil and mineral powder for pigment.

ETHICAL MISSION

Axiology is part of PETA’s “Beauty With-out Bunnies” program. A portion of profits is also donated to the Orangutan International Foundation.

GLOBAL IMPACT

The packaging is produced in Bali at a female-owned factory from recycled paper products that might otherwise end up in a landfill, or in the country’s water

A Century of Gathering

Troy Field - Bend Ball Field - Bend Oregon - Baseball - Central Oregon — *Young baseball players gather at the Bend Ball Field, as Troy Field was originally known*

Written by Kelly Cannon-Miller

Located amid the bustle of downtown Bend, unassuming Troy Field offers a glimpse into the history of Bend and a lesson in how a simple patch of land can evolve into an institution.

The name Troy Field comes from Troy Laundry, an enterprise once located along the east side of the field. It was an unofficial, if lasting, association created by geography rather than proclamation.

The first documented event on Troy Field occurred July 4, 1904, when it was just the Bend Ball Field. The Bend Baseball Association hosted the Deschutes Irrigation Project company baseball team and the City Slickers. The City Slickers won, 16 to 9. Additional community celebrations, ball games, and other events regularly appeared on Bend Ball Field over the next several years, including bronco riding and a football game against rival Prineville as part of Railroad Days in 1911, celebrating the arrival of the interstate rail line and the beginning of Bend’s sawmill era.

Famously, from 1921 to 1957, Troy Field transformed each winter to a community ice skating rink, thanks to the efforts of the fire department and the city. Less well known are the military drills and veterans events held on the field. During World War II, the city installed overhead lights for the military, an addition that also benefitted the ice rink.

In 1931, it became the official starting point for the city’s Pet Parade, now recognized as an Oregon Heritage Tradition. Perhaps the most unusual use of the field occurred in 1937, when the state held the first Oregon Driving School, a seven-week course that began with a car on jacks for learning the basics of starting and operating automobiles.

Looking back to 1911, the field and most of the adjacent area became the property of the Bend Townsite Company. Led by president Clyde McKay, the company earmarked lands south of downtown for sale at little or no cost to encourage the development of schools and churches, including community gathering spaces and the athletic field. As a result of this deliberate community planning, Troy Field is surrounded by eleven historic buildings: three schools and five churches, plus an athletic club, the library and a post office building. Troy Field itself was slated for a church development before plans fell through in 1937. Owners sold to the school district, which continues to own the field today.

Troy Field remains a gathering place for locals who continue to write its ongoing story. The field was on Bend’s civic planning radar when the school district recently entertained proposals for mixed use retail and housing developments on the site. Those plans have been shelved for now. In February, a group of preservationists nominated Troy Field to the National Register of Historic Places, which, if approved, could complicate any future development efforts.

Eight of the Best Bloody Marys in Central Oregon

A crash course in our favorite breakfast-in-a-glass cocktails and our favorite bloody marys in Central Oregon.

local icon: the victorian cafe

There are now dozens of bars and restaurants where discerning bloody mary connoisseurs can get their fix, but no tour of the region’s bloody mary scene is complete without a stop at the Victorian Cafe, where you’ll find the granddaddy of them all—The Proud Mary. It’s a 23-ounce statement libation that includes a grilled prawn and andouille sausage, and is good to the last drop—or bite.

tastemaker: the row

Principal bartender Donnie Eggers demonstrates proper mixing technique for the restaurant and lounge’s bloody mary. The from-scratch cocktail is the product of a trial and error formula developed three years ago at The Row. Eggers said he deliberately avoids a run-of-the-mill approach to this most regal of cocktails by incorporating non-traditional ingredients. The recipe begins with a basic tomato juice base and adds pineapple juice, wasabi and Sriracha to achieve a distinct and delightfully tangy profile.

The D&D Club (aka, The D) | Bend

Served up with little fanfare and plenty of gas, the D&D’s bloody mary proves that good things really do come in small packages, or, in this case, glasses. Served in a 12-ounce, rocks-style glass, this little-cocktail-that-could forgoes the window dressing favored by so many others. The down-to-business bloody starts with a house-infused vodka that provides a robust foundation. Add in a housemade mix; garnish with olive and these hangover-busters go down easy. Maybe too easy.

Cottonwood Cafe | Sisters

Bend might be the culinary and mixology hub of Central Oregon, but venture a little farther afield and you’ll find there are plenty of options worth exploring. Just a short drive west, you’ll find the charming and always welcoming town of Sisters with its Western-themed downtown and clusters of boutiques, delis and cafés. While options abound, those in the know make it a point to drop by Jen and TR McCrystal’s Cottonwood Cafe. The cozy, upscale nook is the successor to the revered Jen’s Garden, a fine dining favorite for years. Like everything else at Cottonwood Cafe in Sisters, the bloody mary is superb yet unfussy. It offers a classic mix with just the right amounts of horseradish, Worcestershire, pepper and heat topped with meaty olives and a cherry tomato. Enjoy it with any of the restaurant’s delicious breakfast or lunch options. From egg bennies to the excellent Reuben with house-smoked pastrami or ridiculously tasty truffle fries, you cannot go wrong.

The Bloody Mary

Then and Now

According to most accounts, the bloody mary made its first appearance at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, a legendary hangout during the 1920s and ’30s frequented by famous regulars including Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. With the influx of vodka that arrived on the scene from Russians fleeing the Revolution and canned juices and other ingredients brought by American expats fleeing Prohibition, a new world of cocktails was discovered.

Originally simply half vodka and half tomato juice over ice, the bloody mary began to spread its wings at the St. Regis Hotel’s King Cole Room in New York City when its creator Ferdinand “Pete” Petoit returned to the United States after Prohibition was repealed. Then (and still at the St. Regis) called the Red Snapper, Petiot added salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice to the concoction, and the modern Mary was born.

Fast forward a few decades and the variations are endless. From horseradish and celery stalk that have become standard in many recipes to house-infused spirits and elaborate garnishes that can amount to a salad’s worth of pickled vegetables or meals on a stick, riffs on the bloody mary are as many as the number of establishments that serve them on any given day. In Central Oregon, that certainly holds true. Light and tangy or thick and savory, whatever flavor appeals to you can probably be found right around the corner.

Café Sintra | Sunriver

There is a certain profile to a great bloody mary. It can be spotted by a keen eye across a crowded room. It’s a certain hue to the tomato juice base—a little closer to brown than cherry red with a tasteful, but not overly ostentatious, crest of garnish. That’s what caught our eye at Café Sintra in Sunriver during a recent visit that was supposed to include just coffee and eggs but took a welcome detour. Looks did not deceive. This is a cocktail that’s been refined, drawing out the subtleties in a drink that’s not known for understatement. Like the food at the Portuguese-themed café, the bloody mary mix is made from scratch daily. Owner Tracie Landsem swears that the only secret ingredient in the cocktail is love, but we think it could be the house-brined veggies that set it apart. Order it plain, or spicy with Crater Lake Mazama Pepper vodka, and combine it with any of Sintra’s delightful, Mediterranean-influenced dishes and you’ve got a recipe for satisfaction.

Victorian Cafe | Bend

A drink or a snack? Some mornings it’s hard to know which takes precedence. Enter the Proud Mary at the Victorian Cafe. A colossal 23-ouncer, the Proud Mary serves up a beauti-fully seasoned bloody made with house-infused pepper vodka, garnished with a skewer of shrimp, andouille sausage, Pepper Jack cheese and veggies with a garlic breadstick to boot. A double cocktail plus all four food groups in one giant glass? Problem solved. If you’re not ready to commit to a potentially itinerary changing cocktail, The Vic also serves up a more traditional version with all of the handmade goodness in a glass at a slightly reduced volume and price tag.

CHOW | Bend

If we had to pick just one cocktail on this list to recommend to the unabashed foodies in the room, it would have to be CHOW’s bloody mary. From the garden-fresh garnishes to the locally sourced ingredients, the CHOW Bloody Mary may be the healthiest vehicle you’ll ever find for drinking alcohol. Yes, there is vodka involved, but the mix of fresh-squeezed juices topped with a pile of housemade pickles almost makes you feel like you’re on a cleanse. Enjoy it in the cozy cottage dining room or, weather permitting, on the deck or in the garden. Whatever you choose, you’ll want to sample with a selection from CHOW’s extensive farm-to-table menu. Just make sure to arrive early. The word is out on CHOW. Locals and visitors alike arrive in droves to huddle in anticipation of grabbing a seat in this intimate Westside eatery. Thankfully we can recommend a good libation to help kill the time.

Bad Wolf Café & Bakery | Bend

A thoughtful balance of flavors makes the Bad Wolf bloody mary sing. Substantial citrus overtones are tempered by a healthy dose of horseradish and pepper. Add your choice of subtle infusions such as cucumber, basil, rosemary or serrano pepper to tailor it to your palate. Garnished with pickled vegetables, a bacon chip and a rim of savory seasonings, it’s the perfect match for one of Bad Wolf’s hearty meals made with fresh ingredients and housemade baked goods.

DIY

Infused Vodka

1. A good infusion starts with the right spirit. When it comes to vodka, specifically, it’s all about the “nose” said, Donnie Eggers, principal bartender at Tetherow’s The Row. It’s not necessary to spend a fortune on a bottle, because the flavor will largely be masked by the infusion. However, avoid a spirit that has an overly strong smell of alcohol. A good mid-level bottle will suffice, says Eggers. “That way, you’re not having an $18 cocktail.”

2. If you’re going for spicy, add in a mix of peppers, such as ghost chilis, to give your vodka a kick. If you want a smoky flavor, try roasting the peppers first to unleash that flavor found in hatch green chili infusions. If infusing with fruit, Eggers recommends using frozen fruit as the skin tends to break down more readily, imparting the desired sweetness and flavor.

3. Place the mixture in a sterilized container and store away from sunlight for at least two weeks for best results. Open and mix.
ENJOY!

The Row | Bend

Owing in part to its location just off Century Drive, The Row has become the go-to spot for skiers and boarders departing Mt. Bachelor and looking for a little après cheer. The Row, however, has more to offer than just commuter convenience. For one, the casual lounge atmosphere is not what one might expect from an establishment attached to one of the region’s premier destination golf resorts. Then there is the food: creative upscale comfort with a twist. The Scotch Eggs, two farm-raised eggs breaded in Carlton sausage, for instance are not to be missed. As with most things at the Scottish-inspired restaurant and watering hole at Tetherow Resort, the bloody mary is notable for its attention to detail. From the housemade mix that artfully blends the bold flavors of the Worcestershire sauce and horseradish to the house-infused vodka, this is a drink that will leave you probing the bottom of the glass for those last few drops of peppered goodness.

The Clearing Rock Bar | Mt. Bachelor

Full disclosure, this may not be the most artful cocktail on the list. (Mt. B uses an off-the-shelf mix and then redeems it with a liberal dose of Crater Lake’s pepper-infused Mazama Vodka.) Yet, some-times a drink is about time and space. In the case of Mt. Bachelor’s Mazama Mary, there is something borderline mystical about the first pull from the pint glass after a morning of surfing powder or carving corduroy. Take a look around at the cherubic, Gore-Tex clad faces and see if you can count on one hand the number of bloody marys in the room. Probably not. Raise a glass and know that this is your mountain, your drink and your tribe.

An Interview with Silver Moon Brewer Jeff Schauland

What’s Brewing, Jeff?

Written by Jon Abernathy

Photos by Alex Jordan

Silver Moon Brewing kicked off 2017 by introducing new beer to its packaged lineup and revamping the branding for its bottled beers. On shelves now are its year-round cans of IPA 97, Chapter 2 casual ale, and Get Sum and Mango Daze pale ales. New beers available by twenty-two-ounce bottle are the seasonal oatmeal pale ale called “Ahh…Freak Oat!” from the brewery’s Lunar Series and the Alpha Project series’ return of a favorite, Crazy Horse double IPA. We touched base with Silver Moon’s Head Brewer Jeff Schauland for a mini Q&A about the beers.

Crazy Horse is a popular double IPA. Can you tell us about the genesis of that beer?

Crazy Horse has been around Silver Moon longer than I have! From what I have been told, it is meant to be a throwback style PacNW Double IPA. It’s more bitter (higher IBU) than what we tend to brew and uses a whole lot of the classic “C” hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus. I think that it was an effort to bring back a flavor from the earlier days of craft brewing when we didn’t have 100 different choices in hops.

What was the inspiration behind “Ahh…Freak Oat!” from the Lunar Series?

There really weren’t many oatmeal pale ales out there. We wanted something that was going to have some originality. It’s so hard to find anything brand new these days—we just wanted to make something that isn’t already plastered all over the market. We also wanted to make a beer that was true to the essence of Silver Moon and the Pacific Northwest.

Was “Ahh…Freak Oat!” a difficult recipe to get “right” or were you happy with it right away?

Honestly, we have been fairly lucky. This was done as a five-gallon homebrew batch that I brewed with the help of my neighbor. From there I brought a growler of the finished homebrew to work where the brewers tried it. We all gave our two cents as to what we thought and how it could be improved. From those notes, I re-wrote the recipes to be brewed on our thirty-barrel system in Redmond. I think we were all very pleasantly surprised as to how well they turned out, having been scaled up from a five-gallon system. It was better than what we had expected and has become a favorite among the brewing team.

Toby Putnam’s Evocative and Stylized Art

Evocative art is the culmination of a life’s journey.

Written by Lee Lewis Husk

Photography by Alex Jordan

Fascinated by monsters and mythical creatures since childhood, Toby Putnam has evolved his art into bold, stylized, symbolic images. Like all artists, his work expresses a culmination of his life experiences.

In 2015, Putnam walked away from his nine-to-five life and auto upholstery business in Salt Lake City and road-tripped for seven months. He traveled across the West and up the California coast in a Sprinter van retrofitted for sleeping. He eventually came to Drake Park. “It welcomed me for the night,” he said, adding that a second night’s rest in Bend’s iconic park was scuttled by the city’s no camping laws.

Nonetheless, he decided to stay awhile longer in Bend. He gravitated toward other creatives at the Cindercone Clay Center and The Workhouse in Bend’s Old Ironworks arts district. Not long thereafter, The Workhouse commissioned Putnam for a series of large-format, mixed media works for its Last Saturday art walk in October 2016. Putnam titled the series “Love Monster” and evoked the words of Sylvia Plath: “I desire the things which will destroy me in the end.”

To prepare for the show, the self-taught Putnam isolated himself for two-and-a-half months, living on five acres near Sisters. “I spent a lot of time alone, listening to hawks and owls screaming at me. It was the perfect energy to create and be present with yourself.” One painting shows a powerful, geometric and stylized wolf with hearts in its eyes and one in its mouth. “I explore the duality of love,” he said. “I created a love monster that is ravenous and can devour and destroy you. I also created a softer creature, a bison, which has a more welcoming nature.”

Some of the love monster prints can be seen at Spoken Moto, a motorcycle-themed gathering spot in the Pine Shed near the Box Factory. Wearing a black denim jacket, the soft-spoken artist told of his own efforts to restore a 1975 Honda dirt bike. In the spring, he and tattoo artist Cheyenne Sawyer will collaborate on a show at See See Motorcycle in Portland.

Putnam was a featured artist at The 1 Moto Show in Portland in February. To create five flashy, graphic motorcycle-themed images, he first drew with an ink pen on paper, overlaid the resulting image with gold foil and then added more definition with ink. The next step involved cutting out the image and attaching it to a 14 square-inch board with gels and resins. To achieve a weathered look, he beat the boards with chains and even scorched them. The resulting images include creatures—a lion and a dragon among them—wearing motorcycle helmets. Another depicts a set of handlebars intertwined with flowers and a snake.

“All of us have a journey. I’ve had a lot of tragedy. But I’m surrounded by beautiful people, and it’s been very healing to be in this place,” the 39-year-old artist said of Bend.

A Single Spring Day of Big Air Lifestyle with Bend Adventurer Ari DeLashmutt

Whether on the snow, dirt or soaring on thermals, no one charges harder than local adventure junkie Ari DeLashmutt. Ryan Cleary spent a day tracking his adrenaline-fueled itinerary.

Written and Photographed by Ryan Cleary

It’s spring in Central Oregon. While many people are putting away the snow shovels and getting out the lawn mowers, Ari DeLashmutt is doing some gear prepping of his own. DeLashmutt, a native Bendite and consummate adventurist, is applying warm weather wax to his skis, tuning his bike, packing his highlining gear and prepping his paraglider. Yes, you got that right, paraglider. For a guy who does a little of everything, there may be no season in Central Oregon like spring. If you are motivated enough, you can carve through fresh snow in the morning, charge over hero dirt in the afternoon and watch the sunset from a few thousand feet up before returning to town for a well-earned IPA.

Spend a day (or even a couple hours) with Ari (pronounced “Air-ee”) and I guarantee you will be driving home with a few sore muscles, including one or two that you didn’t know you had. There’s also the lingering feeling that you’ve just been coaxed into taking a few steps outside of your comfort zone. His relentless sense of adventure and general stoke for life is infectious and hard to ignore.

Ari DeLashmutt - Ari in the Air- Central Oregon Adventures - Multi Sport - Ski - mountain bike - hang gliding - pine mountain - mt bachelor - photo by Ryan Cleary — Skiing at Mt Bachelor

“Life is too short to do anything other than what you really love. If we hold ourselves to high standards of chasing dreams, we’ll have a better idea of who we really are and how to be happy,” said DeLashmutt.
If he’s not on an exotic paragliding trip, he’s likely a couple hundred feet above the ground on a highline or chairlift wearing a grin that makes you wonder if you have missed out on a joke. As a writer and photographer, I figured there’s no better way to get a sense for this adventure-filled, Central Oregon lifestyle than through DeLashmutt’s lens. The catch: We would do it all in just a single day.

With a tentative plan and a bucketful of excitement, I picked up Ari at 7:30 a.m. We headed up the Cascade Lakes Highway toward a horizon framed by beautiful, bluebird skies. We would start the day by backflipping some prime spring conditions. This was Ari’s eighteenth season skiing at Mt. Bachelor, and to say he is completely comfortable carving through snow and ice would be an understatement. Watching him ski is like watching a dolphin swim. He moves with intrinsic confidence and an almost calculated recklessness that lets you know he’s probably having more fun than you are. During one of the rides up the chairlift I asked about the difference between a skier with five seasons of experience versus one with eighteen under his belt. The answer ultimately boiled down to insight and wisdom. Training the body to twist and flip is one thing, but gaining confidence in your ability to evaluate your surroundings and make wise decisions is something that only comes with experience. This seemed to be a common theme in our conversations throughout the day.

Ari DeLashmutt - Ari in the Air- Central Oregon Adventures - Multi Sport - Ski - mountain bike - paragliding - pine mountain - mt bachelor - photo by Ryan Cleary — Highlining at Adam Craig’s house

After a few more trips down the hill we decided it was time to refuel and move on to phases two and three of the day: biking and highlining. An hour later, and one super burrito fuller, we arrived at the home of professional mountain biker and local legend, Adam Craig. His backyard is an adventure training camp equipped with a small pump track and a highline strung between two towering ponderosa pines thirty feet overhead.

Over the next few hours I learned the secret to surviving the pump track, watched Ari coerce his friends into facing their fears on the highline and I climbed a tree for the first time in about twenty-five years. Smiles were big and beers were cold. It was tough to leave this adult playground, but, as the sun began its hasty descent, we knew it was time to rally once again. We grabbed another serving of rice and beans and charged out of town for the day’s last agenda item: paragliding.

Of all the activities we sampled, paragliding was the one that most excited me, and not just for the photography. Of course, shooting in the late afternoon light with a vast and epic landscape for a backdrop is hard to beat, but flight in general is also something with which I’ve been slightly obsessed all my life. The thought of attaching yourself to a nylon wing, running down a hill and soaring off with the birds sounds so damn romantic. It’s also slightly terrifying, but the best things in life usually are.

We arrived at Pine Mountain about an hour and a half before sunset. After a little storytelling and chatting about conditions with the other pilots, it was time to get after it. Within twenty-five minutes, Ari had unpacked his glider and kited his way up the hill as I awkwardly stumbled behind him firing off photos. Once I caught up, I asked him where he would lift off. He said, “Right here!” My response was, “Yeah, but where on this hill?” Again he said, “Right here!” Sure enough, a minute later he was lifted straight into the air without taking more than two steps. I watched, with awe and a bit of envy, as he simply drifted away into the warm, sun-soaked sky.

If humans weren’t meant to fly, no one has told Ari. Whether launching off an oversized kicker at Mt. Bachelor or soaring over the Ochocos, Ari seems to be more at home in the air than most of us are on the ground. It’s a fact that hasn’t escaped his friends. “Part of me thinks that he lived a bird’s life at some point, or will someday,” said Craig.

I spent the next forty-five minutes swapping lenses and running around the hill in search of different compositions. At times I caught myself just staring through the lens, wondering what it must be like up there. It was an incredibly quiet and peaceful experience with only the sound of the gliders cutting through the sky and my shutter opening and closing. As the light was fading and the exhaustion of the day was catching up, Ari made one last downward spiral and his colorful glider glowed softly against the already shadowed earth. I packed up my gear and headed down the hill toward the vibrant reds and oranges melting into the mountains while coyotes yipped in the distance. On the drive home I was thinking about the events of the day and wondering what the next adventure might be.

After a few days had passed, I started digging through the images with fresh eyes and found myself thinking about the drive that fuels such an action-packed life. How is one 27-year-old so good at so many things? How do you stay inspired to keep pushing yourself when it’s so easy to become complacent? The first day I met Ari, he said something that stuck with me, “Get involved.” Simply step forward and see where it takes you—perhaps soaring over the Ochocos, or across a slackline over Smith Rock. Is it really that easy? Maybe. One thing is for sure: There’s no better time or place than spring in Central Oregon to test the theory. Just be sure to pick the right guide. Most likely, Ari will be up for it.

Follow Ari’s adventures here: ariintheair.com

Check out more of Ryan’s photography: luminosityimaging.com

Paul Clark is on a Mission to Redefine the Boundaries of Paddleboarding

Bend resident Paul Clark is taking paddleboarding to the extreme.

Written by Mackenzie Wilson

If your impression of stand-up paddle-boarding is limited to the scene around the Old Mill where tourists and septuagenarian pitter about, you’ve probably never heard of Paul Clark, aka SUP Paul. A photographer by trade, Clark has become Bend’s unofficial ambassador of extreme paddleboarding. His idea of a day on the water often includes breaking trail to the launch site, slipping into a dry-suit and charging through Class IV whitewater. And that’s all before lunch.

Clark first stepped on a board back in April of 2013. It may not have seemed at the time like a life-changing event, but the intervening years have revealed it to be a defining moment. Clark now leads paddleboard expeditions to remote corners of the state and to overseas locations. A recent trip found him paddling in South America.

On any given day, Clark can be found on a river doing what he calls, “adventure paddle-boarding.” It’s a modest term. Piloting an
inflatable board not much bigger than his body, Clark charges through rapids that would evoke white-knuckled screams from most people.

Video by Mackenzie Wilson

It was just a few years ago that Clark discovered the sport on YouTube, where stand-up paddleboarders were posting vanguard videos of themselves charging rapids. Still, Clark wasn’t convinced he wanted to replicate what others were already doing. “I come from a long-distance sea kayaking background,” he said. “I didn’t want to drop waterfalls or surf necessarily. I wanted to do multi-day trips with my board.”

He started out doing day trips on the John Day River and the lower Deschutes River. He also practiced in Bend’s First Street Rapids and Big Eddy.

“I used to be the endless winter guy. I used to cry if I didn’t get 100 days on the snow,” he said. Now it’s time on the water that he treasures. “Last year, I had more than 200 days in a dry-suit on the river.”

In the past, Clark was always partial to solo trips. In 2014 he paddled 300 miles of the Sea of Cortez in the Gulf of California with only his paddleboard for company. Now he’s looking for community. Realizing that he could have a hand in expanding the popularity of the sport, he began hosting clinics for people whose curiosity is piqued. Something is working because Clark had enough interest to fill a winter in Patagonia, where he led eight-day paddleboard trips. Starting in Argentina, his groups crossed the Andes and ended up in Chile. He hopes adventure SUPing will attract a broader audience, shedding its reputation as a fringe activity.

“Every time I’m touching the water it’s an education that’s incalculable,” said Clark. “For the last four years I’ve been paddle-boarding, and it’s been like going to college. Now, I have my degree.”

Just like other college grads, he’s slowly learning to turn that knowledge and passion into a paycheck.

Follow Paul’s adventures: suppaul.com

Back to the Future: A Walking Tour of Redmond’s Past

Bookend Redmond’s walking history tour with a taste of the present.

Written by Danielle Meyers

It takes generations to write history, but it takes just a few minutes to appreciate the work and lasting contributions of those who did. Nowhere in Central Oregon is our region’s unique history more on display than in Redmond. The city’s heritage dates to the early in the 20th century when homesteaders were inspired to take advantage of relatively inexpensive land and agricultural opportunities delivered by early irrigation systems. Today, Redmond has more than 27,000 residents and a diverse economy that includes construction, aviation and technology. But take a step back and you’ll find a community steeped in history that included entrepreneurs, pioneers and visionaries who imagined a big future for their little town. There are many businesses around town that are designated as historic landmarks, and we’ve taken the time to highlight a few fun venues worth visiting.

Take The Heritage Walk

Stop at City Hall and pick up a copy of the “Heritage Walk.” The guide is a tour of thirty-six buildings and residences—most of which have many of their original architectural features from the early 20th century to World War II. The guide includes maps, historic photos, descriptions of each building’s history and Redmond trivia. Locals recommend the tour be on foot, but it can be done by bicycle, scooter, long board or car. Whatever mode of transportation you choose, grab a guide and have a blast while learning about the history of Redmond.

716 SW Evergreen Ave.
Redmond, OR 97756

Visit the Redmond Historic Living Museum

Redmond was founded in 1904 when Frank and Josephine Redmond pitched a tent next to the Deschutes and filed a homestead claim. Two years later, many had joined the community and named the town in Frank and Josephine’s honor. Since then the town has been shaped by railroads, aviation, agriculture, lumber and industries. For an in-depth explanation on the historic perspective of Redmond visit the Redmond Historic Living Museum.

509 SW 7th Street
Redmond, Oregon 97756

EAT AND DRINK

Wild Ride Brewing

Take a walk on the wild side and visit the Wild Ride Brewing tasting room. Remodeled from the former Parr Lumber Warehouse in downtown Redmond, Wild Ride has a brief but effervescent history. The planning for the building renovations began in 2013 and opened its doors to the public in 2014. Ascent Architecture worked on the design for the building and created a contemporary look from the reclaimed barn wood. With an eye on the future, Wild Ride Brewing operates several brewing systems that allow them to serve an eclectic array of drafts on tap.

Soup 2 Nuts Deli

Long before Soup 2 Nuts Deli, Bill Leavitt built the first story of this brick building in 1919, to house a billiard room. In 1932, Fritz Landaker added the second and third stories for apartments, and in 1946 the building became home to the Pastime Tavern, which operated until 1993. Post 1993 the building was renovated and currently is home to Soup 2 Nuts, which coincidentally is an idiom for “from beginning to end.” There are no nuts at this corner shop but instead salads, sandwiches and pizzettas. You’ll enjoy your stop here, from soup to nuts.

Explore the History of Sunriver

What is now an outdoor recreation basecamp was once a training camp for soldiers during World War II.

Known for its draw as a year-round destination for visitors and locals alike, Sunriver has much to offer from tennis to world-class golf to access to Central Oregon’s outdoor recreation. Less well known is Sunriver’s historic role as a training base for troops in World War II, when the now familiar grounds served as Camp Abbot. The base was one of three combat engineer training centers during WWII with others in Virginia and Missouri. The base opened in 1942, and in just two years trained approximately 90,000 troops. While Camp Abbot’s contribution was significant, few signs remain of Sunriver’s military past. The notable exception is the Great Hall, an impressive native wood and stone building that served as the officer’s mess hall. Today, it is a gathering place for wedding parties and professional events, but open to the public during most hours. Venture inside and take a step back in time. Handmade railings and banisters and rough-cut joinery showcase the timeless craftsmanship that echoes other structures from the same era, such as the Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood. It’s easy to imagine rows of uniform clad officers sitting shoulder to shoulder at communal tables enjoying a meal after a long day in the field.

See

The Sunriver Nature Center and stroll along the paths that wind through the meadows and golf courses. Now imagine the same scene a bustling military base, filled with young faces—men who had been called from all walks of life to serve their country in what was and remains, the world’s single greatest military effort.

Explore

The nearby Lava Lands Visitor Center and Lave Butte lookout. Take the $2 shuttle to the summit or follow a narrow trail through the lava field to the top where 360-degree views reveal the area’s dramatic geography.

Taste

There are many casual dining options around the Village, including the popular Sunriver Brewing Co. and Village Bar and Grill. If you want the full experience, the Lodge at Sunriver offers two options, casual dining at the Twisted River Tavern (formerly the Owl’s Nest) and fine dining at Carson’s American Kitchen.

Tour Historic Prineville

Get to know another side of Prineville, one that highlights the history and culture of this growing Central Oregon town.

Prineville is the oldest established community in Central Oregon, founded in 1877 and officially incorporated as a city in 1880. From its roots as a farming and ranching community, the town has grown into a population of a little more than 11,000 people while retaining its small-town appeal and charm. Here’s a quick guide to exploring the area’s rich history and contemporary culture.

Stay at the Crooked River Inn

While the Crooked River Inn looks like it was plucked from a Southern estate, the house is one of the oldest in Prineville. Built in 1906 by Columbus Johnson, the farmhouse stood on a massive farm and property owned by one of the original settlers of Prineville. The house was recently renovated and opened as the Crooked River Inn, a charming bed and breakfast that is now a sought-after place to stay in Prineville.

Visit the Wildland Firefighter Memorial

In 1996, the Wildland Firefighter Memorial was dedicated in Prineville, honoring the nine members of the Prineville Hotshots crew who died in the 1994 Storm King fire in Colorado, which was at the time one of the deadliest wildfires in the country. In Ochoco Creek Park, the bronze sculpture depicts firefighters and tells the stories of the men who died fighting the fire and is a memorial to all past, present and future wildland firefighters.

Eat at Barney Prines

An early settler in the region, Barney Prine gave his namesake town many of its firsts. His legacy continues with Barney Prine’s Steakhouse & Saloon. Open now for a little over a decade, Barney Prine’s is a locals’ favorite, known for its smoked meats and friendly service and atmosphere. The western façade in the front of the restaurant pays homage to the roots and character of the town that was the first to be settled in Central Oregon.

Explore the A.R. Bowman Memorial Museum

Housed in the Crook County Bank Building that is now on the National Register of Historic Places, the A.R. Bowman Memorial Museum captures and preserves the history of the town and the region. The building is largely unchanged since it was built in 1910, with the original bronze teller cages and marble countertops. The museum has rotating exhibits and hosts talks about the history of the town.

Find out about more fun things to do in Central Oregon.

Arts, Storytelling and History Around Central Oregon

Tourists come to Central Oregon for the mountains, skiing and snowboarding, hiking, biking and festivals. These activities while exceptional, are not the only draw. Central Oregon is also a hub for creativity and innovation. Artists, entrepreneurs and adventurers alike are drawn to the high desert. There are endless opportunities to enjoy art, live music, and presentations to broaden your horizons. These events highlight the stories and passions of the people who live here. Below are a few of those events that encompass the vibe of the locals.

Open Mic

Crow’s Feet Commons has it all: Bikes, skis, coffee, beer and a community open mic every Tuesday night. Cozy up to the fire and enjoy an evening of stories, music and brews. The sign up begins at 5 p.m. and the performance begins at 6 p.m. Like any open mic, the possibilities of entertainment are endless.

Crow’s Feet Commons
875 NW Brooks Street
Every Tuesday 5-8 p.m.

Thursday Trivia

Bring a team of your smartest friends to Thursday Trivia at the Barrel Thief Lounge and enjoy true artisanal craft distilled spirits, including their award-winning Merrylegs Genever. Brought to you by Oregon Spirit Distillers, The Barrel Thief is an almost hidden venue on the outskirts of downtown that is committed to the local agriculture and personality. Come down to experience trivial fun, artisanal cocktails. Stay for the great food and patio. Leave with a prize or two.

The Barrel Thief Lounge
740 NE First Street
Thursdays 7-9pm

History Pub

McMenamins has been a gathering spot in the Pacific Northwest since 1983. In Bend, it’s not only a pub but also a historic hotel, movie theater, soaking pool and music venue. Each month McMenamins opens its doors for History Pub, a free event presented in conjunction with the Des Chutes Historical Museum. A new story of Bend’s history is told on the last Tuesday of each month. Local experts, scholars and historians expand on topics from Lewis and Clark to hop growing and beyond. Handcrafted cocktails, wine, beer and cider and food can be purchased during the event. Bring the whole family, bring your friends and learn about the history of Central Oregon.

McMenamins Old St. Francis
700 NW Bond Street
Last Tuesday of each month 5:30 Doors. 7 p.m. Presentation

Last Saturday

While First Friday often gets a lot of attention, Last Saturday is an equally great event to find local artists. It’s held at The Workhouse, an art mecca that houses various studio artists working in mediums from stretched canvas, to beer to leather and everything in between. It’s the place the locals go to escape the tourists and experience all the exotic, fantastic, oddities that might not make a downtown gallery showroom. This studio has everything, from coloring books to steam-powered camp stove necklaces and art painted with beer and coffee. During the event, a bar is opened where two featured cocktails are poured into a mug that you either bring from home or purchase downstairs—once a mug is procured the refills of whatever artisanal cocktails they have that night are bottomless. A strategy that’s as delicious as it is dangerous. Our kind of art walk, for sure.

The Workhouse
50 SE Scott Street #6
Last Saturday of each month

Discover the Best Live Music This Winter in Central Oregon

We’ve got the beat.

Sisters Folk Festival Winter Series, Sisters

Each summer, the Sisters Folk Festival is one of the most popular music events in the region—so popular that a Winter Series (which continues into spring) popped up to fill the demand through the colder months. All shows are held at the Sisters High Auditorium. You can buy a pass that gets you into all three shows for $55, or $40 for anyone under 18 years old.

March 23
Rose Cousins and Caitlin Canty
$15-20

Jazz at the Oxford, Bend

What began as an effort to fill a void in downtown Bend’s music scene—a lack of jazz shows and few places to listen to music at night—has grown over the last seven years into one of the music and cultural highlights in Bend. Catch the last performances of Jazz at the Oxford in March when acclaimed vocalist Sara Gazarek takes the stage.

March 17-18
Sara Gazarek with New West Guitar Group
$42

Riverhouse Jazz Series, Bend

Held at the recently renovated Riverhouse hotel under the guidance of longtime sports and entertainment promoter Marshall Glickman, this series brings more jazz legends to town. In addition to world class music, you’ll find a multi-course, prix fixe menu to enjoy while you take in the original American musical art form.

March 17-18 King Louie’s Portland Blues Review

April 14-15 Ravi Coltrane Quartet

McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Bend

Almost every night at McMenamins, the Father Luke’s room is filled with live music from local and regional bands. The space is great for grabbing a bite and a brew while you watch the show. But don’t expected unobstructed views all night from your table perch, this room gets jumping and the vibe can get downright funky once the dancefloor starts shaking. Here are a few bands we’re excited about seeing this season.

March 2 !Chiringa!

March 15 John Craigie

April 13 World’s Finest

The Capitol, Bend

Since it opened about a year ago, this subterranean venue has proved itself to be the uber hot spot to find dance music and touring DJ’s in Bend.

March 3 Beat Lab Radio presents Dr. Jeep

March 10 Staxx Brothers

The Belfry, Sisters

What was once a church is now the home to some of the best and most intimate shows in Central Oregon. The Belfry hosts live music throughout the year. There’s a full bar with beer, wine and cocktails as well.

March 9 Zepparella $20

Keep It Classy: Unleash Your Creative Side

Looking for a new hobby or to polish an existing skill? Within the last five years, new workspaces and workshops have sprung up all around town. Whether you’re looking to learn a new language, make your own jewelry, or just spend some time painting or writing, there’s bound to be a class you’ll enjoy. You may discover a talent you never knew you had while discovering an entirely new community.

The Workhouse

At The Workhouse, you’ll find a variety of classes taught each month to help fuel your creative side. The topics change each month, but you’ll find crafts like soap-making, jewelry-making, writing, drawing and more. At the studio, you can also find unique gifts and crafts made by local artists. The Workhouse began in 2012 and is also a workspace for local artists and craftsmen.

DIY Cave

Created as a maker’s space stocked with tools for everything from woodworking to welding, Bend’s DIY Cave is the creative space for hobbyists and professionals. DIY Cave provides the space and tools for you to find inspiration for a new project or anything you need to finish one. For those who want to learn a new skill, you’ll find a list of classes each month where you can book your spot in advance.

Art & Wine Oh My

Hosted at Level 2 in the Old Mill District, Art & Wine Oh My will guide you through every step of making a beautiful painting while you sip wine and follow along. The classes are popular events for parties or groups, but you can also grab a friend and try something new for a night.

Dudley’s Bookshop and Café

The downtown Bend coffee shop and bookstore has meetups almost every day, with people hosting small group events for knitting, writing, speaking a foreign language and more. Aside from the large collection of new and used books and the coffee, tea and pastry selection, Dudley’s has a cozy atmosphere, with large couches and tables for working.

ScaleHouse UnBend 2017 Series

From Bend Magazine Culture Ambassador René Mitchell: Take a creative thinking workshop through ScaleHouse’s UnBend 2017 Series. The series kicks off on February 25 with a workshop from local artist Lisa Marie Sipe. Students will transform everyday objects and recycled materials into 3D art. The workshop is the first in a series throughout the year from ScaleHouse, a nonprofit organization in Bend that promotes arts, ideas and creative thinking in the community.

Soup for the Soul

What could be better on a cold winter day than a steaming bowl of hot soup that radiates heat from the belly and warms the soul? Perhaps only the fresh bread that often accompanies it, allowing you to savor the last drops of goodness that escaped your spoon. Here are a few of our current favorite places to find the perfect bowl of broth in Central Oregon.

Soup 2 Nuts

Redmond
Open Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Two types of soup are made fresh every day and served until they’re gone—and they do go quickly. Soup 2 Nuts is a popular lunch spot in downtown Redmond. The deli is equally well known for their fresh breads. There are three types made fresh every morning, and, like the soups, don’t last long.

Cottonwood Café

Sisters
Open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day except Wednesday

In Sisters, The Cottonwood Café is always a good bet for breakfast or lunch. Its “Soup of the Moment” is particularly satisfying, especially paired with a sandwich or salad. Located in downtown Sisters at what used to be Jen’s Garden (but still with the same owners), The Cottonwood Café uses local ingredients, and adds a modern update to classic Pacific Northwest dishes.

Schoolhouse Produce

Redmond
Open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Soup is made fresh daily during the week at this local Redmond farmstand, market and deli. Schoolhouse Produce was founded in Redmond in 2008. In addition to supplying fresh fruits and vegetables daily, Schoolhouse also serves lunch every day, the highlight being the freshly made soups. If you’re in a rush, you can ahead and pick up your meal in their drive-thru window.

Bend Soup Company

Bend
Open Monday – Friday 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Open Saturday 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

One of the original members of Bend’s mobile food community, Bend Soup Company has made its mark as one of the go-to destinations for on-the-go lunch in Bend. The truck is usually housed on Century Drive near the Century Center, and features some of the best soup and sandwich pairings in town. One of the best parts is that they also deliver, meaning you can always have hot soup delivered to your front door.

Central Oregon Beer, Wine and Spirits Tasting Rooms

In Central Oregon, beer, wine and spirits are more than just a pre-cursor to dinner. Whether it’s citra hop-fueled IPA, a locally-crafted gin or the fruit off the grapevine, we take our drinks and our drinking seriously here in the high desert. Thankfully, many of our fine artisan breweries and distilleries offer tasting rooms that allow imbibers to get as close as possible to the creative process that delivers this beverage bounty. Here’s a list of some of our favorite tasting rooms worth toasting.

Deschutes Brewery

The granddaddy of them all. Deschutes started the craft brewing revolution in Bend more than two decades ago and remains the preeminent brewery in terms of production and innovation. Get a look behind the scenes at the tasting room and sample something that you won’t find in your local grocer or neighborhood tap handle. Samples are free (up to four tasters), as are the tours. Bring cash and get your Christmas shopping done early, as the gift shop is filled with must-have apparel and beer themed décor.

Boneyard Brewing

Boneyard is the bad boy of Bend brewing, it’s non-conformist ways evidenced by its take it or leave it tasting room that is housed in a former gutter cleaning business office tucked off Hill Street. But if you love great beer, and we mean GREAT beer, this spot is not to be missed. Just don’t expect the staff to turn down the Motorhead just because you’re old.

The Barrel Thief

One of the newer additions to Bend’s tasting room line-up, The Barrel Thief Lounge is an intimate craft distilling experience brought to you by Oregon Spirit Distillers. Visitors here can sample OSD’s gin and whisky concoctions while noshing on small plates. Viewing windows allow guests to watch distillers as they ply their craft in an adjacent room. Outside, a patio with fire pits beckons to sip a handcrafted cocktail under the evening sky.

Maragas Winery, Terrebonne

One of the few wineries in Central Oregon that also includes a vineyard on-site, Maragas is a labor of love for Doug Maragas and family, who spent the last decade growing this into one of Central Oregon’s unique destinations. The winery is open for tours, tasting and events and offers a little slice of Napa right off Highway 97.

Our Favorite Hot Chocolate in Central Oregon

Sparrow - Bend Oregon Hot Cocoa - Coffee- Photo by Danielle Meyers — Photo by Danielle Meyers

When the snow starts to fall in Central Oregon, it’s time to settle in with a cup of hot chocolate. If you need to get out of our house before cabin fever sets in, here our a few favorite places to grab a cup and get cozy.

Sparrow Bakery
Two locations in Bend

Like everything else at the Sparrow Bakery in Bend, the hot chocolate is house-made. There are two locations in Bend, one on 2^nd Street and one in NorthWest Crossing. Paired with a croissant or a few chouquettes (at the NorthWest Crossing location only), it’s the perfect treat.

Victorian Café

Bend

At the Victorian Café, the Chocolate Winter is the drink for adults who still love hot chocolate on cold days. The drink includes Irish cream, Kahlua, amaretto and hot chocolate. Topped with whipped cream, it’s the ultimate warm drink to get your through the cold days.

Sisters Coffee Company
Sisters

In Sisters, the namesake coffee company has a simple cup of hot chocolate that will satisfy on any cold day. The café on Hood Avenue provides a warm atmosphere and a variety of food and treats to pair with your drinks.

Dudley’s Bookshop Café
Bend

What better way to spend a snowy than with a warm drink and a good book? At Dudley’s Bookshop and Café in downtown Bend, you can have both. Grab a drink and a book and curl up on a couch upstairs.

Dudleys-Bend-Oregon-Coffee-Hot Cocoa-Photo by Danielle Meyers — Photo by Danielle Meyers

McKay Cottage
Bend

Along with offering one of the best breakfast menus in all of Central Oregon, McKay Cottage also makes a great cup of hot chocolate. Made with Ghirardelli chocolate, this drink will be sure to warm you up on the coldest of mornings.

Lone Pine
Bend

Tucked away in Tin Pan Alley in downtown Bend, Lone Pine has one of the best cups of hot chocolate in town. Order the house-made Belgian waffle to pair with any warm drink.

Bend Joy Project

Share the Joy – and we’ll share 1-year of Bend Magazine with you!

We love our community. And we are all about getting behind great local projects. Keep an eye out this winter for messaging you will see around town for the Bend Joy Project. Designed to inspire each of us to play a role in our community culture, happiness, wellbeing and quality of life—it’s the kind of inspired work that makes this place we love even better. Consider being a part of the project by performing a random act of kindness. Offer a smile and wave instead of a honk; take time to do something nice for a neighbor or donate an hour of your time to a local charity.

Need more ideas on how to spread joy in our community? Visit BENDJOYPROJECT.COM for some inspiration.

For our little part, tell us about your random act of kindness and receive a one year subscription.*

Here’s to dreaming, working hard and spreading joy in 2017.

(*1 subscription per household)

Shoveling Snow for neighbor - Bend Joy Project — Shovel snow for a neighbor

Beer for friends - Bend Joy Project — Make 5 friends

Where to Donate in Central Oregon

It’s been said that a society can be measured by how it treats its most vulnerable populations. Here in Central Oregon, where people of all means mix on the streets every day, we take great pride in ensuring that our community is a safe and welcoming place. That doesn’t happen by accident, a vibrant network of public and private resources woven together by government programs and non-profits help to ensure that individuals and families don’t fall through the cracks. That work is demanding and ongoing, even in times of economic prosperity. In times of trouble resources are strained thin. But it doesn’t have to be so. One person with an open heart can make a huge difference. Consider donating your time, money, food, clothing or household items to these nonprofit organizations and help other people living in the region.

Bethlehem Inn

In Bend, Bethlehem Inn provides emergency shelter to 90 adults and children each night. The Central Oregon nonprofit, which has been operating for more than fifteen years, also provides food, transportation access and work experience to people in need. Check out their Wish List, and see what items you have at home that you can donate to the shelter.

MountainStar

MountainStar has been helping families in crisis since 2001. The nonprofit operates three relief nurseries in Bend, Madras and Prineville, where families are supported in different ways. There’s also an emergency pantry with items like food and diapers for parents in immediate need. In addition to donating money, you can also volunteer to work in classroom or donate items from their Wish List. Read more here, bendmagazine.com/supporting-families-in-crisis

Shepherd’s House Ministries

Shepherd’s House Ministries provides shelter, food and clothing to people in need throughout Central Oregon. They accept donations for food and winter clothes. You can drop off items at the Division Street location in Bend or at Grace Gate Church in Redmond. The Needs page has up-to-date information about items it is currently in need of.

NeighborImpact

Since 1985, NeighorImpact has assisted with food and housing needs for Central Oregon residents in need of assistance. The nonprofit receives and distributes food to more than forty locations throughout Central Oregon. In 2015, they directly assisted almost 60,000 people in Central Oregon. NeighborImpact’s Ways to Give page to find out how you can help.

Bend Joy Project

Not ready to save the world just yet? Consider doing an act of random kindness and selflessness for a stranger. Hold open a door an elder, solve a problem not of your making. Find inspiration for a better world at BendJoyProject.com

Warm Up by a Firepit this Winter

The best places to drink outside in Bend this winter. Maybe Bend denizens are part penguin, because even in the sub-freezing temperatures, Central Oregonians like to be outside. Try one of these Bend restaurants that offer four-season patio dining with fire pits and heaters to keep you warm(ish).

10 Barrel

Bend | Open until 11 p.m., midnight on Saturdays

At 10 Barrel on the west side of town, the large fireplace in the middle of the patio keeps everyone warm on the cold nights. In the winter, it’s the perfect place to drink the seasonal Pray For Snow while you think of fresh tracks for tomorrow.

O’Kanes at McMenamins

Bend | Weekdays open until 11 p.m., weekends open until midnight

At O’Kanes at McMenamins, the fire pits are big enough to share. Stay warm outside and make new friends while you try one of the seasonal brews or sip on a warm drink. Inside, you can also watch a movie or sit in the soaking pool.

Bend Brewing Company

Bend | Open until 10 p.m. every day

The heated benches at Bend Brewing Company are the next best thing to a firepit. The newly renovated riverside pub has a warm fire on the outdoor patio to enjoy while you try one of the region’s original craft brews.

Crux Fermentation Project

Bend | Open until 10 p.m. every day

While Crux is popular in the summer for its outdoor space, the patio is also open throughout the winter. With fire pits snapping and popping, award winning ales and food trucks to keep you fed, Crux should definitely be on your winter list.

Worthy Brewing

Bend | Open until 9 p.m. weekdays, 10 p.m. on weekends

The recently renovated Worthy has an expansive patio with clean burning gas-powered fire pits. It’s one of the few craft breweries where you can eat on the east side of Bend. Complete the circle by ordering one of several delicious wood over pizzas and pair it with the session-able Pre Funk Pale Ale.Wild Ride Brewing.

Favorite Post-Adventure Food and Drink Deals in Bend and Sunriver

After a long day on the mountains and in the snow, round out your day with a well-earned beer or cocktail and something to nosh. Call it happy hour, après ski or whatever you like. Here’s our list of places to refuel with comfort food and beverages in Bend and beyond. Some also offers discounts for showing your season pass or lift ticket. Find a fireplace and kick up your feet—you earned it.

The Row

Ask locals where they go for their après ski, and they’ll tell you The Row. The Scottish-inspired menu will warm you up, as will the drinks and the fireplace. If kids still have the energy, they can sled on the snow at the golf course.

Bend
tetherow.com
Open every day 12 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Discount seasonal après ski menu starts at 1 p.m.

Twisted Tavern

If you make it down from the mountain in time, head to Twisted Tavern at Sunriver so you can eat, drink and gaze at the sunset from the lower level. The best bite to pair with your drink is the homemade pretzel.

Sunriver
Twisted Tavern
Open every day 4 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Show pass or lift ticket for half-off appetizers and desserts at happy hour

Twisted Tavern Sunriver Oregon — Jeff Kennedy

Sip Wine Bar

For the rare above-freezing evening in Central Oregon, head to Sip Wine Bar. The outside patio always has a roaring fire going to keep you warm while you try flights of wine or champagne.

Bend
sipwinebend.com
Open Tuesday through Sunday 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Show pass or lift ticket for happy hour pricing all night

Sip Wine Bar Bend Oregon — Photo by Jeff Kennedy

Bistro 28

Though it’s inside the members-only Athletic Club, Bistro 28 is open to the public. One of the best parts of the restaurant is that you can get full service on the couches by the fireplace.

Bend
bistro28.com
Open every day 4:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Purchase an entrée and show your pass or lift ticket and receive a discount on artisan pizzas or a free dessert.

Cascades Lakes Lodge

On the way back from the mountains, stop at Cascade Lakes Lodge not only because you’re ravenous and it’s the first place you’ll find in town, but also because the pub food is as comforting as the atmosphere. Find pool tables, darts and a fireplace to wind down after a cold, snowy day.

Bend
cascadelakes.com
Open every day 11:30 a.m. – close. Happy hour Monday-Friday 4 – 6 p.m.

The Village Bar and Grill at the Village at Sunriver

The Village Bar and Grill was recently renovated with a bigger patio and space inside to find ample seating by the fire.

Sunriver
sunrivervbag.com
Open every day 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Happy hour 3-6 p.m. (Thirsty Thursday all day happy hour)

Atlas Cider

For those looking for something other than beer, try Atlas Cider in the Box Factory buildings near the Old Mill District. The taproom has couches by a fireplace if you’re looking to relax. Vintage pinball machines and arcade games offer a great diversion for the 12-year-old kid in us all.

Bend
atlascider.com
Open every day, times vary
Cider flights are 25% off when you show your pass or lift ticket

Velvet

At Velvet, you’re likely to be rubbing elbows with same people you sat shoulder-to-shoulder with on a chairlift ride just a few hours earlier. The bar vibe is hipster-casual, with unique cocktails and craft beer served in mason jars.

Bend
velvetbend.com
Open every day, times vary. Happy hour 5 – 7 p.m.

Parilla Grill

After a day on the mountain, we think there’s nothing better a burrito from Parilla and $1 PBR to wash it all down. It’s one of the more popular stops on the way back from Mt. Bachelor, so be prepared to wait longer than you did in the lift lines.

Bend
parillagrillbend.com
Open every day 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Happy hour 4 – 5 p.m.

Central Oregon’s Snowshoeing Destinations

Whether you are a snow sports novice or a lifelong devotee looking for new trails to explore, snowshoeing is one of the best ways to play in the snow in Central Oregon. Snowshoeing is also a fun way to introduce snow sports to young children or for people looking for a winter activity less intense than skiing or snowmobiling. As for trail etiquette to know before you go, yield to the uphill snowshoer and leave nothing but footprints. Many of the trails are multi-use, so on trails that aren’t designated just for snowshoers, watch out for cross-country skiers, snowmobilers and fat-tire bikers.

Tumalo Mountain

Across from Mt. Bachelor, the top of Tumalo Mountain will give you some of the best views of Bachelor, Broken Top and South Sister. The hike starts off steep, but the solitude and powder you’ll find stashed up there is worth the extra effort. The trail is about two miles uphill, and on extra snowy days there isn’t always a clear path. The parking lot can also fill up quickly, so get an early start to your day.

Where to park: Dutchman Flats Sno-Park, Bend
Snow Parking Permit: Required
Distance: 4 miles out and back
Difficulty: Extreme

Wanoga Snowshoe Trails

For families with young children or first time snowshoers, Wanoga Sno-Park is one of the best places to start. The designated snowshoeing trail is one-mile long and is groomed and flat. The trail also allows you to bring your dog along for the adventure. When you’re done on snowshoes, there’s also a sno-play area to sled or tube down small hills.

Where to park: Wanoga Sno-Park, Bend
Snow Parking Permit: Required
Distance: 1-mile loop
Difficulty: Easy

Edison Hut Loops

For more of a backcountry snowshoeing experience (without the elevation gain of Tumalo Mountain), try Edison Sno-Park. Like Wanoga Sno-Park, there are designated trails for snowshoeing, and the longest is about 3.5 miles. Along the way, you’ll find lots of powder, trees and lava tubes. There’s a warming hut at the sno-park as well, which is a good place to stop mid-hike for lunch and a warm drink and meet a community of fellow snowshoers.

Where to park: Edison Sno-Park, Bend
Distance: up to 3.5-mile loop
Snow Parking Permit: Required
Difficulty: Moderate

Paulina Creek Falls

Located in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Paulina Creek Falls is a winter wonderland in the snowy season. While the trails are popular with snowmobiles, there is a designated ski and snowshoe trail that’s about a seven-mile loop. There’s a warming hut at the front of the park, so pack a lunch and warm drinks and make a day out of it. About three miles from Ten Mile Sno-Park, the rustic Paulina Lodge on the shores of Paulina Lake also serves food and drinks.

Where to park: Ten Mile Sno-Park
Snow Parking Permit: Required
Distance: 7-mile loop
Difficulty: Moderate

Ray Benson Sno-Park

West of Sisters on the way to Hoodoo Ski Area, there are six snowshoe trails to choose from at Ray Benson Sno-Park, ranging in difficulties so whether it’s your first time on snowshoes or you are a seasoned pro you will find a trail that suits you. There are also shelters and three warming huts accessible by the trails. The park is big, with more than sixty-five miles of trails for skiers, snowmobilers and sled dogs.

Where to park: Ray Benson Sno-Park
Snow parking permit: Not required
Distance: up to 65 miles of trails
Difficulty: Easy to moderate

World Muse Conference Brings Thought Leaders to Bend

The Power of One

WRITTEN BY LEE LEWIS HUSK

World Muse Conference brings local and international thought leaders to Central Oregon.

Muse: a noun meaning someone who inspires. Muse: a verb meaning to thoughtfully consider. Both are invoked by World Muse, a nonprofit founded by Amanda Stuermer of Bend in 2009, which led to the first Muse Conference in 2013. “We don’t evoke the myth of muse, but rather we show the real power of women to inspire positive change in their lives, in their communities and in our world,” said Stuermer, who also serves as Bend Magazine’s editor-at-large.

The three-day conference supports and celebrates the potential of women and girls as catalysts for change through keynote presentations, live performances, art exhibitions, interactive panel discussions, breakout workshops and a special 5k run, she said.

Stuermer expects this year’s conference, which will be held March 3 to 5 in Bend, to reach a sold-out crowd of about 1,000 people. To encourage more male participation, Wade Davis, a retired NFL football player and ambassador for the United Nations Women’s HeForShe Campaign, will speak about the importance of men as allies in the feminist movement. Rainn Wilson, who played the character Dwight Schrute on the TV comedy, “The Office,” and his wife, Holiday Reinhorn, will speak about their work with girls in Haiti. In addition, some of the women who traveled to Zambia with Stuermer and Gloria Steinem in 2016 will speak, along with a young Zambian woman.

“As in the past, we’ll have a variety of thought leaders and women’s activists, both local and global,” said Stuermer.

Tickets range from $10 to $350 and can be purchased online (theworldmuse.org) beginning January 1. The Tower Theatre hosts the main conference and all other events take place at the nearby Liberty Theater.

Winter Hiking in Central Oregon

Learn more about these six favorite winter hiking trails in Central Oregon.

Larry Chitwood Loop

The Badlands desert wilderness can be popular in the winter because it receives relatively little snowfall. For a trail less traveled, try the Larry Chitwood Loop. The trails are less dusty in the winter and stay warm enough with the amount of sun that reaches the area.

Directions: Turn onto Dodds Road from Highway 20. Turn right onto Obernolte Road. Trailhead will be at the end of the trail.
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 6- or 10-mile loops.
Dogs: Allowed. No leash law.
Other: Maps are provided at the trailhead.

Winter hiking Badlands Oregon — Photo by Alex Jordan

Flatiron Rock Trail

The trail offers a classic high desert landscape with plenty of sand and sagebrush. It leads to an outcropping of rocks that yields an expansive panoramic view of the Cascade Mountain Range.

Directions: Turn off Highway 20 to the Flatiron Rock Trailhead at milepost 16.
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 6.5 miles round-trip
Dogs: No leash law.
Other: You can shorten this hike by following the signs for the Ancient Juniper Trail.

Pilot Butte

One of the best parts about living in Bend is that hiking is within walking distance from your doorstep. Pilot Butte is a popular spot in the summer, but it’s just as great in the winter–especially because cars aren’t allowed on the butte.

Driving Directions: Turn off Highway 20 at signs for Pilot Butte State Park.
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 1 mile
Dogs: Allowed on a leash.

Meadow Camp Trails

The Upper Deschutes has a lot of trails to explore from the Meadow Lake Area. You can pick your trails and make the hikes as long or as short as you want. Most trails will lead you to the waterfalls—Lave Island, Dillon and Benham—along the river.

Driving Directions: Turn off Cascade Lakes Highway at the signs for the Meadow Lake Picnic Area. Drive about 2 miles to the parking area.
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1.2 miles to 8.5 miles
Dogs: Allowed on a leash.

Smith Rock

Smith Rock is a popular hiking and climbing destination for a reason—the trails offer beautiful views along the Crooked River, and the rocks are world-renowned for climbers of all skill levels. It’s worth visiting in the winter for less crowds and cooler weather.

Driving Directions: Turn off Highway 97 at Terrebonne and follow signs to Smith Rock State Park.
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 5.3-mile loop or 6.6-mile round-trip
Dogs: Allowed on a leash.
Other: Day use parking is $5.

Boyd Cave

The entrance to Boyd Cave is at the end of a short trail. You’ll have to climb down a metal staircase to get inside the lava cave and explore the only cave in the Newberry National Crater Monument that stays open throughout the winter.

Driving Directions: Drive east on China Hat Road (Road 18) and turn left at the junction of 18 and 18-242.
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: Half-mile round trip
Dogs: Not allowed
Other: Bring a flashlight to help you explore.

Community Skis Transforms Bend High Classroom Into Custom Ski Factory

An unlikely collaboration brings a groundbreaking ski manufacturing program to Bend Senior High School.

written by eric flowers

photos by will saunders

There is nothing to suggest that extraordinary things are afoot in Gavin Meyers’ Bend High classroom. Desks are filed in horizontal rows and class expectations are spelled out on a handwritten wall poster. Examples of students’ past work rings the walls. But the kind of learning that takes place here is unlike anything else on campus, and it’s about to get a little more interesting.

While other students are plodding through trigonometry or perhaps slogging through Jane Eyre, students in Meyers’ engineering class will be designing and building custom downhill skis and snowboards. Using a combination of computer drawing programs and hand tools, students learn to replicate the same process used by high-end custom ski manufacturers. Think of it as woodshop for the 21st Century.

“We had drafting when I was a kid, and this is that on steroids,” said Meyers, a fit, 38-year-old engineer-turned-teacher with lightly stubbled cheeks and a full head of tousled, sandy brown hair—the kind that might entice a certain demographic of students to opt for his engineering class over, say, A.P. chemistry.

Meyers was looking for a way to channel students’ creativity and enthusiasm for recreation into a project that could dovetail with the engineering and problem solving work that was already occurring in his classroom. What has come together, at least in the early stages, is well beyond his wildest expectations—thanks to a serendipitous partnership with a traveling ski manufacturer dubbed Community Skis, that Meyers found through an internet search.

Community Skis is the brainchild of Michael Lish, a mohawk wearing formal martial arts instructor, and business partner Kristin Boumas. The two-person operation builds custom skis from a mobile studio that also serves as the pairs’ living quarters. The travel trailer/factory is a marriage between a tree house, or maybe a hobbit hole, and a Winnebago with elbow-to-elbow living quarters in the front. In the back is a three-bench workshop that’s no bigger than a restaurant walk-in cooler. Don’t let the set-up fool you. The pair can build a fully custom ski in a matter of hours, oftentimes in the context of a hands-on workshop that allows the consumer to build as much as 90 percent of the finished product. It’s also highly self contained. Boumas and Lish can work off-grid from locations as diverse as an urban parking lot or a desert mesa.

“We are a non-automated platform and we are fast—probably the fastest shop in the world to do a custom ski start to finish, but we are heavily reliant on technology,” said Lish, who developed custom software to speed the process from design to construction.

Lish has been building skis, more-or-less, since the mid-1980s when he and his mother purchased a small, debt-ridden ski making business after it became clear that the enigmatic Lish was not going to be working in a traditional nine-to-five career. Lish has spent the better part of the last thirty years building skis or setting up manufacturing operations for others to do the same. Within the small and, as it turns out, often shrill world of custom ski manufacturing, Lish is best known for founding 333 skis almost a decade ago. This iconic, if sometimes maligned, brand aimed to break down the price barrier in the custom ski market while challenging the notion that American companies can’t build a quality ski at an affordable price. The skis he built were leading-edge technology, but a perennial work in progress.

Unlike name-brand skis that come in one-design-fits all configurations, custom ski makers allow skiers to tweak small details from graphics to edge profile and stiffness to suit their style and taste. It’s a small but growing segment of the ski market.

At 333, Lish offered lifetime warranties on all broken skis in exchange for valuable customer feedback on what worked and what didn’t. The trial and error field experimentation allowed Lish to test his central theory that a world-class ski could be made using a totally different process than what had been the industry standard for almost a century. That process relies on cookie cutter designs, bulk raw materials and expensive industrial equipment. Lish wanted custom designs, low material overhead and only the equipment he could fit in his travel trailer.

“I was learning how to do something that was never done before. And as I was figuring this out, I kept getting better,” he said.

In the process, he gained loyal fans and, also, loud detractors. Change, it happens, is not always what the goggle-clad masses crave. Eventually Lish was ready to move from word-of-mouth to Main Street. He enlisted Boumas, a former business manager at a Boulder, Colorado architectural design firm, to help him grow and re-brand the business. The two moved the operation from southern California to Mammoth and set up shop as Community Skis with a storefront and studio. Customers came from across the country and even as far away as Europe to take part in the one-of-a kind workshops that allowed them to build their own skis, from graphics to edge grinding. The idea wasn’t just to build a better ski, but to build a better way of building skis. At its core, the endeavor has always been about empowering and teaching. Like open source software, the technology at the heart of Community Skis was designed to be given away. That may not sound like the best business model, but it’s what positioned Community Skis to partner with Meyers on a program to bring ski manufacturing into Bend High.

“We have a platform that is designed for knowledge transfer. It’s in our DNA,” said Lish.

The question was how to integrate an outreach program into schools with their existing business while remaining profitable. Previous efforts in the Mammoth area had failed to come to fruition. Moreover, the duo had become disillusioned with some of the small-town politics in Mammoth, opting to sell their building and move their entire operation back into a mobile live-work studio.

As it turns out, the timing was perfect for Meyers. An engineer by training, Meyers owned his own landscape architecture firm in the early 2000s. Like many others in the building industry, Meyers saw his work dry up as the housing market nosedived in Central Oregon. Looking for a second career, Meyers was referred by a former client to Bend High, which happened to be looking for an engineering instructor. It turned out that Meyers was well suited for the job. He’s now been in the classroom for nine years teaching students applied engineering and problem solving. The curriculum has grown as Meyers has progressed as an instructor. His yearlong engineering class includes a capstone project in which students are asked to identify and solve a problem using the principles of engineering. Recent projects have included a backcountry water filter, a self-regulating thermostat for reptile cages (for which they are currently in search of a manufacturing partner) and, because it’s Central Oregon, a better gun holster.

By all accounts the program is a success, drawing in students from all walks of life to work in this environment of applied problem solving. But Meyers was looking for something more, something bigger and better that would complement the existing program while captivating the attention of students. He drew inspiration from Sisters High School, where a guitar making program serves as the capstone for an extremely popular woodworking class. That class plays off Sisters music culture, including the annual Sisters Folk Fest and Americana songwriting project in the high school.

“I’ve always wanted to have a program like that because it grabs kids. It also grabs the community and pulls them in. I knew guitars wasn’t my thing. So, I picked skis and snowboards because it was something that I could relate to,” said Meyers, a snowboarder who hadn’t skied in more than ten years when he hatched the idea of a ski building program.

With no experience and little more than an idea, Meyers sat down and wrote a grant to seed the program. The request was a success, but Meyers soon learned that there was more to ski manufacturing than he expected.

It was then that Meyers discovered Community Skis. He made his first research trip two years ago to build a pair of skis with Lish and Boumas in their Mammoth shop. He ended up spending a week there, convinced that he had found the perfect partner for his program. The low overhead and agile manufacturing program that Lish had been honing over the last 25 years, first with 333 skis and later with Community Skis, was exactly the kind of platform that could translate to Meyers’ classroom. The footprint was small enough to fit in the limited space and the entire process was built to incorporate the work of non-professionals.

Sensing an opportunity to build on the education side of their business, Lish and Boumas quickly engaged with Meyers’ program. Lish finished work on the Community Ski’s mobile factory/trailer last spring and the pair headed north to catch the tail end of the ski season in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. On the way, they rolled through Bend to visit Meyers and whet students’ appetite for the new program. The idea was to bring in a few students to build a pair of skis with Lish and Boumas. The response was overwhelming, recalled Meyers. When Lish and Boumas arrived on campus, students flocked around the mobile studio. High schoolers packed into the thirty-foot trailer, as Lish talked them through the secrets of off-grid and mobile manufacturing. The demonstration skis never got made, but the spark was lit, said Meyers. In the ensuing months Meyers identified an initial crop of would-be ski makers. Lish and Boumas set to work on building a custom manufacturing platform for Meyers’ class. Lish also developed a series of online tutorials and videos to support Meyers’ curriculum.

The short-term goal is to get each student to manufacture a single pair of skis over the course of the school year. If all goes well, Meyers hopes to steal another page from the Sisters’ guitar-making playbook by having students build a second pair that can be auctioned off at a fundraiser. Proceeds from the sale could be put back into the program to fund ongoing costs, which is key since Meyers’ startup grant only covers one year. Hurdles, however, remain—namely the liability question.

“A guitar is one thing, but a set of skis is another,” said Lish. “In the event that they can get past that, it’s a fundraising freak show—top tier skis made by high schoolers with custom graphics made to specification with delivery on time. Boom!”

Looking beyond this year, both Meyers and Community Skis see the opportunity to grow the program into an interdisciplinary course that incorporates marketing, graphic design and business principles. Ideally, students would leave the program with the ski building skills, but also with the knowledge of how to operate a small manufacturing business.

“We’re starting small and building, but I think it’s just going to explode,” said Meyers.

While Bend High was the first to pick up on the concept, other schools are already lining up. In Bend, Cascade Middle School has expressed interest in doing a similar program. At least one school in Idaho and another in Colorado are also watching closely in hopes that it can be incorporated into their curriculum.

For Lish and Boumas it’s a new beginning for their enterprise. In another sense, it’s also the culmination of years of efforts to integrate an educational component into their business model. Their labor of love has been supported by workshops and apprenticeships, but it’s never been a source of revenue. A school-based curriculum offers the opportunity to change that. While it’s not a windfall by any means, it’s enough for a couple of ski-loving gypsies to continue blazing trails.

“Really the focus for us has never been money based,” said Boumas. “We’ve never been about profit; we’ve always been focused on value,” said Boumas.

Elective Development

While ski-making is a novel addition to local schools, students in Sisters have been blurring boundaries between public schools and private enterprise for almost a decade in a one-of-a-kind guitar building class. It was this class that served as inspiration for Bend High engineering instructor Gavin Meyers to pursue a ski building program for his students.

Meyers said he loved how the program connected with the students as well as community members and played off the town’s folk music reputation.

Instructor Tony Cosby recalls that he and friend Jayson Bowerman first hatched the idea while picking up trash during a volunteer river clean-up day in Bend. Bowerman was working as a top builder at Breedlove and Cosby was running the woodworking class at Sisters High School.

Eleven years later the program is stronger than ever, said Cosby. Each year about a third of the senior class opts to take the guitar building elective. There is typically a fifty-fifty male to female ratio for the course.

Whether it’s a custom guitar or a handmade ski, Cosby and Bowerman agree that the process of building a product from start to finish opens students’ minds to the elegant dance between art, design and execution.

Annie the Musical Comes to Bend

It’s a rare movie or play that connects equally with adults and children without pandering to either. Yet Annie, the story of an irascible orphan with spirit of a wild horse and the voice of an angel has been doing it for 40 years on the stage and screen.

Audiences in Bend will have a chance to experience it firsthand when America’s most beloved orphans sings and dance her way across the stage and into the heart of Oliver Warbucks when Thoroughly Modern Productions (TMP) brings Annie The Musical to the Tower Theatre, January 27 through February 4, 2017. Familiar tunes like “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” get a lift from Annie’s unflinching optimism. Originally a comic strip by Harold Gray, Annie became a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical that opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years. It’s been a favorite of musical companies worldwide since then.

“This will be a different Annie than people expect,” said David DaCosta, founder and artistic director of Bend-based TMP. “We’re maintaining the tradition of Annie, keeping it in the 1930s but without the visually huge stage sets (of the Broadway production),” he said. “It will have a more personal feeling like today’s contemporary musicals.”

DaCosta brings twenty years of experience as a performer and as director of children’s th
eater in Boston and other cities. After to moving to Bend in 2011, he partnered with musician Scott Michaelsen and choreographer Dakota Weeda to found TMP in 2011. The company is involved in several productions a year, including two shows geared for families and featuring young performers from TMP’s intensive workshops where participants learn the stagecraft of acting, singing, dancing, set design and stage management. Workshops are held at the Terpsichorean Dance Studio owned by Weeda. Recent TMP credits include The Little Mermaid, Shrek the Musical, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz.

For Annie, TMP cast forty children for twenty roles so that two performers learn and take turns performing each role. “The kids are fully functional parts of all the shows,” DaCosta said. Abby Busch, 11, and Katey James, 9, both of Bend, will share the role of Annie. In addition, TMP cast twelve adults for such parts as Oliver Warbucks and Miss Hannigan. – Lee Lewis Husk

Annie The Musical | January 27-February 4, 2017 | Tower Theatre

Baked Goods by Good People

Eagle_Bakery_RF_PC_Talia_Galvin_02 — Photo by Talia_Galvin

The secret sauce is a browned butter maple frosting. Larger than your hand, Eagle Bakery’s classic-style cinnamon rolls are enhanced by spirals of mild cinnamon warmth and puffy dough that strides the line between an airy dinner roll and a denser, yeasty bread. On the cinnamon roll spectrum, these buns land on the sweeter end and butter is clearly a chief ingredient—which makes them essentially flawless. In fact, all the bakery’s scratch-made goods are a swirl above the average treat, but the experience reaches beyond gluten and a sugar rush.

The concept that you can taste the love that goes into food preparation is a reach. Still, food seems to taste better when the experience is enjoyed holistically. A stop by the idyllic converted home on a quiet Madras side street is half the treat.

Run by Mennonite minister and handyman Rob Birky and his family since 2004, the Mennonite ethos of strong community and working with one’s hands is readily apparent at Eagle Bakery. Clients of Birky’s handyman business are also bakery regulars. As the charismatic face of the operation, Birky is often found handing out samples, welcoming locals by name and engaging new customers in relaxed conversation. Throughout the day, a steady stream of customers stop by, exiting with trays of rolls, pies and other specialty baked goods—or a bowl of Friday’s clam chowder. Coffee is always hot and complimentary.

Birky is clearly proud of the goods his wife, co-owner Faye, produces from a mix of bulk supplies and Bob’s Red Mill ingredients from a commercial kitchen on the family farm, north of Madras. Birky’s son Kelvin and niece Lorna (pictured) help Birky run the storefront, which has thrived since the family made the move from selling at the local farmers’ market to running a retail space on their farm to opening a brick-and-mortar location in 2009.

Ready to indulge? You will need to plan your week around a visit to the bakery, since the business is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. En route to Portland for the weekend? Pick up a lemon pie for your hosts. Coming back to Deschutes County empty-handed from a fishing trip on at Trout Creek? Bring your family a pan of cinnamon rolls to devour instead. Eagle Bakery is a sweet secret worth spreading.

Eagle Bakery | 123 SW H Street, Madras | 541.475.4593 | eaglebakery.net

Eagle_Bakery_RF_PC_Talia_Galvin_13 — Photo by Talia Galvin

Bend Icon Teafly Creates Prolific and Purposeful Multi-media Art

Teafly pursues art and projects that can be used to raise awareness of social issues.

written by andes hruby

photos by Teafly and Carol Sternkopf

Teafly has a sacred artist space on First Street, nestled in one of the last funky alleys in Bend. But don’t expect to find dusty canvases or mountain sunsets in oil. Rather, Teafly’s studio is an evolving gallery of experimentation and creativity. Butterflies and birds have always been her totem animals. She pursues projects in which art can be used to raise awareness of social issues.

Michelle Peterson became Teafly in her early 20s when she moved to Manhattan. The freedom to create on the fly has manifested blueprints and sketches into projects for the Human Dignity Coalition, The Center For Supportive Bureaucracy, Leanin’ Tree (which features only original artwork by artists from around the world) and Madison Park specialty stationary. Teafly has a mobile office to impart Joy Permits, which she created as a part of The Empowering Clerks Network (ECN). The ECN bestows spontaneous permits and diplomas to random people to engage in apologies, friendship, forgiveness, happiness and free play.

If Teafly doesn’t find you at a festival, you can spend an hour at her studio under a laundry line of colorful prints that hang from the ceiling. The studio is filled with cartoon eyes, bright comical illustrations, inspirational quotes and ink calligraphy poems.

“I don’t want to be regulated to a medium,” she said. “I’m more like a triathlete artist. I practice to respond to different environments at the same time.”

“When I teach, I am asking you to go beyond the finite. If you take a photo could you turn it into a drawing? Could you bring it to life as a sculpture? Is there a chance that photo could be a poem, essay or song? Being an artist is looking at life through an infinite telescope of options.”

Jenny Green, of Jenny Green Gallery, is a local art purveyor and agent. “Bend is a better place because of artists like Teafly,” she said. “I watch my daughter tap into unlimited creativity at her studio; it reestablishes my commitment that art supports our power to be unique.”

Teafly credits her own mother for establishing in her the belief that art is as important as other subjects.

“Art is very personal. But no matter what medium you are dealing with, all art wakes up the labyrinth of the mind,” she said.

Yet there’s a very pragmatic side to being a working, self-supporting artist. Teafly approaches her craft like any laborer.

“I’m always training my brain to think of infinite possibilities, but I need my hands and heart to bring art to life.”

“I don’t want to be regulated to a medium, I’m more like a triathlete artist. I practice to respond to different environments at the same time.”

Elk Lake is Central Oregon’s Backcountry Outpost

In winter, Elk Lake Resort has become a go-to destination for locals and visitors alike to cozy up in cabins and roam the Cascade backcountry.

At the height of summer, when the pavement nearly sizzles in Bend and air conditioners buzz, one would be hard pressed to find a more popular or iconic destination than Elk Lake Resort. Here tourists and locals descend on the lakeside resort, taking to the water on paddleboards, canoes and kayaks against the dramatic backdrop of surrounding peaks.

Come winter, it’s a different scene entirely. For starters, the road to Elk Lake is closed to vehicles in November before the first snow begins to fly. That means visitors must find another way to the resort from the nearest parking lot, which is thirteen miles away at Dutchman Flat. Some choose to ski in, others load their gear onto snowmobiles and zip to the resort with a twist of the throttle. Others still opt to take Elk Lake Resort’s Sno-cat service, which offers pickup and drop-off service from the Dutchman parking lot. Whatever their means of transportation, visitors, upon arrival, find they have joined a family of sorts here at this remote winter outpost.

Some are drawn by the promise of solitude and serenity of a landscape blanketed in ice and snow. For others, the landscape invites exploration. Some will venture forth on snowshoes, others on cross-country skis. Some will pile onto snowmobiles that will take them as far as their fuel supply allows. The only sure thing? Each day’s adventure will end back at the resort with stories to share among new friends. Of course, that’s what a good basecamp is all about.

Central-Oregon-backcountry-ski-snowboard-Elk-Lake-Photo by Lane Pearson — Photo by Lane Pearson

Say You Want a Revolution

While backcountry skiing and its back-to-nature, low-impact ethos may seem at odds with fuel-injected sleds, a significant population of backcountry enthusiasts around Central Oregon have embraced the contradiction. In doing so they’ve opened up hundreds of peaks and countless lines in the Cascade backcountry.

COVA_-_Adam_McKibben_-_Backcountry_Snow-8 — Photo by Adam McKibben

Todd McViney organizes an annual event at Elk Lake Resort that celebrates the marriage of the two cultures. Dubbed Cross ReVolution, McViney invites backcountry riders and skiers to mix with snowmobilers. Think of it as a Camp David for two very different populations of backcountry enthusiasts.

“Elk Lake is such a snowmobilers’ lodge, but I wanted people to know that they can use it as jumping off point not just for snowmobiling, but backcountry skiing,” said McViney.

The idea was to combine backcountry skiers’ snow and avalanche expertise with the snowmobiling community’s mechanical know-how over a weekend of backcountry exploration and basecamp revelry.

Central Oregon-Backcountry-snowmobile-mt bachelor-Photo by Lane Pearson — Photo by Lane Pearson

Last year the event drew several dozen backcountry enthusiasts who swapped knowledge, stories and stoke. This year, McViney expects close to 100 people for the event that features daytime missions into the backcountry and evening shenanigans around the firepits—plus a tow-in quarter pipe that serves as added entertainment.

Ambassador’s Take:
Matthias Giraud

“Backcountry skiing is about more than just skiing powder and jumping off cliffs. It’s about connecting, accepting your place in the environment and experiencing the magic of the moment. Standing on top of a mountain means that by paying your dues, you have reached the highest point of a powerful territory. But nobody conquers a mountain; the mountain simply allows you to travel through. You are always at the mercy of its organized chaos.”

Adventure
Matthias Giraud is the Bend Magazine Adventure Ambassador and an avid backcountry explorer. Follow him @matthiasgiraud

While the Midwest may lay claim to the sport’s birth and its soul, it’s the Western landscapes and bountiful mountain snowfall that have taken snowmobiling to the next level.

Sledders’ Paradise

There are places in the far reaches of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin where snowmobiling isn’t a hobby or weekend escape, it’s a way of life. Entire communities within the extensive, frozen rural landscapes are more closely connected by snowmobile trails than roads. While the Midwest may lay claim to the sport’s birth and its soul, it’s the Western landscapes and bountiful mountain snowfall that have taken snowmobiling to the next level. The two polar ends of the sport come together at Elk Lake Resort. Here day-tripping casual riders mix with hardcore sledders who use Elk Lake as their outpost to access technical backcountry riding.

Backcountry-Snowmobile-Ski-Elk-Lake-Resort-Central-Oregon-Photo by Jon Tapper — Photo by Jon Tapper

“For years, it’s been a mecca and a hub for snowmobilers, not just for locals but [for those from] up and down the West Coast,” said owner Wendy Prieve.

Whatever the itinerary or motivation, Elk Lake Resort serves as a backcountry oasis—a place to get a hot meal or a tall drink after a long day of riding. For many, it’s a watering hole where they can stop in for a bite or a beer and move on. For others, it’s basecamp for a weekend of backcountry exploration. Travis Wirth makes the trip four or five times a year, including an annual family reunion that he hosts for his far-flung relatives. An electrical contractor in Bend, Wirth said the resort’s remote location is a big part of the draw, especially for those who aren’t accustomed to such seclusion. “It’s just a gorgeous winter wonderland. You’re out there and it’s peaceful and quiet,” he said.

Add in dramatic sunrsies and sunsets against the Cascade peaks and you’ve got a postcard-perfect retreat at your backdoor.

It turns out that what could have been the end—a one-and-done mission—was just the beginning. Now the journey into Elk Lake is an annual tradition that draws about two dozen hearty souls.

Take the High Road

It takes either a special kind of dedication or a certain kind of ignorance to blindly set out from the base of Mt. Bachelor with little more than some light provisions, a grab bag of beers, a set of skinny skis and the promise of a warm meal at the end of a long frozen road.

Beau_Killett_Ski_to_Elk_Lake_Pics_18-Central-Oregon — Photo by Beau Killett

In the case of Beau Killett and his band of merry misfits, it’s a little of both. Killett is the chief instigator and mastermind behind an annual sojourn to the resort in February over SuperBowl weekend, dubbed cheekily, “Man Versus Elements.”

The guy’s trip started as a way for Killett and some of his close pals to sneak a few hours away from their busy family lives. Most of the crew had wives and young children; time away from the home front was a commodity in short supply. As a result, the Elk Lake itinerary started as a day trip with a long ski into the resort, a late lunch and a lift back to the parking lot on Cascades Lake Highway in the Sno-cat.

Photo-by-Beau_Killett_Ski_to_Elk_Lake_Pics_Central-Oregon — Photo by Beau Killett

“I found seven other guys. That was our first journey. We were completely lost even though we were on the main highway. We swore we’d never do it again,” said Killett.
It turns out that what could have been the end—a one-and-done mission—was just the beginning. The journey into Elk Lake is an annual tradition that draws about two dozen hearty souls. Killett, whose family owns a group of art galleries in Hawaii and California—and formerly operated Lahaina Gallery in Bend—documented the journey in photos and videos.
“Honestly it was just something crazy to do,” he said.

The core group now gathers several times a year for other Man Versus Elements events, including a golf trip to the coast, a salmon fishing derby and a moped rally. All of which Killett has documented on a group website, manvselements.com

Beau_Killett_Ski_to_Elk_Lake_Pics_21-Central-Oregon — Photo by Beau Killett

Snow lovers come for the backcountry solitude, but it’s the food, friends and revelry that keep generations of central Oregonians coming back to Elk Lake year after year.

Unplug and Unwind

While Elk Lake is perhaps best known (during winter) as a launching point for backcountry exploration, it’s also a destination in its own right. Cozy cabins, a communal dining area that features a fine dining quality menu and the penetrating stillness of the remote mountain landscape enveloped in winter white is a reason enough for some to make the long journey.

For the past several years, Peter Barlow and his wife Mellodee have made an annual Valentine’s Day pilgrimage to Elk Lake Resort from their home in Gresham. For the Barlow’s, Elk Lake Resort is a refuge from the background noise that seems largely inescapable in our hyper-connected world.

“No television, no Internet,” quipped Barlow during a recent conversation. “What a darn shame.”

Barlow moved to Oregon more than thirty years ago and just a hint of his native Brooklyn accident is still discernible, even over a poor cell phone connection. During the ensuing years, Barlow and his wife have spent countless days in Central Oregon, beginning in the early 1980s when Bend was still a mill town with a population barely greater than that of Prineville today. As frequent visitors, the Barlows were well aware of Elk Lake Resort as a summer destination, but they never thought of it as a winter resort. Peter stumbled across the Elk Lake Resort web page several years ago while looking for Valentine’s Day weekend ideas. It seemed an appealing winter alternative.

Transportation-Elk-Lake-Resort-Central-Oregon — Photo by Jon Tapper

The pair do a bit of snowshoeing around the resort, but mostly they hunker down and embrace the simple joy of a life without distractions, even if just for a few days.

“We are both (retired) MRI technologists,” said Barlow. “So we aren’t afraid of technology, but it’s nice to get away from all that stuff.”

How to Make the Frosty Jalisco from 10 Below

The subterranean 10 Below at the chic Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend has a de facto speakeasy feel. With a retro-inspired cocktail list, the restaurant and lounge has a Pacific Northwest modern meets the Jetsons aesthetic. Veteran bartender and cocktail creator Maia Jackson said, “The incredible flavor combinations that are at our fingertips [here] inspire me to revise and polish the wheel and perhaps create my own classic cocktail.” Jackson sees rosemary and cranberry as a definitive winter flavor combination. The use of those fresh ingredients in the Frosty Jalisco is intended to capture the feeling of stepping outside on a brisk winter day. Tequila compliments a more acidic flavor profile and real cranberry juice adds a bite like that of fresh lime. Reposado, which is aged for six months in a barrel, is soft enough to blend well in a cocktail.

Frosty Jalisco

1 ½ ounces Herradura Reposado tequila
½ ounce Clear Creek Distillery cranberry liquor
½ ounce Cointreau
¾ ounce rosemary simple syrup
1 ½ ounce Knudsen “Just Cranberry” juice
Spring of Rosemary and a few whole cranberries

Dry muddle whole cranberries and rosemary sprig in shaker. Add remaining ingredients and ice, shake, strain over fresh ice into a sugar-rimmed rocks glass.

How to Make the Kumquat Whiskey Smash from Dogwood Cocktail Cabin

DRINK

Move over gin, fall is here and it’s time for the smooth, spicy warmth of whiskey. Cocktails are serious business at The Dogwood Cocktail Cabin in downtown Bend where you can choose from a large menu of handcrafted drinks. The vibe at Dogwood is woodsy hip, the bartenders are cool yet friendly, and the small plates complement the farm-to-shaker ethos. As crisp fall nights begin to creep in, try the Kumquat Whiskey Smash—Dogwood’s take on the Rainbow Room citrus and mint classic. Kumquats are muddled whole in place of lemon wedges, giving the bourbon-based drink a light bitterness for added depth of flavor.

KUMQUAT WHISKEY SMASH

3-4 kumquats
4 mint leaves
.75 ounces simple syrup
2+ ounces Elijah Craig bourbon

Dry muddle whole kumquats in shaker. Add remaining ingredients and ice, shake, and double strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with mint sprig and serve with big ice cube.

The Children’s Museum of Central Oregon Fuses Art and Science

When Kayla Wopschall relocated to Central Oregon from Seattle with her young family three years ago, the scientist and mother of two noticed a glaring omission: an art and science center for kids.

“Currently, a space that’s not your house to engage in hands-on art and science activities is tough to find in our region,” said Wopschall. “Initially I considered launching a discovery center focused on science and technology, but it has become a much larger collaboration with arts and performing arts. That’s what parents are asking for.”

Wopschall’s unusual background as a studio artist and globe-trotting Phd archaeologist specially positioned her to drive the vision that fuses art and science under one roof.

In early 2016, the Children’s Museum of Central Oregon was born. Overseen by an eleven-member board of directors, a $3.5 million capital campaign is currently underway to open and operate a 40,000-square-foot physical space in Bend that would serve as an experiential learning and playing center for kids.

The Museum’s master plan includes two classrooms with lab capabilities and a theater where kids can perform and play dress-up on any given day, which could also be used by organizations such as the Cascade School of Music.

“There’s a real need in Central Oregon for a performance space that feels important and special, ” said Wopschall.

She hopes to have museum doors open as early as December 2017. “We’ve only been fundraising since January 2016, and we’re already well on our way,” she said. “The entire community is so excited and supportive, and I know we can make this happen.”

EXPERIENCE CMCO NOW

Parents of youngsters ages four to fourteen don’t have to wait until 2018 to take advantage of CMCO programming. Single and multi-day camps are regularly offered on no-school days, and encompass interests ranging from welding and woodworking to 3-D printing and nature discovery. “We have a 100 percent return rates on our camps,” said Wopschall. “There is always a creative, visual component to them, as well as a strong material and science component.” What’s more, a series of six pop-up museum events are scheduled for locations across Central Oregon this winter. These one-day mini museums are free to attend and include a science and art activity.

PARTICIPATE:

Donate to the capital campaign, sign up to volunteer or register for winter camps (ages 4-14). childrensmuseumcentraloregon.org

STAY INFORMED:

Like Children’s Museum of Central Oregon on Facebook to stay current on pop-up museum dates and locations.

CONTACT:

Children’s Museum of Central Oregon | info@childrensmuseumco.org | 541.639.9112

Interview with Bend Volunteer Ruth Williamson

“We’ve already slayed some big dragons. But, I think we need to pay more attention to people on the fringes.”

Ruth-Williamson-photo-by-Jon-Tapper — Photo by Jon Tapper

LOCAL VOLUNTEER

INTERVIEW BY AMANDA STUERMER

Ruth Williamson is contagious. She is effervescent. She is the ultimate optimist. Ruth greets each and every person she runs into with a warm smile and a dang-it’s-so-good-to-see-you hug. Yes, Ruth Williamson is a hugger. Golden retrievers could learn a thing or two from her. Ruth is a natural connector. She is also passionate about this place that we call home. She infuses these qualities—connection and passion—into all she does. She has brought her characteristic enthusiasm to issues including: environment, growth, public transit, higher education and women’s empowerment.

We shared a cup of tea with Ruth and discussed why she does all that she does—after we hugged, of course.

What brought you to Bend?

The mountains, 100 percent. I need the mountains in my daily life. We were living in Seattle, and I was working as an Obermeyer rep so I traveled here a lot. I got to a point where I had to ask myself, “What do I really love?” My answer was, “The outdoors.” In a full hormonal rage, I told my husband, Pep, “We’re going to Bend.” He knew to get out of the way of a girl when she wants to make a nest. We’ve been in Bend for twenty years now and raised two awesome kids here. I still have a huge crush on this town.

What exactly do you love most about Central Oregon?

There is just so much possibility here, the place and the like-minded people. The combination of mountains and community are powerful. People here are all-in. When we fail, we notice it, get back up, and try again. As a natural optimist, I like that attitude.

What current challenges does our community need to be all in for?

We’ve been fortunate to have a generation of visionaries taking us from mountain town to where we are now. We’ve already slayed some big dragons. But, I think we need to pay more attention to people on the fringes. How do we start to wrestle with some of the tricky stuff like homelessness? What are we if we’re just about a good time? We’ve got so much. Shouldn’t we give back?

What organizations have you been involved with or supported here?

The Bend Parks & Recreation District, Bend 2030, OSU-Cascades, City of Bend, The Deschutes Forest and World Muse. We have so many organizations creating opportunities to have engaging conversations. These conversations matter. World Muse is at the forefront of this. We need to be inspired to tell our stories and know that we are part of a community that cares. That’s what World Muse does; it reminds us that we each have something to give, to offer, to bring to the table and that it matters. World Muse ignites the values conversation. People are coming to Muse and saying, “Yeah, me too.” I got involved a few years ago as a panel moderator for their annual Muse Conference, and I’ve since become a board member. Their message of living a life of purpose mirrors my work as a whole life coach. I work with women and men, as well as young adults, who are coming out of college and feel overwhelmed. I have an affinity for them because I felt this way. Young people get so many mixed-up messages these days. It’s easy for them to lose touch with themselves. I ask them the same question that I asked of myself, “What do you love about life?” This work feels absolutely like my sweet spot. I believe in possibility in the kids I work with, in the organizations I support and in the town I Iive in. I want to make a difference for them all.

High Desert Getaways Abound in Powell Butte

Golf is just the beginning in Powell Butte, a destination resort hub in Central Oregon.

Being perched on the edge of the desert plateau has its perks—solitude being one of them. Within minutes of driving east from Bend on Powell Butte Highway, the expanse across vast swaths of sagebrush grasslands that are punctuated by ancient, gnarled junipers, clears the mind.

Powell Butte, which had its first post office established in 1909, is believed to be named for the Jacob Powell family who ventured east from Linn County, and for whom the surrounding area’s buttes are also named. It is part of Crook County, named for Gen. George Crook, a U.S. Army veteran of the Civil War.

Today, the scenery from the two-lane road likely reflects what the Powells or Crook would have seen when they first arrived, with the exception of a grange hall, a church and an Oregon State University Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center. The university is currently considering a future use of the eighty-acre site, located here since 1986. The research had formerly focused on high-value, specialty-crop seed production, plus a potato variety development program.

Essentially, the winding, country drive has all the relaxing qualities of a road to nowhere, yet it isn’t. Tucked away off this road are the luxury resorts Brasada Ranch and Pronghorn. Both are known for stellar golf, but even in the pre-season, amenities including spas, restaurants and well-heeled accommodations offer opportunities to unwind. Locals, too, can feel as if they are a world away, less than a thirty-minute drive from Bend.

Pronghorn is ideal for reconnecting with family, a spouse and the area’s natural beauty. Stroll to the spa, located in the 55,000-square-foot clubhouse with views of nine surrounding mountain peaks and the Nicklaus and Fazio courses.

At Brasada Ranch, the Brasada Canyons golf course, designed by Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy, has no two holes running parallel and is known for lava-sculpted terrain, great views, and privacy. Play is reserved for members and resort guests.

stay

At Pronghorn, the rustic chic lodging, from suites to four-bedroom homes, are ideal for a romantic weekend or a family getaway. Master bedrooms have king beds, custom furnishings and décor, deluxe baths with soaking tubs, plush bathrobes and stone fireplaces for cozy evenings in. The private outdoor living spaces with fire pits are perfect for sipping wine under the stars or gathering the family together for hot toddies.

taste

At Chanterelle restaurant at Pronghorn, Chef Kevin Linde taps into the bounty from local farmers and ranchers, combining the region’s terroir with global influences. The culinary experience offers a blend of classic and modern dishes and an extensive wine list amid stunning Cascade mountain views.

see

The famed 8th hole on the Fazio course. Construction crews unearthed a pair of lava tubes during construction of this short Par 3 hole. If accompanied by a member, guests can explore these natural caves, one of which stretches nearly half a mile before terminating in the subterranean desert.

play

The Brasada Ranch Equestrian Center has mustangs, draft-cross and Western pleasure horses with guides and instruction for all abilities amid more than 900 acres of rideable territory. In winter, ride to Spirit Rock for s’mores. Stroll to the spa for a massage or facial. A follow-up to dinner at the Range Restaurant is stargazing on the patio, far from the city lights, while wrapped in a blanket in a deep Adirondack chair beside the fire pit.

Qigong is a Healthy Diet for Your Mind

Bend_Community_healing_RF_PC_Alex_Jordan_3 — Photo by Alex Jordan

Learn to cultivate energy—or Qi—for whole-body wellness

BY HEATHER CLARK

I’m a typical Bendite. I run, bike or ski most days of the week and maintain a balanced diet, eschewing processed foods and sugar. A model of health, right?
If you look at my blood pressure, yes. By other less quantifiable standards, like possessing a quiet mind or being present in the moment, I struggle.

Turns out, a critical component to achieving the complete wellness picture is often missing from the diet of even the most health-conscious individuals. And, for those of us who are in constant pursuit of the next task, who struggle with anxiety or who spend most hours a day in front of a screen, mindfulness can be the most challenging element of health to adopt. But thankfully, just like riding a bike, regular practice can make a big difference.

One of the world’s oldest mindfulness—or meditative—practices is Qigong (pronounced chee-kung). An ancient Chinese form of meditation and healing, Qigong translates to cultivation of energy. And this practice of energy cultivation—in the same family of energy movement as acupuncture and taichi—is believed to have numerous health benefits for both the body and the mind.

“We have immense technology in our lives, and screens in front of us all day,” explained Kellie. Chambers, an acupuncturist and Qigong instructor at Hawthorn Healing Arts Center in Bend. “Your mind is always on tasks. And in our culture, our identity— in terms of how good we are—often revolves around productivity.”

And learning to turn off the ever-present to-do list of the mind—which, by the way, can be accompanied by an unhealthy dose of judgement and negative self-talk—is critical to finding gratitude, discovering the healing powers of energy and to setting intention.

“It’s like training a muscle,” said Chambers. “You have to do it repetitively to actually see results.”

Passed down by Chinese families over generations, Qigong is made up of thousands of different forms, ensuring that no two classes or instructors will be exactly alike. Mark Montgomery’s Qigong classes at Bend Community Healing focus on posture, breath and intention as he leads students to gain deeper

understanding of the energy that he said flows through each of us.

Harnessing this energy makes life more meaningful and more effective, said Montgomery, a certified acupuncture practitioner who has studied Qigong in the U.S. and China for twenty years. “You learn how to relax and be very focused, which makes us better at whatever we’re doing in work, play, or in our relationships.”

Although many are introduced to Qigong as a method to recover from an injury or illness—St. Charles hospital, for example, offers a Qigong class for cancer survivors. Instructors there insist the ancient practice has other far-reaching benefits, such as mitigating the effects of menopause, slowing the aging process or improving athletic performance.

Montgomery said that those who attend his classes are typically striving for a higher level of wellness.

“It’s a pretty powerful addiction,” Montgomery said of practicing Qigong. “They start it for recovery from an injury and it just boosts the enjoyment of all aspects of their lives.”

QIGONG VERSUS ACUPUNCTURE

“Acupuncture is like giving them fish. Qigong is teaching them how to fish.”
— Mark Montgomery, licensed acupuncturist and co-owner of Bend Community Healing

A self-healing practice with its roots in prehistoric China, Qigong is a moving meditation and mind-body wellness practice that combines movement, posture, breathing and awareness. It is considered acupuncture without needles.

Like acupuncture, which also works to generate and balance the body’s own energy for healing, Qigong has multiple benefits, including stress reduction, illness prevention and healthy aging.

Though highly complementary therapies, the primary difference between the two is self-initiation. In acupuncture, the flow of energy is initiated by the practitioner, while the emphasis in Qigong is cultivation of one’s own energy for self-healing.

Source: Qigong Institute

Brothers Ben and Gabe Ferguson Aim for Professional Snowboarding’s Elite

Unlike most sibling rivalries, this one between snowboarders Gabe and Ben Ferguson is playing out on a global stage, with bragging rights printed out in gold and silver medals and cash sponsorships.

Photo courtesy U.S. Snowboarding-Ben-Gabe-Ferguson — Photo courtesy U.S. Snowboarding

As the twin pillars of professional snowboarding in Bend, Gabe and Ben Ferguson are naturally competitive. But unlike most sibling rivalries, this one is playing out on a global stage, with bragging rights printed out in gold and silver medals and cash sponsorships.

But on a recent October afternoon, the two looked like any other late-teen and early-twenty-something locals sitting in a Bend coffee shop—Ben with a short haircut and a flannel shirt, and Gabe with longer, curly hair extending from beneath his beanie. The Red Bull and Rock Star energy drink sponsor logos on their skull caps are the only giveaway that their day jobs don’t involve a time card and a half-hour lunch break.

For the Fergusons, it was never a question of if, but rather, when they would get on a board. “When I was 6 years old [my dad] took me up [to Mt. Bachelor] and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Ben recalled.

And figure it out he did. At year’s end, Ben was ranked 9th in the world in the half pipe, according to the World Snowboard Tour standings; Gabe was 23rd.

Both Gabe and Ben credit the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation (MBSEF) youth programs and Bachelor’s terrain that is filled with bowls, cliffs and wind lips, plus its man-made features.

“It taught us how to ride our snowboards, like really ride our snowboards,” said Ben.

While the early start and proximity to Bachelor helped, U.S. Snowboarding team coach Spencer Tamblyn credits Ben and Gabe’s drive for their success as pros.

“Ben has set the bar pretty high for Gabe,” said Tamblyn. “Gabe is going to have to really push to keep up with him. As of now, I think Ben is still leading the Ferguson charge, but Gabe is close on his heels.”

Tamblyn said he remembers recognizing Ben’s motivation early on—at age 15 or 16—while snowboarding at Bachelor during the 2010-2011 season.

“Ben and I rode the chairlift together and discussed his plan to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games,” he said. “We talked about what he would need to do to qualify and what kind of tricks he should be working on in that quest.”

After another summer practicing at Mt. Hood and learning those tricks, Ben went on to take gold at the event in Austria in 2012.

“He was dedicated to that effort, and both Gabe and Ben have that kind of drive,” said Tamblyn.

As the younger sibling, Gabe credits his early success in large part to his brother’s example.

“I don’t think I’d be in the same position if I didn’t have a brother to ride with and push me,” said Gabe. “I’m super blessed that we have this thing.”

When it comes to competition, they still want to beat each other, but they now consider one another good friends as well.

“We’re really good homies now. It’s been great being able to travel together for so long,” Ben said of road trips to Colorado and international travel for competitions. “I think I kind of took it for granted when we were younger.”

Back from snowboarding in New Zealand with the U.S. Team in early fall, the Fergusons will have a full season of competition this winter before looking ahead to 2018 Olympic qualifiers.

Ben was on his way to claiming the final U.S. Olympic snowboard spot in 2014 when one of his role models, Danny Davis, bumped him out of contention in one of the final lead-up events.

Looking back without regret, he said it was wild just to be in contention.

They’ll enter this season hoping to build on previous success. Last winter, Ben claimed his first X Games Aspen podium. He finished second in the January competition; Gabe took fifth. Ben also took second at one of professional snowboarding’s most coveted events, the Burton U.S. Open in Vail, to close the 2015-16 season. Gabe finished sixth there in 2015.

The brothers started their 2016-17 campaign at the annual Dew Tour in Breckenridge in December.

“I’m feeling good—stoked on last year. I had a lot of fun, did decent,” said Ben. “I just want to keep it going. I definitely want to try to qualify for the Olympics.” This time he won’t be the only Ferguson on the radar of the U.S. snowboarding team. But when you’re a pro snowboarder in Bend, that’s what sibling rivalry is all about.

Backcountry Exploring Grows in Popularity in Central Oregon

VertFest-Mt Bachelor- Red Chair - Central Oregon — VertFest Kicks off at teh bottom of Red Chair, then heads uphill for laps on routes tailored to various skill levels.

Off Piste Options Abound

Bend is known for its proximity to Mt. Bachelor and the thousands of acres of lift-accessible terrain that the resort offers. However, for a growing number of skiers, Bend and its surrounding areas are the basecamp for an expansive backcountry that stretches well beyond the end of Century Drive. Exploring these remote areas is not for the uninitiated, but you don’t have to be a backcountry expert to whet your appetite. Several events and gatherings are scheduled this year that allow backcountry enthusiasts—from rank beginners to experts—to swap knowledge, test new gear and share stories.

Hoodoo ski area hosts its annual BC Fest, a gathering of brands, ambassadors, backcountry veterans and newbies, January 21-22. The largest event of its kind in the Northwest, BC Fest has evolved from a glorified demo day to a multi-day celebration of all things backcountry that includes fat tire snow bikes, AT and split board races, avalanche safety classes and plenty of general revelry.

“The festival promotes anything and everything that you can use to tour the backcountry,” said Leif Williams, Hoodoo’s vice president of marketing.

For those who already have a few trips under their belt and are looking to connect with others in the backcountry community, head to Todd McViney’s second-annual Cross ReVolution event at Elk Lake Resort—a basecamp for snowmobile-powered sorties into the nearby backcountry. This year, McViney said he expects at least 100 people. Those who book early can reserve a cabin and get the full experience. How-ever, no registration is required for the event that takes place March 4-5 at Elk Lake Resort.

If you’re looking for an experience a little closer to home, Central Oregon Avalanche Associa-tion’s (COAA) VertFest takes place February 11 at Mt. Bachelor. The event features gear demos and backcountry skiing/splitboarding clinics, as well as backcountry travel safety clinics.

Finally, this season marks the debut of Central Oregon’s first backcountry weather station. Funded with community support and purchased by the Central Oregon Avalanche Association, the weather station is located on top of Moon Mountain and will provide hourly summaries of local weather conditions that can be used to help assess backcountry safety. This real-time weather data, along with COAA’s Pro Observer snowpack observations from around the Central Oregon backcountry, can be found at coavalanche.org

Breaking Down Pot Sales in Central Oregon

Beginning in 2017 marijuana users who purchase marijuana and pot products in Bend, Madras and La Pine will be pay a three percent local sales tax on all purchases. The tax applies only to non-medical sales and will not increase the total cost to consumers due to a planned decrease in a temporary state tax. Currently the state levies a 25 percent tax on retail sales. However, that number is set to drop to 17 per-cent this year when the Oregon Liquor Control Commission takes over state monitoring of the program.

In the first three months after voters legalized marijuana in 2015, the state collected roughly $10.5 million in marijuana tax dollars. In cities, including Bend, marijuana shops have proliferated. The reception has been less enthusiastic in rural areas, such as La Pine and Madras, where officials asked voters to consider a ban on pot sales. Voters declined in both cities, opting instead for a three percent tax on sales.

“It’s been a big victory,” said Randy Huff, who operates Green Knottz in La Pine. Huff started his business as a medical dispensary, but said it’s been tough with all the competition in Bend. Huff has wanted to expand into recreational sales but had to wait until voters weighed in on the proposed ban.

Huff said that, while he believes Oregon’s pot tax is too high in general, he doesn’t expect the three percent local tax to have a negative impact on his business as it moves into the recreational market. Medical sales are exempt from local and state taxes.

ONDA Talks About the Future of Public Lands

Brent_Fenty_ONDA_Oregon-Natural-Desert_Association-Photo_By_AlexJordan_ — Photo by Alex Jordan

“ONDA will continue advocating for science-based land management and working with diverse stakeholders to protect, defend and restore the most special places in Oregon’s high desert. I think that’s what it will take to leave future generations with a natural legacy they can be proud of.” — Brent Fenty

Two major shockwaves hit the conservation community late last year: first the Malheur verdict and then Trump’s surprise victory in November. What’s been the general mood at ONDA and among your supporters?

If this past year has proven anything, it’s that we cannot take our public lands for granted. We are all committed to preserving that birthright for current and future generations.

Is there concern about rollbacks of conservation wins, such as the sage-grouse protection effort?

Thoughtful management of our public lands is a shared value of millions of Americans. As an example, conservation of sage-grouse continues to be a key priority for a wide range of stakeholders in Oregon and throughout the West. Simply tossing the sage-grouse plans or other painstakingly developed and collaborative policies doesn’t address anyone’s long-term interests.

What do you say to your supporters who worry that the recent developments represent a potential open season on public lands?

I’d say that we have accomplished huge gains for Oregon’s high desert over the past three decades. But we can’t take these places for granted. The voices of public lands supporters must be more powerful than those who would attempt to sell off, give away or degrade the land that is the legacy of all Americans.

Has the general political climate made it more difficult to build the consensus necessary to protect and preserve some of our most precious places?

Oregonians love public lands and Oregon’s self identity is tied to our natural wonders. This core identity remains in place no matter who holds political power and serves as a starting point for determining what kind of future we all want for public lands. There are some people who have no interest in finding common ground; instead they remain focused on their narrow interests. I believe they will be left behind over time. ONDA will continue advocating for science-based land management and working with diverse stakeholders to protect, defend and restore the most special places in Oregon’s high desert. I think that’s what it will take to leave future generations with a natural legacy they can be proud of.

Deschutes River Trail Taking Shape

Standing in Tumalo State Park and peering into a narrow river canyon, it might be hard to imagine walking or biking clear to Sunriver along the river trail. What was once a pipedream of urban and forest trails planners is drawing closer and closer to reality. This year work is expected to begin on one of the last major missing segments of trail needed to make that connection.

That state-led project is expected to be completed sometime in the next year and will include an elevated boardwalk crossing through a largely impassable boulder field near Tumalo State Park. When complete that trail will allow state park visitors to venture south to Riley Ranch, a new 184-acre park wedged between O.B. Riley Road and the Deschutes River.

The acquisition of Riley Ranch brought into public ownership one of the largest and trickiest pieces of land required for the extension of the river trail from Bend to Tumalo.

“I think it’s a big deal, and that piece of land that’s north of Riley Ranch is significant,” said Steve Jorgenson, Bend Parks Planning Manager. Ultimately the goal is to connect the existing trail on the west side of the Deschutes River at the base of Awbrey Butte with the planned east side trail from Riley Ranch to Tumalo.

“It’s happening. It’s just taking a while,” said Jorgenson.

Indoor Trampoline Park Opens in Bend

Maybe it’s Central Oregon’s reputation as an outdoor playground or the region’s status as a destination for retirees, but there is a distinct lack of indoor entertainment for kids and families. Enter Mountain Air Indoor Trampoline Park, Bend’s newest must-experience attraction for the sixteen-and-under set that opened just before Thanksgiving. Located in the former Fuqua Homes warehouse east of the Bend Parkway, the space has been thoroughly and meticulously updated with wall-to-wall trampoline zones, including a younger children’s area where parents can supervise. Owners Brad and Rendy Tucker have given great attention to detail in both the design and features of the newly minted park. They wanted a facility that captivated kids while offering something for adults who accompany. “We’ve all been to those places for a kid’s birthday party where you’re asking yourself, ‘When is this fifty minutes up?’” joked Brad Tucker. With that in mind, the Tuckers included a café and lounge with charging stations and outlets. They doubled up on wi-fi connections knowing that many parents can use the downtime to work online. They traded the typical industrial look for splashy colors of electric blue and neon green. Steel garage doors allow for warm weather air circulation and mountain views. If initial reactions are any indication, it appears that Bend was ready to jump. The first two days of business drew nearly wall-to-wall sellouts in the ninety-person capacity jump zone, with would-be jumpers queuing up in lines that stretched into the parking lot.

Get jumping, mountainairbend.com

Locals and Visitors Flock to Bend’s Ice Rink

Bend Pavilion Packs Them In

Depending who you ask, Bend’s first full ice sheet was anywhere from three to thirty years in the making. The pent-up demand was evident last year as community members and visitors flocked to the open-air rink. Last year’s opening week, for example, drew more than 6,000 skaters. It hasn’t let up much since then. “As crowded as it is over here, it’s surprising how many people come in the door for the first time and haven’t been here,” said Kevin Collier, recreation center supervisor. Some of the highlights at the Pavilion are the adult hockey and curling leagues, but open skating under the lights is the big draw for many.

For more information, visit: bendparksandrec.org/the-pavilion

Rubbish Renewed Turns Trash into Fashion

Bend Eco Fashion Fundraiser

TRASHY CATWALKS HAVE NEVER SENT A BETTER MESSAGE.

The Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show fundraiser for REALMS Magnet School puts the school’s mission of teaching environmental stewardship center stage. By inviting student designers to design and model wearable art garments made of “trash,” the fundraiser aims to increase aware-ness of our “throw-it-away” culture.

More than thirty young designers from seven Central Oregon schools will debut their garments during the first of two annual shows in January at Midtown Ballroom. A second show features garments from adult designers. Interspersed are submissions from business sponsors who have cre-ated garments using waste products from their operations, such as the “sandpaper” dress (pictured above) from Natural Edge Furniture’s 2016 entry, made using landfill-bound sandpaper.

A live auction, marketplace with locally made products and food carts round out the event. Learn more at rubbishrenewed.com

Comfort Food in Central Oregon

Cold, snowy, windy days call for a warm plate of food that fills the stomach and warms the soul. Central Oregon has mastered the art of comfort food, taking everything from macaroni and cheese to shepherd’s pie to the next level with locally sourced meats and veggies. Here are our some of our favorite throwback dishes we go to when we’re craving a warm meal and the comfort of friends and family.

The Row

Tetherow

Order: Braised Elk Shepherd’s Pie

The Row is bringing a Northwest twist on traditional Scottish food and we couldn’t be more pleased. Our winter weather go-to is the braised elk shepherd’s pie. Baked with a Yukon Gold potato crust on top and braised elk shoulder and root vegetables in the bowl with a juniper, sage and rosemary sauce to top it all off. This is wipe the plate clean delicious.

Sunriver Brewing

Two locations in Sunriver and Bend

Order: Baked Mac and Cheese

This is not your childhood mac and cheese. Baked with four cheeses and a garlic herb crust on top, this is gourmet macaroni and cheese at its best. Pro tip: Get the steelhead filet on top. It’s a game-changer.

Ariana

Bend

Order: Cod and clams

From the Bend Magazine Food Ambassador Brian Garcia: “Wild cod, clams, bacon, creamed leeks topped with crispy shoe string potatoes and chives all simmered together in a cazuela baking dish. It’s got everything you could ever want for those chilly winter nights.” Ariana is one of the hottest tables in town, so be sure to make a reservation.

The Porch

Sisters

Order: Meatloaf

We are forever grateful to whomever started the trend of wrapping food in bacon. At The Porch, which is known for its comfort food and warm atmosphere, order the bacon-wrapped meatloaf. It comes with mashed potatoes, green beans, a bourbon glaze and waves of nostalgia with each bite for the comforting smell of meatloaf baking in the oven from your childhood home.

Westy World

Ben Hein and Tiffany Renshaw’s 1988 Vanagon Westfalia is a road tested touring veteran with plenty of room for adventure.

BIOS: Tiffany is a freelance photographer, fly-fisher and aspiring triathlete. Ben is design engineering manager at Hydro Flask.

RIDES: Their go-to is a 1988 VW Vanagon Westfalia Camper. Their project is a 1967, twenty-one-window Samba Microbus.

UPGRADES: Tires, racks, camping equipment, lift kit and electronics on the Vanagon. The Samba is a ground-up restoration.

FOLLOW: @westy_basecamp

Why did you decide to buy a van?

BEN: I’ve been into Volkswagen vans in particular for twenty-plus years. Four months into our dating we took this huge 3,500-mile road trip in an old ’66 Volkswagen down to the Grand Canyon. TIFFANY: My family still hadn’t met him. So they were like, ‘You’re going where? With who? In what?’

BH: We kept that going for a few years, traveled all over the west coast in it—weekends and road trips. Tiffany’s dad was into Westfalias. So she was behind the one we have now, saying it’s time to upgrade to a little bit more a modern thing. It’s still the ’80s engine. A little bit more room, the pop-top and all that.

TR: We kind of bonded over it because my dad had owned probably, in his lifetime, fourteen of these Westfalias. When I met [Ben] and realized he was driving this van around, we totally bonded over it right away.

What’s the restoration process like?

BH: Westfalia isn’t so much of a restoration thing as it is a labor of love and always trying to make it better. These things are thirty years old now and built off of older technology. It’s always more, what can we do to make it better? What can we do to make it a little more bomber? Right now we’re doing the famed Subaru engine conversion in it, which will give it a little more power.

TR: We’re outfitting it so that we can take our bikes, take our kayaks, take our photography equipment and be able to recharge everything with solar-powered stuff. We’re outfitting it so that we can do the things we want to do in this van and enjoy it. Ben Hein and Tiffany Renshaw’s 1988 Vanagon Westfalia is a road tested touring veteran with plenty of room for adventure.

What kind of community have you found?

BH: We were in Oak Creek Canyon in the old bus, twelve, fourteen years ago and sure enough there’s another Westy down there and the next thing you know we’re talking to each other, and sharing dinners with each other and sitting around campfire with each other. Talking about our road trip and where we’ve been and what we’re doing and the vans.

TR: We were able to share with these people we never met before, they were a family and had two little kids in their van, and we immediately bonded. We shared our road trip tips, how we spent 3,500 miles in this little van. It was pretty cool to just automatically bond.

What was Descend on Bend like?

BH: It was a little challenging for us this year because the van was broken down. We went up there both days and just hung out at the scene, but it just crushed us to not be there with our van. We came super close [to having it finished]. It really is our number one hobby because every other aspect of our lifestyle revolves around our van. We do a lot biking, skiing, road tripping, camping, fly-fishing, and triathlons. We just travel in the van and camp out. It’s like our little basecamp.

TR: There were probably three or four hundred vans there. It was really amazing. We met people from all over. Everyone names their Westy it seems. On the back of everyone’s Westy, there was sticker with their Instagram name and handle. We were on Instagram, meeting people we had been following for a year and never met. It was cool that way.

For more information, visit: www.poseidonsbeard.com/descendonbend

Fernweh Woodworking

Justin Nelson

WRITTEN BY MACKENZIE WILSON

Curiously clean. That’s the impression that a visitor gets when first surveying Justin Nelson’s woodshop. An American flag folded neatly into a triangle near his desk hints at why, if not how, he keeps sawdust from piling up in his buzzing boutique woodshop. The 29-year-old former firefighter turned craftsman spent four years as a Marine Corps officer. Even now, working in an inherently dusty occupation, presentation is important to him.

Justin Nelson with Fernweh Woodworking_Photo-by-Eric_Lindstrom_Central-Oregon — Photo by Eric Lindstrom

His eye for detail is evident in his work. Nelson crafts ornately detailed pieces that draw upon nature’s designs to transform everyday objects such as planters and cutting boards into artwork.

Nelson started his company, Fernweh Woodworking, less than two years ago, but his products have already caught the attention of Etsy. The goliath of handmade flew him to New York in 2015 for a “makers” meet and greet with wholesale clients. He left with a deal confirming what he hoped was true—people are willing to spend money for items that are truly handmade.

“I was honestly pretty concerned when I started out as to whether, in our culture and economy, being a full-time woodworker was realistic. Could I produce enough at a price people would buy it? I was skeptical of my own business,” said Nelson.

A former Hotshot on Prineville’s crew, Nelson’s career path has taken a complete 180-degree turn from fighting wildfires. “I’m on Pinterest now. I would have never been on Pinterest before,” he said with a laugh.

Many of his pieces have a delicate design. Petite planters and bud vases with geometric patterns aren’t just functional, they’re striking. His passion for woodworking began on the opposite end of the spectrum. Starting out, Nelson used rustic reclaimed barn wood in his designs because he thought that was where the market was.

“I assumed if I was going to make money doing it, I would have to change with the fads,” he said.

A mentor snapped Nelson out of it. He advised Nelson that if hardwoods were his passion, he had to listen to that.

His passion is evident. His speech quickens when he talks about the highlights of yellow and pink in Canary wood. He might be describing the features of a striking woman rather than something as ordinary as a block of wood when he describes his materials. Some of the colors in his pieces, he explained, are from what’s known as spalting.

“There are mold colonies growing in the wood and the lines you see are the borders between the colonies,” said Nelson. “It’s the beginning of the rotting process, but if you catch it at the right time and kiln dry it, the fungus is killed and it leaves beautiful lines.”

His current top sellers are Edison Lamps and Geometric Wall Planters—he can barely keep them in stock. Business is getting to the point where he’s worried how he’ll continue to keep up.

“It does scare me. I can always hire on an employee if needed. But I’d like to keep it [to] only me for as long as possible because I really enjoy it,” he said.

Check out more of his work here: www.fernwehwoodworking.com

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Winter Giveaway: Mount Bachelor Village Resort

Mt. Bachelor Village Resort is situated on a ridge overlooking the Deschutes River at the gateway to the Scenic Byway of the Cascade Highway. With plenty of things to do during the day—from famous Central Oregon fishing to skiing at Mt. Bachelor—while comfort is the evening standard among our varied accommodations. From those who seek an Oregon vacation rental to those who desire a Bend Oregon vacation home, a truly magnificent retreat awaits.

“Tenth Month” Highlights

Though locals and visitors alike once knew October as a quiet month in Bend, Tenth Month changed that this year. The once loosely associated roster of gatherings that constitute Tenth Month have emerged as a cohesive, must-see lineup of film, design, marketing and business events.

Almost every day of the month, Bend was filled with entrepreneurs, filmmakers and creatives. Conferences and festivals like BendFilm, Swivel Digital Marketing and Bend Design and Bend Venture Conference anchored the month, while events like the unConference, Venture Out and TedxBendWomen rounded it out. All independently organized, the conferences, events and festivals were brought together by the Tenth Month team to celebrate the people who are making a difference in Bend and beyond.

Tenth Month by the Numbers

3,755,000: Number of dollars awarded to companies at the Bend Venture Conference between October 12-14, hosted by the Economic Development of Central Oregon. The funding set a record for angel conferences in the state.

6: Number of women who pitched (out of 15 presenters) at the Bend Venture Conference.

3: Number of people who moved to Bend within the last 6 months specifically for the chance to compete for funding at the unConference, an event created by Startup Bend and Tech Alliance of Central Oregon for startups founders to pitch their ideas in three minutes or less and compete for funding.

25: Percent of Bend Design Conference attendees who live outside of Central Oregon

7,600: Number of seats filled during BendFilm

8: Number of short films shown at BendFilm made by Oregon filmmakers.

Uber Closes in on Central Oregon

It’s been a long time coming, but Bend and Redmond city staff expect ridesharing goliath Uber to be in the Central Oregon market sometime in 2017. Officials from Uber and Lyft, the other popular mobile ride hailing service, have been talking with city officials about what it will take to enter the Central Oregon mar-ket. Those informal discussions were expected to gather steam in January and February as members of the Bend and Redmond city councils looked at specific policy changes that would pave the way for both services. While the regulation of cab and ride-hailing services falls to indi-vidual cities, in this case it’s important for Bend and Redmond to work in concert, said Ben Hemson, City of Bend Business Advocate. “[Uber] wants to serve Bend, but only if they can also serve Redmond and the airport,” said Hemson.

Before that can happen both jurisdictions want to make sure that they’ve addressed all the potential pitfalls. That includes the concerns of traditional taxi services that want a level playing field for all ride services. On the other side is a tech savvy public hungry for more alternatives in a market that has few public transportation options.

“I’ve heard some feedback from cab companies that is perhaps more negative, but there are a lot of businesses in town who are eager for a ride share or transportation network service,” said Hemson.

Gettin’ Dirty in Prineville

Prineville bike projects are getting off the ground — and getting big air. In addition to the projected Crooked River Bikeway, Central Oregon’s first bike park is coming to Prineville this summer. Three years ago, after a group of teens approached the city council asking for a bike track, bike enthusiasts began fundraising and partnering with local businesses for the project, which cost approximately $89,000.

“It’s been a huge community effort,” said County Commissioner Seth Crawford, referring to local donations and volunteer work on the park. “It has something for everyone, from two-year-olds to seniors. We’re really excited because this is something that kids and families can do together, and it’s the first one in Central Oregon.” With a grand opening set for July 16, the course is located next to Ochoco Creek Park in the middle of town and includes a BMX pump track, mountain biking obstacles and an area for families and novice riders.

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Got Gear? BOW Incubates Outdoor Startups

For outdoor industry startups, Bend isn’t just a good place to start a company, it is a place to stay and grow. Gary Bracelin founded the Bend Outdoor Worx incubator last year to help companies do just that. BOW capitalizes on the vast experience that Bracelin and several other local BOW mentors have in the outdoor industry to help guide the founders of fledging Bend businesses.

“We wanted to help the companies that were already here, and then create a synergy that attracted even more people,” said Bracelin. He has spent most of the past twenty years working in sales for outdoor companies. Most recently, he co-founded the GB2 agency, which has worked with Kialoa Paddles, Sessions Apparel and Homeschool Snowboarding. BOW selects two to three companies per each three- to four- Got Gear? BOW Incubates Outdoor Startups market report assists companies as they scale their businesses right here in our own backyard,” said Bracelin. “It’s been rewarding to see not only that vision in action, but also to see the community and industry support since we launched.” month mentorship session. It doesn’t provide its companies with funding. Instead it offers education and resources aimed at addressing the startups’ stress points—from marketing and production to finding the capital and managing growth.

The incubator has worked with eight companies so far, among them are Cairn, a fast-growing subscription box for outdoor enthusiasts, and SnoPlanks, a Bend startup hand-making bamboo snowboards. “We’ve seen real value in our ability to offer unique insight, experiences and handson mentoring that supports and assists companies as they scale their businesses right here in our own backyard,” said Bracelin. “It’s been rewarding to see not only that vision in action, but also to see the community and industry support since we launched.”

Riding Bamboo

Article originally published January 2016

SnoPlanks began in James Nicol’s garage. He and his college friend Ryan Holmes wanted to create a different type of snowboard. “We were looking for something that was more surf style and that really lent itself to Mt. Bachelor, which isn’t super steep,” Nicol said.

In search of something light, flexible and beautiful, they began making boards from bamboo. What started as a passion project has exploded into one of Bend’s most talked about new companies. SnoPlanks won the $15,000 early stage award at the Bend Venture Conference in October. Now the founders want to show the rest of the world what bamboo boards and skis can do.

Keeping It Simple

Both Holmes and Nicol grew up in the Pacific Northwest and spent their childhood vacations in Central Oregon. They reconvened in Bend within the past few years and started contemplating the potential for a new type of board while riding at Mt. Bachelor.

In 2012, they started experimenting with maple and birch woods. They’d test their creations, giving boards to friends and well-known local riders and incorporating that feedback into their subsequent models. Bamboo was a revelation. In their shop in Northeast Bend, Holmes grabbed a newly made board and easily bent it into an arc. “These just float,” he said. “They’re solid, but super responsive.”

They touted the simplicity of their product. No crazy colors. No wild designs. Just the beauty of the wood combined with a unique ride, especially made for powder. It wasn’t long before their ski and boards grabbed people’s attention. Other riders wanted to know what these wooden boards were all about.

A Business Born

Nicol and Holmes have come a long way from the garage mentality. They sponsored the Big Wave Challenge at Mt. Bachelor last April. They added skis to their SKUs, then tapped into Bend’s startup community. Bend Outdoor Worx, an incubator program for outdoor industry companies, selected SnoPlanks for its third cohort. “That was a turning point,” Holmes said. “We knew that we’d have a network of people who could really drive our growth.”

Their first big order came last fall—160 snowboards for Deschutes Brewery, which is using them as part of its Red Chair promotions. Holmes and Nicol, along with their employee, made all of the boards by hand. They believe this season could be a game changer for SnoPlanks, as they invest in production efficiency marketing. They’d already sold 200 boards by the end of October. SnoPlanks are available on the company’s website and will also be in some local Bend shops.

In the meantime, the founders remain committed to crafting their products by hand, and doing it here. “Bend literally and figuratively shaped SnoPlanks,” Nicol said. “This is an Oregon brand through and through.” Learn more here.

3 Ways to Ski Central Oregon’s Backcountry

BENDmag_Winter-2016_backcountry_Jon-Tapper_003 — Photo by Jon Tapper

Central Oregon’s Cascades offer an abundance of excellent skiing for those willing to seek it out and make the effort. Depending on snow conditions and time of year, much of the area’s terrain is accessible for a day, overnight or weekend trip. Before embarking on any backcountry adventure, always check the weather forecast and prepare accordingly. Even better, monitor the snow and weather cycles throughout the season, as well as the snowpack observations on the Central Oregon Avalanche Association (COAA) website. Carry the proper gear, have fun and come home safe.

Three Sisters

Tam McArthur Rim is in the Three Sisters Wilderness, north and east of Broken Top. During the winter, skiers access Tam Rim from Sisters via Three Creek Lake Road, which turns into NF-16. Usually, the road is clear to Upper Three Creek Sno-Park. From there, it’s a six-mile approach by snowmobile or on Nordic skis to Three Creek Lake at the base of Tam Rim.

BENDmag_Winter-2016_backcountry_Jon-Tapper_001 — Photo by Jon Tapper

The Three Sisters Backcountry yurts, available by reservation at Three Sisters Backcountry, are located here, making this area a great option for overnight or multi-day trips, with more comfort than camping directly in the snow—that is unless your tent comes equipped with a keg and a sauna. This is also where Three Sisters Backcountry hosts its hut-based avalanche education courses. Even if you aren’t taking a course or reserving a bed, the huts are a good place to stop and inquire with other skiers regarding any avalanche events or snowpack observations about the area.

From the lake, skiers can choose from a variety of aspects across the rim, ranging from north- to southeast-facing. Terrain options include widely-spaced old growth trees, glades, open bowls and cliffs. On the north-facing aspects during the winter, powder will linger for days after a storm.

Get Prepared: COAA promotes avalanche safety and education in Central Oregon. COAA’s four professional snowpack observers post weekly reports to the COAA website throughout the season. Thanks to Bend’s backcountry community and local businesses, COAA also recently bought a mountain weather station, which will stream weather data directly to the COAA website. The weather data will help backcountry riders make better decisions about when to go in the mountains. Having the proper gear (beacon, probe and shovel) and knowing how to use it is essential for traveling in avalanche terrain. COAA offers free monthly “Know Before You Go” events at Broken Top Bottle Shop. Check Central Oregon Avalanche Association for dates.

Broken Top

Broken Top is a preeminent Central Oregon backcountry skiing destination for a day trip, overnighter or multi-day excursion. With a snowmobile, it’s about a thirty-minute ride to the wilderness boundary from Dutchman Flat, depending on snow conditions. On skis, the rolling and gradually climbing six-mile approach from either Dutchman Flat or Mt. Bachelor’s Nordic Ski Center will vary depending on snow conditions, as well as the skier’s fitness and experience level. No matter the approach, with an early start, a trip to Broken Top can easily be done in a day and is worth the effort every time.

Arguably one of Central Oregon’s most aesthetic mountains, this extinct stratovolcano has been glacially eroded over the past 100,000 years, exposing its cone and ultimately creating outstanding skiing terrain. Due to its complex shape and elevation, this mountain typically has good snow on at least one of its aspects. Some of the classic ski descents drop into the bowl, including the 11 o’clock couloir, called Pucker Up, and the 3 o’clock face. However, any of Broken Top’s faces and ridges are skiable in the right conditions, in addition to nearby Broken Hand and Ball Butte.

Day Trips: Broken Top and Tam McArthur can be done as day trips, but it’s worthwhile to put together a small group and make a weekend out of it, especially if the snow is good.

Mount Bailey

Mount Bailey is about 100 miles south of Bend, near Crater Lake National Park, on the west side of Diamond Lake and across from Mount Thielsen. From Bend, skiing Bailey is ideally an overnight or long-weekend trip. If you can spare the time and the snow is good, it’s also worth skiing Mount Thielsen while you’re in the area.

BendMag_Winter-2016_MtBailey_Brian-Becker — Photo by Brian Becker

Mount Bailey is another classic Oregon volcano with an abundance of terrain and aspects from which to choose, including northand east-facing bowls. During the winter, the approach to Mount Bailey begins at Three Lakes Sno-Park, located off the Diamond Lake Highway. Skiers can reserve the Hemlock Butte cabin, a rustic backcountry hut at the base of the mountain that requires a four-mile approach on skis or snowshoes. From there, Mount Bailey’s terrain can be reached via its southeast ridge.

A clear day will provide skiers with an incredible panorama of Diamond Peak to the north, Diamond Lake and Mount Thielsen to the east, the Crater Lake Rim to the southeast, Mount McLoughlin to the south and more. The most popular terrain is in the east-facing bowls. Experienced skiers will find steeper terrain off the north side.

Cat Ski Tour: For advanced and expert skiers, guided tours are available through Cat Ski Mt. Bailey, covering an average of 15,000 to 18,000 vertical feet per day. With a maximum of twelve skiers and riders per day, the cat skiing operation makes turns accessible on 6,000 acres of terrain. $350 per person, or $3,500 to reserve the twelve seats on the cat.

Hemlock Butte: The Hemlock Butte cabin can be reserved for free, but it gets booked up for the season quickly, so plan ahead. It is a four-mile trek in to this base camp. With ample access to ideal ski terrain, this shelter does not disappoint. The cabin provides basic amenities and has room for about twelve people.

What’s A Growler?

Despite its grumpy-sounding name, if a friend offers to share a growler with you then that’s a great thing. If you want to be specific, a growler refers to a 64 ounce glass container which are meant to be filled straight from the tap. However, in general the term applies to a wider variety of containers ranging in size and materials. While typical glass growlers can keep draft beer fresh for a matter of hours, technology is changing things. Changes in the law also mean that you can get a growler fill in more places including pubs, grocery stores, and even the gas station or car wash. So which container is right for you?

The Growler

Simple glass containers can be purchased in a variety of shops. Most pubs and growler filling stations also offer a variety of plain vessels, along with nicer versions adorned with brewery logos or even the mascot for popular sports teams. They come in a variety of shapes. Some have a screw top, and others have stopper with a metal bail. The cheapest place to pick up a growler in Bend is probably the Kitchen Collection store at the Bend Factory Stores or at The Brew Shop (Platypus Pub) on Third Street. No matter the logo or closure style, once these containers are open the beer inside will go flat fairly quickly so itís best to consume within a few hours to ensure freshness. For me, that means these containers are great for parties and sharing with a group of friends.

The Growlette (a.k.a. Howler)

A smaller version of the growler is the 32 ounce growlette (or howler in the Midwest and other regions). Other than size, they are pretty much the same as their 64 ounce counterpart. I prefer the growlette size for beer that I am sharing with a smaller group, or for darker or Imperial brews with higher alcohol content.

Specialty Vessels

A wide variety of advanced fill-and-go containers are available. If you are visiting and don’t want to invest in a glass growler, check out CrowlersTM. These 32 ounce containers are also great for packing along on a camping trip. The catch is, they are NOT resealable so once they are open the clock is ticking.

Another Central Oregon favorite is the DrinkTankR, in both 64 ounce and 128 ounce sizes. Stylish and insulated, these steel vessels have a sturdy handle, dual bail cap, and keeps beer cold for up to 12 hours on a hot day. You can upgrade a DrinkTankR to be your own personal keg by adding an accessory kit that includes a tap and CO2 injector that ensures youíll never get a flat pour.

Get Filled

While growler fills have been commonplace at pubs for years, Bend is the birthplace of Oregon’s more recent fill station phenomenon. It all started with the Growler Guys who now have locations on both the East and West sides of town. Other popular fill locations include Gorilla Growlers, Growler Philís, Love Handles, and Fred Meyer Grocery. Of course, if you are looking for a specific Central Oregon beer or cider I recommend going to the source and filling up at the brewery.

Recipe: Chai, from Bad Wolf Bakery

“Whovians” know the Bad Wolf character well. Bad Wolf Bakery and Bistro’s pastry chef, barista and co-owner Breezie Dueber is one such Whovian— or a fan of the cult classic television show, “Dr. Who.” Along with her co-owner parents, Andrew and Kristi, Breezie has decorated the year-old bakery in a tasteful, modern style with touches that Whovians will recognize as an homage to the show. Regardless of your sci-fi acumen, the bakery is worth a visit for its top-notch breakfasts and lunches, as well as a bar stocked with mad scientist infusions concocted by Kristi.

Chai Aye Aye
1 ½ ounces Cascade Alchemy bourbon, infused with chai
½ ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
½ ounce honey, melted

Melt honey by pouring into a shot glass, then place the shot glass in a shallow bowl of boiling hot water. Pour all three ingredients into shaker with no ice. Stir well and pour over rocks in a rocks glass.

Getting Ski Schooled with Larry Smith

We ask a Mt. Bachelor Ski Instructor about teaching how to shoot straight and ski cool.

When Larry Smith started working at Mt. Bachelor, the mountain still went by its original name—Bachelor Butte. Since 1979, he’s spent every winter teaching skiing there. Sometimes he’s on the snow 150 days a year. Smith remembers when the main hangout was Egan Lodge, a thirty-by-fifty-foot hut, a quarter of the way up the mountain. Smith, 67, said that many of the people he started with at Mt. Bachelor went on to different jobs or are now retired. Smith spends his summers guiding cycling tours in Europe, but he’s always excited to head back up Century Drive. Here is a slice of Smith’s three decades on the mountain.

What is the most memorable lesson you gave?

A couple winters ago, there was a former ballerina from the Bolshoi Ballet who came here to ski. She’d never skied before, and we went out and learned how to dance on the snow. It was pure delight because she understood balance and movement. All I said was, “This stage isn’t flat, this one tips, so you need to stay perpendicular to the stage as it tips.”

We’ve all witnessed a mid-run tantrum. How do you deal with them?

You have to figure out why the tantrum is happening: Why is the kid uncomfortable? You have to be good at reading kids. I like to give them the opportunity to make choices. I say, ‘Would you like to do this or do that?’ Both of them are good choices, but they get to feel like they’re choosing things. Kids like to be self-directed.

What about adults?

Very few people who are teaching their friends or loved ones actually know how to teach. Just because you know how to do something doesn’t mean you can break it down and explain it to somebody else in a manner that allows them to be successful. We (ski instructors) understand little bitty pieces and baby steps for starting out so that you just gradually become more comfortable and you aren’t thrown into the steep stuff right away.

What’s it take to be a great ski instructor?

You have to want to help people. You need to be able to put people before everything else—they’re front and center and the most important person on the snow. If you can do that and believe it, and love it, you’ll be fine.

You gave up a job in telecommunications to be a ski instructor. Any regrets?

When I was in telecom, I was good at it. I managed people and ran big programs, but it didn’t feed my soul. When I’m on the snow and I’m sharing skiing, there’s no better place for me to be. Although, my mom does still wonder if I’ll ever grow up. The only thing that would stop me from teaching is if something happened to my health and I couldn’t. Otherwise, I see no reason to ever stop. I don’t even think of it as a job.

Dining in Training at Elevation

A white tablecloth experience isn’t typically associated with college, but for diners at Central Oregon Community College’s Cascade Culinary Institute student training restaurant, Elevation, the courses are upper-level. Located on the COCC campus in an airy, modern $3 million building, lunch and dinner is served in fine dining style, with largely organic, seasonal and local ingredients.

Staff members are students in the midst of their two-year culinary training. Students are required to work in the front of the house (dining room), as well as the back of the house (kitchen). “This cross-training not only broadens the learning experience but also allows students to understand the importance of communication and respect,” said chef instructor Thor Erickson. Though small service blips in the dining experience do occur, they are mitigated by a staff that is ready to remedy any situation. Review forms encourage feedback. Erickson said that students benefit from hearing guests’ expectations and experiences.

Because the goal of the establishment is education over profit, the fine dining, seasonal menu is presented at light fare prices. Smoked wild salmon cakes with an Asian touch are the perfect density and dining texture. A white bean and root vegetable cassoulet highlights the best flavors Central Oregon soil can grow. Tender filet mignon is grilled to the temperature of one’s desire with prime steakhouse accuracy. Even if much of the staff can’t yet legally drink, Oregon wines and beers are plentiful, and the desserts are worth reviewing.

“Guests enjoy themselves so much, they sometimes forget that they are at a culinary school,” said Erickson.

Lunch Thursday and Friday, starting at 11:30 a.m.; dinner Wednesday-Friday, 5:30 p.m. to close. Reservation-only: elevationbend.com.

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Practical Messes

The mudroom may be the hardest-working room in the house.

Kids and jackets, hiking boots, muddy dogs, soggy mittens, soccer shoes, guest coats and wet gear—living and playing here in Central Oregon can be a dirty business and a storage challenge. The mudroom may be the hardest-working room in the house.

A mudroom was a must-have when Portlander Tiffany Talbott and her husband gave architect Scott Gilbride the wish list for their new home. “To a lot of folks, the mudroom is a pretty important space,” said Gilbride. “It solves a lot of storage needs, and it becomes all-purpose. Some people include a laundry center or a pet area while others make it a hobby room or add a space for wrapping presents.”

Storage and multi-purpose were two concerns for the Talbott family, who built their Bend home with an eye on eventually moving here permanently. In the meantime, though, they spend summers and vacations in Bend and needed to have an area in which they could shed coats, feed the dog, and dry swimsuits or ski boots—depending on the season.

“I had three notebooks of ideas,” recalled Talbott. “I wanted it to be very practical.”

Among the included ideas were a drain in the floor, a dog area by the sink, a drainage area for skis and boots and copious amounts of storage. “We have a whole wall of cubbies,” said Talbott. “They look like shelves but Scott designed them to slide out so they’re really more like trays. We use them for shoes, hats, gloves and even our chargers. It’s very easy to keep everything tidy.”

Also included were pegs for hanging coats and jackets, and a washer and dryer in which to launder athletic clothing before dirt could be brought farther into the house.

“I also wanted it be well-designed and pretty,” said Talbott, “the green and white is very calming.”

“Central Oregon has a very active community,” added Gilbride. “You need storage for all your sporting equipment and a place to take off your boots. We use these spaces a lot; why not make them enjoyable?”

“It had to have a window with a view of the backyard,” said Manuela Bond of the mudroom in her Westside Bend home. “I like being able to see the kids play, and the room really had to be nice and bright. It is a well-used room,” she added. That’s a bit of an understatement.

For Bond and her husband, builder Greg Welch, the mudroom served several duties: a buffer space between the house and garage, a laundry room, a store room for smaller sporting gear, and all the coats, hats, and other winter accessories that they and their three children bring in.

Designer Andria Garrett of Legum Design lined the room with the same bright white Shaker-style cabinetry used elsewhere in the house and covered the floor with plank porcelain tiles in the same tone as the home’s wood floors. One side of the room is designed for storage; floor-to-ceiling drawers and cabinets can hold out-of-season jackets and boots. Each family member has his or her own storage area and place to sit in the adjoining built-in bench with hooks and storage above and cubbyholes below. Facing the bench and storage are additional cabinets, a laundry center and a utility sink with a drying bar. On the window wall are more cabinets and the requested view of the backyard. Counters are topped with large porcelain tiles that have minimal grout lines.

“The goal was to make as much storage as possible while keeping it looking nice as well as functional,” explained Garrett. “I like things to be put away and organized,” added Bond, “and I like that I can shut the door and close it off from the rest of the house. That may be the best part.”

Nigiri Neverland

How one Bend chef keeps the world stage and his community fueling his creativity.

What chef Joe Kim did when he was invited to be a guest chef at the James Beard House in New York speaks volumes about Kim, his restaurant, 5 Fusion and Sushi Bar, and Bend.

Kim and his business partners, Lilian and Mike Chu, decided that rather than spend money on traveling across the country to enjoy the spotlight, they would leverage the recognition in a way that would benefit their community. In 2014, they launched a series of James Beard Foundation Benefit Dinners that has raised more than $16,000 for culinary school scholarships, including students going to Bend’s Cascade Culinary Institute.

In the process, Kim’s multicourse menus for the series showcase what is arguably one of America’s most creative culinary talents. (Kim was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Northwest in 2015 and 2014, when he was the first Central Oregon chef to be nominated.) One such dinner in 2014 coincided with Kim’s thirty-third birthday. He paid tribute to his culinary influences, starting with a haute version of the first thing he ever cooked – Rice-A-Roni – and on through to black truffle ravioli.

A more recent dinner opened with several minimalist interpretations of dishes such as bacon-and-egg salmon, paired with champagne. Six courses and libations followed—from a Japanese soup with crispy lamb sweetbreads and mint oil to squab with miso sage butter and buffalo ribeye with kimchi. At the penultimate course, Kim unleashed nostalgic humor. He replaced the contents of individual Kraft Handi-Snacks packs with brie fondue and miniature house-made pretzel sticks. A lipstick case became a vessel for goat cheese, fuchsia-tipped with marionberry.

Diane Harris Brown, director of educational and community programming for the James Beard Foundation has called his dishes, “truly works of art – original, witty, beautiful, and above all – delicious!”

Kim said he strives to improve on what has been done before. “I hope our customers feel like they are in Neverland!” he said.

That said, the venue is accessible and satisfying for happy hour weekdays (think spicy pork sliders and cucumber gimlets) to dinner, with a menu ranging from pork tenderloin “lollipops” to nigiri flights.

Day Trip to Belknap Hot Springs

Nestled along the McKenzie River seventy miles from Bend, Belknap Hot Springs offers refuge from winter’s bite in a quintessential Pacific Northwest setting. The air is heavy and saturated, so it’s hard to tell whether it’s actually raining, and wisps of fog waft among the surrounding hillsides like ghosts peering out from the trees. The resort embodies a mood that is like ghosts emerging from trees. The quest for contemplation slows time here.

Open year-round, Belknap Hot Springs is an easy getaway from Bend, whether to hit the reset button with a day at the spa or to work a soak into a full-day excursion along the McKenzie River. Originally developed in 1869 by R. S. Belknap, the springs have been open to the public almost continuously since the 1870s.

Today, the resort includes a lodge, cabins, campsites, RV sites, and two 104-degree mineral pools fed from the natural spring bubbling out of the ground directly across the river. Behind the lodge, a footbridge spans the McKenzie River and links to a network of trails that meander through gardens, lawns, ponds and woods. After soaking, it’s worth venturing across the bridge to explore the wooded paths and gardens.

The upper pool is limited to overnight guests, but the lower pool is available to the public for day use, and is family-friendly and large enough to hold multiple groups without feeling crowded. The lower pool sits alongside the river, which rushes over smooth stones, adding a low hush to the tranquil ambience.

Gary Fish: Master of Craft

Joe Lakowski sipped a dark beer and chatted with his fiancé, Susan, at the Deschutes Brewery Public House. The din of the tavern made chatting a louder undertaking in recent more crowded years. “I love the Black Butte Porter,” said the 32-year-old electrician from Chicago. “I went to Deschutes’ Street Pub this summer in Chicago, and I had to come out to Bend to see it for myself,” he said. “It’s better than I imagined.”

Before 1988 and the dawn of craft beer in Central Oregon, craft beer drinkers would have had only a couple of choices of mass-produced beers in what has become a booming incubator of brewing. When Deschutes Brewery opened in 1988, times—and tastes—were changing.

Gary Fish, Deschutes Brewery’s founder, with a businessman’s head on his shoulders and a knack for spotting trends. He and his wife, Carol, moved from Northern California to Bend in 1987 to open what was supposed to be a modest public house and restaurant serving its own beer.

Deschutes Brewery became all that and more.

Deschutes is now the largest-selling American beer in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, and is the seventh- or eighth-largest brewery in the nation by sales volume—Fish isn’t sure and doesn’t really care. As Deschutes enters its twenty-eighth year, Fish is entertaining offers from hundreds of East Coast cities eager to have a Deschutes outpost in their community.

Fish grew up in Northern California where his father was a wine grape grower in the 1970s, although both his mother and father were native Oregonians. Fish had been in the restaurant business for years, working his way up from dishwasher to part owner of a Salt Lake City restaurant. In the early ’80s, Fish sold his share of that restaurant and moved back to California to help open a brewpub. He and his wife had been looking for a place to relocate when his parents came through Bend after a high school reunion in Corvallis and returned with favorable opinions about the community. “We came up and took a look at Bend, and things fell together pretty quickly after that,” said Fish.

The wine and local food renaissance in California in the early ’70s informed what the Fishes believed was happening to beer in the mid-’80s. A handful of other Northwest breweries—Portland’s McMenamins, Widmer Brothers, BridgePort and Portland Brewing; Hood River’s Full Sail; Rogue in Ashland and Newport and Corvallis’ Oregon Trail Brewery—had opened in that era. When Deschutes opened in June of 1988, Bend was still a raffish mill town of 15,000 people coming out of a massive recession that many would say rivals the recent downturn.

“Craft beer wasn’t known then,” recalled Fish. “There were no breweries in town, and there were maybe a couple bars that served ‘microbrewery beer,’ as it was called then—‘craft beer’ was a term years in the making. The idea that the consumer would drive for more variety, more intrinsic and perceived quality was, we thought, a pretty solid assumption given what we knew about what had happened to wine and what was starting to happen with coffee and produce in the area where I grew up in California.”

Fish recalls a lot of boarded up storefronts in downtown Bend. As a result of this economic lull, the restaurant wasn’t immediately successful. “It was tough going,” he said. Then some taverns in Portland began pouring Deschutes beer, which kicked off the wholesale side of the business.

“We began to grow,” he said, “and we didn’t really know why or what to make of it. Once the industry took off, we took off with it, and we were just trying to make sure the tide kept rising.”

In 1986, the Brewers Association reported 124 breweries across the nation. In 1987, that number was 150. By 1988, there were 199. The paradigm was shifting, led by what Fish called “enterprising entrepreneurs and adventurous consumers.”

“I think every place was ready for it, but Oregon was a little more out front,” he said.

After opening in June of ’88, Deschutes brewed 310 barrels through December. In 2015, it produced some 350,000 barrels. Deschutes beer is on tap or in the beer aisle in twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia. Fish now has about 525 employees spread among the Bend tasting room, the pub, the manufacturing facility and the Portland pub. A team of thirty brewmasters is led by Karl Ockert, Brian Faivre and Veronica Vega, who have decades of experience among them.

While nearly 50 percent of Deschutes’ sales are in Oregon, more people on the East Coast will soon be tipping pints of Bend’s iconic beer. Fish has spent the past two years looking for an East Coast expansion location. He anticipates a decision to be made by the end of 2015, although it may be a while before that decision is publicly announced.

His team of scouts started with 5,000 potential locations and narrowed it down to 110. Needless to say, there’s a great deal of competition for his business. “We’re going to move into a community and spend a lot of money, hire a lot of people and make a big impact on the community,” he said. “That’s an attractive proposition for a lot of these communities, and they want us to know how badly they would like us to pick their community.”

Concepts for the East Coast outpost call for an initial real estate footprint of between 100,000 and 200,000 square feet, with an initial capacity somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 barrels annually and the ability to grow substantially beyond that. Fish expects that there will be a restaurant attached to it at some point in time, but not necessarily at the outset. The competition for this business is incredibly flattering, he said, but he’s not shopping for kind words and convenience. “What we want is a community where we can develop a meaningful relationship,” he said. “It’s challenging, and there are a lot of really, really cool communities out there to build a brewery in.”

Even as Deschutes continues to diversify its market, it hasn’t lost track of where its home is. “We’re trying to stay local as much as we can, but we know that there are people who live in other parts of the country who want the beer,” Fish said. No matter where the bottles originate, the Oregon-based branding will not change. “That’s very important to us, and it’s our home,” he said.

Fish is level-headed and eternally positive when discussing his business plans. The company’s motto is, “Do your best and next time do it better.”

His speaking tones are leveled with confidence and his pace is measured. He smiles though, when explaining his involvement in the Bend community. The company has donated one dollar per barrel to local charities since its inception. “Community involvement has been part of our DNA from the very beginning when we wanted the pub to be that European model where it was really the center of community life in small towns,” he explained. “It’s called a ‘public house’ for a reason, and we knew if we were going to be successful we needed to be involved in the community and we have been ever since. This extends to the other communities where we sell beer, and it continues to grow and it’s an important part of what we do.

He laughs when considering the possibility that Deschutes Brewery take the route of 10 Barrel Brewing Co., which was acquired by beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. “I honestly don’t think about it,” he said. “We’re not planning to sell. We’re not trying to sell. We’re having fun. We’re moving fast—things are good. If I wanted to sell the company, there are plenty of people who would line up to buy it, but I really have no interest in that.”

Fish conceded that, at some point, he may consider selling, but that time is not now, and when—or if—it does come, he’ll take into consideration all of the things that matter beyond his financial windfall.

Much like the company’s high-end Reserve Series beers that are intended to develop more complexity over time—like a fine bottle of wine, Deschutes Brewery’s path is plotted to evolve and age as well.

According to the Brewers Association, the majority of Americans now live within ten miles of a local brewery. Craft beer has become such a part of everyday life that what’s disappearing, Fish said, is not Bud or Miller Lite, but brand loyalty among craft beer drinkers.

Although things change quickly in this industry, Fish wants customers to consider Deschutes Brewery and think of “trust” when they’re standing in front of the beer cooler selecting what to drink that day. “They know that every one of our beers in any style category is going to be exemplary of that style, and they can trust that beer is going to taste a way that exceeds their expectations,” he said. “We’ve put so much effort over the years into the idea that what goes into the bottle rather than what goes on the label is what matters to our consumer. That’s something we’re very focused on every single day.”

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Making a Life Out of Art

BENDmag_Winter-2016_Sheila-Dunn_Duncan-Galvin_001 — Photo by Duncan Galvin

Seeing an artist’s workspace is often a reminder of what it takes to make it as an artist. Sheila Dunn used to paint in a friend’s garage where she dressed warmly to combat the chill. These days, her studio is in a second-story bedroom with a futon that sleeps the occasional guest. This studio, perhaps just another stepping stone, is a snapshot of a young painter with a part-time job and a full-time passion for canvas.

The former yoga instructor from Colorado lives and paints in an apartment off a busy Bend residential street. She offers tea and then leads the way up a narrow staircase to her studio. The room is small but the painting in progress is large—six feet by five feet—and occupies the majority of the wall. It’s hard to imagine her getting the canvas up the stairs.

BENDmag_Winter-2016_Sheila-Dunn_Duncan-Galvin_005 — Photo by Duncan Galvin

Women are a common theme in her art, although she does occasional male portraits and admits that she’s even done a few dog commissions. She said her work explores the integration of living subjects with the environment. Lines between a figure and the background get blurred. Bodies are fractured, pixilated into shimmering colors and geometric brushstrokes. “I try to stay loose and not overwork my paintings,” said Dunn.

Mentor and fellow painter, Stefan Kleinschuster of Los Angeles, said, “Sheila’s paintings display mastery in both ‘abstract patternistic’ beauty and the deep ‘correctness’ or ‘rightness’ of the realism of her subjects. This makes for a very rich and satisfying visual and visceral experience, and a melting, sumptuous sensation communicating deeper truths.”

When Dunn is in the studio, the process consumes her. “Painting is something I have to do,” she said. “I can’t imagine not doing it.” Balance is sometimes difficult to achieve but a part-time job as a graphic designer for Mosaic Medical helps ward off isolation.

At thirty-two, Dunn feels that she’s at a point where art could fully sustain her. Her work can be found all over Central Oregon, including the Bend Visitor Center and in fifty private collections. She avoids galleries and prefers to sell directly to people on Etsy, her website (sheiladunnart.com) or showings in businesses such as Velvet, Deschutes Brewery, Naked Winery and Bellatazza.

With a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Colorado State University, a body of growing work, including prints and wall murals, Dunn will continue exploring new ideas and styles. “I have a whole lifetime to create,” she said.

bendmag_winter-2016_sheila-dunn_Talia-Galvin_010 — Photo by Duncan Galvin

Best Places to Après Skis

It might be plunging into champagne powder, chattering down a grating groomer or cutting through an icy blow-over. No matter what kind of day it was at the mountain, the great equalizer is knowing the best après. Unclip or unlace your boots and kick up the stories of your Mt. Bachelor runs over gamely priced drinks and food. Sit by a fire or around a table with mountain views, and recall the day’s face plant, the flat light that blew your last run, or the perfect poodle turns you made.

Sunriver

Many visitors this winter will hit Sunriver Resort after skiing. The resort recently underwent a large renovation, replacing dated digs with an entourage of upscale restaurants, bar nooks, beer gardens and patios. The new team is focused on inclusivity. Even if you are not a guest of the resort, take advantage of all it has to offer. After all, the drive to Sunriver and Bend from Mt. Bachelor is comparable.

Instead of separate states of mind (and grub), the new layout of The Twisted Tavern, Carson’s and The Living Room now have an all-encompassing atmosphere. Open kitchens, love seats, benches and lounge chairs seamlessly come together around a huge stone hearth harboring seven feet of fire. The upper level of the Twisted Tavern is for adults only and has intimate seating beyond the bar. The lower level is nestled under glass windows that provide a spectacular sunset view of Mt. Bachelor. The menu has grazing options or bigger items such as baskets of fried pickles or homemade pretzels. Full menus and service are available on the heated patio, where there are two massive firepits and wooden benches, and dogs are welcome. Specials include half-off appetizers and desserts at happy hour. Discounted rates, ski packages, kids ski free and shuttles make Sunriver Resort more than just a happy hour pick.

For another aspect of Sunriver, head into Sunriver Village and stop at The Village Bar and Grill. Recently renovated and now offering more elbow room and an expansive patio, it overlooks the north lawn of the mall. A roaring fireplace separates the dining room, bar seating and patio. A rollicking happy hour kicks off at 3 p.m., with family-friendly deals until 6 p.m. This is pub food at its best with burger classics and a balanced selection of vegetarian and gluten-free tweaks. Portions are beyond big, so bring a mountainous appetite. Delicious deals include Burger and a Beer Monday, Taco Tuesday kids-eat-free dinner and Thirsty Thursday has an all-day happy hour. Watch your kids glide around the ice skating rink from the back side of the bar alcove, where heavy-duty heaters and your hot toddy keep you comfortably warm.

Century Drive

The first thing to know when you are heading down the west side of the mountain is that the pint waits for no one in Bend. One of the first options on the southwest edge of Bend is Tetherow Resort. It may look like a private club, but The Row is a welcoming, family-friendly, Scottish-inspired pub that serves a discount seasonal après ski menu starting at 1 p.m.

Clunky ski boots and sweaty helmet heads are welcome. Bring a tribe of kids and collapse by one the big screens. Breweries from across Oregon rotate twelve fresh taps with inspired beer-infused menu items (Beer Snob Cobb, Beer Berry Smoked Salmon, Hopanero Dip). Huge glass windows overlook the snow-covered golf course—where sledding is encouraged on the driving range and every seat is primed for a perfect view. At the outdoor firepit, there are also events such as “Stouts and Smores.” This is a great place to stop and to stay. Tetherow has special ski package discounts and shuttles to the mountain.

Continuing down Century Drive, you can also veer right to Bistro 28. This newly renovated restaurant is attached to the members-only Athletic Club of Bend, but the casual Bistro 28 is open to the public. Trudge past the front desk in your down jacket and find a space to rejuvenate. You can experience full service on the couches by the massive fireplace or take your kin up to the long wood table at the bar. An open-kitchen design offers great chef-watching in the dining room. With the purchase of an entrée, pass holders and single ticket skiers receive discounts on artisan pizzas from the classic wood-fired oven or a free dessert.

Just a little farther down Century Drive, look for a solitary gondola on the left at the second roundabout. Cascade Lakes Brewing Company kicks it with a hoppy and happening happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. More than a dozen handcrafted beers alongside nicely discounted appetizers make for another good happy hour option. Taco Tuesdays champion cheap eats and margaritas. The lodge is a family-friendly watering hole with pool tables, dartboards and a central fireplace. Pub fare ranges from hot wings to Kobe beef sliders. (There are vegetarian options.) The décor is rugged yet relaxed, and the cost is comforting.

Slip farther down Century Drive and stop by Sip Wine Bar at Galveston Avenue for a relaxed and refined flight of wine or champagne. Don’t ditch your beer buddies, as there are a few taps here, too. Although happy hour is only from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., if you flash your pass or lift ticket, this cozy spot will honor happy hour pricing all the time. Inside, tall tables allow your boots to drip-dry. Better yet, take advantage of the outside patio with a firepit glowing with red-hot glass Sangria fire beads. There is a great built-in wooden banquet and love seats for a snuggle.

On the Side

Über-Casual: You might see a line out the door of Parrilla Grill. This local spot is beloved by big appetites. It offers a walletfriendly happy hour seven days a week, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. The burritos are filled with goodness from influences all over the world, and the staff multiplies the magic. Ask for “all the recs,” or recommendations, tailored to each burrito from nine housemade salsas and other culinary condiments. Skater stickers adorn the door and the line forms along a vestibule clad with posters that will keep you in-the-know for live music shows.

Adults Only: Velvet lounge sounds fancy, but this rugged two-story bar in the heart of downtown has rough reclaimed cabin wood walls and antler chandeliers. It is sassy and classy, with the right touch of hip. Mason jars packed with organic fruit-infused booze and creative cuisines go down easy during the happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Grab a board game or zone out to radical videos of backcountry bombers ripping down couloirs. Minors not allowed.

Apple of Our Eye: On the fringe of downtown near the Old Mill is the sweet new Atlas Cider taproom. Northwestern to the core, its apples are sourced from Hood River. Grab a mason jar and explore a crisp, thirst-quenching drink. No additional sugars or sweeteners are in this farm-fresh pour. Your pass or lift ticket will give you $2.50 off a cider flight. A vintage-looking machine pumps out free popcorn. Chill on couches by the fireplace or play old school cool pinball machines and arcade games. Watch the sun set behind the snow-capped peaks from the comfort of a heated, enclosed patio. There are beers on tap too, but Atlas Cider is as refreshing as the crisp mountain air.

Kollective Migration

Last year, Kollective CEO Dan Vetras offered to fly his thirty-five Bay Area employees to Bend on a weekend relocation scouting mission. As the head of a fast-growing cloud-based video software startup, Vetras wanted to find a place with affordable office space and a high quality of life for his employees.

Bend provided both. First, however, Vetras needed to know whether a critical mass of his staff would be willing to move. After visiting, a dozen employees indicated they’d relocate. Kollective opened its Bend office in the 1001 Tech Center this past summer and immediately started hiring. Vetras expects the office will have twenty-five employees by year’s end.

“It’s proving the thesis that we can recruit for and build out a software company in Bend,” said Vetras.

The company kept a smaller California office, but the move helped cut its real estate costs by 65 percent, freeing up capital that Kollective can use to grow. The CEO noted that the long-term success of Bend’s tech companies depends largely on OSU-Cascades creating a pipeline of computer engineers who come for school and stick around.

“In the interim, we’re going to have to sell people on why they want to be here,” he said. “That’s not hard, we just have to get them on a plane for a weekend.”

Happy Cattle

More and more these days, consumers are demanding that the meat on their plate be raised naturally and happily. At many places around the country, cattle are pumped with hormones to spurt growth and confined to a small area with only a trough of corn to stare into every day. That’s far from reality, though, for the cows that eventually become Country Natural Beef.

Founded in 1984 by Doc and Connie Hatfield, this Burns-based company sources its beef from small, family-operated ranches in just about every state in the West. When the beef-marketing cooperative began, originally with the name Oregon Country Beef, fourteen ranching families pitched in with a mission to supply customers with humanely raised beef. Today, nearly 100 ranches work in partnership with Country Natural Beef.

Unlike many products in the meat aisle at supermarkets, Country Natural Beef clearly labels the source, because it wants its customers to know where their product came from and how the animal was raised.

Country Natural Beef is sold in Whole Foods, New Seasons Market and most natural grocery stores in the West. As the beef supplier for the popular Oregon and Washington chain, Burgerville, for the past eleven years, it’s also helping to end the stigma around some fast food. In Central Oregon, Jackson’s Corner, McMenamins, Zydeco Kitchen and the High Desert Museum serve Country Natural Beef. The only local market stocked with the product, however, is Newport Avenue Market (where it is still sold under the original company name, Oregon Country Beef).

Most of the beef sold in Bend comes from the McCormack Ranch in Brothers, which began herding cattle in 1943. The ranch has been handed down through three generations and is also one of the founding family ranches.

“We have a saying. It is, ‘Healthy land, healthy animals, healthy people,’” said Country Natural Beef marketer Alan Kartchner. “A number of ranches in our co-op have been in Oregon for five, six or seven generations, and they hope to be able to do that for generations to come.”

Feeling at Home at Nancy P’s Cafe & Bakery

Some places and faces in the community seem to stick with the town as part of its identity. That’s the case at Nancy P’s Cafe & Bakery. A fixture on Bend’s Westside for more than fifteen years, Nancy P’s held onto its name when Katy and Tom Clabough bought the familiar breakfast, lunch and dessert haven from Nancy five years ago.

All of the bakery’s planet-sized sandwiches are made with fresh, local ingredients heaped on, making them almost as tall as they are wide. Thick slices of Tillamook cheese put deli-slicers to shame and are stacked between bread slices that can’t get any more local, because loaves are made fresh daily in house.

Baked goods such as New York-style black and whites, cupcakes and seasonal pastries tantalize patrons in a display case that runs almost the length of the bakery. It’s hard not to buy out the entire case of calories, but if you had to pick one, try the Chocolate Puddle, a rich and dense brownie in an oversized cupcake holder with a gooey chocolate core.

A popular choice among patrons is the $8.50 lunch special, which includes two of three items: a cup of soup, a half sandwich (which is a full-sized sandwich anywhere else) and a half salad. On warm mornings, there’s no better place to drink a cup of joe than the garden patio. On cold days, the Central Oregon sun fills the indoor space with warm light.

Art from Bend-area artists lines the walls, and the dining room is a comfortable spot to read the newspaper or work away at a computer. The Claboughs want their guests to feel at home when they visit, and that happens almost immediately. Perhaps it’s because the building used to be a home?

Many folks who live in the neighborhood that surrounds Nancy P’s have been consistent customers for years. Newcomers usually become regulars after their first visit. Its contemporary mom-and-pop charm and delectable baked treats set it apart from run-of-the-mill franchise coffee shops.

Hash it Out at Cottonwood Cafe

There is something special about eating in a restaurant that is housed in a converted home. Co-owner of Cottonwood Cafe, T.R. McCrystal, greets a steady flow of breakfast, lunch and brunch diners who wait their turn for a table in the small café, feeling the successful transition of the eatery from special occasion dinner spot (Jen’s Garden) to daytime hotspot. McCrystal’s co-owner and chef, Jennifer, is behind the scenes creating remarkable dishes.

Portions are not especially massive, but neither is the price. The price point is, however, average. Quality versus quantity wins the row of the day. One of the heartiest and perfectly-executed menu items is the Hash it Out ($12), made with slow-roasted pork so tender it melts away almost before you can savor it with the fresh, seasonal vegetables and perfectly cooked fried potatoes. Two fried eggs topping the dish give it substance. A white cheese sauce will have you scraping the bowl clean.

Service was a little haphazard after the twenty-minute wait for a table, but the kindness of everyone working in the front of the house seemed warm and genuine. The cluster of locals and aspiring locals dining at the homey restaurant, a block south of the main drag in Sisters, is proof that the move to daytime was the right one for Cottonwood Cafe.

Not Your Teacher’s Chalkboard

Keep your family on task with a magnetized blackboard.

The size of the frame (and the piece of sheet metal) will be determined by the size of your wall. Whatever size you choose, the project steps are the same. We found an unfinished wood frame, which we painted white. A piece of sheet metal in the same size was found at a local box store.

Traditional hues of blackboard (also called chalkboard) paint are green and black, but most specialty paint stores can tint the paint to the color you prefer.

Sand the metal with 120- to 200-grit paper to remove any gloss and wipe down with a damp cloth. Prime the sheet metal (if necessary). Following the instructions on the can of paint, paint the sheet metal with the suggested number of coats and let dry. Condition the surface by rubbing a piece of chalk on its side across the entire blackboard. Erase with a damp cloth.

Insert the sheet metal in the frame. Secure with the frame’s accompanying clips or brads. Attach hangers (if necessary) and hang. Add cup hooks at the bottom for keys. Hold take-out menus and flyers in place with the magnets. Get out the chalk and start writing notes and to-dos.

Oregon Adaptive Sports Makes the Mountain Accessible

Oregon Adaptive Sports helps people with disabilities enjoy and safely navigate the mountain.

Learning to ski or snowboard can be exciting and intimidating for anyone, but imagine not being able to see where you’re going or hear another skier coming up behind you. Oregon Adaptive Sports (OAS) helps people with disabilities enjoy and safely navigate the mountain.

BENDmag_Winter-2016_oas_Heaven-McArthur_002 — Photo by Heaven McArthur

The nonprofit started out in 1996 as the Central Oregon Adaptive Ski Program. Now, more than 400 people donate their time to the organization, which operates year-round. Throughout each winter, volunteers teach participants on Mt. Bachelor and Hoodoo. Many of the participants are only able to join OAS on the mountain once, but there are some who come back every year.

Volunteer Barb Smith said watching them progress and helping them push their limits is her favorite part. “They share part of their life with you and that’s a very special, intimate experience,” said Smith.

There are more than 200 volunteers on the winter roster for OAS, but more are always needed. Smith said new people often show up timid and unsure of how much help they’ll be. “We learn as we go. None of us is perfect, but we’re all doing our best,” she said. “The number one thing is you have to be safe and have fun.”

OAS puts their volunteers through at least eight hours of training, including a half-day of work on the mountain. Throughout the season, OAS also teaches local students from “life skills” classes and seniors from the Whispering Winds retirement home.

Volunteer Extraordinaire: Barb Smith

BENDmag_Winter-2016_oas_Heaven-McArthur — Photo by Heaven McArthur

Barb Smith began volunteering for OAS in 2009 when she moved to Bend to retire. Smith, 65, said OAS consumes her winter in the best way possible. She taught physical education for thirty-two years, so working with OAS is a natural fit. “You never stop being a teacher and never stop wanting to give, but I get so much more back—you change their lives and they change yours,” said Smith.

How Should Troy Field Be Used?

A small but valuable chunk of ground in downtown Bend has been the source of contention over the past year. Troy Field, a 0.8-acre plot of land owned by the Bend-La Pine School District, has become a symbolic hotbed for the future of Bend.

The district doesn’t use the field for anything, so most often it’s used for pickup soccer, football, ultimate Frisbee games, and a space for dogs and kids to run. The Bend-La Pine School District put the land, estimated at $2.6 million, up for sale so it could use the money for funding schools.

There is no real opposition to the school district selling the property, but the buzz grew when the highest bidder turned out to be a Portland developer proposing the construction of high-end condos.

The space was offered to public entities such as the City of Bend and Bend Parks and Recreation District first, but the City of Bend was the only one to bid. The school district rejected its offer and accepted the developer’s offer of $1.9 million, to which local activists responded with protests and petitions.

Zoned for limited commercial use, the property comes with a public facilities comprehensive plan designation. The school district is applying to have the plan designation changed to match the zoning designation, and at the time of publication, it’s estimated the city council will make a decision in early
2016.

May The Abyss Be With You

The annual release of The Abyss, Deschutes Brewery’s barrel-aged Imperial Stout, is practically a holiday for dark beer lovers. At both the Bend and Portland pubs, special menus were created with entrees and desserts to complement this complex and decadent beer. It was so popular that the wait at the pub prevented me from getting a taste on release day.

The following afternoon, my luck was a little better. I think it worked in my favor, as it was the day the new Star Wars movie was released and the pub was embracing the power of The Force. Core beers were renamed based on the Star Wars theme, and special menu items were offered as well. The dark chocolate Stormtrooper Tiramisu paired exceptionally well with the young, but already delicious, 2015 vintage. Served in a snifter, The Abyss is a roasty blend of flavors including chocolate, bourbon, and tobacco.

For the truly dedicated, a flight of several vintages of The Abyss is also available. Last year I made a solo attempt to enjoy the six-sample flight. It took hours, and I enjoyed every sip, but it was just too much of a commitment for me this year. Next time I will plan ahead better, and invite another dark beer loving friend to join me. The smaller, three-sample vertical tasting offered at the brewery was a more do-able feat. Comparing the vintages is an interesting undertaking, and itís a great way to see how the aging process changes the flavors over time.

Wax sealed, 22-ounce bottles of The Abyss are also available for a limited time. In Central Oregon you can find them at most grocery stores and bottle shops in addition to the Deschutes Brewery Tasting Room and Pub. I highly recommending buying two: one for now, and one to save. Be sure to save room in your cabinet for two other bombers since there will be Rye Whiskey and Cognac versions available soon to celebrate the tenth release of The Abyss.

Click here to read more about our local food and restaurant scene.

Winter Day Trip to Sunriver

Less than a half-hour away from Bend, Sunriver is an easy place to escape for a day into a secluded winter wonderland.

In 1969, Sunriver, a U.S. Army base during World War II, was reimagined as a resort community. Since then, the 3,000-acre community has grown into small village, with 1,400 people calling it home year-round. At the edge of the Deschutes National Forest, Sunriver has the best access to the adventurous lifestyle in Central Oregon.

Even with its substantial growth and redevelopment within the last two decades, Sunriver hasn’t lost the mountain charm that drew people from Oregon and beyond, especially in the winter. Less than a half-hour away from Bend, Sunriver is an easy place to escape for a day into a secluded winter wonderland.

Morning

If you’re getting an early start to your day, head to the Hot Lava Baking Co., a bakery that’s been in Sunriver Village for thirty years. It’s open at 6 a.m. for hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Hang out in the bakery and enjoy the coffee for a while, so you’re first in line when the fresh pastries are ready at 7 a.m.

Once you’ve had breakfast, take a walk along the miles of trails that wind through Sunriver. Inside the Village, there are independent shops, boutiques and galleries to visit like Sunriver Books and Music or Tumbleweed Toys. Central Oregon is becoming known as a cultural destination for art, and both the Village and Sunriver Resort host galleries featuring local artists.

If you’re looking for a snowy adventure, check out Sunriver Stables, owned by Sunriver Resort. You can take a sleigh ride to explore the community or take a guided horseback ride.

Afternoon

One of our favorite places to eat in Sunriver is the Sunriver Brewing Company. Founded in 2012, the craft brewery and restaurant is new to the Central Oregon brewing economy and has already made a name for itself with its Vicious Mosquito IPA and seasonal brews. The restaurant has a diverse menu that includes pepper-bacon wrapped pineapple and smoked jalepeño hummus.

If you’re looking for something less casual, Sunriver Resort also has renowned chefs on staff. The resort has four restaurants for upscale dining food.

After lunch, spend time at the outdoor ice skating rink in the center of the Village. Kids will also enjoy the Alpine Express, a train that takes them through the entire Village.

Evening

Whether you visit in the summer or winter, the best way to end a day at Sunriver is at Goody’s, the old-fashioned candy and ice cream shop that has been in Sunriver since 1984. The Central Oregon staple has a huge variety of treats, as well as warm drinks to sip on while the snow falls outside.

This article was originally published December 2015. Cascade Angel Fund is now Cascade Seed Fund.

Meet Julie Harrelson, the woman leading the investment in Oregon’s startups.

Founded in 2013, the Cascade Angels Fund invests in Oregon startups with an eye toward spurring economic growth here and elsewhere. Julie Harrelson, founder of the Harrelson Group, which manages the fund, knows a thing or two about the adventure of entrepreneurship and what it takes to succeed. She’s started two successful companies, held executive roles in design, technology, and angel investing and recently wrote a book called You Can Get There From Here, aimed at helping leaders take big leaps with confidence. We caught up with Harrelson to learn more about Cascade Angels, the role she wants the fund to play in Bend’s growing startup community and what her investors look for in an entrepreneur.

What is the significance of a year-round angel fund in Central Oregon?

It’s important for several reasons. Entrepreneurs can have great ideas and access to advisors and experts, but if they don’t have access to local capital, it can be difficult to find funding and get their company off the ground. Additionally, with a professionally managed, investor-driven fund, the community members become engaged in working toward the financial success of the company and building a strong ecosystem that generates jobs and economic diversity.

What developments in the community have made the existence of Cascade Angels possible?

We already have a lot of the building blocks of a great startup ecosystem. The Bend Venture Conference provided a base and generated interest in launching Cascade Angels. We have local accredited investors, founders, and early sponsors including Jones and Roth, Karnopp Petersen and Bank of the Cascades, who were willing to support a nascent fund. Collaboration here and across the state with other funds has been key. Everywhere you look in Bend, things are happening—from incubators and co-working spaces to the future four-year university. In addition to the burgeoning tech scene there’s lots of activity in bioscience, food products and outdoor gear.

What’s your perception on the quality of potential investments in Bend?

The number of startups is growing and their development is accelerating. Cascade Angels is a statewide fund. We’re based in Bend, but we invest across the state. Five of the eight companies we have invested in are here: Amplion, Droplr, LeadMethod, Manzama and Odysys. That is a high percentage if you think about the size of Bend relative to the rest of Oregon.

What do your investors value most in an entrepreneur?

As you can imagine, we’ve met lots of entrepreneurs in this effort. What really gets investors’ attention is someone who knows what business they are in—who is confident, but open to feedback and who can execute. It’s the person who can convert all the great ideas into actionable results.

What do you enjoy most about your work as fund manager?

I love the people I get to work with: investors, entrepreneurs and community leaders. By nature, I am a very curious person and to get the chance to work with so many smart, successful people working on so many opportunities is just awesome.

Beers Made by Walking

Worthy Brewing Walk on the Wild Side

Beers Made By Walking is a great concept. The recipes are inspired by local agriculture and wild plants seen on hikes in the areas where they are brewed. In addition to Bend, Beers Made By Walking has worked with breweries in the Pacific Northwest and nationwide. For the Central Oregon beers I recognize a lot of the locally used ingredients as plants that grow voluntarily in my own yard.

Recently, Worthy Brewing collaborated with the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) to brew “Walk on the Wild Side” which was inspired by the Central Oregon Badlands. Buckwheat, sage, local honey, and yarrow round out the bill of ingredients. A portion of the proceeds benefit ONDA through the breweries Heart & Soul giving program. I visited Worthy’s pub to sample a pint. While it had a slightly grassy flavor, overall I was pretty disappointed with this beer. It didn’t have the flavors of sage or yarrow that I expected.

Other Central Oregon breweries have participated but I haven’t come across them on tap, yet. Crux Fermentation Project’s “Redbarn Farm” was inspired by a hike in the Scout Camp area. It’s a red Saison ale with rye, rosehips, and fermented with Brettanomyces. Deschutes Brewery’s “Painted Wonder” was inspired by the Painted Hills. This one is an IPA with yarrow and black currant.

Since other areas have a larger number of regional breweries participating, I have hope that the Bend edition will grow in the next few years, offering more daring and interesting beers.

Click here to read more about our local food and restaurant scene.

Best Family Restaurants in Bend as the Seasons Change

10 Barrel

Locals may tell you that the brewpub isn’t the same after Anheuser-Busch bought out the company in 2014, but with a new chef and expanded menu, 10 Barrel may be the ultimate comeback kid in the Oregon brew economy. In winter, we love their outdoor fireplace, which is a fun spot where families can warm up after a day in the cold or snow.

1135 NW Galveston Ave. | 10barrel.com

Jackson’s Corner

With two locations in Bend, Jackson’s Corner is a charming spot for any meal. While the atmosphere is casual, the food is an elevated take on classic pizzas, salads and sandwiches. Large tables make this place an ideal spot for family gatherings.

845 NW Delaware Ave. | 1500 NE Cushing Dr. | jacksonscornerbend.com

McKay Cottage

Self-described as a cozy place to find creative comfort food, McKay Cottage is a popular breakfast and lunch spot in Bend. There’s a full menu that kids will recognize and enjoy, and kids also receive fruit and crackers as soon as they sit down.

62910 O.B. Riley Rd. | themckaycottage.com

McMenamins Old St. Francis School

McMenamins has become an Oregon staple no matter where you are in the state. The renovated Old St. Francis School provides a warm atmosphere for families. Most of its live music is fun for families, and they also have a movie theatre where kids can watch movies before 9 p.m.

700 NW Bond St. | mcmenamins.com/oldstfrancis

Greg’s Grill

If you’re in the Old Mill District, Greg’s Grill is the best spot for a family dinner. Greg’s serves classic Northwest dishes from burgers to seafood. While it’s a popular spot in the summer because of the outdoor seating along the Deschutes, the indoor atmosphere is just as comfortable for the winter months.

395 SW Powerhouse Dr. | gregsgrill.com

Click here to read more about our local food and restaurant scene.

Warm Up at the Central Oregon Beer Fest

There’s a beer festival for every season (and possibly every month) in Central Oregon. Winter is no exception, and I’m happy to see that the Central Oregon Winter Beer Fest will be back for a third year. Held on the second Saturday of December at GoodLife Biergarten, this fundraiser for the Central Oregon Brewer’s Guild is a great way to support advocacy for our local breweries while enjoying samples of their best winter offerings.

This ‘fest operates pretty much the same as similar events – admission gets you a festival glass and some tickets that can be redeemed for samples of the beers on tap at the event. You can buy more tickets if needed. Many of the beers are on the heavy side, so I don’t usually need more than what’s included with admission.

Last year saw a nice variety of winter-themed ales, porters, stouts and Belgian beers. In addition, the action was moved into a warmed tent, which was a big improvement over being outside in the bitter cold during the inaugural event back in 2013. One drawback was the tent was fairly crowded and loud, but there was still plenty of room to move around and ample space outside around a fire pit. Food trucks will be on-site.

The Central Oregon Winter Beer Fest is on my “must do” list for December, as I enjoyed the last two years and the event is very well-run by the folks at GoodLife. While it was busy, I wouldn’t say the festival was overly crowded. The atmosphere was friendly and warm, and it was a fun opportunity to meet up with friends during the “slump” between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you’ve never been, I recommend checking it out.

If You Go:

3rd Annual Central Oregon Winter Beer Festival
When: Saturday, December 12th, 2015 1 p.m.-9 p.m.
Where: GoodLife Biergarten (70 SW Century Drive, Bend, OR 97702)
Cost: $10 admission gets you a festival tasting glass + four drink tickets. Extra tickets are $1 each.
Why: There were 22 breweries from Central Oregon and beyond represented at the 2014 event. Also, it’s a fundraiser for the Central Oregon Brewers Guild.

High Desert Maker Mill’s Scot Brees on Where the Next Big Ideas are Being Incubated

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in October 2015. The Maker Mill is now known as The High Desert Makers.

The “maker movement” has been gaining momentum for the past fifteen years, cultivating skills and community spaces to localize manufacturing again and challenging conventional business models. Central Oregon was late to the game, not really having much to speak of until 2013, but High Desert Maker Mill president Scot Brees sees that as an advantage—local makers can see what has worked and what hasn’t. The High Desert Maker Mill is a nonprofit that opens this fall. It will be a community resource for local makers—developers, fabricators, entrepreneurs, screen printers, designers, metalsmiths, 3D printers and engineers—or people who want to gain the skills to become makers. The nonprofit space wants to be the venue for “Aha moments” that might launch the next big thing.

Scot Brees sat down with BEND Magazine to talk shop.

Tell me more about the “maker movement.”

The maker movement really started with the fabrication labs from MIT and the concept of shared tooling, the traditional co-op space. It really picked up momentum about fifteen years ago or so because people started getting access to advanced technology, and some of the patents on the proprietary hardware were going away. People were actually able to modify and hack the technology, and make it more affordable and accessible … We refer to it as the modern industrial revolution.

What kind of people do you want to bring into the Maker Mill?

In its simplest form, we want people with ideas. We want people who want to develop products, think of an idea to improve something, or as they typically refer to it, ‘hack’ something that already exists. We want entrepreneurs and inventors to come in. That’s how we are differentiating our space because in addition to offering workshops to the community or to the people that just want to learn skills, we want people to take those skills and turn them into products. `Zero-to-maker’ is someone who doesn’t necessarily have a skill or experience but wants to learn something. Then you’re a maker. So maker-to-maker is about sharing experience with other people. And the last one is maker-to-market, taking an idea or a product or that skill and making it a marketable product or a service. I think that last part is really the big one that we’re finding a lot of demand for.

What makes Bend a good place for this type of resource?

We have the expertise, the subject-matter expertise, and here in Central Oregon, if one of those products starts to take off, then we’ve got the venture capital groups, we’ve got development groups, and we’re right around the corner from what is basically becoming the entrepreneurial district.

Do you think the maker movement will become the norm?

It absolutely is. Advanced manufacturing, using the technology to be able to make manufacturing more efficient or more accurate is already on the cutting edge, and you see a lot of that here in Central Oregon. There’s a lot of focus on that education—the career technical education. One of the other things we’re noticing around the country and around the world, is that economic development organizations are identifying the maker movement and these maker-spaces and saying, ‘Hey, that’s where our next big things are going to come from.’ These are actually altering the way that business is done in our community and not in a bad way.

You guys are also working with the schools and doing workshops with kids?

I came to Central Oregon and started working with Oregon State University doing youth programs. I oversee youth robotic programs as well as some other science and technology classes. The kids understand this stuff, they’ve grown up with it and they just get it. I took a local team of robotics kids down to Silicon Valley to compete at a robotics tournament. On the way back we stopped at the Jelly Belly factory, which is just arguably a tourist destination, but Jelly Belly’s a very high profile company across the world. They have a manufacturing line tour, and the kids who were in this robotics program were looking around, talking and describing the entire manufacturing process. The technology they were using with the robots was already more advanced than the technology process that’s used in manufacturing that product.

What is the ultimate goal for the Maker Mill?

We know what infrastructure is necessary to enable the opportunities, whether it’s for kids, adults, businesses or whatever. The partnership we did with Cascade Divide Data Centers was incredible because they had a building that was under-utilized. We’re in a building now that has shop space, lab space and offices. Somebody can literally come in and learn a skill, they can share with other people, and then they can actually catalyze and start a business. We’re building a community, and out of the community are going to come a couple of those entrepreneurial lightning strikes that just explode. But at its heart, what we’re building is a community center, a community maker-space.

To see what the High Desert Makers are all about, visit their website here.

Best Fall Hikes in Central Oregon

Immerse yourself in the beauty of the best fall hikes in Central Oregon as leaves tumble in shades of orange and yellow through the crisp autumn air. Prepare your hiking shoes, pack a delightful lunch, and fill your water bottle, for now, is the opportune time to explore these trails before the arrival of snow and the seasonal closures that follow.

Metolius River

This is a great hike for families. There’s a fish hatchery at the start of the hike that is fun for kids and parents to explore. The trail stays relatively flat as it follows the Metolius River, but there’s a lot to see, including many different springs that appear from the banks of the river. Hiking among the trees, you can easily forget that you’re actually in the high desert of Central Oregon—it feels more like you’re on the wetter side of the Cascades. The Metolius River area is a small, green oasis that pops with color in the fall.

Driving Directions: Take the Camp Sherman turnoff from Highway 20. Follow road 14, and take the right at the fork. Continue for about 7.5 miles, then turn left at the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery. Follow the signs across the bridge to the parking area.
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 4.6 miles out and back.
Dogs: Must remain on a leash.
Other: There are two routes you can take, starting from the hatchery. The upper part of the hike is the easiest and will take you to a small waterfall at the end.

Scout Camp

The hike is part of a new network of trails along the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers. While the hike is relatively short, there’s a lot of adventure in store. This narrow trail descends 700 feet into the canyon.

Driving Directions: Take Lower Bridge Road west on Highway 97, drive about 2 miles, turn right on 43rd Street. Follow for two miles, then turn left on Chinook Drive. Follow about 2.5 miles, then turn left onto Mustang Road. After about a mile, turn right on Shad Road. Then drive another 1.5 miles and turn right on Peninsula Drive. Follow for 3 miles, then turn left onto Meadow Drive. In about .5 miles, turn right onto Scout Camp Trail. Parking and trailhead is at the end of the gravel road.
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 3-mile loop
Dogs: Allowed.
Other: No bathrooms or water at the trailhead. A little over a mile in, there’s a 10-foot-tall rock that you’ll have to scramble over.

Shevlin Park

There are 652 acres available to explore in this forest on the outskirts of the city. Because the park is mostly flat, the trails can easily be used for running or for hiking with kids and family. October is the best time to visit when the leaves are at their peak fall colors.

Driving Directions: Follow Newport Avenue west until it turns into Shevlin Park Road. Follow for about 1.5 miles. Parking is free and on the left side of the road.
Distance: Almost 10 miles of trails, but there are plenty of options to shorten your route.
Dogs: Allowed.
Other: This is a popular spot because of its location in Bend, and parking can be limited. You’ll want to share the trail with mountain bikers, too.

Paulina Creek Trail and Falls

About a 30-minute drive south of Bend in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, the trail along Paulina Creek offers varying terrains. With steep elevation changes and several rocky areas, this is a hike for families with older children. If you do hike the almost 17 miles in one day, you’ll want to start early, pack a lunch and bring plenty of water.

Driving Directions: Take Service Road 21 off Highway 97, then follow signs to Paulina Lake. Continue on the road until you reach the Peter Ogden trailhead.
Difficulty: Difficult if you hike the whole trail, but there is also a good turnaround point less than halfway at McKay Crossing.
Distance: 16.6 miles out and back
Dogs: Allowed.
Other: Open through November. Horses and bikes may be on the trail. Parking and hiking is free.

McKenzie River and Tamolitch Pool

At the crossroads between the Willamette Valley and the high desert of Central Oregon, the McKenzie River hike takes you through many different terrains. While you’ll start the hike among the green Douglas firs, as you gain elevation, you’ll find that the landscape transitions into the dry and rocky ground that dominates in Central Oregon. It’s four miles to Tamolitch Pool. From the top, the view over the pool is stunning. There is a steep descent if you want to get close to the water. The water is unbelievably clear and blue. The best time for swimming is summer. The water is icily cold, and the bottom of the shallow pool is visibly chunked with boulders.

Driving Directions: Take the Koosah Falls/Ice Cap Campground exit on Highway 126. Follow the signs to the parking area and trailhead.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Distance: 4 miles out and back
Dogs: Allowed.
Other: This is a favorite trail among mountain bikers, so you’ll want to be aware of them.

Click here to read more HIKING stories with us.

Hiking the Mt. Bachelor Summit Trail

Specs

Trail: Mt. Bachelor Summit Trail
Distance from Bend: 20 miles west on Century Drive (park along Cascade Lakes Highway in front of Sunrise Lodge)
Door-to-Door time: 3 hours
Elevation gain: 2,651 feet
Movement time: Less than 2 hours

Distance: 6.2 miles
Fitness Level: Moderate
Gear: Trail running shoes
Reward: Climb a mountain before work! Stop for an Ocean Roll and coffee at Backporch on the way back into town.

What better way to start a workday than with a mountain summit? Mt. Bachelor may seem a little intimidating, but the trail to the summit is beautiful and totally doable. With 2,600 feet of climbing in about 3 miles, it’s only about twice the distance of hiking Tumalo. Usually you’ll have the mountain to yourself, though occasionally you’ll see a lone skier hiking to a high snow patch for a morning turn.

The trail starts at the Sunrise ski lift, but you can’t park up there. Instead, pull over along the side of Century Drive in front of the entrance to Sunrise Lodge, and then follow the pavement up and to the left toward the ski lift. The trail begins to the right of the ski lift and goes up into the woods. The first mile or so is runnable, with steep climbs interspersed with more gradual sections that let you catch your breath. Above the tree line, however, the trail becomes more technical, so watch your footing on the loose lava rock. Enjoy the sunrise as you make your way through the scree. It takes just more than an hour to reach the summit, where you can enjoy a 360-degree view of the surrounding wilderness and peak into the snow-less bowl. Watch your footing on the descent as lava rock does not make for a soft landing when you fall. Once you hit the trees, you can let loose and enjoy a ripping fast downhill to the car.

Green Lakes and Soda Creek

Specs

Trail: Green Lakes/Soda Creek
Distance from Bend: 27 miles west on Century Drive
Door-to-Door time: 3 hours, 15 minutes
Elevation gain: 1,627 feet
Movement time: 2 hours at 10 min/mile pace

Distance: 12.1 miles
Fitness Level: Moderate
Gear: Trail running shoes
Reward: Having the trail to yourself, seeing the sun peek over Broken Top, hot coffee waiting in your Hydro Flask, an Ocean Roll at Backporch Coffee on the way back into town

Central Oregon’s supremely popular Green Lakes trail is nearly empty during the best time to experience it—at sunrise. The Green Lakes/Soda Creek loop is quick enough to squeeze in during the work-week, yet challenging enough feel like a real accomplishment. It’s a great way to start the day and break up the week while treating your lungs to some fresh mountain air. Sunrise is the perfect time to enjoy this trail because temperatures are cooler and the trail tends to have few, if any, people on it. The alpenglow glancing off South Sister isn’t a bad sight, either.

Beginning at Green Lakes trailhead, run over the footbridge and up to the lakes, about 4.5 miles of steady climbing. Stop and take in the still peace of the morning and the glassy lakes. Most people run and hike this trail as an out-and-back and miss all the beauty of Soda Creek. Instead, take a right and follow Soda Creek Trail around the south of Broken Top for views of the Cascade Lakes to the south, Diamond Peak and Mt. Thielsen on the southern horizon, and Mt. Bachelor straight ahead. The trail rolls and climbs gradually for another mile from Green Lakes before making a fast and fun switch back descent along Soda Creek. Here, you’ll cross meadows exploding with wildflowers and likely startle some deer grazing in the meadows. The trail bottoms out around mile 10.5 and continues winding back to the Green Lakes trailhead parking lot.

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