After years of living off the grid, Jason Daniels and Lindsay McAnulty moved into Bend to secure permanent housing that would be suitable for their blended family, which includes five children and a set of twins on the way. While Central Oregon nonprofits NeighborImpact and Housing Works helped the couple secure a home, the inside was empty. That’s when they learned about Furnish Hope, an organization that could provide furniture and other household necessities to fill the space. “Not only did they provide everything, but they delivered it to our house,” McAnulty said. Furnish Hope helped the family secure everything from bunk beds and a crib to a carpet shampooer and a copier/printer. “We didn’t have any money for furniture, so it’s been amazing,” McAnulty said. [Above image: From Left to Right: Mary Barlow, Co-founder / Finance Director | Kailyn Neil, Program Coordinator | Megan Martin, Founding Director | Tammy Rorem, Storefront Manager | Deborah Asato, Co-Founder / Marketing & Communications Director]
The family is one of many who have benefited since Central Oregon nonprofit Furnish Hope was formed in 2018. The organization is run by three women—Megan Martin, Deborah Asato and Mary Barlow—who had previously worked together in education, were friends and are all mothers. What started as a vision to furnish twenty-two Habitat for Humanity homes in 2019 has exploded in the past few years, and now the nonprofit has expanded its scope and reach, furnishing roughly fifty homes around Central Oregon each month. In addition to the three organization directors, the organization is supported by a program coordinator, storefront manager, three board members and more than 100 volunteers.
The group works with a network of sixty local referring agencies who identify clients who could benefit from the organization’s furnishing services. For each recipient, Furnish Hope creates a personalized packing list of needed items, and then fills the list using items from the organization’s warehouse on SE Ninth Street, which is filled through donations. “Furnish Hope serves a broad range of individuals in need, including veterans, foster youth and families; those with mental and/or physical disabilities, fleeing sexual and domestic violence, transitioning out of recovery; and those who have lost their home to a natural disaster,” Asato said. “Our reach encompasses three counties, eleven communities in all, throughout Central Oregon.”
Volunteers move a mattress in the Furnish Hope warehouse
In the fall, Furnish Hope was on track to furnish more than 600 homes by the end of 2022. From January to September of last year, Furnish Hope served 1,130 people, including 523 children, with a total of 13,277 pieces of furniture and household essentials. The organization’s growth is closely tied to increasing need in Central Oregon, where the cost of living is a barrier for many people. “We have seen the need for basic household furnishings multiply as we have come through COVID, and anticipate the need will continue increasing as inflation is making housing affordability even tougher for many in our region,” Asato said.
The Furnish Hope & Home Storefront
Furnish Hope & Home
In September, the organization opened a new storefront on SE Scott Street which serves as a retail location to generate revenue for the organization. Select donated items are resold at the storefront, which is packed with furniture, decor, table settings, and other items for the home. It also functions as a gathering or meeting place, Asato said. “In addition to generating sustainable revenue to support our operations, it’s a place where people can pull up a seat at a table or sit on a sofa and connect with someone who sees them, cares about their story and how they are doing,” she said.
In addition to shopping at the Furnish Hope & Home store, those looking to support the organization’s work can do so in a variety of ways. Furnish Hope accepts financial donations and donations of gently used furniture and household items, and invites people to host their own “Home Essentials Drive” to collect items. For those interested in volunteering with Furnish Hope, the next informational meeting is planned for noon Thursday, February 9 at the organization’s donation facility, 1006 SE Ninth Street in Bend.
Tango originated in Argentina and Uruguay during the late nineteenth century.
Winter nights may seem cold and dark, but there’s a sultry dance movement bringing heat to Bend. Latin dancing has ignited in Central Oregon with partners spinning and grooving to the salsa beat in clubs across town; it’s a sizzling scene.
The term Latin dance is used to refer to any type of dance that originated out of Latin America, and includes salsa, mambo and cha-cha-cha. The most popular Latin dances found in Bend are salsa and bachata. While both are of the same genre, origins of the two dances are different. Salsa dancing was imported to the U.S. from Cuba largely by immigrant populations in Miami and New York City, yet the dance has far-reaching roots to Africa, the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. Then, bachata is a direct export from the Dominican Republic. The word “bachata” means party or good time, and this dance became popular through social gathering as it is largely danced in a festive, group atmosphere. While both dances are Latin in origin and performed with partners, the steps are quite different and each dance has its own type of music.
The word “salsa” translates to sauce, which is a good place to start when describing the dance. The salsa dancing style popular in the U.S. originated in New York during the 1960s. It’s fast, with partners dancing front to back, while bachata is performed in a circular motion using side-to-side steps. Bachata is a bit more sultry or romantic to match slower-paced music. Partners dance close to one another, often hip to hip.
Victoria Tolonen teaches salsa in her dance studio and at periodic Latin dance nights at The Capitol, downtown Bend. Photo Kai Dunn
Salsa with Victoria
Victoria Tolonen started salsa dancing in Eugene in 1993. She led a small performance group teaching classes and hosting competitions. There wasn’t anyone else in the area doing organized Latin dance at the time. A move in 2002 brought her salsa lessons to Central Oregon when she opened the studio, Bend Dance. Early on, she organized salsa nights at any bar or nightclub in town that had even the tiniest bit of dance floor space. This was the start of the Latin dance community in Bend. Having a community is essential for Latin dance to thrive, Tolonen said. She offers a four-week salsa dance series in her home studio each month, with skills progressing over the course of the class. Both couples and singles are encouraged to attend lessons as partners rotate continuously. The classes include all ages and abilities and private lessons are available as well. “Everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary,” said Tolonen. “You just need a willingness to learn and a desire to have fun.”
Andres “Andy” Garcia sees an opportunity to grow the Latin dance community with the influx of new residents who have relocated to Bend from bigger cities. Andy, originally from Mexico, is the founder of Latin Dance Bend. As a kid, he had a lot of Puerto Rican friends who helped shape his love for dancing. “Growing up, at our family gatherings, you eat and you dance,” said Garcia. When Andy graduated from high school, his parents gifted him a trip to New York City. During the weeks he visited, he and his friends danced frequently. In 2008, while going through some personal transitions, Garcia reimmersed himself in dance here in Bend as an outlet. As his passion grew, he took lessons and attended Latin dance congresses, or dance competitions. He eventually started teaching in 2012 part time. In addition to teaching salsa and bachata classes, he also hosted socials open to the public, where he was DJ and gave dance lessons.
After a couple of years, Garcia took the plunge and started teaching Latin dance full time. The demand for his classes grew to two classes a night, three days a week. This lasted until the 2020 pandemic. Today, Garcia has a full-time job and young family, but dance—especially bachata—remains his passion. In 2022, he started hosting monthly Latin dance socials
at Campfire Hotel.
When asked about the positive impact of Latin dance in Bend, both Gary and Tolonen accentuate the community it builds. Tolonen said her entire circle of friends came through teaching salsa, and Garcia met his wife dancing. “Even if you don’t want to participate, watching the dancers’ show is a fun night out,” said Tolonen. Latin dance is a way to learn a new skill, keep active, and expand a social network. Now, that’s pretty saucy.
Angelina Swanson is a natural. From her athletic lifestyle, to the planet-conscious, Bend-based aos (Angelina Organic Skincare) business she created, she embodies her brand as more than a namesake. Starting in 1997 from her kitchen lab, aos now occupies a Bond Street storefront, with a spa sited above it to take customers from a retail experience to a journey to wellness with treatments, such as facials and massage, all using Angelina’s signature, personally-formulated skin care line. We asked Angelina about what inspired her to action.
When did you develop an interest in skincare products?
Growing up in Arizona, I was obsessed with getting to know the plants around me and how they were useful. My mom had a catering business, and I grew up cooking with her. She was incredibly creative, as are all the women in my family, and I loved fostering an intimate relationship with each ingredient. This has carried over into formulating skin care.
What was it like to be a budding botanist in the harsh climate of the Sonoran desert in Arizona?
Wandering in the desert preserve adjacent to our home, I was fascinated by the unique plants and began learning everything I could about how to use them. I studied botany and advanced biology in high school and completed the Master Gardener training, with my botany teacher—so geeky—the summer after graduation.
How did aos get started?
Like many small businesses, it began as a hobby. I was making products, like [best-selling] Skin Doctor Salve, for my family and friends. I started creating labels when I got tired of rattling off every ingredient, or handwriting it on a little slip of paper for the recipient. I think my first labels were on Microsoft Word and I cut them out with scissors. In the early 2000s, I was in massage school and didn’t like using the standard lotions full of chemicals and petroleum, so I began making my own massage butter. A few years later, two local spas called and said their massage therapists were “sneaking in” their own massage butter to use on clients, and they liked it so much, they wanted to buy it by the gallon! They kept asking for more products, massage lotion, oils, sugar scrubs and eventually face products. I wasn’t confident in formulating skin care yet, and since I was studying Ayurveda [Indian folk medicine] at the time, I decided to travel to India and talk with some of their Ayurvedic skin care specialists in Kerala. I returned armed with new knowledge and passion and began experimenting with the help of the estheticians at Sage Springs Spa.
What is the creation story behind your first product, Skin Doctor Salve?
I’ve always wanted to be outside as much as possible. In college, I earned extra money running river rafting and rock climbing expeditions on the weekends. The constant exposure to the harsh elements put my sensitive skin to the test and left my hands and feet painfully dry and cracked. I tried everything I could find, from Bag Balm to salves, but nothing really worked. I had taken a salve making workshop and decided to experiment in my kitchen with ingredients I found at the natural foods store where I worked.This experience inspired my first plant-based product, Skin Doctor Salve, which now three decades later, is still hailed as the ultimate healing salve by doctors, outdoor enthusiasts and devoted fans around the world.
I was intrigued to read about your idea of “Full-Circle Beauty,” can you explain what it means?
We strive to create more beauty in everything we touch, from our products to the communities that grow our ingredients. We call this concept “Full-Circle Beauty.” From choosing ingredients that are sustainably grown and harvested to suppliers who pay living wages and support their own communities, choosing alternative energy sources, riding bikes to work, buying recycled copy paper and long-life light bulbs, we work to create more beauty in the world with every facet of the business.
You have been a long-time supporter of local nonprofits, why is this important to you and aos?
The U.S. government doesn’t create the same kind of social safety nets that many other countries have, so we rely heavily on nonprofits to take care of our communities. I think it’s important to support them as much as we can because they provide so many necessities and valuable resources.
Finally, will you tell us about that cash register?
Oh yes, the cash register! I have a strong affinity for analog tools and machines. When I opened my first store, I searched for a beautiful, non-electric cash register. I don’t like surrounding myself with plastic, electrical things. Many antique machines were artfully crafted, and I like to weave that beauty into my life.
Ski days aren’t just incredibly fun, they’re also taxing. A lot of physical work goes into a good day on the mountain—around 400 calories are burned in one hour of downhill skiing. Carbs and proteins are required to make the most out of every run. With Bend just a short drive from the mountain, and plenty of fantastic food (aka mountain fuel) options at Mt. Bachelor, a little planning will ensure you stay fueled for the deepest of powder days from start to finish. Then, add libations to cap off the day and, well, that’s just carrying out the apres-ski European tradition.
Powder panic—the anxiety of getting to the mountain after fresh snowfall for an untouched line of snow—is real. Don’t make the mistake of skipping the most important meal of the day. Bend Breakfast Burrito gives mountain-goers every opportunity to get a filling breakfast without slowing the momentum of getting a spot at their Mt. Bachelor lot of choice.
Bend Breakfast Burrito began serving up burritos in 2021 from a prep kitchen and a homemade food cart at the former Boss Rambler Beer Club once located off Galveston Avenue. The Beer Club may be gone, but you can still grab your hand-held fuel to go at its storefront on Division Street or from its newest cart at Ponch’s Place on Bend’s east side. Next, roll up to your favorite coffee spot for a shot of caffeine courage. Expresso with fresh snow is the sweetest combination. Stop in at WildRoots Coffee House’s new location in the Shevlin Crossing building of northwest Bend for a handcrafted specialty drink, PALATE a coffee bar along Colorado Avenue, Thump Coffee at NorthWest Crossing’s The Grove, or a drive-thru on 14th Street as all roads converge at Century Drive on the way to your perfect ski day. See bendbreakfastburrito.com
1 p.m.On the Hill
Mt. Bachelor Dining
When it’s time to refuel and rehydrate to make the most of afternoon laps, a brown-bag lunch doesn’t always cut it. At the West Village Lodge, find a hearty meal at Cocoa’s Cafe, snacks at the Subie Shack, or take in a plate of nachos at Clearing Rock Bar. Mid-mountain, enjoy Mediterranean and Italian fare with sit-down service and a view at Scapolo’s Bistro within Pine Marten Lodge. While at the Sunrise base, fill up on a burger at Sunrise Grill, or stop at the 360 Food Truck for a menu featuring menu features tasty, easy-to-share dishes like hot fries and flatbread pizzas, convenient to grab-and- wings, truffle go. Seemtbachelor.com.
A pit stop at LOGE includes s’mores, craft beer, music on vinyl, plus a hot wax happy hour. | Photo by Tambi Lane
4 p.m. Apres Ski
LOGE
Skiing may be over for the day but keep the fun going. Conveniently located off Cascade Lakes Highway on the way back into town, the ’70s ranch-style architecture of LOGE, modernized with an alpine mid-century modern style, provides a space to unwind after an adrenaline-filled ski day. Cozy up at their hot wax happy hour from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day where your gear is prepared for the next adventure on the mountain, all while you relax, listen to tunes and grab a local draft beer to drink while you wait. A record player is available for people to pick vinyl of their choice, said Tom Wells, LOGE’s general manager. The records are a collection Wells built by visiting local stashes around town and includes classics such as The Who’s Kids are Alright and Steve Miller Band’s Fly Like an Eagle. Play a board game or head out to the fire pit to roast marshmallows. Watch for LOGE’s Puffy Jacket Concert series held one evening each month, Live Outside movies featuring Northwest filmmakers at 7 p.m. each Friday, and featured photography classes throughout the winter. See logecamps.com/bend-or.
Clothing, left, courtesy of Powder House Ski & Snowboard | Photo by Tambi Lane
6 p.m. A Strong Finish
Mountain Burger
Enjoying a hearty meal with friends is second only to taking your ski boots off for the day. After building up an appetite, Mountain Burger, located in NorthWest Crossing and run by the team behind Drake and Washington Kitchen + Cocktails, offers the hungry a modern spin on the iconic American burger joint and a meal to look forward to. Classic orders have been thoughtfully crafted; the burgers are ground three times in-house with chuck and brisket and each milkshake is made to order. Executive chef Brian Walczyk puts a flair on classic dishes such as the Okonoko mountain fries, a Japanese pancake-inspired dish with sesame miso aioli, furikake, pickled ginger, bonito and scallion.
Serving a diverse range of diets, expect the same dining experience whether digging into the most popular double mountain cheeseburger or into the vegan in-house Manzanita burger. Sit by the firepits with a handcrafted cocktail, before heading inside for a Cliffhanger Caesar, one of many items named after iconic Mt. Bachelor runs, and Swampy Lakes mountain fries, this one topped with Mountainwich chili, dill pickles and burger sauce. Finish up with a boozy milkshake like Summit, a delicious strawberry and white chocolate reward after Summit laps all day, or the Big Butte cookie. Mountain Burger’s sustainability mission is to have net zero carbon emissions by 2025. One particular perk of the sustainability model is the local ingredients used throughout the menu, such as Big Ed’s potato buns, North 44 Farm meats and Bontà Gelato. So, after a day of activities Mother Nature provided, feel good about where you’re eating. An epic mountain day is officially complete! See mountainburgerbend.com.
Emily Cathcart was born into a life surrounded by fine art. Her father, a gifted painter, took her to Santa Fe, New Mexico, throughout her childhood for his gallery art shows on Canyon Road. At a young age, Cathcart was able to pick up on people’s connection with her father’s work. This inspired Cathcart to focus on a career path that would enhance others’ lives through a different medium of art, interior design and eventually her specialization in kitchens and baths.
Cathcart graduated with a bachelor of science in interior design from Colorado State University and her first job out of college was at a kitchen and bath dealership in Denver, Colorado, doing computer-aided design, or CAD, for other designers. It was at this point, she realized she wanted to specialize in the kitchen and bath industry for which she had little educational experience. Cathcart continued her education with the National Kitchen and Bath Association. In 2008, Cathcart became a Certified Kitchen Designer, and in 2016 she became a Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer, the highest distinction in the kitchen and bath industry. Cathcart brings more than twenty years of education, experience and certification to her clients. In addition, Cathcart traveled to Germany last fall with the NKBA on a buyers tour for kitchen and bath products.
Emily Cathcart
Bound for Bend
Years after developing her own business, Emily Cathcart Designs, and starting a family in Colorado, Cathcart and her family began to contemplate a move to Central Oregon. As longtime residents of Fort Collins, Colorado, and second homeowners in the ski resort town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the family was seeking a community that offered a mix of the two areas. They began to visit Bend regularly, and grew fond of the town’s outdoor amenities, size and clean mountain air. “We moved for the quality of life, and I know that’s what a lot of people say, but it’s really true,” Cathcart said. “We wanted a healthier lifestyle in general.” They were planning their move in 2019 and made their trip out west permanant in the spring of 2020.
Business Refresh
After settling into her new home, Cathcart returned her focus to kitchen and bath design, relaunching her business in Oregon with plans to serve the Pacific Northwest. As part of the business’s second iteration, Cathcart now offers direct sourcing of cabinetry through ECD Cabinetry, which she launched in 2021. Cathcart works directly with a family-owned custom cabinet manufacturer in Vancouver, British Columbia, acting as a dealer for clients looking for cabinetry for their kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, pantries and adjacent spaces. “Homeowners who are looking for design are often also in need of cabinetry. It works seamlessly to handle the complexities of a cabinet order with a designer like myself who’s spent the majority of my career in the cabinet industry. The intention of my designs can be followed through in precise detail this way,” she said. Clients who work with Cathcart go through a step-by-step process that takes them from dream to design. It begins with a complimentary discovery call to discuss a potential project. From there, clients can book an in-home design consultation. “I’ll go out to that person’s home for a tour—we’ll talk about their ideas, we’ll talk about my ideas and I’ll share my process with them,” Cathcart said. For clients who give the green light to a project, the process continues and typically includes technical drawings, product selections and support through purchasing, installation and construction as you work with a builder.
Personal Style
As Cathcart builds her new business in Bend, she’s keeping an eye on trends in home design and cabinetry and incorporating that knowledge into her consultations. Among the trends she’s seeing lately are pencil shaker cabinet doors, large format tile slabs on floors and walls, through-body porcelain slabs for countertops, natural stones such as marble and quartzite and more warmth in color choices, including warm whites, blues and greens.Trends aside, Cathcart is happy to see more homeowners embracing their personal styles, versus choosing design strictly on the basis of what’s popular right now. “I encourage people to discover their personal taste, and not worry about what everyone else is doing,” she said. Cathcart said her hope with each project is that in the end, the homeowner is satisfied with the process, and feels better in their space. “My priority is always the outcome, and to give a client more than they asked for,” Cathcart said, “And providing the client with a positive experience along the way.”
Rarely does an architect get the chance to design two custom homes for the same client, especially with a gap of 27 years between projects. When a Bend couple decided to simplify and scale back their living space, they turned once again to Bend architect Neal Huston. “They wanted to travel and needed a more manageable space,” Huston said, embracing the challenge of designing a smaller home compared to the couple’s original 5,000-square-foot residence on 20 acres. Their new home measures 2,350 square feet, and is in the Three Pines Ridge development near Shevlin Park.
Despite downsizing, accommodating the couple’s extensive art collection was a priority. The home’s contemporary design features walls of glass to let natural light in for displaying cherished pieces of art. “The challenge was to do more with less which made this project particularly enjoyable,” Huston said. “I understood their starting point and knew how to carry forward their vision.”
Q&A: An interview with Neal Huston of Neal Huston & Associates
How did you navigate the challenge of reducing square footage while preserving livable space and the clients’ aesthetics?
The first home was on 20 acres, nestled into a rock ridge above the Deschutes River, affording a great deal of elbow room. When you move into town on a standard lot, getting a sense of elbow room isn’t easy. To maximize the available space, I designed a simple form consistent with a Mid-Century Modern house and the residence to one side of the lot to enhance outdoor space. We chose a minimal, low-maintenance landscape with space for art.
It’s a single-story home with lots of light and airy spaces. The rooms are smaller compared to the previous home, which had separate dining and informal eating areas; we consolidated these into a single dining room. Instead of two offices, the new home features a bedroom that serves as flex space, doubling as an office with a hide-a-bed for guests. Additionally, an alcove off a wide hallway accommodates a second desk. The old home had a grand entry, exercise room and wine cellar, which we eliminated. Instead, the couple works out at a nearby athletic club.
As an architect who’s been in business for several decades, how was the experience different from 27 years earlier?
Communication with clients is much easier today, especially with those who aren’t local. During the design phase of the first residence, the couple lived in Washington. We communicated back and forth by phone, fax and snail mail–the only options available then. It was more cumbersome than today’s options. In the late ‘90s, there were fewer skilled craftsmen in the area to rely upon, but more recently, due to the high level of construction activity in Central Oregon, scheduling craftsmen within a reasonable timeframe has often been a challenge.
How did you balance designing a sleek, minimalistic-style home while also creating space for showcasing art?
We painted the walls a warm yet neutral color to best display artwork and built special glass shelves projecting from the wall, supported by cantilevered steel supports. A custom-designed table behind a living room sofa supports a large, cherished glass installation.
The clients’ first home had a security gate and a long driveway that gave them lots of privacy. How did you create privacy in a home surrounded by neighbors?
For starters, Mike Szabo [SZABO Landscape Architecture] did a great job achieving privacy within a relatively small outdoor space. We also designed a street façade that discouraged views from the street into the home while still allowing residents to enjoy seeing what’s going on within their neighborhood.
When each new client comes to Neal Huston with a dream home or commercial space in mind, he sees the project as a puzzle to be solved. Sometimes the pieces include a steep lot with a large pine tree in the middle, while other times it’s a building with history and new owners with a vision. Whatever challenges are at hand, Huston and his team at Neal Huston & Associates are up for it, often preferring more complex projects over repeating the same old thing. “We love working with clients who are interested in a variety of different styles. That’s what keeps us going,” Huston said. “We love to try new things and think outside the box.” An open-minded approach to new ideas and a talent for creating timeless designs that still check the boxes on a client’s wish list has helped Huston thrive as an architect in Central Oregon, where he moved more than five decades ago to begin his career.
The Road to Central Oregon
An Oregon native who grew up in McMinnville, Huston as a teen headed to college still debating whether to pursue medical school—to become a doctor like his father—or architecture. By his second year at Stanford he had chosen the latter, and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in pre-architecture there and subsequently completed an additional architecture degree program at the University of Oregon. While wrapping up his education, Huston saw a position in Central Oregon listed on a job posting board. The role primarily involved establishing a design department and designing residential and summer homes for a resort community north of Sisters called Black Butte Ranch. Bend development firm Brooks Resources had recently bought the 1,800-acre property, and were advertising 1,250 building lots to Oregonians looking for a place to “listen to the quiet” of Central Oregon. “They were just contouring the golf course by the time I started,” said Huston, who moved to Central Oregon for the role in 1970. “The idea was that we would provide home designs for free to people who bought property there,” Huston said. The position was a learning experience for Huston, who gained on-the-job insights working with engineers, architects, interior designers and contractors, as well as the developer.
Building a Business
By 1976, Huston had finished his architecture apprenticeship and went on to partner with two other fellows to form Waldron Huston Barber Architects, which later became Huston Barber Barrett Turner. By 1988 he went out on his own and formed the enterprise he’s known for today—Neal Huston & Associates. While larger firms have come into the region and others have grown, Huston has kept his team small over the years and focused on a select number of residential and commercial projects, all of which he’s personally involved with. Huston partners with two other architects—John Gerard and Mark Ward—who have both been with the company for more than two decades, along with his wife/business manager and an office coordinator, both of whom ensure the business side of the operation runs smoothly. Huston’s longevity in Central Oregon means he’s built up countless relationships with area builders and contractors, helping each local project come together efficiently and effectively.
Developing Bend
Huston’s home design projects are all over Central Oregon, with an emphasis on custom home architecture in Bend. While there is a draw to larger projects with seemingly limitless budgets, Huston said he often prefers projects that have unique stipulations and challenges. Several years ago, Huston’s team was tasked with building a new single-level home for a client. While that sounds simple to begin with, Huston said the project needed to be designed on a steep lot, which had a mature pine tree in the middle that the clients wanted to keep. The solution was to thoughtfully design a home around the tree and construct part of the home on steel stilts to allow for the single-level living the clients were seeking. In the end, the successful project was dubbed the “Tree House,” Huston said.
On another project, Neal Huston & Associates worked with a couple looking to move from a three-story home into a newly built single-level home in Bend’s Hillside Park neighborhood. “They still wanted a nice view up on Awbrey Butte, but they wanted it on one level,” said Huston, who described the clients as close friends. The resulting design maximized the south-facing views that the couple had loved at their previous home, in 3,000 square feet of living space on one level.
While Huston’s work has most recently focused primarily on custom residential projects, his commercial work is visible all over Bend. Downtown, Huston helped transform an office space for attorneys into the Deschutes Brewing Public House, enclosing an exterior courtyard that would become the main dining room of the brewery restaurant. Just a block away, Huston was also the architect tasked with preserving the history and sentiment of Eddie’s Corner, a longstanding Bend auto dealership slated to become a bank at the corner of Northwest Wall Street and Northwest Newport Avenue. Huston worked out a design for the new bank that kept the dealership’s massive lava rock pillars with a sign reading “Eddie’s Corner,” appeasing auto dealer Eddie Williamson, while building a more contemporary building on the site to house the bank.
Test of Time
With more than fifty years in the architecture field in Central Oregon, Huston has become an expert in designs that stand the test of time. He may suggest variations to ultra-contemporary styles that might currently be in vogue but may not live as comfortably five or ten years later, and advocate for designs that prioritize functionality, sustainability and timeless style. In the coming years, Huston hopes the company continues its current trajectory, pursuing new designs and styles that spark creativity and the problem-solving skills that drew Huston to architecture in the first place. “I love the creative part of having a client come to you with their ideas, no matter the budget or size of the project,” Huston said. “The goal is to create functional buildings that live large and hopefully exceed the client’s expectations.”
Neal Huston & Associates | 520 Southwest Powerhouse Drive, Suite 621, Bend | 541-389-0991 | nealhuston.com
On an artist’s journey, natural landmarks can be an essential influence for what comes alive on a canvas. In the Pacific Northwest, diverse and striking landscapes seem to be endless, and painter Taylor Manoles has taken full advantage of the enchanting scenery that provides inspiration right outside her door.
Manoles, age 27, has entered Bend’s art scene full-force and with gumption. Always a creative kid, she pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education at North Dakota State University and became a middle school art teacher. Knowing she and her husband, Joe, didn’t want to settle down in North Dakota, they moved to Portland where Manoles was a substitute art teacher while still practicing her craft before the pandemic. Then, after settling in Bend a year ago for Joe to pursue a physical therapy program at OSU Cascades, Manoles launched her art career full-time.
When they moved to Portland, Manoles was first drawn to the foggy trees, the mountains and the ocean. “It definitely completely changed what I paint, how I paint, what I’m drawn to, and the landscape of Bend has been so amazing to capture as well,” she said. Today, Manoles’ studio in Bend finds work-in-progress paintings adorning one wall and her easel on another, and it is where her creativity has found a home in the form of her Pacific Northwest landscapes.
Beyond the Canvas
When looking at a painting by Manoles, the dramatic colors and layered paint illustrate the remarkable and breathtaking views from across the Pacific Northwest. Stunning florals and swans may grace a canvas in her trademark style. “Landscapes are just where my heart is,” she said. “But with that [are] wildlife and botanicals. So they kind of feel intertwined at times.” With the ebb and flow of the seasons, Manoles’ inspiration on what to paint fluctuates.
The notable scenes—many of them Central Oregon landmarks—feature thick oil paint, smeared into layers, creating an almost multi-dimensional effect to the art. The colors in the paintings all feature the vibrant earth tones which Manoles sets out to honor. “I like to capture dramatic lighting,” she said. “That’s my favorite: when there’s dark-darks and light-lights.” When searching to be inspired, Manoles focuses on scenes with interesting lighting and lines, sometimes scenes in photos from friends or her own photography. But, she feels the most inspired when taking a hike, then coming home and painting the view from a photo she captured along the way.
Photo by Kevin Prieto
The Artist’s Challenge
Taking her art commitment to new heights, she pursued the 100 Day Project—one hundred paintings in one hundred days—two years ago. The project calls for any artist to remain ardent in their craft by completing something creative each of the one hundred days.
During that first round, Manoles challenged herself to paint using a palette knife, a choice which would change the outcome of her work from that moment forward. “I love the way it looks; I’ve always been drawn to the thick paint, but I never really felt like I could pull it off,” said Manoles. The extra challenge of the palette knife resulted in the signature and consistent style seen today.
In 2022, Manoles pursued the 100 Day Project once again. This time, she was able to paint while in Greece and France, and said that because of the challenge, a viewer can see the seasons change through the consecutive days of her paintings.
Find Manoles’ work on her website and prints at Lark in downtown Bend. Looking ahead, she said she wants to show her art throughout the community, and looks forward to showcasing her work at The Commons Cafe & Taproom in February. Also stemming from the 100 Day Project, Manoles is feeling the passion to paint on a larger scale. “Whenever I do a bunch of small paintings, I want to do giant ones,” she said. “I already feel that itch like, ‘I have to paint something huge now.’”
If your New Year’s resolutions include bringing balance back into your life, it may be time to step out of the daily grind and plan a wellness retreat. Practices such as meditation, yoga, heat therapy, and massage reduce stress hormones, slow heart rates and clear our thinking. They activate the parasympathetic nerves to shift bodies out of fight-or-flight mode into a restful sense of well-being. Fortunately, finding that zen doesn’t require traveling far. Between the high desert to our east and the lush valley to our west, Central Oregon is home to a wide range of destinations to help jumpstart healthier new habits.
High Desert Havens
Juniper Preserve
Twenty miles northeast of Bend, Juniper Preserve offers an oasis where self-care meets luxury. Formerly known as Pronghorn Resort, the lodge recently shifted to put wellness at the heart of the golf community. “We want transformational experiences that maintain health,” said Maddison Katchem, director of wellness. Integrating experiences into the high desert landscape means yoga in the lava cave, sound baths on the island, or meditation in the serene interior of a teepee, followed by Ayurvedic-inspired massage or energizing gemstone facials. Golfers needing a meditative break might discover a rock labyrinth tucked behind the 15th green. See juniperpreserve.com. (First image shown is of Juniper Preserve.)
Silvies Valley Ranch
Part dude ranch, part retreat, Silvies Valley Ranch is an escape from the stress of a fast-paced world. The remote location north of Burns makes it easy to unplug and get grounded, according to Sandy Campbell, co-owner of the ranch. “Spending time in the meadow, the old growth timber, along the river…this place nurtures your soul,” said Campbell. Balance that quiet contemplation with ranch activities such as goat herding and horseback rides, followed by bodywork in the Rocking Heart Spa. This year the ranch reopens in late spring. If the goats cooperate, opening weekend may include caring for the baby goats, followed by a massage and dinner. See silvies.us.
Nurtured by Nature
Breitenbush Hot Springs covered in snow.
Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat
Wellness has been central to the Breitenbush mission since it began in 1977. As the Breitenbush community rebuilds what was lost to a wildfire two years ago, a restoration theme holds more meaning than ever before. Even while under construction, Breitenbush is open for guests. The lodge, sauna and kitchen survived the fire, allowing them to resume daily yoga sessions, massage services, special events such as a sacral chakra and chocolate meditation or frequent live music. Best of all, the tradition of soaking in mineral hot springs remains unchanged. While Breitenbush is WiFi-free, substance-free, and occasionally clothing free, it is abundant in soul-nourishing experiences. See breitenbush.com.
Green Rock Retreat
Between the rimrock cliffs of the Crooked River Canyon and the rushing waters below, the Green Rock Retreat creates a refuge that is both calming and energizing. Meander the trails and you’ll find a soaking tub with a panorama view, an intricate labyrinth adorned with gemstones, and an abundance of inspiration for reflection and meditation. From May through October, raised canvas wall tents provide unplugged glamping at its best. Guests gather on the outdoor patio for meals, drawn by the scent of the wood-fired oven, and the lodge meditation room offers indoor space for yoga or group sessions. Plan now for a Green Rock retreat scheduled this spring and summer, or plan an individual getaway. Once you experience the magic here you’ll come back again and again. See greenrockretreat.com.
Healthy Resorts
Shibui Spa at FivePine Lodge
FivePine Lodge, Sisters
Where wellness meets romance and adventure—that is how Beverly Garcia, lodge manager, likes to describe FivePine Lodge. Wellness weekends here begin with a serenity cabin, where the soaking tub looks out over the forest. Next comes a dose of nature, with a snowshoe trek on the Peterson Ridge trails. Let the Himalayan salt stone massage at Shibui Spa work its magic. For an added boost to circulation, immunity and mood, follow a soak in the spa’s hot pool with the cold plunge shower. “The wellness weekend is designed for anyone feeling overwhelmed. It’s a lovely baby-moon for expecting parents, or an early-moon to relax before a wedding,” said Garcia. See fivepine.com and shibuispa.com.
Sunriver Resort, Sunriver
Known for family fun that spans generations, Sunriver also encourages taking self-care breaks from busy vacations. Escape for a few hours at a Sage Springs Spa’s signature massage with CBD and arnica. Step out of the hustle and bustle in the Oasis Room, where custom herbal blends infuse the soaking tub. Follow that with an infrared sauna session—a bonus for detoxing skin, improving circulation and supporting sleep quality. With yoga classes that can adapt for a variety of ages, Sunriver may be the place to introduce wellness to the whole family. See sunriverresort.com.
A Hotel to be Well
Peaceful King Room at the SCP Hotel
SCP Hotel
This newly renovated historic Redmond hotel also hosts co-working spaces and community gathering spots. SCP stands for Soul-Community-Planet, and wellness is a natural fit with their holistic hospitality brand. The hotel’s “peaceful rooms” are designed for rest and focus. Instead of televisions and clocks they include yoga mats, meditation pillows and sound machines. Add local yoga and healthy smoothies, and their wellness package hits the mark for staycationers and business travelers seeking a reboot. Mindful nutrition is easy here: Terra Kitchen offers plant-forward field-to-table dining, and Wayfarer has a full bar with a creative menu of mocktails and low alcohol cocktails. See scphotel.com.
We are kicking off the new year with a Stay & Ski Getaway GIVEAWAY with Five Pine Lodge – prize value is OVER $800! One winner and their guest will get to hit the slopes for 2 full days this winter season at Hoodoo Ski Area. And then they will stay two consecutive nights midweek (Sunday – Thursday) in any cabin or upper townhouse suite at Five Pine Lodge! Full-day lift tickets allow guests to utilize the entire day of skiing. After an intense day on the mountain, unwind by the fire or visit the nightly wine and beer reception in the main lodge.
1. In the Instagram post comments, tag a friend you want to stay & ski with + @fivepinelodge so they see your entry too! Each comment = 1 entry so tag all your people!
The Meissner Nordic Ski Club was at it again, and the Forest Service roads and paths southwest of Bend were once again magically transformed into glorious ribbons of cold, corduroy snow. It’d been a tough day at work, but now, standing in the parking lot at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park, the stress faded like so much daylight. A light snow fell. I stepped into my skis and cast off into the purple night, the flakes strafing through the cone of my headlamp.
We live within eyeshot of one of the nation’s largest downhill ski resorts, but we’re also a Nordic skiing paradise. Between Mt. Bachelor and Virginia Meissner alone, the area has more than 100 kilometers of groomed cross country trails, nearly half of which are free thanks to the Meissner Nordic Ski Club. Countless other trails wind around snowy buttes, back to cozy cabins and along quiet lakes. For little to no money, cross country skiers can glide through a winter wonderland where the forests sigh under the weight of the flakes and the tranquility can be exquisite. Or, if you’re one of the countless Nordic athletes in town, you can push yourself so hard the world blurs at the edges, and you feel as if you might cough up a lung.
High school teams produce nationally-ranked skiers. Photo Matthew Lasala.
Nordic Definitions and Dedication
The range of experiences, athleticism and dedication the sport inspires is a big reason why Nordic isn’t just downhill skiing’s kid brother but a passion that many in Central Oregon embrace with near fanaticism. You can “classic” ski (in which your skis remain parallel, often in a set track) or “skate” ski (in which your skis act more like ice skates on a wide, groomed track). “If you can jog you can basically ski classic,” said Mark Jobson, an instructor at Mt. Bachelor’s Nordic Center. “[But] skating is a lateral motion that is quite foreign to most of us.”
In Bend’s annual Pole Pedal Paddle multi-sport race, the Nordic leg often determines a winner from a runner-up. The winners all skate ski because it’s faster—and more taxing—with a lot of coordination and balance needed to sync the various poling techniques, called V1, V2 and V2 alternate, with your legs. A skier’s entire weight must also transition repeatedly from one ski to the other, all while everything is moving. “Historically I think it’s rare for people to do well in the race unless they have a history of Nordic skiing,” said Jesse Thomas, winner of last year’s event, who trained diligently on cross country skis to make up for his lack of Nordic history. Multiple Pole Pedal Paddle winner Marshall Greene, a one-time World Cup racer, beat Thomas by a whopping three minutes on the Nordic leg that takes elite racers just fifteen minutes to complete. Taking advantage of an extended training season, Olympians such as Dan Simoneau, Justin Wadsworth and Beckie Scott have all called Bend home at one time. Members of the U.S. Ski Team are frequently spotted on the trails well into late spring.
Aidan Jacobus demonstrates skate-ski form during a high school race. Photo Matthew Lasala.
Training Grounds
Central Oregon produces youth standouts as well. Across the entirety of Oregon, about 250 students will be racing both classic and skate for their high schools, and more than half of them will come from Bend. A major reason the state has a high school racing program is largely thanks to Bend resident Jinny Martin, who spearheaded the statewide effort in the late ‘90s. “It’s pretty cool how amped the high schoolers here get,” said Martin’s son, Eric Martin, a National Masters Champion who graduated from Mountain View High School in 1984 and has been the school’s cross country ski team coach for twenty-three years.
If you had to pick one student racer to watch this season, follow Bend High’s Neve Gerard. The athlete, who started skiing in sixth grade, had barely turned 16 last March, when she earned two podium finishes at her first U.S. Junior Nationals Cross-Country Skiing Championships in Minneapolis. “It’s pretty cool, to have gone to Nationals and podiumed there,” Gerard said. But the truly remarkable thing is how she’s hardly alone. “We have a very large number of kids who will qualify for junior nationals, and a few of them have the potential to be on the podium,” said Dylan Watts, the Nordic director for the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation.
While skiing at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park is free thanks to its volunteers and a Nordic day pass at Mt. Bachelor costs just $30 (versus $155 or more for a day of alpine skiing), cross country skiing can still be an expensive sport to start, with the hard goods alone costing more than what many families can afford. But Martin said he’s able to outfit each member of the Mountain View team with two pairs of skis, two pairs of poles and a pair of boots each for as little as $20 a year thanks to donations from the community. Unlike a lot of other competitive high school and club sports, no one gets cut from the team.
Often, getting started with Nordic skiing begins with a simple question. “Do you want to ski on snow that has been prepared by a groomer or snow that is virgin and isn’t prepared?” said Jobson. “That’s going to lead you to decide what type of equipment you put on your feet.” From there, beginners can rent skis at a local shop such as Sunnyside Sports, Pine Mountain Sports, or Powder House Ski & Snowboard, and head out with friends or up to Mt. Bachelor to take a lesson. Later, skiers might want to consider signing up for an XC Oregon camp. “A lot of our people are looking to improve upon very specific technical things that they’re struggling with,” said XC Oregon founder John “J.D.” Downing. Maybe they aren’t transferring their weight as well as they could or perhaps their poling technique is off. Our camps really smooth out those edges.”
As for me, that night at Meissner still ranks as one of my favorite evenings of the more than 6,500 I’ve had in Bend. Everything seemed to click. I skated along the flats and up the climbs, threading that line between exertion and exhaustion. Halfway through, I stopped and turned off my headlamp to marvel at this amazing gift we call a Central Oregon winter. Jobson can relate. “Folks ask me, ‘Why are you so dedicated to this [sport]?’” he said. “I say, because winter is the most magical time to be outside.”
Moonlight Trails
As ski lifts are put to sleep for the night and when the sun sets, the time is ripe for Nordic skiers to begin what is often considered one of the most magical experiences on skis: gliding by the light of the rising moon.
When the phases of the moon approach maximum fullness, snowy trails are illuminated by reflections provided from light as it bounces between sky, snow and any clouds to offer a bright glow complete with moon shadows. Experienced skiers that traverse Bend’s trail systems during the daylight hours may feel confident skiing solo in the nighttime silence with the only sound being the swish of snow crushed under a sliding ski. Yet, a classic adventure is a group ski to a snow shelter with friends with the reward of a respite under the stars before a return to the trailhead.
Night Ski Tips:
Check a Farmer’s Almanac to find dates when the moon approaches full. The next dates in Central Oregon are January 6 and February 5.
Watch weather to assess not only safety in the skies, but the snow conditions. See meissnernordic.org/weather/ for webcams and readings.
Know the trails. Bring a map and a headlamp. While moonlight brightens the terrain, landmarks may appear different under a general cloak of darkness.
Bring extra clothing, water and food. Temperatures after dark drop quickly.
The Luminaria event, a long-time tradition hosted at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park by the volunteer-supported nonprofit Meissner Nordic Ski Club, will not be held this year, a product of too much love. “The Luminaria was great while it existed,” said Steve Roti, board president of Meissner Nordic Ski Club. “It started small and grew with the ski community until the size of the event outgrew the size of Virginia Meissner [Sno-Park}.” This year, start a new tradition with family and friends. Watch for music concerts and hot chocolate nights under the moonlight at Meissner.
In today’s world, being mindful of what we do with our food, both what we consume and what we don’t, is a wonderful way to kickstart a more sustainable lifestyle. With food waste contributing to a staggering 24 percent of all landfill content and a significant eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it’s high time we reevaluate our approach to leftovers and scraps. This is where composting comes into play. Carys Wilkins, the owner of Sister’s Mahonia Gardens and Farmstand, aptly puts it, “Even before I became a farmer a decade ago, composting felt like one of the most accessible ways to reduce my energy footprint. Not only does it help reduce landfill waste, but it also creates nutrient-rich soil that can be used for growing food.”
Composting is the natural process through which organic matter, such as kitchen food scraps or backyard leaves, transforms into a dark, fertile soil called compost. While these materials will break down naturally over time, composting expedites the process by creating an ideal environment for decomposition. Making the perfect compost pile might seem daunting, but it’s much simpler than you might think. This straightforward guide has everything you need to kickstart your composting journey.
Location, Location, Location
Regardless of where you call home, there’s a composting method that can fit your lifestyle. If you have a backyard, consider creating an open-air pile or an enclosed compost bin fashioned from an old trash can or metal box. Ensure the location is shaded and dry, away from animals, with good drainage.
Not planning to garden but still eager to embrace sustainable living? Simply gather food scraps in a countertop collection bin, which you can then transfer to a yard waste receptacle for someone else to convert into compost. Living in a smaller space? No worries. You can purchase a small compost bin designed for apartment living or even use a large plastic bag to mix compost materials. For residents of Bend and Redmond, Cascade Disposal or Republic Services collect yard debris and food waste every other week.
Building the Pile
To nurture a thriving compost pile, you’ll need four essential elements: nitrogen, carbon, water and air. Nitrogen and carbon are often referred to as the “greens and browns.” Nitrogen-rich “greens” include fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings, flowers, eggshells and animal manure. “Browns” provide carbon and are derived from yard materials like dead leaves, twigs, wood chips, hay, soil, as well as items such as egg cartons and old newspapers.
Browns should form the base of your pile, with alternating layers of greens and browns stacked on top. Maintain consistent moisture by watering every three to seven days and introduce air by turning the pile approximately every two weeks. Layering greens and browns, while cutting them into smaller pieces, will facilitate aeration. Remember to keep dairy products, meat, oil, coal, pet waste and diseased plants out of the pile. The success of your compost pile can often be gauged by its scent. A pleasant, earthy fragrance indicates you’re on the right track. However, if it starts to take on a foul odor, it’s time to add more brown materials and give it a good turn.
After collecting scraps and building a successful compost pile, reap the rewards with nutrient-rich soil for the garden.
Putting Your Compost to Use
Compost can become ready to use anywhere from one month to a year, depending on various factors. You’ll know it’s ready when the original organic materials are no longer recognizable, and the compost appears dark and crumbly and smells fresh and earthy. Now, it’s time to reap the rewards of your composting efforts. As Wilkins suggests, if you have any outdoor space, you can use your compost to enrich trees, bushes or even a section of your lawn where you plan to grow veggies. Compost introduces a wealth of nourishing nutrients to the soil, making it a boon for your crops. Even if you’re in an apartment, you can replace your houseplants’ soil with your homemade compost every six months instead of relying on chemically enhanced bagged soil.
If the concept of composting resonates with you, but you don’t have a direct use for it at home, fear not. There are plenty of options available. Community gardens, for instance, often accept kitchen scraps. You can also consider initiating a community compost bin in your neighborhood. “Our farm stand in Sisters, The Stand, has a community compost bin,” Wilkins said. “Come check it out for an example of how to start your own.”
Gone are the days (for now) of condensation on a cool glass of lemonade at a barbeque, or a refreshing brew on a patio after a mountain bike ride. It’s time to cozy up fireside and watch the snow fall with a warm mug of cocoa, tea or even a boozy nightcap. Try these three delightful winter drink recipes made with local ingredients this chilly season.
Honey-sweetened Earl Grey
Broadus Bees honey
Broadus Bees owner James Broadus Wilkie V founded the Central Oregon company in 2019 with pollinators as priority. Broadus Bees sells lip balms, whole beeswax, honeycomb and flavor-infused honey. Find the honey at stores including Newport Avenue Market and Central Oregon Locavore.
For a simple and delicious warming drink, steep Earl Grey tea in a mug with hot water. After letting it cool to your preference, remove the bag. Measure one teaspoon of Broadus Bees lavender honey—along with milk if desired—for a sweet, fragrant winter drink. See broadusbees.com.
Ingredient List
Hot water
1 packet of Earl
Grey tea
1 teaspoon of Broadus Bees lavender honey
Smoked Hot Toddy
Meadowland Simple Syrup
The whimsical—not to mention delicious—Meadowland Simple Syrup brand is a collaboration between Kathy Irwin and Katie Daisy. Beyond Daisy’s imaginative illustrations on the bottles, the syrups range from floral to fruity to piquant, all distinct in their flavor.
This winter, try Meadowland’s own tried and true recipe: a smoked hot toddy. The whiskey, hot water, cinnamon stick, honey and lemon of the common recipe are sure to comfort winter blues, but why not add a twist to a classic? Replace honey with Meadowland’s Woodfire Apple simple syrup for a sweet and smoky addition to this winter nightcap. See meadowlandsyrup.com.
Ingredient List
1½ oz whiskey
¾ oz Woodfired Apple simple syrup
Squeeze of lemon
Hot water
Lemon wheel and cinnamon stick garnish
Rich Hot Chocolate
Seahorse Chocolate Cocoa Mix
Seahorse Chocolate is owned by husband and wife RC and Amanda Gartrell, and the company’s partners, Parker Vaughan and Jay Junkin. They specialize in the creation of high-quality chocolate from cocoa sourced from around the world, including Trinidad, Peru and Vietnam. Aside from delicious bars and variety packs—samples of the luxurious chocolate—the cocoa mix from Seahorse can be found in hot chocolate and mochas at Palate and Still Vibrato Coffee.
At home, turn the cocoa mix into a classic winter warming drink of your dreams. Grab the mix at Suttle Tea in Sisters and Jackson’s Corner in Bend. Bring milk to warm on the stove in the top pot of a double-boiler; stirring continuously so that it does not
Burn, curdle or boil. When heated, add the cocoa mix and stir. Pour in a mug, add a spritz (or two) of whipped cream and enjoy. See seahorsechocolate.com.
Ingredient List
7 ounces of milk
1½ level tablespoons of Seahorse Chocolate cocoa mix
Pablo Picasso said that every child is an artist—the problem is how to remain one once they grow up. June Park, an artist living and working in Bend, is refreshingly honest about how this works: with community.
Park grew up in Moscow, Idaho in the 1980s, the child of Korean immigrants who encouraged creativity and made it part of the home. Though Park, who uses the pronouns they/them, had wanted to pursue a career as an artist and writer when they were growing up, after moving to Seattle for school, and needing to earn money, they earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and master’s in human-centered design and engineering. “That degree and the way that you think through ideas is so important for where I am as an artist today,” said Park. “The artistic side was always there, but I had to make money.”
Next Steps
After fifteen years working as a UX designer in the Seattle area, Park took a job teaching digital art and creative innovation, and found they loved working with students every day while also homesick for the high desert and rural landscape they were surrounded by growing up in Idaho. They moved to Bend in 2017, and when the pandemic hit, Park took the chance to pursue art full time and applied for the newly created Scalehouse artist-in-residency program.
Park’s acrylic and gouache paintings are intentional in their design, creation, and narrative. Park wants audiences to see the story in each piece and collection. The paintings feature intricately detailed lines, stark contrasts in color, and surprising perspectives. The line details in the brushwork and sketches create movement, resulting in pieces that capture the energy of their subjects, whether a high desert landscape or portraits of migrant families.
The work in the current collections clearly tell stories, and Park hopes to bring that storytelling to the residency in what they create next.
“It’s really solitary to be an artist,” said Park. “I wanted to connect with other people in the organic way that happens in the creative spaces, and be with other people in the creative process.”
Park is frank about what it takes to be a full-time creative today, and how important it is for artists to find a supportive community, like the one Park is trying to cultivate through art in Bend. Park also credits their partner for making it possible.
“I say I’m a full-time artist, but there are lean months when I definitely get scared and feel like I need to go back to making money,” said Park. “Being an artist is hard because you have to believe that developing your art and craft is worth it despite the sacrifices you might have to make in order to do it. I couldn’t do it when I was younger, but sometimes I think that maybe I didn’t get to do it because it wasn’t my time yet.”
Finding Space
A contemporary art center founded in 2013, Scalehouse had established itself as a respected gallery for contemporary artists, but something was missing. Executive Director René Mitchell said that in a conversation with Patricia Clark, a founder of Scalehouse and driving force of the art community in Central Oregon before she passed away last year, Clark said that she wanted to see the process—to see behind the curtain and to witness the mess of artists creating. That’s when the vision for the artist-in-residency program emerged.
“I believe our community loves arts and culture,” said Mitchell. “And with that comes supporting artists and providing them the freedom to create and get messy.”
Rain Carry Us Father and Child painting by June Park
Park’s current work is centered around painting, but the time and space to unleash creativity in a supportive community during the residency has Park considering how else to tell their story through art. Park is also exploring an experiential installation, which is another place where the tech background comes out to play in art. They’d like to create a cohesive exhibition that explores what it’s like to be a rural BIPOC artist and a Korean immigrant who grew up in rural America.
“None of the stereotypes that are put on me fit,” said Park. “I want to tell a more nuanced story of me as a human being and uplift other people about their intersections.”
When second-generation family owners of an Idaho/Oregon railroad construction company were looking to design a new fireplace for their home, they turned to Paul Shepherd at Bend’s Forged Elegance to get the job done. Shepherd worked with homeowner Gail Sines to design an electric fireplace that embodied the family’s railroad industry history, using wood from historic railroad spikes and rail cars, and a forged steel door. Shepherd even sourced historic date nails from 1922, each labeled “22,” and used them as accents on the fireplace to signify its date of creation in 2022. “I’ve known Paul for years and asked him if he could make me an electric fireplace,” Sines said. “I really enjoyed working with him on my railroad-theme decor.”
Approaching each project with a spirit of creativity, with knowledge of forging and metal work and with materials exuding historical character, Shepherd is making a name for himself through his steadily growing company, Forged Elegance.
Elegant Takeoff
The idea for Forged Elegance was conceived in 2020, when Shepherd, a second-generation sheet metal worker and owner of Shepherd Heating & Air Conditioning, began to pursue custom furniture and decor projects using metal and aged barnwoods. In the three years since, the variety of products has grown, and now includes more custom designs, built-ins and fixtures. “Forged Elegance has evolved beyond our wildest dreams,” Shepherd said. “We have advancements in new designs and techniques that have developed into an array of various styles to satisfy every homeowner’s needs. Not only are we able to produce rustic, old designs, but we have incorporated modern contemporary and mountain modern designs into our collection.”
A 1960s foosball table reconstructed with historic barnwood, forged steel and custom handles and decking.
At Northeast Lytle Street in Bend, visitors to the Forged Elegance showroom (open by appointment) can find some of the latest furniture and decor in the company’s collection, custom pieces and one-of-a-kind creations such as a rebuilt foosball table originally manufactured in West Germany in the 1960s. The foosball table was deconstructed and new details were built on top of the original interior assembly. The finished product incorporates historic barnwood, forged steel and custom handles and decking. In addition to the original interior structure from the 1960s, the original ball collection drawer and coin receptacle were also kept. “This game table has been in my family for generations, so to see it transform is an honor,” Shepherd said. “It will make a great addition to any game room.”
History at home
The furniture, decor and built-ins designed and created by Forged Elegance are special not only because of the expert craftsmanship, but because of the storied history of the materials used to create each piece. Wood is sourced from a Civil War-era barn, a historic Oregon ranch, railroad cars and a redwood water tower using lumber from 800-year-old old growth redwood trees. “Hand-selected barnwood is hand sanded to a very fine grit, leaving the rustic wood behind with a smooth finish,” Shepherd said. Once wood is selected, cold rolled steel is then used to enhance the wood furniture, producing an Old World look and feel. “This combination sets us apart from traditional furnishings, and elevates it with history and artistry,” Shepherd said.
For Bend interior designer Leah Hendrix, it’s the stories behind Shepherd’s work that make his finished products so impressive. “Forged Elegance is absolutely the best source for unique custom furnishings in Bend. What I enjoy most about working with Paul and his team is the true passion that they have for the beautiful, historic wood that they source,” Hendrix said. “Any time you visit his showroom, he is excited to tell you the story of each piece that he has created. Paul is truly a visionary artisan combining rich, reclaimed historical wood and his modern blacksmith-style metal work.”
The newest aged-wood collection that Forged Elegance has sourced is from pylons used to hold up buildings in the coastal town of Astoria, Oregon. In the 1880s and again in the 1920s, Astoria was devastated by fire. Afterward, buildings were constructed off the ground on wooden pylons. In recent years, some of these pylons that are no longer used as structure support were dredged up from several feet under the ocean floor. “The covering of mud and sand preserved this beautiful wood that still contains unique, colorful striations throughout each piece,” Shepherd said. “We repurpose this historic wood into captivating furniture with solid steel accents.”
Design Delight
As Forged Elegance has completed more projects over the past few years, the company’s following of customers, builders and designers has grown, and with that comes testimonials that speak to the quality of craftsmanship provided by Forged Elegance. Often builders and homeowners learn of the company after working with Shepherd Heating & Air Conditioning on heating and cooling for a new construction project. That was the case for Pat Wood, who met Shepherd to talk about heating and cooling for a project in Sisters, before learning about Forged Elegance. “I met with Paul at his shop in Bend to discuss business over a set of plans. Unbeknownst, we started a tour of his second business, Forged Elegance, where I realized I had just found Paul’s true passion and talent,” Wood said. “As a woodworker myself, I knew the quality and hard work that is required for such beautiful artwork.” Wood connected his custom-home client with Shepherd, who went on to create a series of pieces for the new home, including a bar in the garage, dining room table and bathroom mirror and vanity.
Another builder who champions Forged Elegance is Tye Farnsworth, owner and general manager of Pacwest Builders, a Bend-based home construction company. Farnsworth said he appreciates Forged Elegance’s selection of handmade products in stock, as well as the made-to-order pieces the company creates. “They are amazing in their creativity and in the selection of the material they use,” Farnsworth said. “Each piece has a story to tell from where it originated. Ask Paul to share the history behind the materials he uses.”
Paul Shepherd
Next Steps
As Forged Elegance continues to grow, Shepherd said he’s excited to continue experimenting with new styles and items, with a goal to always outdo himself. “I always strive to build bigger and better pieces that exceed our clients expectations,” he said. “I encourage new ideas and out-of-the-box designs.” Shepherd said he’d be particularly interested to try creating a pool table and matching forged steel light fixture someday.
In the near future, Forged Elegance is focused on keeping up with orders and demand, and preparing for upcoming opportunities to meet new customers. The company will be at the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s show in Portland, February 15 to 19, and the Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, March 9 to 12.
The glitz and glam of the roaring twenties are alive and well just behind the doors of Redmond’s Gompers Distillery. Walking into the prohibition-themed speakeasy, with its vintage decor of comfy leather couches, hidden rooms behind bookcases and delicious cocktails, transports visitors to another era. This cozy hideaway is the perfect spot to warm up this winter.
Photo Jakub Dziubak
After being unable to find the perfect gin, Michael and Jessica Hart decided to take matters into their own hands and craft their own. Gompers Distillery was founded in 2012 and opened its tasting room in 2019.
The distillery’s name is in honor of Jessica’s grandfather, a Holocaust survivor who hailed from Holland, the birthplace of gin. “My grandfather was a very outgoing, fun person to be around, and even after all the things he had gone through in life, he never let it get him down,” Jessica said. “No pun intended, but we were trying to bottle his spirit.”
Inside each bottle of Gompers small-batch, hand-crafted spirits—which now include gin and vodka—you’ll find high-quality local ingredients and unique flavor profiles. Juniper berries and lavender are handpicked on a farm in Central Oregon, and the golden pears are sourced from Hood River; the result is smooth spirits perfect on the rocks, straight up, or in a cocktail.
A cocktail such as the Bee’s Elbow, Gompers twist on a Bee’s Knees, is a classic prohibition-era creation. Be transported with this refreshingly smooth drink made with Gompers Gin, lavender honey and mint leaves. Or pick up a bottle of Gompers Gin and bring that roaring twenties spirit home this holiday season with the Bee’s Elbow recipe below.
The globe-trotting odyssey of 81-year-old Marda Stoliar and her Bend-based International School of Baking would easily fill the countless number of cookbooks she has studied, gathered and reviewed during the past four decades. Since opening the school in 1985 from her Awbrey Butte home with its state-of-the art kitchen, Marda estimates that several hundred aspiring or professional bakers from across the globe have benefitted from her expertise. She has flown around the world as a consultant with the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the U.S. Wheat Associates, plus has taught baking classes at Central Oregon Community College.
For years she read and judged hundreds of cookbooks for a national contest. Her advice for buying the right cookbook? “Read the section on equipment and everything else that comes before the ingredients list—that’s the expertise you are paying for,” she said.
Raised in Portland, her initial ambition was to be a shoe designer. A fashion design degree from the Pratt Institute in New York led to her start her own successful shoe design company, followed by marriage in 1968 to businessman David Stoliar, and a move to Tokyo. World War II history buffs may recall Stoliar’s name from the book “Death on the Black Sea.” David was the lone survivor of more than 800 Jewish refugees aboard the Sturma, a ship that exploded and sank near Istanbul, Turkey. For several years, the shoe business took the Stoliars throughout Europe where Marda also learned about European pastry baking in Paris and breads in Venice.
The lure of Central Oregon’s clean air and bucolic environment brought the Stoliars to Bend in 1972, eventually leading to Marda opening Breads of France in 1979 in the downtown building now occupied by Toomie’s Thai restaurant. A serious bout with arthritis in her hands forced her out of the bakery in 1983.
Two years later, Marda opened the doors to her International School of Baking, and attracted professional chefs, bakers and “wannabes” from four corners of the globe. Her school mantra says a lot about Marda’s dedication to baking: “A bakery school is only as good as how successful a person is after they leave,” she declared. From bread makers in China to cheesecake chefs in Italy, clients from around the world come to Bend to be taught by Marda. What sets her school apart from the hundreds of baking and culinary schools throughout the world? She would point to the one-on-one interface and mentorship she provides to each student. “I work with students one-on-one to help them achieve the results they desire and deserve as bakers. Our program is founded on three core components: custom-tailored education, side-by-side implementation and improvement through mentorship,” she explained. One of her favorite success stories was the catalyst for “Marda’s Gift,” a recently-released film documentary on her career as told via the success of one of her students who opened a family bakery in Wyoming.
The staff of Breads of France on opening day, 1979. Original glass etchings remain on the storefront windows in downtown Bend.
In 2013, Dr. Ezdan Fluckiger, an emergency room physician in Torrington, Wyoming stood at the intersection of three critical paths: professional burnout, the future facing his teenage daughter with Down’s Syndrome, and a passion for baking. That’s when Fluckiger Googled “how to start a bakery,” and found Stoliar’s website. After investing four intense weeks of hands-on learning with Marda, Fluckiger returned to Torrington and two years later opened his own bakery: The Bread Doctor. Both his daughter and wife are involved in the bakery and both are featured in the film. Fluckiger acknowledges that without Stoliar’s mentoring, none of this new life adventure for his family would have been possible.
The story doesn’t end there. The Fluckigers now consider Marda part of the family, and the feeling is mutual. “The whole family is just wonderful, and they treat me so well…even inviting me to join them in Wyoming every Christmas and Easter,” Marda said. It’s this type of personal apprenticeship and learning intensity that has impacted so many of her students over the years as she now moves into yet another phase of her career. This phase involves another one of her former students. Veronica Flefil de Bueso came to Bend from Honduras twelve years ago to learn how to open a bakery. Today, not only does she run a her thriving baking school, but, in Marda’s words, “She’s one of the best baking teachers I have ever worked with.” Marda is so impressed with Veronica that she’s taken her on as an active partner, even entrusting her with the more than 4,500 formulas and recipes that Marda has cataloged over the years. Marda Stoliar has become totally involved with aspiring bakers from different cultures across the globe over the years. “This is my life and I love it.” she said.
Broadcast outlets for “Marda’s Gift” documentary may include Oregon Public Broadcasting, Wyoming Public Broadcasting, as well as local independent film festival, BendFilm in 2023.See schoolofbaking.com and mardafilm.com.
When Sherry Ortega drops into the Old Mill District off Reed Market Road, she sees stunning views of the mountains, the sparkling blue sky, the iconic smokestacks above REI, people throwing frisbees, kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders, families walking dogs and outdoor diners and she wonders, why wouldn’t she want to live here? As a principal broker with Bend Premier Real Estate and a longtime Bend resident, she believes people come to Bend for the lifestyle.
photo courtesy Old Mill District, photographer Nate Wyeth
“When I have clients from outside the area, I take them to Bend’s downtown area along Wall and Bond Streets and then to the Old Mill,” she said, adding that she doesn’t know of another place with so many lifestyle activities packed into one district. But it wasn’t always like that.
A Bit of History
For most of the twentieth century, Bend’s life and economy revolved around two rival sawmills that both opened in 1916, helping fuel America’s growth. After the city incorporated in 1905, Bend grew outward from the early soul of the city—Mirror Pond and Drake Park where founding families arrayed their homes, and essential millworkers built homes closer to the mills.
The city prospered in the 1980s. Besides lumber, the city had Mount Bachelor, destination resorts such as Sunriver, Inn of the Seventh Mountain (now Seventh Mountain Resort), a community college and first-rate regional medical care that drew people to the area. But by century’s end, the collapse of the timber industry in the Northwest idled Bend’s last mill and frayed the economic fabric of the area. With the old economic power base gone, the city searched for a new identity.
photo courtesy Old Mill District & courtesy Deschutes Historical Museum
William “Bill” Smith, who moved to Bend in 1970 while attending Stanford’s MBA program, had an idea; a really big idea that would add a thumping new pulse to Bend’s economy. As the former president of Brooks Resources Corp., and later head of his own development company, he was inspired after seeing how other cities had transformed blighted areas into lively new space for retail shops, restaurants, art galleries, parks and walking trails for public use.
He formed a partnership to purchase 270 acres on the site of the former Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon mills and spent years cleaning up eroded riverbanks long forbidden to the public. An interpretive sign in the Old Mill details the timeline of restoration: 1994 public access to 14,000 feet of riverfront; 1995 river trails created for public use; and 1997 a fish ladder installed in the Colorado Street bridge for fish migration.
In 1998, he gained approval of Oregon’s land use laws and city zoning requirements to develop the site, which opened in 2000 with Regal Cinemas and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Today it’s an entertainment hub and river-centric mecca with the recently remodeled Hayden Homes Amphitheater for outdoor concerts and events, shopping, dining, lodging, businesses, residences and miles of scenic river trails. A former air-polluting mill burner has been converted to a flower feature, joining thousands of flowering landscapes throughout the Old Mill—another flourish of Smith’s to beautify the area.
Photos courtesy of the Old Mill District, Truman Miller
Urban Life in a Playground
Longtime Bend resident Dennis Oliphant, who built Sun Country Tours into a major whitewater adventure company—owning it from 1978 to 2016 when he sold to Mt. Bachelor—calls the Otter Run neighborhood in the Old Mill District home. “I lived out of town on acreage before moving into the mill,” he said. “It didn’t take long for me to appreciate the conveniences.”
“I seldom drive my car. I ride my bike everywhere, which is a huge advantage because it’s hard to find parking in Bend. We live on the water behind the Hayden stage, which is awesome. I really enjoy the music from our deck,” he said, referring to the home he shares with his partner Traci Porterfield.
He notes that Otter Run has no short-term rentals and 90 percent of residents live there year-round. There’s a perception that the Old Mill District has many second or vacation homes, but Oliphant said that property is expensive and “it’s not like a summer cabin.”
Principal realtor Ortega provided information showing that in August, the Old Mill District had only two active residential real estate listings and two pending sales, with prices ranging from $1 million to $2.3 million. She said condominiums and townhomes are highly sought after.
There are more than 150 residential units in the Old Mill District with more townhome and apartment projects proposed in the future.
Today’s mill residents may be better off than the millworkers who lived nearby in modest homes, but their legacy endures a century later, carefully preserved by Smith and others who incorporated elements of both mills into the vibrant new district.
In 1910, engineer and surveyor Robert B. Gould came to Central Oregon to plot out the townsite of La Pine. He loved the area so much he never left. Gould was a key figure in plotting out the early footprint of many of the Central Oregon townships and in 1916 was credited with creating the first map of Bend.
Photo courtesy of Deschutes County Historical Society
Though the maps of the area have changed considerably since Gould plotted them more than a century ago, much of their purpose remains the same. We use maps to navigate roads and highways, locate a store or restaurant and even find our way around the Old Mill shopping district. Maps also play an important role in the booming tourism industry in the area, from navigating single-track trails at Phil’s to ski runs at Bachelor. The creation of maps, called cartography, has a long history of helping us get from point A to point B and today helps us map the future using geographic information systems.
Start with a paper map
For centuries, paper maps have played a pivotal role in navigation, exploration and understanding the world. Though technology has now changed the breadth and way we interact with some maps, the role of paper maps is still vital. “Bend is a perfect example of why paper maps will continue to play an important role in people’s lives,” said Taylor Monroe, a cartographer at Benchmark Maps in Medford and a 2022 graduate of the Central Oregon Community College (COCC) GIS program. “Tourism and recreation are such a huge focus in the area and maps play a big part of that for so many people.”
Joe Milbrath, a Sisters resident and cartographer for the National Park Service for the past seven years, agrees. Paper maps are just more user-friendly. “The world is trending toward digital maps and interactive maps but the traditional maps are a tool you can’t replace,” he said. “They’re easier to plan with—you can mark them up and personalize your trip,” he said. According to Milbrath, “Each has its own uses, and they can work hand-in-hand, whether navigating or wayfinding or otherwise. Nothing sets yourself up in a landscape better than a paper map.”
Milbrath should know. As one of only four cartographers on staff, he has designed hundreds of maps for parks, monuments, battlefields and historical sites around the country. Though his maps are integrated into various formats from trailside kiosks to roadside signs, the bulk of his time is spent on the maps included in the physical brochures given upon entry at most parks. Milbrath said he loves this aspect of his job and sees it as a rewarding path. “It’s hard to beat creating a map that’s read by millions of people,” he said. More than that, though, Milbrath said he feels his role is important to convey the accurate history of the park. “We’re creating maps for some of the most beautiful places, but also some [with the most troubling history],” he said. “You have to ensure [information] is conveyed in the right way and honors the right people.”
Mapping change
Jared Hanley, co-founder and CEO of mission-driven tech company NatureQuant, said the speed at which technology can process data has changed the way maps can operate. “Maps are one of our best tools at conveying massive amounts of data in a simple, digestible format,” he said. “And because technology is exponential, what would have been impossible to synthesize five-to-ten years ago, is now possible.”
It’s this access and ability to crunch large amounts of data that helps fuel NatureQuant’s signature program, NatureScore, with the simple but poignant goal: to drive home the positive impacts of nature on human health. “When we’re creating our NatureScore we’re taking billions of data points—health tags, geo-tagged objects, satellite imagery—putting them together, and then creating a heat map out of these data points in a single image to tell a story,” said Hanley.
NatureQuant feeds into its algorithm natural elements such as green spaces and water, combines it with human-created elements such as traffic, noise, light and air pollution, and ultimately creates a score to provide an idea of how much access a location has to nature. By working with city planners, municipalities and nonprofits, NatureQuant hopes to use its data and heat maps to drive change. “We want to improve public health by providing access to nature,” said Hanley. “And we create heat maps to do that.”
Blair Deaver, a GIS software solutions architect for international geospatial solutions company Locana, and part-time instructor at Central Oregon Community College, said that technology has also helped to make cartography more accessible and user-friendly to the public. “The big challenge was you used to have to download all the data,” he said. “Today with open data, cloud-based data, it’s much easier.” Deaver added that this accessibility, along with more user-friendly software, is helping to create more maps. “GIS software is much more approachable than it used to be. This allows people who want to dabble with data the ability to make maps,” he said. “Now, especially designers can style maps to create customer experiences and tell deeper stories.”
With the overload of data, however, framing a map in the right context is key, according to Deaver.
“Maps are a natural way for people to see patterns and showcase location intelligence,” he said. Maps tend to tell a story in a much quicker and efficient way than other mediums. To this point, Deaver gave the example of the pandemic’s beginnings. “When COVID-19 first broke, everyone was looking at maps to follow the spread of the disease. This would have been much more difficult in a spreadsheet.”
Deaver said he believes that GIS and the data analysis that comes along with it will help us solve some of the biggest challenges we face today. “Locally, Central Oregon has seen tremendous growth over the past thirty years,” he said. “Looking at issues like land use, water quality, wildfires—being able to analyze data on these topics will allow us to tell a relatable story to the masses and enact change.”
Recent COCC GIS graduate Taylor Monroe believes she and other young cartographers can play a big role in this process. “The younger generation can help champion these key societal issues,” she said. “With the speed of technology and digital, we can reach more people.”
Whether using the latest app, or a trusty paper topographical map, the role of maps will continue to serve as an important tool for navigating the future. Bend’s original cartographer Robert B. Gould would be proud.
Jim Niehues has painted more than 150 ski resorts throughout North America.
Art of the Ski Map
If you’re a skier or snowboarder, chances are you’ve utilized maps created by artist and illustrator Jim Niehues. His hand-painted, beautifully illustrated maps have served as a trail guide for more than 150 ski resorts around North America, including Mt. Bachelor. He is the subject of 292-page hardcover coffee table book, “The Man Behind the Maps,” that compiles maps he has created during his 30-year career.
Bend Magazine sat down with Niehues to talk maps, art and Mt. Bachelor.
BM: You’ve quietly become an icon in the ski world and have been inducted into the Ski Hall of Fame. How does this make you feel?
JN: It’s been thirty-five years of ski maps! I really had no thoughts of such recognition until [I was] nominated. It’s really an honor and very gratifying to know that you may have made a difference in [the] ski industry.
BM: Your maps and illustrations are known for their brilliant color and detail—down to every tree even. Why is it important to you to capture each detail?
JN: Detail is important in several ways: first, it’s a map that guides you around the mountain. I want skiers to be able to know where they are by recognizing their surroundings on the slope and relating it to the map they hold in their hands. This means showing deciduous or conifer trees where they are, or showing rock features and slope inclines in detail.And second, I want to add credibility that this map is correct and they can rely on it.
BM: Mt. Bachelor offers 360-degree skiing—what was the process like to map that?
JN: Mt Bachelor was a challenge. The “satellite” perspective was necessary over the traditional view that includes a horizon. The secret is simply not to show the horizon, and turn all side slope runs as vertical as possible so the viewer knows they are looking down on the mountain and not horizontally to it. I also used color in some instances with warm colors toward the summit and cool colors in the valleys; warm colors are perceived as near and cool colors further away.
BM: Your artwork is unique in the sense that many carry it with them on their person, referencing it before, during and after their visit on the mountain. What does this mean to you?
JN: I think the fact that skiers review the map over a beer at the end of the day is the most gratifying accomplishment an artist could ask for.They are reliving exploration, excitement, exhilaration, achievement…and some spills, hopefully not too serious. Ski maps are doing more than getting a skier around the mountain. They are collected to reflect the experience or dreamed over for the next adventure.
The secondhand market has seen significant growth in the past few years amid growing concerns about the environmental and ethical impact of what we buy. Experts don’t think this trend will disappear anytime soon, with the resale industry expected to double by 2026, making it an $82 billion market.
This shift in consumer habits becomes abundantly clear around the holidays. With supply chain issues, tightening wallets and rising prices potentially transforming holiday joy into a season of stress, it’s no surprise that more and more people are opting to shop secondhand for their holiday gifts. ThredUp, a prominent secondhand retailer, reported that 49 percent of consumers are interested in gifting thrifted items this year.Central Oregon has a community of business owners who are making sustainable shopping accessible, affordable and stylish.
Fashion
With the fashion industry sitting right behind big oil as the second largest polluter worldwide, evaluating what’s in your closet is an excellent way for someone to begin living a more sustainable lifestyle. Sped-up trend cycles and giant fast-fashion retailers are driving forces behind the increasingly devastating repercussions, with the average consumer buying 60 percent more clothing than they did fifteen years ago and wearing them for just half as long.
Shopping at local vintage shops increases the lifespan and decreases the carbon footprint of an article of clothing item while offering unique fashion options.
Gathered Wares of Bend, located in the Old Ironworks Arts District, is a goldmine of curated pre-loved clothing and home goods. Shop owner Lauren Cooley, who opened the store in March of 2021 and can often be found making jewelry behind the counter, said,“I just had this vision of a beautiful creative space that would foster community and encourage people to think about how they can adorn their bodies and homes in ways that aren’t detrimental to the environment.” Walking into the shop, it’s evident that she’s done just that. The space is filled with colorful fabrics, beautiful wooden furniture, brass details and eclectic home decor. “There’s a lot of color. There’s a lot of texture. There’s a lot of different things to look at,” said Cooley. “It takes about five times through the shop for people to see everything because pretty much 90 percent of the things in here are one-of-a-kind.” Prices range from $5 and up, meaning almost anyone who walks into the store can walk out with a unique vintage item.
Cowboy Cash
More vintage fashion
Old Boy Vintage gives older garments a new life, with most items made before the 1970s.
Revival Vintage presents a curated collection of eclectic vintage clothing. The racks are adorned with colorful velvet, silk, flannel and denim fabrics.
Cosa Cura specializes in high-quality clothing sourced sustainably. It sells on consignment while also working with local artisans to stock handmade jewelry.
Cowgirl Cash offers an array of vintage boots and buckles, clothing, sterling silver jewelry, accessories and home goods with in-store partner Arrange.
The passion for outdoor recreation is strong among Central Oregonians, so it only makes sense for us to have that same level of passion for finding ways to better care for the environments where we enjoy spending time. Much of the gear and clothing used when heading into the mountains or floating down a river are constructed of plastic-based fabrics, such as polyester, that can take anywhere from 20 to 200 years to decompose. Shopping second hand is one way to lessen the negative environmental impact.
Walking into Gear Fix feels like walking into a shiny outdoor retailer, except all the items are used. First opening its doors in 2006, Gear Fix is a local source for secondhand goods. It joins the ranks of global brands such as Patagonia, a company that take sustainablility seriously with its repair program and a self-imposed earth tax to support activism. At Gear Fix, there are racks full of puffer jackets and hiking pants, mountain bikes and skis that have already been on a few adventures and are now available for purchase.
“If you boil it all the way down, our baseline value statement is that we think it’s better to buy the good stuff used than to buy the lesser quality stuff that’s going to need to be replaced,” said Matt Deacon, general manager of the consignment shop. Not only does shopping second hand keep gear out of the landfill, but it also makes outdoor recreation more accessible. With lower price points, there is a lesser barrier to entry for people who want to gear up to go outdoors.
More GOODS
Latitude 44 Sports is a snow sports consignment shop where you’ll find great gear for great prices. Everything from boots and apparel to goggles, helmets, skis and snowboards are available.
REI Garage gives their returned and pre-loved items a second chance through their garage sales. Co-op members can shop and trade in used gear anytime.
TruNorthwest Exchange is an online consignment shop based in Bend that facilitates the rental and sale of second-hand outdoor gear. Locals can visit their warehouse for consignment drop-offs and gear pick-up by appointment.
If a single word could sum up a visit to The Ale Apothecary tasting room, it’s “wood.” It starts with the beer—owner and brewmaster Paul Arney’s founding vision was to “combine age-old techniques alongside modern ones” by brewing small-batch handcrafted beers with a unique profile. Wood is an integral ingredient in all of them, and is present in nearly every step of the brewing process. The beer is fermented and aged in barrels with a native wild yeast cultivated from the Deschutes National Forest. As a result, all of the beers exhibit various levels of sour, and sometimes funky, character. The tasting room has an eclectic charm that exalts wood and meets Arney’s goal of “familiarly exotic.” Located in an industrial brick building off Century Drive, the interior fuses the wood with industrial and iron elements into an attractive and functional space. It feels like a museum to brewing and family history, with handcrafted artwork, vintage decor, historic photographs and furniture from repurposed barrels. “It’s important for me that the environment helps to support the beer we make and the stories we are telling,” said Arney. “Just like the beer I make tells a story about history, food production in our modern age, Oregon farms and the importance of nature and artisans, I am also trying to share the story of my family history in small business.” Most beers are available by the bottle only, with a few available for individual pours and flights. The bottle list is extensive and showcases Arney’s creativity and versatility as a brewer; you may find beers brewed with wine grapes, apple skins, pine needles, lilac blossoms and more. “My suggestion is to go for the flight of available beers as we have quite distinct differences between our brands,” Arney said. First-time visitors unsure about sour beer and what to order should ask which beer is “best for initiation,” he said. See thealeapothecary.com.
While it’s natural to think of heat and melting as a solution to icy, wintery conditions, when it comes to ice dams, warmth is the culprit.
An ice dam is a chunk of ice that forms along the outer boundaries of your roof. As long as the entire roof stays frozen, the dam is no problem. But when the roof warms, higher points may melt away ice and snow, while the lower overhangs stay frozen. This can cause water to pool behind the dam, eventually soaking into your roof, ceilings and walls. That’s when the real problems begin, including costly damage that is difficult to repair. Avoid disaster this winter by following these tips.
Keep It Cold
As thawing and refreezing is the cause of an ice dam, keeping a cold roof can prevent ice dams from forming in the first place.
Close up Attic Bypasses
Warm air leaks from our homes into the attic and to the roof a variety of ways. Be mindful of cracks around lighting fixtures and in drywall, uninsulated access hatches and undampened chimneys.
Insulate Your Attic
Make sure you have at least twelve inches of insulation in your attic. If you measure less than that, consider hiring a company to blow in more insulation. This will keep your home more energy efficient and help lower your heating bill, too!
Add or Maintain Roof and Soffit Vents
The vents you see under the eaves around your house are another piece of the puzzle in terms of keeping your attic and roof cold. These vents draw in cold outside air, keep circulation moving and maintain cool temps in the attic. Make sure your roof has vents for every other roof rafter, or one square foot of vent for every 300 square foot of attic floor area.
Addressing Problem Areas
You’ve done all you can to keep your roof cold and you still can’t seem to prevent ice dams? That can happen, in long, extra stormy winters, and on particularly tricky roof sections, like roof valleys or segments that absorb a lot of warming sun during the winter. How do you prevent ice dams under these circumstances?
Rake the Snow off Your Roof
A snow rake is an aluminum scraper on a telescoping aluminum pole, available at most hardware stores. Use a snow rake to pull snow down from the roof, before it has the chance to melt and refreeze into an ice dam. You need to rake soon after snowfall, and this method only works with single story homes, but can be very effective.
Heat Cables
Sometimes, heat is the answer. Tough spots like roof valleys might call for the installation of heat cables, which warm consistently to melt snow and ice and prevent an ice dam before it even starts.
Ice Dam 911
You’ve done everything you can to prevent an ice dam and yet—here you are, with ice dams. If you note no leaks in your house, you may not need do anything. If you do see signs of water damage, and you can’t safely remove the ice with a rake, you may have to call a roofing company for assistance. Climbing on your frozen roof to try to deal with the situation yourself is just plain not safe!
Editor’s note: This story was originally published February 2020.
Through the expanse of picture windows stretching across the western wall of the Sunriver Resort Lodge, the changing season paints a view like no other. The landscape’s vibrant reds, yellows and golds fade to a muted palette against the bright blue sky. The sun, which shines more than 300 days per year here, glints off the frost-covered trees and reflects bright against the freshly fallen snow dusting the ground. In the distance, Mount Bachelor, South Sister and Broken Top hint at the area’s volcanic past.
The view overlooks an adjacent meadow revealed when an ancient lake slowly dried and disappeared. Things have always moved a little slower down here in Sunriver, known as the granddaddy of destination resorts in Central Oregon after it debuted half a century ago. Since then, it’s been setting the standard for family-friendly vacation destinations in the Northwest.
More than seventy-five years ago, the Sunriver area was home to Camp Abbot, a U.S. Army engineer training center where more than 90,000 citizen-soldiers lived and worked.After it shut down, the army razed all but one of the camp’s structures. The officers’ club survived and later served as a cattle shelter and lives on today as the resort’s historic Great Hall, home to wedding receptions and special events.
When a wintry blanket (the resort gets almost a foot more snow than Bend in an average year) envelops the meadow and golf courses, children and adults alike bundle up and delight in an array of snowy pursuits. Snowmen take shape and snowballs fly. Some visitors don snowshoes, others Nordic skis. They traverse along plowed pathways or make fresh tracks as they set out to explore a piece of the more than 3,300 acres that make up the resort and surrounding community.
Honoring founder John Gray’s vision when he, along with Donald V. McCallum, brought the resort community to life in 1968, Sunriver strikes a balance between nature and development. Though there are more than 4,500 residences and lodging units in Sunriver today, the area boasts dark skies that, when paired with clear air and elevation, makes for perfect stargazing.
Sunriver’s fun, however, encompasses much more than being immersed in nature. The indoor pool at SHARC — Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic and Recreation Center — has a zero-entry area with bubbling fountains, a spinning water flower and a dumping bucket that elicits endless laughter as kids (and adults) take turns being doused from above. Water volleyball and basketball pit swimmers against one another, while the vortex water feature sends kids floating in dizzying circles.
Beyond the pool, adventure seekers race down SHARC’s seasonal tubing hill, especially when the lanes are illuminated on Black Light Blast nights.
“When people inquire about what there is to do in Sunriver during the winter and holiday season, it’s hard to know where to begin. There are so many festive and fun things that make this resort a destination for everyone,” said Denease Schiffman, operations manager for The Village at Sunriver.
The Village bustles with activity as Sunriver’s commercial hub and, come winter, has a genuinely enchanted feel. Visitors enjoy strolling between boutique shops and art galleries interspersed with restaurants, including the always hopping Sunriver Brewing Company. It’s all quaintly situated around the village center and ice-skating rink, where skaters glide, or in some cases wobble, around the rink as music drifts beyond the pavilion walls.
Each year, Sunriver Resort kicks off the holidays with the Grand Illumination, a rite of winter in Central Oregon. Holiday spirits soar as friends and family spend the day dancing to live music and indulging in delectable bites. Children whisper their wishes to Santa and hustle between craft projects, bounce houses and train rides. Horse-drawn sleigh rides and visits to Gingerbread Junction fill the hours as everyone awaits the resort’s lighting ceremony.
“We’ve had so many families come back year after year for the Grand Illumination event, sleigh rides and elf tuck-ins. We are ramping up this year with a light show featuring more than one million bulbs and choreographed to holiday music,” said Joshua Willis, Sunriver Resort’s director of operations.
When it’s time to slow down after all the adventures, schedule a visit to Sunriver’s Sage Springs Club & Spa. Here you will find the perfect escape in a selection of signature and seasonally inspired treatments. Stars twinkle like diamonds in the dark above the hydrotherapy spa, an ideal way to relax in conjunction with a massage or facial, or only as a long soak after a long day.
With so much to see, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that so many guests are return visitors.
“When you find a place as beautiful and family-friendly as Sunriver, it draws you back time and again,” said Sara Bittner, who has been coming to Sunriver for more than forty years. “My parents started the tradition of coming to Sunriver from Portland in 1978 when my mom was pregnant with me, and my brother and sister were both under five years old. They fell in love with the beauty and peacefulness of Sunriver, and the opportunity to relax and enjoy the outdoors.”
Bittner lives in Bend with children of her own now and, despite being just fifteen miles away, continues the Sunriver tradition with her family.
“All these years, Sunriver has been a place of beauty and rest for us. It’s allowed our family to bond and create memories that will be treasured forever.”
Editor’s note: This story was originally published November 2019, and has been updated to reflect current information about the Grand Illumination and Snowblast Tubing Park.
Years after first meeting at work in the tech industry in San Francisco, Brittany and Kyle Lindquist were married and eyeing a move to Oregon to raise their growing family. Brittany, a native Oregonian from Newport, and Kyle, who grew up in Chico, California, initially chose Portland for their new home base, moving to Oregon’s largest city in 2019 with their first son, Jack. They found a beautiful house they liked without fully considering how the surrounding neighborhood would play into the quality of living. “We learned from that experience that it’s more about choosing the neighborhood, and less about the house,” said Brittany of the ten months the family spent in Portland. After bouncing back to the Bay Area in 2020, the Lindquists zeroed in on Bend, the Central Oregon city where Brittany’s brother lived. “Every time we would come visit, we knew this is where we wanted to be,” Brittany said. By fall 2020, they had moved to Bend as renters and identified northwest Bend as the area where they’d like to purchase a home. During a home tour on Awbrey Butte in 2021, the couple watched as a yellow school bus drove by, sensing they were in the right neighborhood for the next chapter of their lives. “You don’t see yellow school buses in San Francisco,” said Brittany, who explained that kids take public transit, are dropped off by parents or nannies or take a ride-sharing service for kids. Because both Kyle and Brittany grew up in smaller communities where riding the bus to school was a part of life, they loved the idea of living in a community of families where kids would do the same. “We wanted a neighborhood that you could see kids running around in,” Kyle said.
Moving In
The Lindquists closed on their new home in the spring of 2021, knowing they would have their work cut out for them. The 1998 Craftsman-style home was in need of some modernizing, after spending years as a rental property. “We’ve never been bombarded by more brown in our entire lives,” Kyle said. “But it had great bones.” Before moving in, the couple removed the shaggy brown bedroom carpets, which were stained from past tenant pets, including cats and turtles, replacing the floors with luxury vinyl plank. Hardwood in the main living areas and kitchen were kept, but the entire home was refreshed with new paint, new outlets and lighting fixtures, door handles and appliances. While Kyle led the way on initial updates in the house, Brittany packed up the family’s Bend rental, with toddler Jack and newborn son Beckham in tow. “It was a good example of what not to do—having a baby and buying a house at the same time,” Brittany said.
Brittany and Kyle Lindquist with sons Jack, front, and Beckham.
Project Mode
Once moved into the new home, the Lindquists set their sights on more significant updates, tackling the kitchen, laundry room and smaller projects throughout, such as painting the tile around the living room fireplace and reimagining the front yard landscaping. In the kitchen, the cabinets and island were painted, and a new hexagon tile backsplash added character. In the laundry room, white subway wall tile, repainted cabinets and accessories brought new life into the space. Kyle did many updates himself, along with the help of Brittany’s dad and brother, who were passed down carpentry skills, specifically electrical work, from Brittany’s grandfather, a craftsman and former chief electrical inspector for the State of Oregon. “We did the work to modernize the home, little by little,” Kyle said.
PARADISE AT HOME Fresh foliage, including a bird of paradise plant, soaks up the sun from windows high and low in the Lindquist dining room.
Tucked below the laundry room is the garage, which the family has converted into a downstairs living space and hangout zone. There’s a couch, workout equipment, a makeshift wine cellar and kegerator. Off the “garage” is a home office with space for Kyle, who works remotely for a farming technology company, and Brittany, who works remotely as a marketing director. Back upstairs, now 5-year-old Jack has settled into his bedroom at the front of the house, which is furnished with a Hot Wheels bed and plenty of race car toys. “Hot Wheels are life for that kid,” Brittany said.
As a heatwave blazed through Bend this summer, the Lindquists were busy with outdoor projects, including fresh exterior paint and a complete rebuild of the upstairs deck and front porch. Dated wood boards and railings were replaced with Trex decking, and the back deck wood railings were swapped with sleek glass panels.
Remodel Reflection
With much of the remodeling behind them, the Lindquists are able to reflect on their style and the updates made over the past eighteen months. “The remodel itself was about simplifying, and having a neutral palate on the inside, allowing us to build upon the design in a few years,” Brittany said. Kyle said his biggest lessons from the process were that remodeling is really problem solving, and that it always takes longer than expected. “I use the ‘times three’ rule,” Kyle said. “If you think it’s going to take an hour, it will take three hours. If you think it’s going to take a week, it will take three weeks.” Despite the frustrations that come with more than a year of home renovation projects, the Lindquists said the work has helped them build a relationship with the house, which now feels more like home. The couple will spend the coming years personalizing, and they have a shortlist of projects for the future, including a remodel of both bathrooms.
After a health scare with Jack that had the family at St. Charles Medical Center for more than a week last fall, Brittany said the family was even more grateful for having their home, and all the quiet, mundane moments they’re able to enjoy in it. “I want to roll out of bed, snuggle my kids, go downstairs to work, come back up, do dinner, bedtime routine, rinse and repeat daily,” she said. That everyday routine lately includes activities such as listening to records (Disney tunes, The Beatles and Elvis are favorites), tending to a growing collection of plants and the unpackaging of the latest Hot Wheels offerings. And when the winter snow rolls around, the family will be found at the side of their house, which they learned is home to a popular sledding hill, packed with children who call their neighborhood home.
Sure, Bend’s proximity to Mt. Bachelor is a major benefit to life in Central Oregon. But great cross-country skiing is even closer to town at a trio of snow parks: Swampy Lakes, Wanoga and Meissner. These parks, set amidst the scenic beauty of Deschutes National Forest, provide well-groomed trails catering to skiers of all levels. Whether you’re a novice seeking gentle slopes or an experienced enthusiast craving challenging routes, there’s something for everyone.
Virginia Meissner Sno-Park is the first you’ll encounter on Cascade Lakes Highway. A mere thirteen miles from downtown Bend and you’ll be clipping into your skis and gliding through a magically wintry alpine forest. Volunteers with the nonprofit Meissner Nordic groom forty kilometers of skate skiing and classic skiing trails that vary in length and degree of difficulty. The warming hut is the community gathering place—a spot to rest, snack and chat with other skiers. Virginia Meissner is also where the annual Luminaria gathering is located.
Just up the road is Wanoga Sno-Park, one of the most popular winter recreation areas off Cascade Lakes Highway for its sledding hill. Wanoga is also the place to take your furry friend. As one of only a few sno-parks open to dogs, Wanoga is your destination for skijoring or just taking Fido out for a romp in the snow. There are groomed trails for skate skiers as well as ungroomed trails for classic Nordic skiers here as well. Designated trails for fat bikers and snowmobilers are in the park, and snowshoers share trails with skiers. Glide along on short and relatively flat loops, great for those who are new to Nordic skiing.
Of all the parks, Swampy Lakes Sno-Park is where to find solitude. Venture deep into the woods and you might just find yourself all alone. There is nothing like the silence and cold of a winter day, with only the shush-shush of your own skis to sing to you on a journey of your choosing. The Swede Shelter—one of three warming huts at Swampy—offers views from the ridgetop down into Tumalo Creek below that are outstanding on a clear day.
If you use any of these trails, be sure to say thanks to the Central Oregon Nordic Club (CONC). The nonprofit is the primary caretaker of the ungroomed trails in the area. They work year-round to update trail signs and maps, maintain the shelters and stock firewood, and more. Their work keeps the backcountry safe as well as accessible.
Update 2/26/2019: This article has been updated with information about the Central Oregon Nordic Club.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in January 2019
When 14-year-old Genesis Marlowe speaks about being a part of Ujima, the youth group in Central Oregon, her enthusiasm is palpable. Born in Bend, Genesis has often been the only Black student in her classes or on her sports teams, and that can feel isolating. “There’s so much happy and positive energy whenever I go to Ujima after school,” said Genesis, a freshman at Mountain View High School. “It’s been a great program to meet other friends who have the same skin color as me, and we’re learning about the civil rights movement, and there are also volunteers at Ujima who have helped me with my math and science classes.”
Ujima is a program of The Father’s Group, a Black affinity group formed in 2017. Affinity groups link communities through a common purpose, and they play a key role in ensuring inclusive environments where members are all valued and empowered to succeed.Executive Director of The Father’s Group, Kenny Adams, said the group was formed after the father of a Black student sought community to help navigate the racial incidents his son was facing. Together, they wondered what they could do to address the issues and this is when talk about forming Ujima first began.
“At one point, I pulled out my kids from the public schools,” said Adams, an IT professional, documentary filmmaker and father of four. “It’s not easy being an African American here, there’s only 0.6 percent of African Americans living in Central Oregon. That’s less than one percent.”
Ujima leader Marcus LeGrand, a father of two, said it’s imperative African American students understand their culture, especially in white spaces.
“Ujima in Swahili means working collectively, that’s what we are trying to do—working together to help our children—and we want our parents involved, too,” said LeGrand. “They need to know about their own rich culture, their history and learn leadership skills. I want every single child who walks in here to feel welcome and safe, and know they matter.”
LeGrand explained many of the students at Ujima have felt marginalized and/or bullied in their schools, and he feels Ujima can give their students agency and empower them with foundational learning to know they have options.
Ujima’s multicultural identity-based group was formed to protect its students from racism and isolation in a predominantly white community. LeGrand uses the term “safe space,” and feels Ujima’s work is to provide a respite from always being marked as different. While Ujima does provide that safe space with a nod to academic and leadership skills development, there are also fun activities planned.
Fodeliche Syzzla leading a drum session at a Juneteenth Celebration in downtown Bend, Oregon, put on by The Father’s Group.
Highland Elementary school student Nick Adams has found Ujima a safe space that is engaging every week. “We got to go to [Native American volunteer] Dark Horse Warrior’s Tumalo Ranch and learn archery and see all the horses there,” said Nick, 10, who has enjoyed making new friends as part of Ujima since it began last year. “We’ve also got to do some woodworking, and took some Swahili language classes, and we also got to learn West African drumming.”
Daniella Wilson, 13, is a student at Pilot Butte Middle School who just moved to Central Oregon from Jamaica last year, and with the help of Ujima she has navigated from her former warm island life, to the snowy cold weather in the area. “I feel happy at Ujima, there are more people with my skin color, and it’s interesting to learn about the Black history here, where things weren’t equal,” said Wilson, who explained she’s still getting used to life in Central Central.
The Father’s Group Co-founder and President David Merritt said their affinity groups—which are all nonprofits—have already helped its several dozen students gain access to educational and cultural resources, and are also working to strengthen community advocacy.
“It blows my mind every day the good things that are coming down to help and support us,” said Merritt, who explained they are able to award educational scholarships to some of their students because of that support. “My hope is that we continue to grow, and that the community embraces us. From what I’ve heard from the kids is that we are changing lives, and my hope is that we can continue to get bigger and grow.”
Kenny Adams said proof of The Father’s Group growth was their festival at Drake Park this past June that drew more than 11,000 people to celebrate and learn about Juneteenth. “I want to encourage parents to send their kids to Ujima, it’s a free after school program on Wednesdays and the school buses will get them to our place in the [Bend-La Pine School] District Office,” explained Adams. “Really, there’s nothing else like this in Central Oregon, where we get to emphasize an Afro-centric lens to learning together in a safe space, while building an open and welcome community.We want to break down the barriers.” See thefathersgroup.org.
When it comes to imbibing, move over hops and barley, there’s a bean brewing in town. While Central Oregon is known for the ale trail, per capita, it’s coffee that reigns supreme. It’s not just a local phenomenon either. Coffee consumption in the U.S. reached an all-time high in 2022 according to the National Coffee Association. Whether found at a drive-through kiosk, or at an independent coffee house, estimates from Deschutes County put coffee locations at close to seventy in Bend alone. Here we take a look from source to sip, of what arguable might be Bend’s favorite brew.
SOURCE
As the sun begins to creep across the high desert, sleepy Central Oregonians step to the counter of their local coffee purveyor to order their favorite morning brew. While the customer’s path may take them from home to the barista and on to work, Backporch Coffee Roasters owner Dave Beach knows the coffee bean’s journey is significantly longer.
Most Januarys, Beach travels to El Salvador in search of flavorful beans to roast in his Loring Falcon Roaster. Alongside a few chosen co-workers and guests, he lands at the airport and drives to the Menedez family ranch in Ahuachapán. The fifth-generation coffee farmers own or manage eight farms and a coffee bean processing mill in the area. Beach and friends, escorted by the Menedez family, ascend the rutted, dirt roads to view beans grown at various elevations. After a morning of inspecting farms, Beach, who has been roasting coffee beans for more than twenty years, heads to the mill for blind tastings of forty various beans, roughly ten at a time. “My goal is to choose the best beans and develop them properly,” said Beach, who has lived in Central Oregon all of his life, save for four years studying at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Coffee beans are harvested in the morning and sent at night to the mills where workers remove the fruit for a month of drying. Next, the beans are de-shelled and packaged in burlap sacks at the dry mill for shipping across the world. Relationships like the one Beach has with the Menedez family ensure not only a quality bean, but a strong connection between Central Oregon and Central America. This friendship provides the foundation for plantation direct purchasing and fairness amongst the farmers, ranch managers, and those who sell the coffee beans.
Dave Beach, CEO and Founder of Backporch Coffee Roasters, with Rene Monroy and Miguel Menendez Sr., owner of Finca El Rosario, El Salvador.
Stewart Fritchman, owner of Bellatazza in downtown Bend, also follows this approach to sourcing quality coffee and travels to Guatemala a couple of times a year. “We’ve used plantation-direct purchasing in Guatemala for twenty years. It allows me to build the necessary relationships with the people of Guatemala,” he said.
Traveling deep into the jungle of Central American countries is not without danger. Often times, airplane runways seem to appear out of nowhere and need to be cleared of grazing animals. Other times, armed guards patrol jungle mansions and drivers must vary their route home for safety. And of course, COVID-19 added a new level of concern to international travel.
But in the end, tackling bugs, animals and light rebellion are all worth it for quality beans and lasting friendships. In early 2020, Fritchman realized the Guatemalan tourist economy had plummeted so he took to social media and promised to shave a mohawk and dye it blue if he raised $5,000 in support. After surpassing his goal and donning his new hair style, Fritchman sent the money to his Guatemalan friends who made 328 care packages and passed them out to those in need. “Economics are important, but I’m in it for the emotional connections,” explained Fritchman.—written by Gregg Morris
Explore the world through coffee:
Strictly Organic Coffee Co.: Since 1999, Richard and Rhonda Steffensen have been leaders in sustainable business practices and offer 100% certified Organic and Fair Trade coffee.
Coffee4Kids: Sourced from sustainable plantations, proceeds support Mi Casa International, the founder’s family-run orphanage in El Salvador.
ROAST
The subtleties of coffee taste are even more pronounced when beans are freshly roasted, which is why many local coffee houses choose to roast their own beans. “Coffee is a science when you really dig in,” said Mitch Thisius, co-owner with Bo Olsen of Junction Roastery in Redmond. Expert roasters must learn temperature and timing standards, a roast color spectrum, and a set of new terminology such as going from “First Crack” at 412°F, through “City” to “Full City+,” then “French” to “Burnt“ at higher temperatures of 455°+. The range of a roast-master’s stylistic process produces coffee beans with a wide array of outcomes. When coffee beans are roasted in-house, there’s also an opportunity for a visual tour to see (and smell) the process live.
Sample the beans:
Still Vibrato: Specialty roasts include Top Hat and Squid Ink.
Junction Roastery: See the 1.5 kilo Ozturkbay roaster at work in their historic building which was once the first medical center in Redmond.
Spoken Moto
BREW
Brewing and pouring is an art in itself with a barista orchestrating each step. Creative choices for steeping range from a low-fi pour over, slow Chemex drip or the use of a high-end European espresso machine depending on what will end up in that final cup. Baristas train to learn the subtleties of coffee creation, not to mention the art of foam. Jodi Groteboer, co-owner with Jason Rhodes of Palate a Coffee Bar in Bend, says consistency is key. “Steaming milk, pulling espresso and pouring drinks all day” combined with a“love for learning” are the secrets to being an excellent barista. Then there are the tools of the trade: “In our cafe, you will find our baristas using digital scale, measuring spoons, and even cute little mini whisks to get it right,” Junction Roastery’s Mitch Thisius said.
Find art in a cup:
Palate a Coffee Bar: Have co-owner Jodi Groteboer make an Italiano, a six ounce americano. “It’s the perfect size to sip on for a bit and taste the full expression of the espresso.”
Thump Coffee: Barista Hilary Harvey said, “We all have our latte art specialties,” from foam hearts, tulips and rosettas to even animals.
SIP
The taste notes in a cup of freshly roasted and brewed coffee are an array so vast they have their own flavor wheel. That spectrum and variety is equally colorful in the coffee shops of Central Oregon. It’s in these environments, we see the wide range of settings for the range of how we live our lives: there’s a coffee stop to start the day, meet a friend, hold a business meeting, clock in time at a remote job, or fall in love. Try having your coffee served with distinctive personalities:
Start here to sip:
Spoken Moto: Set amidst a collection of vintage motorcycles in a former mechanic’sshop.
Here in Bend, living like a local means creating a life that reflects the spirit of our community. It means seeking out the authentic, the natural, the fun—in everything from how we work and play to how we gather with friends and family. It means embracing adventure in every season, with a passion for the rugged beauty of our landscape. Most of all, living like a local means engaging with the Bend community, weaving connections and supporting neighbors. This holiday season, living like a local can also mean giving like a local. From setting the Thanksgiving table to toasting in the New Year, holiday traditions become more meaningful when they bring us closer to this place we call home. With just a few shifts, we can make the season richer and brighter, steeped in community connections. Along the way, we lift the artisans, chefs, outdoor guides, local experts and small business owners who keep our creative economy humming along.
Why giving local matters
After two years of socially-distanced celebrations, online shopping feels normal. But what happens when you close the laptop, bypass big box chains and shop in real life? The benefits are hard to ignore. According to the American Independent Business Alliance’s 2021 study, almost half of every dollar spent at independent businesses stays in the community, compared to only thirteen cents of every dollar spent at chain stores. That translates into a thriving economy and a vibrant hub year-round. Beyond the economic numbers, venturing into the festive hum of local shopping just feels good. “The holidays in a small town feel magical,” said Tonna Wilkens, owner of Wander+NW in Sisters. “The traditions, the twinkling lights, the music—locals reconnect with downtown, and every shop does something special,” she said. Many shops host giving trees or spotlight nonprofit groups. At Wander+NW, giving back means hosting a holiday food collection for the community pantry.
“Holidays mean more than rush-rush and buy-buy. Doing things together is what’s important to make this time special,” said Cindy Jeffers, nursery manager at Landsystems Nursery in Bend. Jeffers leads the nursery’s classes on making winter wreaths, table centerpieces and hanging baskets of boughs. She enjoys seeing people slow down and smile as they work with the greens to craft take-home masterpieces. “Working with your hands in nature sets a slower pace for the holidays,” said Jeffers. Once the holidays are decked and the scent of pine and cedar fills the air, the activities bring family and friends together to make gifts and memories at the same time.
Cook Together
While the amount of cooking and baking can seem like a tall order this time of year, food brings people together at the holidays, said Michele Morris, chef at Kindred Creative Kitchen in Bend. Her immersive, hands-on classes aim to make those culinary skills easier for students of all ages. Class topics range from cookie decorating and pie making to creating multi-course wine dinners. “People become friends by cooking together—it’s a way to connect. And learning to create delicious food, especially at the holidays, is a life-long gift,” she said. Central Oregon’s foodie culture makes it easy to take a support-local approach at home as well. Home chefs can start by stocking up at Central Oregon Locavore’s Fill Your Pantry event to be held this year on November 12. However, holiday gatherings shouldn’t have to require hours of kitchen prep time—local specialties like challah bread from Big Ed’s Bakery and Nancy P’s berry pies make a delicious dinner party contribution. For holiday toasts, find festive cocktails recipes at craft distilleries like Crater Lake Spirits in Bend or Gompers Distillery in Redmond. thekindredcreativekitchen.com
Make a Gift
Local DIY experts at various levels can guide any level of elf/artist. Begin at Board & Brush to create custom wood signs for everyone on a holiday list. Workshops help participants personalize projects with whimsy, humor or to commemorate milestone moments. The DIYcave has been providing classes, mentoring and workspace since 2015. With a self-professed spirit of, “Think it, and make it,” they can help a wish list come to fruition in areas metalworks, stained glass, blacksmithing, jewelry making, mosaic and more. They offer memberships for a gift of creativity all year long. diycave.com
Think Outside the (Gift) Box
In a season that can feel commercial, sometimes the best gifts are shared experiences. A gift of adventure gives more than the actual activity—time spent together creates lasting memories. Tuck a gift card for a guided activity to do together (such as an organized snowy bonfire evening with Wanderlust Tours) into a sweet new pair of mittens wrapped with a bow—or simply make your own coupon card, redeemable for an adventure gift of your own design. When the mountains and trails are right out the back door, there’s no end to the possibilities for a gift of adventure. Need a few ideas to get started?
Dark December evenings may be long and chilly, but they can also inspire a stellar gift experience. Some of winter’s most breathtaking moments happen on the coldest clear nights as Orion and Canis Major glide across the sky. Give an evening of stargazing with a visit to the Oregon Observatory at Sunriver for an up-close view through their telescopes—private programs are offered on Tuesday and Friday evenings through the winter months for groups of family or friends. Make plans for a summer visit and overnight trip to University of Oregon’s Pine Mountain Observatory, thirty-five miles east of Bend. Or, keep it simple by creating a DIY stargazing adventure gift, which requires only a guide to the constellations, a red flashlight (to keep eyes adjusted to darkness) and a dark night sky. Around the solstice on December 21, watch near the Big Dipper for shooting stars—that’s the Ursid meteor shower. Could there be a better gift than making wishes together on a shooting star? See snco.org
Create an Expedition
At Bend’s Expedition Club & Supply, a center for creating custom outings, their guides will help you plan a experiential gift from the resources in an extensive Map Room. Expeditions may be based on photography, rockhounding, birding, astronomy,geocaching, or even themed scavenger hunts. For year-long exploration, give a membership to the Expedition Club and have access to the Map Room to create your own adventures. expeditionclub.co
Learn Together
Looking for an experience that involves less cardio and more taste buds? For coffee-loving friends on your list, gift a roasting workshop. Ryan Lenz, a former chemistry teacher, takes small groups through each step of the roasting process, and guests take home their freshly roasted beans. Then, to learn more about homebrewing beer, Central Oregon Homebrewers Organization teaches the basics of making all-grain and extract-style beer on the club’s brewing system. 2021 COHO Homebrewer of the Year Kevin Tucker guides the experience and two weeks later, attendees bottle and take home their own six-pack of beer. Find Ryan Lenz @blackmagicroasting. Brew beer at a class taught by Central Oregon Homebrewers Organization at DIYcave. See coho/wildapricot.org, diycave.com.
Experience the Outdoors
Mt. Bachelor is the go-to destination for skiing, but winter adventures abound on the mountain and make memorable gifts. Consider reserving a sled-dog ride for two with the Oregon Trail of Dreams, where you’ll experience the backcountry in a whole new way and help care for the sled dogs, too, with your financial support. Or, for a budget-friendly option, give the plan for a day to join Forest Service naturalists on a snowshoe trek through Mt. Bachelor’s forest trails, learning about the geology and ecology of the Cascades along the way. Snowshoes are provided, and there is no charge for the activity. Follow up with lunch and a Bloody Mary in the West Village Lodge. Find details on how to register for both activities at mtbachelor.com.
While cacti and succulents prosper in the heat and sunshine, they don’t need summer to flourish; a wonderful indoor high desert can be created at home. The plants not only provide a dusting of color to a room, but their unique shapes and textures give layered accents to your home drawing the eye to multiple livingfocal points.
Photo by Graham Atkins-Hughes, styled by Abigail Ahern
To explore the high desert aesthetic, Desert Rose Cactus Lounge provides inspiration. Owned by Andrea Metzler and her husband, Kent Halverson, the shop is adorned end to end with prickly and exotic greenery—flora that thrives in the high desert climate. Metzler said the sun and the arid climate are what make these particular plants grow so well in Bend. For the winter months, cacti and succulents don’t need much water. In fact, Metzler said some cacti are typically dormant in the winter season, allowing them to survive in dry soil for up to three months. Keep desert plants near a window—but not touching the glass to avoid cold damage—or under grow lights for the snowy, darker days.
In general, Metzler suggested placing plants in south- or west-facing windows, typically these provide the most direct sunlight for cacti and euphorbia throughout the day. “I also recommend terracotta pots,” she said. “They let a lot of air in; they’re more porous. So they absorb extra water which helps keep you from overwatering your cactus and succulents.” Terracotta pots also add an extra element to the design of a high desert home with their colors mimicking the neutrals and softness of the desert landscape.
To get started, Metzler recommends San Pedro cacti because they’re fast growers. Another starter cactus is the cereus Peruvianus, otherwise known as the Peruvian apple cactus or the night-blooming cereus. After a while, they produce stunning blooms at—you guessed it—night. Also commonly seen as a design accent, is the structural cereus jamacaru. With easy care, cacti and succulents are an easy way to manifest indoor high desert dreams. See desertrosebend.com.
I’m lying on a reclining chair under the canopy of a century-old maple tree, my eyes closed and surrounded by seven women singing quiet songs of peace, love and release. They start with a melody and then ease into a harmony. My day’s stress and the street noise fade. If I was an actual hospice patient, the Heart of Oregon Threshold Singers would sing to me as my human spirit begins its passage from life to death. This is a rehearsal for when the singers head to the bedside of a person in hospice care.
The idea for a threshold choir started with Californian Kate Munger when she sang for a dying friend in 1990. In doing so, she tapped into the power of music to soothe and provide peace at important transitions in life, and planted the seed to grow the gift of song and kindness to give to others.
In 2000, she founded Threshold Choir and a half-dozen chapters sprouted up in Northern California. The concept grew into a worldwide phenomenon with about 200 independent and locally-based choirs, including the Central Oregon group.
Among those Munger mentored was Yolanda Sanchez-Peterson who moved to Bend in 2017 and had already been singing solo as a volunteer for St. Charles hospice. She began recruiting others and by January 2020 had eight women trained and ready to sing at bedsides. “You need to sing on-key and match the pitch of the [lead] singer. But equally as important, is the ability to maintain a calm, heartfelt presence while singing,” she said. Covid-19 nearly shuttered the fledgling group. They persevered by singing outside people’s windows and occasionally by phone.
Sanchez-Peterson reached out to Shannon Campbell, volunteer services coordinator for Partners in Care, which recently opened a new, twelve-bed inpatient Hospice House. “I hadn’t heard of threshold singers before, but it piqued my interest,” Campbell recalled. “I couldn’t believe that people do this. It’s such a beautiful thing.” Campbell soon had her own personal experience. Her mother, who would soon pass, received the gift of music as the choir sang in 35-degree weather outside Touchmark. “Mom kept looking and smiling through her window,” Campbell said.
Word soon got out about the Heart of Oregon Threshold Singers among Central Oregon’s hospitals, hospices and in-home health care providers for gravely ill individuals. “The vision is that when a nurse sees a patient struggling with the final days, he or she can reach out for threshold singers,” said Susan Boucher, a member of the choir and co-director of the local chapter with Sanchez-Peterson since 2018. She notes requests for the group have grown exponentially, from twenty requests in 2021 to 139 through August 2022.
Yolanda Sanchez-Peterson leads a group rehearsal.
A typical visit
Today, Sanchez-Peterson, Susan Boucher and choir member Rhonda Ealy gather as part of twice-weekly visits to Hospice House. They wear N95 masks—often a challenge for voice delivery, but necessary for everyone’s safety. Even though the current ten-member choir rehearses together, they sing in small groups of two to four. They stress that their presence at the bedside isn’t a performance or music therapy but a gift. “We’re bringing compassion, something that doesn’t come with an injection or a pill,” said Boucher, a retired nurse. The patient has agreed to the singers’ presence in their room. Today’s lead singer will gather a variety of information before entering the room on subjects such as the recipient’s spiritual background, culture, age and then pick up additional cues after entering the room.
“To do this work requires a lot of training,” Boucher said. “Your own thoughts and experience with death and dying come into play.” “We enter an extremely private space is a privilege,” Sanchez-Peterson added. “Being in that room is about the patient, not about you. Singers need to stay calm and present if they feel themselves becoming ungrounded.”
Most of the songs are specifically written by Threshold Choir members and patterned after lullabies that soothe and calm people who may be agitated or fearful. The titles say it all: “Rest Easy,” “Grateful Heart” and “May Peace be with You.” At rehearsal, choir members are encouraged to listen to the music first and then open their sheet music to get a feel for it.
The Heart of Oregon Threshold Singers look forward to growing their ranks, including adding those who are fluent in other languages. As the daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico, Sanchez-Peterson sings in Spanish when asked. She emphasizes that individuals don’t need to go through hospice to request the choir at a loved one’s bedside.
Back at the rehearsal—one of the first in-person practices since coming out of Covid and those held by Zoom—they wind it up with the words to a song, “I’ve lived my life in a river of grace. I trust this river will carry me home.”
Deep in Oregon’s forests, there are opportunities to experience a true winter wonderland, the kind many people only ever see in movies. These getaways provide guests with a multitude of activities, no matter their interests. From adrenaline junkies to bookworms and for everyone in between, there are forested retreats to inspire a winter getaway.
Hemlock Butte Cabin
Let’s kick things off with a true retreat to a primitive Forest Service cabin, where guests can really get away from it all: Hemlock Butte Cabin. Situated in the Southern Cascades, this eight-person, three-story A-frame cabin, sits about two hours south of Bend. The location is so remote that all guests must complete a four-mile ski or snowshoe journey just to reach the cabin, explaining why the Forest Service recommends that all guests have some backcountry experience.
The amenities offered here are slim, and guests at a primitive cabin should pack in most supplies themselves. However, the bare-bones nature of a cabin is what draws people in year after year. For backcountry skiers, Hemlock Cabin is heaven on earth. Nearby Mount Bailey offers miles of terrain that can be explored by both downhill and cross-country skiers, including nearly 3,000 feet of vertical descent.
On the flip side, the remoteness of Forest Service cabins can create an incredibly peaceful environment. Guests may sip on tea or hot chocolate, back themselves into one of the cozy nooks the three-room cabin provides and crack open a good book. If guests haven’t experienced this kind of remoteness before, try this: walk out into the snow and be as quiet as possible while breathing deeply the mountain air. Primitive lodgings are available through the U.S. Forest Service. See fs.usda.gov.
For a more accessible getaway closer to home, head to Elk Lake Resort. Thirty-two miles from Bend and just past Mount Bachelor, Elk Lake is a popular getaway for locals and visitors to enjoy more amenities while maintaining a feeling of remoteness. The resort is surrounded by a snowy forest of ponderosa pines, and there are thirteen cabin rentals available for guests. During the winter, the highway to the resort is closed, making this getaway accessible by snowcat and snowmobile only.
Fans of adrenaline will love the many opportunities to explore the nearby trails and meadows from the back of a snowmobile. With more than 100 miles of trails to explore, many guests come to Elk Lake exclusively for this adventure. Elk Lake offers snowmobile rentals, so even first timers can get the chance to experience these thrills. Just be sure to bring the proper winter gear to keep warm.
For a more peaceful day of exploration, the resort offers snowshoe rentals. While this can still be a workout, the added tranquility of snowshoeing cannot be understated. Snowshoeing allows guests to immerse themselves in the environment and feel one with the stillness of nature. For any guest looking for a more relaxing stay, try out the Elk Lake Lodge bar and restaurant. Dine on rustic American fare and sip on cocktails or local brews while marveling at Mount Bachelor, South Sister and the view of of Elk Lake. See elklakeresort.net.
Photo Ann Nguyen and Mea Woodruff
Cedar Bloom Farm
The furthest location from Bend is well worth the drive. About four hours southwest of town find Cedar Bloom Farms, a family run farm, campground and event venue. Located in the Illinois Valley of Southern Oregon, Cedar Bloom is a 100-acre property filled with forested land. Owners said, “We are putting the 100 acres of land into a conservation easement this Fall so that the land can never be logged or developed.This will ensure that the land will stay wild and cared for for many generations to come.”
A stay at Cedar Bloom can be ripe with adventure. The nearby Siskiyou National Forest offers plenty of hiking options and chances to explore the banks of the Rogue River. The nearby town of Cave Junction is aptly named, because guests can explore the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, a cave system discovered in 1874 that put this town on the map. Make a day trip to the Siskiyou Mountains for more winter sports and backcountry adventure.
While Cedar Bloom can provide adventure, their forte is tranquility. The available camping options are clean, cute and oh-so cozy A-frame cabins, high-quality canvas tents and a dome that overlooks the nearby river. As winter rolls around, Cedar Bloom can feel like a fairytale come to life; many guests prefer winter stays to reconnect with nature and loved ones.
No matter the getaway one picks, there will be something for everyone; a winter wonderland can provide peaceful quiet or high-adrenaline fun. Don’t miss the chance to experience these wonderlands, so check websites and book reservations early, as many spots fill up quickly.
This article was originally published November 8, 2022
Marcelle Howard began dancing at the age of three at a studio formerly known as Jean’s Dancing School in Prineville. Slipping on her tap shoes, she emerged into her first recital before dance became her life’s work. “I was able to do a triple threat: ballet, jazz and tap as a senior in high school,” Howard said about her growth as a dance student. From there she studied in Western Oregon and taught dance at multiple locations around Central Oregon, including the Athletic Club of Bend. After noticing a lack of dance classes in Bend offered for young children, Howard opened Mrs. Marcelle’s The School of Dance in 1995, which now offers classes for children ages three and older. The first class at her studio was a pre-ballet class for ages three to five; Howard recalls the school only blossoming from there. Today, she has a team of experienced dance teachers working beside her to urge the mission of Mrs. Marcelle’s The School of Dance forward.
There are a couple of main goals that make Mrs. Marcelle’s The School of Dance stand out in the Central Oregon community. “Number one, when you have a student, let them realize how special they are,” said Howard. Her philosophy is to allow an opportunity for students to be aware of how extraordinary they are. Another belief of Howard’s is “everybody can dance”—the ideas of inclusion and acceptance are the backbone of the mission behind Mrs. Marcelle’s The School of Dance.
Veronica West began practicing ballet with Howard at the age of four, and continued with ballet, jazz and tap until 9th grade. At twenty-eight, she no longer dances but still holds a love for the practice, and looks back fondly at her experience with Howard as her dance teacher. “I loved dancing with Mrs. Marcelle. She was the most charismatic, energetic teacher who made everyone feel welcome…Dance practice was always something I looked forward to because of Mrs. Marcelle,” West said. This bodes well for one of the key takeaways from Mrs. Marcelle’s The School of Dance. Howard hopes that whether her students are practicing, performing or simply dancing for fun that they revel in what they are doing. “Enjoy it. If they aren’t enjoying it, I’m doing something wrong,” she said.
Marcelle Howard
Over time, the school’s recitals have sold out performances, bouncing between the Tower Theatre, Bend High and, recently, Caldera High School. A lot of love and thought goes into the development of the big end-of-the-year recital, and practice begins in October, running through June when the performance takes the stage. “Having our families and friends come watch us perform in our costumes was something we all looked forward to, and [Howard] put so much time, effort and planning in making sure the recital was amazing for all of us. We felt like professionals dancing on stage,” West said. Most recently, the students of Mrs. Marcelle’s The School of Dance performed in a Broadway-themed recital, pulling inspiration from classic Broadway show numbers; including a favorite routine of Howard’s, “Popular,” from the hit Broadway show “Wicked.” Howard is overjoyed to produce a Disney-themed recital in 2023. It’s one which takes place every five years.
In the summer, the school plays host to dance camps. Keeping in the spirit of the importance for everyday harmony and family time, “combo classes” are available at the school: all-in-one tap, ballet and hip-hop classes that provide time-saving efforts for both the children and parents during their busy lives.
The energy that radiates from the school and from Marcelle Howard are the purest forms of excitement and happiness. She has much gratitude for the ways in which the school has has enriched her experiences over twenty-seven years. As for her life outside of work, she said, “I love the balance it gives me, because I can make all my own decisions.” However, from the standpoint of a teacher, one of the gifts Howard treasures most is the ability to provide love and joy to all the dancers of Mrs. Marcelle’s The School of Dance.
Fergal Donoher and Caprice Neely had a few key items on their wish list when beginning their new home build journey back in 2019. Neely, an artist and mostly-retired athletic footwear designer, wanted a gallery wall and plenty of space to hang art—both collected and created herself. Donoher, a native of Ireland who first moved to the United States in 2007, needed a bar area, or a few, to remind him of a pub back home. Together, the couple dreamed of a courtyard area to enjoy the outdoors, and a home layout that maximized views and spaces that embodied their colorful, bold style.
The couple met in Portland in 2008, and they bought a second home built by Copperline Homes on Awbrey Road in northwest Bend in 2012. By 2018, they’d made the move to Bend full time and were making plans to design a new space for the family, which includes 10-year-old Maisie and a couple of large pups—Rosie, the 1-year-old Great Dane, and Charlie, the 4-year-old newfydoodle.
After buying a large, narrow lot at Tetherow, the family arranged to work with architect Eric Meglasson and use Copperline Homes for the build. “We immediately began sketching a home with two masses at each end of an oversized courtyard, connected with little more than a gallery space between the two,” Meglasson said. After about eighteen months of design and construction, the family moved into the home around Thanksgiving 2020, and have spent the last year-plus getting settled.
The residence is entered from the north by way of the garage, courtyard or an understated black door that blends into the home’s black exterior. Visitors will immediately see the courtyard beyond a wall of glass windows to the right, and a long interior hallway ahead, adorned with a twenty-six piece art collection. The prints are from Russian-born, French artist Erté, who completed “The Alphabet” from 1927 to 1967. The images bring to life the 112-foot hallway that connects the spaces of the home.
Halfway down the hall, between letters Q and R, is a door to a wing of rooms, with a bedroom and craft room for Maisie, a guest room and a bathroom. Following letter Z is one of the home’s most striking spaces, a bold powder room that showcases a table-turned-vanity that Neely’s father brought back from China in the 1940s, along with a bold Ferrick Mason wallpaper that exudes Chinoiserie and Hollywood Regency style, according to Neely. “The powder room should always be the jewel box of the home, where you can really think outside of the box,” said Lucy Roland of Harper House Design, who worked with the homeowners on interior design and furnishings.
The master bedroom showcases walnut nightstands with a cushioned, emerald green velvet headboard between them.
At the far end of the hallway is the main living space, with huge glass accordion doors that open to the courtyard. Nero Marquina black marble slabs on both the walls and counters, paired with matte black cabinets underneath make the kitchen a “showstopper,” Roland said. “I love how Caprice and Fergal weren’t afraid to take risks, and it paid off,” Roland said. “That room ended up being so striking—who says a kitchen can’t be sexy?” An accordian window from the kitchen opens to golf course views and an outdoor bar counter, which Donoher and Meglasson described as the “golfer heckling bar.” The living room is anchored by an oversized, custom-made couch that Portland’s Mad Furniture designed for the space.
Adjacent to the kitchen is the entrance to the home’s primary bedroom, where mid-century modern furniture pieces steal the show. The bed is flanked by walnut nightstands with a cushioned emerald green, velvet headboard between them, all of which are connected as one piece—also a Mad Furniture item. Opposite the bed is a long couch with built-in side tables, another mid-century modern piece that Neely received from a friend’s father. The primary bathroom features a shower with ten-foot glass walls to capture steam without completely trapping it in. An oversized walk-in closet offers room for plenty of clothing and—with Neely a former footwear designer—ample space for shoes. “I have to support her work,” Donoher joked about all the shoe storage in the home.
Between the kitchen and bedroom is a staircase, covered in wooden tiles constructed of narrow flooring scraps, leading up to the home’s office. Donoher, an executive in tech manufacturing, works from home in the cozy space, which he refers to as the “snuggery.” Both the office and the living room/kitchen area below share the same incredible views of golf course greens in the foreground and Cascade Range views in the distance. “The space upstairs is very calming,” Donoher said. “You go up there at 5 or 6 a.m. and it might still be dark, but you can see the white mountain tops.”
Back at the home’s entry, near letter A of the alphabet wall, is a second staircase, leading up to a mother-in-law suite with a living area, kitchenette and bathroom, with windows placed to take in the same mountain views, and a great space for guests.
Fergal Donoher and Caprice Neely’s family
Far and away, the most dramatic and striking aspect of the Donoher-Neely home is the courtyard, a focal point from many spaces in the house and a private space for the family to enjoy time outdoors. The courtyard includes a cement, outdoor bar area, space for a daybed to lounge and a koi pond. Maisie, a fifth-grader at Bend’s Forge School, is quick to toss in food to the four koi, named Peachy, One Eye, Big Daddy and #4, some of which are easier than others to distinguish based solely on name.
Since moving to Tetherow in 2020, the Donoher-Neely household has had time to fully explore what their new community and the greater Bend area has to offer, and they particularly enjoy activities like overlanding and tent camping, attempting to golf and indulging at food and drink spots around Bend. “We’re big supporters of the restaurant community,” said Donoher, listing off favorites that include BOSA, Drake, Washington, Zydeco and Flamingo Room. Maisie is partial to Elly’s Ice Cream in NorthWest Crossing. Together for fourteen years, Donoher and Neely were only just married in November 2021, meaning the couple’s first wedding anniversary is on the horizon. If a trip or celebration isn’t in store, perhaps a visit to the courtyard bar, nine holes on the course out back or an evening appreciating the views from the snuggery will do.
Eddie Swisher has a corner in Bend, Oregon where not only is he greeted on a first-name basis by his customers, but he makes a point of knowingtheir names as well. A “secondhand store that sells antiques,” his Iron Horse store celebrates fifty years in 2022, and will close its doors on the Congress Street location it has called home for thirty five of those years. Iron Horse will move to a new location on First Street and carry on. We talked to Eddie about where he started and what’s next for this local tradition.
Tell us about how the Iron Horse began?
It started in 1972 when my dad had a little secondhand store in Newport, Oregon called The Country Store. He had been selling at a flea market there first, and then we ended up renting up a whole block for the store for a couple hundred bucks. My dad had bought and sold for a long time, and he got me started. I had been a mechanic before that. In 1982, I moved the store to Bend. There were several places called Country Store and I wanted something that sounded a bit western to fit Central Oregon, so the name became Iron Horse. Longtime customers will remember our first store on Greenwood that burned down in the mid 80s, then we moved to Congress Street. I have spent thirty five years in this building—half my life.
What is your approach to procurement?
We find things everywhere we can—at estate sales, or when we get a call to come take a look at something in a person’s home. People will pull up to the front door and bring something to us in the back of their truck.
How do you recognize what people want?
In the 70s and 80s, when I started, people wanted antiques. Today, a piece of mid-century modern furniture may only last a few hours. People used to collect things, too, like depression glass and pottery. Today, fewer people have the hobby of collecting and we’ve adjusted to that. People are sometimes looking for items that fit a need.Not being a 100 percent antique store, we can sell a lot of other things. Today, younger people are maybe looking for different things, too, things that remind them of their own childhood.
How do you recognize value to price things in the resale world?
We may not always get it right, but having a great manager [Colleen Jones] is a big help. A lot of prices are subjective and pricing just comes with experience. If we do get a deal on something, we will pass the deal on to a customer and sell it for less. We want to have a reputation for getting you the best deal and we work to maintain that reputation with our customers. For this same reason, we sell to other dealers in Central Oregon. We try to move a volume of stuff versus trying to get the last dollar.
How has the reseller market changed and evolved over the years?
I was reluctant to have vendors for the longest time but realized they have a finger on the pulse of what people want. Now, we have eighteen vendors and the vendors know what their customers want and what to look for.
Is there a business model for the reseller space?
Rarely can a business be successful for fifty years without help or support from others. In my case, I have relied on suppliers and vendors. I work at cultivating and maintaining loyal customers. I have hundreds of local customers who shopped at the [original] Greenwood location or people who shopped with us on the coast.
How have online sites affected the reseller business?
They have actually been a good thing. Some of the vendors share their items online, so it is a marketing tool. It’s a plus for us, since a lot of our customers still want to see and touch stuff.
What is one of the most unusual items you have procured?
We had a skeleton in a casket for awhile. It was very old—a railroad worker in a handmade pine box that a person brought us. Someone thought the police should know so they came down, and we showed documentation [the skeleton was approved to be used for a “medical” or“scientific” use]. The police said, “We would appreciate you not keeping it here…we don’t want to have to come down again.” We eventually found a home for it.
On leaving the Congress Street location:
Many of our customers are really sentimental about this building, but I’m very optimistic about creating a new experience. Bringing in old fixtures will help create an atmosphere that is special—people aren’t coming to grab something quickly, it’s about the experience.
Is there a treasure you hunt for personally?
I like old store fixtures. I should have found something I like that is smaller.
The Lightning Springs trail offers a spectacular shoulder season hiking opportunity to explore the western flank of ancient Mount Mazama in Crater Lake National Park. Historically, the trail was once a fire road, built in the 1930s for Park Service fire crews to access the lightning-prone area. Today, Nature has reclaimed portions of this two-track but plant growth is slow at this elevation where winter lingers.
The trailhead, located about 2.5 miles north of Rim Village, has a graveled parking area and sits at 7,175 feet in elevation. From here, the 8.4-mile round trip hike begins its descent snaking past old-growth mountain hemlocks and Shasta red firs interspersed with patches of pumice leftover from the mountain’s eruption some 7,700 years ago.
As hikers follow the trail’s meanders and gentle descent, they may hear the trumpet-like “yank, yank” calls of red-breasted nuthatches or the grating metallic-sounding “kraaks” of Clark’s nutcrackers. Grazing mule deer or elk may be viewed from a safe vantage, and hikers may encounter tracks along the trail such as those of black bear, coyote or mountain lion indicating the passage of these large predators through the area. Overhead, be on the lookout for migrating raptors such as golden eagles, red-tailed hawks or sharp-shinned hawks as they fly south for winter.
Less than a mile down the trail, hikers reach the emergence of Lightning Springs. Though one might think they’ve found the Crater Lake leak, these springs are fed by melting snow and emerge above lake level. Several backcountry campsites here invite campers to enjoy this mountain oasis.
Beyond the refreshing springs, the trail contours beneath the 500-foot-high Watchman Lava Flow before descending to a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. The intersection, located in a recovering lodgepole pine forest burned over by one of the Bybee Creek wildfires, represents the turnaround point for day hikers. In summer, you might encounter a PCT through-hiker at this junction and hear tales of their trip but this late in the season, you’ll probably have solitude as your trail companion.
A quick glance into the riverfront home designed by Karen Smuland Architecture and visitors see a home washed in brilliant light and stunning views of the Deschutes River. The crisp lines of the concrete countertops and the white oak floors are anchored by a growing trend in architecture and design: a large and foldable glass door. Unlike the smaller, two-panel sliding glass doors of the past, these glass doors fold together like an accordion, offering a seamless transition from indoor to outdoor, merging nature with architecture. “Maintaining a connection to the outdoors just makes people happier and healthier,” Smuland said. “And so people really are trying to have that kind of indoor-outdoor connection, regardless of how big their yard is…they want to be able to have that flow.”
A large glass door with a picturesque view of the Cascade Range is also a defining feature of a new Awbrey Butte residence by Brandon Olin Architecture. The opening leaves visitors feeling like they can reach out and touch the mountains. “[Moveable glass doors] have a certain sense of drama,” Olin said, “And just make a real impact on what the house looks like.” According to Smuland, these doors can be well worth the cost with a good view. “If you’re going to have a wall there, you’re going to have windows in it or something,” she said. “It’s more expensive than windows but the benefits really outweigh it, if you have a view.”
During the pandemic, many sought a deeper connection with the outdoors and nature. This is easily seen in the continued interest of implementing plants into home design, and the increasingly popular hiking trails and camping spots around Central Oregon. A connection to nature continues to be a recurring theme in architecture and home design. “Scientists are becoming more aware of the connection to the outdoors, even visually, just makes people more productive, happier, healthier, etc.,” Smuland said. “Lots of office buildings are capitalizing on that, trying to retain workers and make them more productive.”
With moveable glass doors becoming more popular, builders are becoming more experienced in executing new builds with this feature. “It seems like we’re doing it in every home we do,” said Tim Duey, the owner of the homebuilding company Duey Built. Duey said the last eight houses they have completed included a moveable glass door.
Additionally, access to these doors has also increased. According to Olin, these features used to be produced only by some of the highest priced window and door manufacturers. Now, they’re built by more manufacturers which has made them easier to acquire. At the same time, Olin said, the technology and performance of these features have improved from an energy standpoint which has helped them meet energy codes. “From a pragmatic and a practical standpoint,” he said, “those are probably the two reasons why they’ve become a little bit more commonly used.”
The opening in this Awbrey Butte residence frames dramatic mountain views. The home was designed by architects Brandon Olin and Van Tassel Design and constructed by Duey Built, with interior design by Van Tassel Design. Photo Kayla Mckenzie Photography
While moveable glass doors can dramatically impact a home’s design, there are a few common concerns as well, namely privacy and environmental factors. The most popular solution to the issue of privacy is to mount rolling shades above the doors. Duey mentioned that every home they’ve built with a moveable glass door has included these shades. Olin said they try to address the issue of privacy through the design as a whole, and how they orient the outdoor spaces and landscaping. Often, the glass doors will face a more private courtyard or patio, rather than opening in full view of the public—but, homeowners may need to be comfortable sacrificing some privacy for stunning views. Other lesser concerns include bugs entering a house or a gust of wind knocking something over inside, both issues that optional screens can help address.
For those with the means and desire for these glass features, it can be the perfect way to fuse a home with the outdoors. “They’re stunning,” Olin said.
If you have lived in Bend for a while, chances are you know the name Joe Kim from his tenure as chef at 5 Fusion Sushi and Bar, or his three-time semifinalist recognition from the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef in America. Or, perhaps you are among the many who traveled from afar to try Yoli Inspired Korean Cuisine restaurant.
Beautiful presentation at Yoli | Photo by Tina Paymaster
Joe and his wife Laura’s simple, minimalist interior design vision comes to life when you walk through the restaurant door tucked off of Newport Avenue. When seated near a sprinkling of graceful lighting throughout the space, with elegant black painted walls stenciled with Gingko leaves, the vibe of Yoli prepares restaurant goers for the culinary experience ahead.
Joe Kim, chef and owner of Yoli. | Photo by Kevin Prieto
Yoli, which means cuisine in Korean, is open for both lunch and dinner. There was a specific idea for both meals. “Being that Korean food in Bend hasn’t really been seen on a larger scale, or on an exclusive scale like it is [at Yoli], we wanted things to be comfortable for people,” Joe Kim, co-owner and chef said. This is why he and Laura introduced the “set lunch” where diners can choose protein, rice, kimchi and banchan—small, side dishes including potatoes and sprouts—that complement the main dish. The lunch hours are supposed to be an accessible introduction to Korean cuisine both price-wise and menu-wise.
Raw dinner starters such as the Yukhoe give off a balance of savory and sweet. In one bite, the Wagyu beef, pear and wasabi creme fraîche are the main essence of the dish, followed by a natural hint of pine nut and chives. The Caviar Juk is simple in its ingredients, but the bold presentation and flavors of brown butter, smoke and truffle atop a rice cracker are a rich sampling of what to expect of the flavor profiles at Yoli. For a popular sharable starter, the Korean fried cauliflower has a shell of rice flour for a crunch, and a seasoning of gochujang, which is graceful at first, with a spice that pleasantly sneaks up behind it.
Photo by Kevin Prieto
Dinners at Yoli are meant to bring a more modernized taste of Korean food to the forefront of the culinary scene. “[For] the dinner menu, we wanted to do a little more diversity and show a little more modern Korean food,” Kim said. The Kims both have extensive histories in the restaurant industry which play into the quality of food, attention to detail and overall experience. The Dolsot Bibimbap with beef is served in a stone pot so the longer the heat lingers—and the slower you eat—the crispier the rice gets. After breaking the egg and letting it soak through the rice, kimchi and fresh vegetables, a full bite of the tenderized beef from the bowl tastes like quality. “I’m a big fan of the beef dishes…” Joe Kim said, “…some are marinated, and some are just meant to highlight the flavor of the beef.” Another beef dish to try is the Kalbi steak; delicate by bite, but courageous in taste.
The culinary journey does not end there. The cocktail menu—fully developed by the front of house manager and co-owner, Laura Kim—recognizes Joe Kim’s heritage through cocktail elements such as jujube honey and Korean coffee. According to Laura, the most craveable cocktail on the menu is the Ulsan Sour, a twist on a Whiskey Sour which pays homage to Joe Kim’s family’s kiwi farm in Ulsan. The syrupy kiwi works in harmony with the orange juice to offset the strength of the whiskey.
When arriving at Yoli, the frosted doors suggest a secret hidden inside. That mystery is a ten-table restaurant brought to life by owners Joe and Laura with their extensive restaurant industry experience, and a visible passion to bring Korean food—both traditional and modern—into the spotlight of Bend’s culinary scene.
Those fortunate enough to bear witness to Ashland, Oregon’s beauty every day know it’s impossible not to share it with others, especially during the fall and winter months. There’s no better way to cap off an afternoon of skiing at picturesque Mt. Ashland, an evening sampling delicious Rogue Valley wines or a night dining at nationally renowned restaurants than with a visit to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, also known as OSF. [Photo above: The Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 2021. It’s A Christmas, Carol by Mark Bedard, Brent Hinkley and John Tufts. Photo: Jenny Graham]
An artistic staple and theater destination in the Southern Oregon community for more than eighty years, OSF is a permanent fixture on the “must see” lists of visitors and residents alike. Here is where the world’s greatest contemporary artists showcase modern plays, right alongside Shakespearean and classical works of the theatrical canon. Like the generations of art lovers who have grown up with us over the decades, we never get tired of a beautiful evening of live performance.
This November, OSF is thrilled to welcome “It’s Christmas, Carol!” a hysterical reverent, musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ masterful tale, “A Christmas Carol,” back to the OSF stage. This zany, song-skewered comedy was such a hit with 2021 audiences that the festival is bringing it back for a second spectacular holiday. Come see it for the first time—or, if you saw it in 2021, come see it again! The play runs November 23, 2022 through January 1, 2023 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre.
It’s no secret that there are hundreds of reasons to round out 2022 at OSF, but here are 22 (see what we did there?) to get started!
You can (literally!) give your loved ones the gift of uncontrollable laughter with a ticket to “It’s Christmas, Carol!”
Explore the history of the Angus Bowmer Theatre, named after the festival founder.
Bathe in the beauty of an OSF winter.
Enjoy delicious fare in the theatre’s lobbies.
Cold outside? The selection of local wine and coffee will warm you up!
OSF is appropriate fun for the whole family.
Dress how you feel best—whether that’s to impress, wrapped up in an old puffer, or in costume!
Discover what’s behind “It’s Christmas, Carol!” on a guided, walking tour.
Stop by OSF’s gift shop and secure a unique holiday present.
Warm up after a day of jam-packed winter adventures!
Behold the smiling faces of OSF’s friendly staff, all here to ensure you have the best time at the fest.
Accidentally bump into a starry actor or director at OSF’s world-renowned venue.
Directly support the writers, performers, and designers in the Ashland community.
Laugh along to new jokes and new cast members in “It’s Christmas, Carol!”
Walk, hike, or jog along Ashland Creek, right in OSF’s backyard!
OSF abides by ADA ticketing rules and mobility guidelines—the festival wants its art to be enjoyed by everyone!
Delve deeper into “It’s Christmas, Carol” at one of OSF’s free, post-show discussions.
Immerse your senses in The Complete Lavender Experience, just steps away from OSF.
Pamper yourself before the show with a service from OSF’s neighbors at Waterfront Spa.
Directly impact the growth of Southern Oregon’s labor economy.
Take a romantic winter stroll along OSF’s gorgeous grounds.
It’s never too early to introduce the little ones in your life to the power of live theater.
[Editor’s Note: It’s with heavy hearts that we share Stratton Matteson passed away February 24, 2026, in a British Columbia avalanche. This story remains a lasting legacy of his commitment to promoting sustainability and to the sports he loved.]
This winter, while driving to Mt. Bachelor on a bluebird day, keep an eye out for a man on a bike with a splitboard attached to the frame. He’ll most likely be smiling. That’s Stratton Matteson.
Matteson grew up between Oregon and Vermont, and moved back to Bend in his teens. His parents were both environmentalists, and he remembers summers spent traveling through public lands in a Volkswagen van. That outdoor childhood naturally led to splitboarding and other activities in the backcountry. But how to access the backcountry? He wasn’t much for snowmobiles or helicopters. He spent several seasons traveling the west in his van, finding powder along the way, before a friend suggested to him that this type of snowboarding and environmentalism just didn’t align. “It was a little bit of a push,” he said. Matteson remembers thinking, “I’m traveling around, I’m using all this fuel just for really the sake of my own enjoyment. And that didn’t feel integral to me.”
That sparked a change. Matteson, who owns a small native plant restoration-based landscaping business in Bend, decided it was time to take action for himself. Matteson was highly influenced by Rob Greenfield, a sustainability activist whose high-profile projects have included wearing trash around New York City and growing and foraging all his food for an entire year. Matteson took a cue from Greenfield: “[Projects] like that were really inspirational to me as far as living the change and creating it now, rather than waiting for someone to tell you to change or policies to force it.”
His plan started simply. In 2018, Matteson committed to using only his bike to get him to the trailheads that would be the start of his splitboarding adventures. “I don’t think I actually ever doubted I could do it,” he said. “And once I was doing it, I didn’t really want to turn back.” The commitment wasn’t without its challenges. There was the weather, of course, and the added time to reach the places he wanted to go. But there was also the issue of friends who found his method for cutting fossil fuel consumption inconvenient—they wanted him to come on their far-flung adventures, no matter the impact of his carbon footprint. He resisted.The payoff? “The adventure,” Matteson said. “The adventure is exponential when you add this level of getting there on your own the whole way. It’s also extremely fulfilling, just like climbing a mountain, when you climb the whole thing from your house, there’s a lot of fulfillment there, and joy.”
You might as well try…I do think one little drop in the lake ripples out. You’ve got to start somewhere, and someone has to commit to something and start that cultural shift.
Since 2018, Matteson has kept his commitment and expanded it to include biking basically everywhere. Matteson has bikepacked to areas around the west, but he’s also gotten to know his local area on a deeper level. “I could go travel all around and get these brief little glimpses and brief little tastes of places, but I think part of this cultural change is a deep localization of all sorts of things, and one of those would be our recreation and traveling and adventure,” he said.
The reward for Matteson is in the powder.
Staying close to home is Matteson’s way of combating what he sees as a cultural issue with overconsumption—of learning to be OK with less. We can all do our part, he said, and he stresses that little changes from each of us can add up to big change overall. Case in point: a great deal of transportation emissions come from trips that are within 2-to-3 miles from home. Matteson challenges the community to shift those trips from cars to bike, walking or public transit, even carpooling. That, he said, would make a big difference, and it’s doable. He also suggested people consider their bigger trips, particularly by plane—he asks: Are they necessary? Can you find adventures at home instead?
Next up, Matteson plans to make his landscaping company into a bike-based business. “I don’t want to be part of the problem,” he said. “You might as well try…I do think one little drop in the lake ripples out. You’ve got to start somewhere, and someone has to commit to something and start that cultural shift.”
Kylea Civello turned to furniture refinishing to keep her mind occupied while her mom was sick, and again when experiencing postpartum anxiety after the birth of her first child. “My first piece was our dining room table,” said Civello, who is originally from Canada, but was living in her husband’s home city of Palm Springs, California, at the time. “I found it at a thrift store and decided to tackle it.” Civello sanded the table down by hand with a sanding block, re-stained it and sealed it. “It kept me busy during a really hard time,” she said. After moving to Bend in 2019, Civello continued working on furniture during any free time she had on top of being a stay-at-home mom to, Beau, 4, and Margot, 2. Now, a few years later, Civello has finished dozens of pieces, and about half of her work is commission-based, updating or restoring pieces for clients who find her primarily through her Instagram, @kyleacivellodesign. She posts before and after images on her page, which has more than 10,000 followers. In August, Civello was busy working on a 2010 wine cabinet for a customer in Seattle. “People have pieces that they’re kind of over, and instead of throwing it away, I’m totally reworking it,” Civello said. “I’m painting it, and adding doors and cane webbing.” Many of Civello’s pieces have intricate painted designs or features such as wooden dowels or bamboo accents. In the future, Civello would love to do more projects that breathe new life into someone’s existing furniture. “I love to be able to create something unique for someone’s house, that no one else will have,” she said.
Massage therapist Erin Chinburg-Corcoran first tried her hand at restoring and refinishing furniture eleven years ago as a means to make extra money while raising young twin boys on her own. Years later, Chinburg-Corcoran got married and the family regularly visited Central Oregon. In 2018, the family moved to Bend full time, and during the pandemic, Chinburg-Corcoran found her furniture side hustle was becoming more of a “main hustle.” Chinburg-Corcoran said she enjoys keeping up with the trends, and selects many pieces for refinishing that are higher-end mid century and post-modern styles. “Clean modern lines and earth tones are really hot right now,” she said. Chinburg-Corcoran said her interest in furniture refinishing came about after realizing that many new furniture pieces today, even fairly expensive items, are built with poor quality particle board that isn’t made to last. Instead of buying this low-quality furniture for her own home, she opted to thrift higher-quality pieces that needed a refresh, which she accomplished with “a lot of vision and some elbow grease.” As the hobby grew, Chinburg-Corcoran turned to social media to share her projects and sell completed pieces to followers using her Instagram page, @clementineandolive.
These days, Chinburg-Corcoran is typically working on two to four pieces at once, completing restoration work on one, while focusing on repairs and painting on others. On average, she spends about three to ten hours working on each piece, depending on the vision. As she finishes each project, Chinburg-Corcoran said she’s happy to know she’s doing something good for the environment by restoring and refinishing furniture, keeping it out of landfills. “I love pulling the full potential out of a piece of furniture,” she said. “There’s no greater joy than knowing I’m a part of an important trend that helps the environment.”
Native Oregonian Amy Seymour first arrived in Bend in 1992, and after bouncing around to other areas, found herself back in Central Oregon about five years ago. Inspired by other female woodworkers and DIY lovers, Seymour, a medical lab scientist, began to nurture her daydream of being a carpenter. “I thought, why can’t I play with power tools?” Seymour said. During COVID, she built up the confidence to begin working on more furniture refinishing and building projects, and started an Instagram, @resurrected_designs, to document her work. She scours Facebook Marketplace for good deals, opting for sturdy, well-built wood furniture pieces—being partial to dressers and nightstands and mid-century modern designs. Sometimes, the pieces are a bit dingy, drawing reactions like “it stinks” or “I can’t believe you brought that into the house” from Seymour’s husband, but after some time and sweat equity, she turns them into beautifully refinished pieces, ready for their new home. “I’m always on the go, so I find sanding super relaxing. It’s just a nice break,” Seymour said. In addition to sanding woods, painting and staining and swapping out hardware, Seymour also likes building on legs and adding other handcrafted features to the pieces. In the future, she’d like to do more furniture craftsmanship, in addition to refinishing dumpster-bound pieces.
Beyond the pigmented leaves and pumpkin spice mania, there’s abundant activity taking place in the fall. Bears are stuffing themselves full and fat on anything they can get their jaws around. Squirrels are accumulating stockpiles like fuzzy doomsday preppers. Birds are aiming their beaks southbound toward warmer weather. And garden tenders—the savvy ones—are planting bulbs.
Bulbs exist under the broad category of perennial plants, or plants that live more than two years. Taken literally, the term perennial means “through the years.” Planting bulbs in the fall, if done correctly, will offer delayed but beautiful spring blooms for years to come. “Bulbs are the gems of the garden. They’re little treasures. You plant them and forget about them, then all of a sudden, they bloom, and they’re amazing,” said Moss Mahler, founder and sole operator of Hobo Rosa Landscaping.
There are “green thumbs,” and there are people like Mahler who have green fingers and toes as well. Her business, Hobo Rosa is founded on passion, and her experience is a result of twenty years of hard work and indulgence in her curiosities. “This is what I love, so I spend a lot of time geeking out on it,” Mahler said.
‘Tis the Season
The purpose of planting in the fall, according to Mahler, is to give the bulbs time to put down roots and establish themselves below the surface. Because nothing is happening above ground, especially during the late autumn and winter months, many people have the false assumption that nothing is happening below ground either.
Bulbs should be planted when soil temperatures are around forty degrees, according to Amy Jo Detweiler, community horticulturist for Oregon State University Extension in Central Oregon. For successful flowering, bulbs also require a chilling period, or roughly ten weeks in a row at forty degrees or cooler. “September through October is going to be a good window to plant here in Central Oregon,” Detweiler said.
Peonies are a deer-resistant tuberous plant that typically flowers in late spring. They come in a variety of colors and enjoy Central Oregon’s winter chill, followed by the sunny weather.
Choosing and Planting
Tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, scilla and snowdrops are the more common spring-blooming bulbs, but they are by no means the only options. “One of my favorites is the foxtail lily,” Mahler said. “I’ve been having really good success with them and they’re really showy. They get three or four feet tall with their flower spikes, and they like the drier conditions here.” While climate is a crucial factor in bulb choice, Mahler advocates for personal taste. Find something that will spark excitement at full bloom after a long winter.
In preparing the bulb bed, typical weed removal, soil loosening and amending the soil with compost will all be beneficial for bulb development. Choose an area that will get at least six hours of daily sunlight in the spring, and follow the general rule of planting bulbs three times as deep as the bulb is tall, with the pointed end of the bulb aimed upward. For tuberous plants—another bulb-like structure—or bulbs that don’t have an obvious point at the top, plant them root-side down, or on their side just below the compost surface, with the indented side facing up. At the time of planting, both Mahler and Detweiler suggest adding a handful of fertilizer high in phosphates.
Foxtail Lilies
Time to Bloom
Big bloom or small, prepare to bear witness to a fresh splash of color in the spring. “The bigger the bulb, the bigger the bloom,” Detweiler said. “The size of the bulb, when buying them, has a direct correlation to flower size.” The exact timing of the bloom will depend on the variety of bulb and soil temperatures. The birds and bees will enjoy them as well, but beware of deer who have a strong appetite for tulips.
Appreciate the flowering period in the spring and understand that the flamboyant, above-ground life of a bulb is short-lived. “After bulbs flower, they go through an awkward phase,” Mahler said. “Daffodils are a good example, they flower, they look really great, and suddenly they look like they’re dying.” Similar to the planting and dormant period underground, this awkward phase is important. Where many people error is their impatience in cutting back the yellowing leaves. When the initial burst of beauty subsides, the remaining leaves—while sad-looking—are soaking up as much solar energy as they possibly can. Wait until the leaves are good and brown before cutting them back, and trust the perennial nature of the bulb—they’ll be back.
The varieties and recipe possibilities for sweet potatoes are boundless, mostly because they are some of the most versatile foods around. Eat them with a side of fried eggs, try them topped with feta cheese or on the side of dinner one Saturday night. Find locally grown sweet potatoes at farm stands before they close for the season, or pick them at Bend’s year-round indoor farmers market, Central Oregon Locavore, after farm stands close up shop. Here are three simple but delicious ways to prepare sweet potatoes this autumn.
Hash Browns
On the side of eggs and bacon, hash browns are among the most popular breakfast staples. After washing, peeling and shredding a sweet potato or two—either in a food processor or by hand—add olive oil to the mix and whatever spices sound good such as paprika, salt or pepper. Then, on an oiled or buttered stovetop pan, flatten the mixture into patties and fry until crispy. Afterwards, top with green onions, sour cream or both.
Tip: Use an ice cream scoop to help shape the hash browns before flattening with a turner.
Photo @girlswoeat
Sweet Potato Tacos
It sounds simple—and it is—but this is truly a choose-your-own-adventure type of lunch. Start by dicing the sweet potatoes, tossing in oil and taco seasoning, and roasting in the oven. While you wait, prepare the endless list of toppings to make the tacos complete: try black beans, avocado and feta cheese for a refreshing flavor. Once out of the oven, stuff the sweet potatoes in a spruced up corn or warm flour tortilla, drizzle with lime and dig in.
Tip: For a flavor with a punch, add chili powder.
Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Picture this: it’s an autumn evening, the grill is fired up for the last few days of warmer weather before winter dips in, and you’re in need of the perfect side dish to pair with a weekend dinner of salmon, steak or burgers. Cut the desired amount of sweet potatoes into quarter-inch rounds or slices, and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, or paprika. After the sweet potatoes are just fork-tender, remove from the grill and top with cilantro. Voila—a straightforward and tasty way to prepare sweet potatoes with a smoky zest.
Tip: Try using garlic salt or rosemary to season the sweet potatoes for a more distinct flavor.
Iarrived in Paisley in the afternoon with the sun still high. Michael Norris, owner and guide of Paisley Adventure, and I were going to do a ride on the first evening of my weekend stay. I made my way to the last house in town on the right to meet the Norris pair and load our bikes for the shuttle up to Morgan Butte Fire Outlook.
Photo courtesy Paisley Adventure
While Kris Norris, Michael’s wife, shuttled us through the vast basin and range landscape into the desolate Fremont National Forest, she explained Paisley’s story—from John Fremont’s exploration of Lake County due to his part in the Mexican-American War, to the influence of ZX Ranch, one of the nation’s largest cattle ranches. The small town contains a lot of history, and although the couple moved to the area twelve years ago from the Tahoe area, they can tell you most of it. At 7,200 feet, we reached Morgan Butte and took in the panoramic view. Michael said on clear days it’s possible to see Mount Shasta, more than 100 miles to the southeast. After a quick geographic overview, we hit the trail. I opted to leave my mountain bike in Bend and try out a Paisley Adventure fat bike. After a moment of acclimating to the bike, I quickly appreciated the “monster truck” I was on. My cheeks hurt from smiling as I did my best to keep up with Michael ripping downhill on the rarely-used trail. Michael said, “It’s almost like skiing in powder,” referring to the brush that blocked a clear sight of the trail, to which I hollered back, “waist-deep!”
The Morgan Butte downhill is a ten-mile section of the Oregon Timber Trail: a 669-mile mountain bike trail that goes across Oregon and passes through Paisley. The entire route is divided into four sections and can be completed in about twenty to thirty days. Michael said the creation of the trail system and the work of the OTT has allowed for significant improvements on the trail in the Paisley area. Before the OTT—conceived in 2015—it was Kris and Michael’s hard work that improved the trail. “We moved here in 2010, and the first several years that we lived in the area and rode this trail were challenging because of its underuse,” Michael said. “I think it was just Kris and I riding the trail at the time, and we would end up clearing a couple of miles and then spend the summer riding it only to return to more deadfall the following season.With OTT, we finally have consistently rideable singletrack. Their efforts have been phenomenal.”
We dropped through the rollers and chunky-rock sections; over creek crossings, through the brush and down to the Chewaucan River canyon with the trail entirely to ourselves. Just when the fun felt over, we got to coast down a paved, quiet road back to Paisley Adventure. Kris met us with samosas, homemade Rice Krispies Treats and coconut lemonade. The warm touch of Kris’s hospitality, I was realizing, was the backbone of Paisley Adventure.
Seasonally, riders may explore Summer Lake’s playa on bikes. Photo courtesy Paisley Adventure
That evening, I headed back to the Sunset cabin: one of several spots to stay at Summer Lake Hot Springs. This healing retreat is centered around ancient artesian hot springs, with 360-degree views of the sun and wild horizons, including Winter Ridge to the west and Abert Rim to the east—long, fault block mountains formed during the Miocene Epoch. A dip in the hot springs at this special place paired with an insanely star-filled sky was the perfect prep work for another big ride in the morning with Paisley Adventure.
After a breakfast of eggs from Khloé Kardashian (the Norris’s chicken), potatoes and green juice sourced from their vegetable garden, we hit the road straight from Paisley Adventure to head deep into the big high lonesome—where the remote feeling cannot be overstated. We rode around the east side of Summer Lake over the natural desert surface, varying from rocks to packed sand, and through both drainage and the flow of the water-carved floor.
John Fremont named Summer Lake in 1843 while on an expedition through Central Oregon. He and his party were experiencing grueling winter snow conditions at the top of Winter Ridge (also named by Fremont) when he peered over and saw the alkali lake and the green prairie country surrounding it. Prior to Fremont’s discovery, the Paiutes had lived on the land of Lake County since time immemorial.
Paisley Adventure offers shuttles allowing riders to start at the top and enjoy downhill and also point-to-point pickups. Photo courtesy Paisley Adventure
The ride took us past the Paisley Caves, which contains archaeological evidence of North America’s oldest known human existence, dating back 18,000 years. Although lizards were the only wildlife I saw, Michael mentioned his sightings have included pronghorn sheep, antelope, foxes, bobcats, wild horses and even black bear. One thing was missing—humans. Coming from Bend, it felt unreal to have two days and almost fifty miles of riding without sharing a trail. We finished the nearly thirty-mile ride with chicken gyros, among other healthy snacks Kris provided in a park next to the wildlife viewing area.
Just a two-hour drive through National Forest from Bend, a trip to Paisley for a riding adventure with Michael and Kris Norris sets a new perspective. It’s an opportunity to change up your typical ride and see a new landscape in the arid desert of the Oregon Outback. In addition to tours ranging from ten to 200 miles, Paisley Adventures offers shuttles, bike rentals, repair services, and resupply drops for Oregon Timber Trail and Oregon Desert Trail backpackers and bikepackers. With the kindness of the Norris couple, and the solitude of time spent in the remote high desert, I left more energized than before the fifty miles of riding. See paisleyadventure.com.
Known for their relaxing and rejuvenating effects, saunas have been shown to provide real health benefits, something especially appealing to fitness-conscious Central Oregonians. Evidence suggests sauna bathing may be tied to a reduced risk of vascular diseases, according to research in the peer-reviewed journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings. For some people, it’s an enticing enough option to invest in one of their own.
What is a Sauna
A sauna is a special insulated room built of softwood and outfitted with a heater, according to Karen Post, who co-owns her business, Aqua Hot Tubs in Sisters, with her husband, Jason. The sauna’s heater contains rocks that can be heated to 600 degrees, but the room itself won’t get hotter than 180 degrees. “The health benefits are amazing, even just for mental health, rest and relaxation, meditation,” Post said. “For most people, sauna time is a quiet time; you’re not just improving circulation, burning calories, you’re doing a lot for your skin.”
Saunas can also help relieve joint pain and stiffness, according to Post. Most people heat the room to between 120 to 140 degrees, Post said, adding that anyone with health concerns should consult their doctor before partaking. In a traditional Finnish sauna, like those that Aqua Hot Tubs offers, users ladle water over the stove’s rocks to make steam, creating about 10 to 40 percent humidity.
For Heather Cashman of Bend, having a sauna at home is such an essential experience that she’ll be installing one for the third time. Each time Cashman has moved in recent years, she has built a sauna with the help of Redmond Spa Stove & Sauna. She uses her sauna at least four to five times a week, for about fifteen to twenty minutes at a time, she said.
“It’s sort of almost euphoric, you’re so relaxed,” Cashman said. “If I’ve overexerted my muscles or anything it helps. You can just go in there and feel it unwind.”
Bend resident Heather Cashman’s backyard sauna. Photo by Riley Visuals
What Makes Your Sauna
Sizes of saunas can range depending on when you decide to add one. If you’re building a new house, there is the most flexibility with size. A size of five by seven feet is the most common for interior saunas added to an existing home, Post said. “If they’re building new, they’ll do bigger because they can. For exterior saunas, you’ll get all different sizes.” The ceiling height of saunas is usually no higher than seven to eight feet to maximize efficiency and safety.
While saunas offer a pretty standard setup of benches surrounding a heater, homeowners can make the room’s layout their own. Glass doors, commonly used in saunas, can also be etched with eye-catching, custom designs.
Saunas can be built custom or from kits, on your own, or with hired help depending on how handy you are. Many people associate saunas with the smell of cedar for good reason; saunas are built with softwood, and cedar is a go-to option.
Find Your Sauna
At Aqua Hot Tubs where Post sells the Portland-area based brand Finlandia, the wood options are Western red cedar and Western hemlock. Aesthetically, hemlock is light and consistent, providing a slightly more modern look, whereas cedar is a bit richer in color with more variations throughout the wood. Both have soothing scents, Post said.
Saunas in nature are particularly peaceful. Open the door after a sweat to experience the brisk, fresh air. Image supplied by Divine Saunas divinesaunas.com, courtesy of Dundalk Leisurecraft
Finlandia offers two options for home saunas: prefabricated and pre-cut. Prefabricated saunas are kits that come with the interior and exterior walls plus insulation, ready to piece together. For pre-cut saunas, the Finlandia team designs and draws custom plans for the space in which you are looking to build your sauna, and then sends every piece needed to build the sauna—from the custom-cut slats of wood, to the pre-made benches, Post explained.
The prefabricated option is a standalone sauna that might be placed in a home gym, garage or in the backyard if a roof is added. A pre-cut sauna might be built into a spare walk-in closet, extra space in an oversized bathroom in an existing home, or the sauna room of a new custom home.
In addition to contractors, many people hire electricians if needed, as electric sauna stoves may require a 220-volt outlet. For many modern saunas, technology allows people to start heating their sauna using an app on their phone. Saunas with wood stoves are an alternative option to electric stoves.
In Central Oregon, where Scandinavians began immigrating generations ago, some people are drawn to saunas because they grew up with them. Others simply want a permanent spa experience at home.
“They are a personal thing, a home sauna,” Post said. “Once you do it a few times, it’s something you miss when you can’t do it.”
Marie Saldivar and her husband Kurtis met in the vast, Joshua tree-lined landscape of the Mojave Desert. They were part of a community of outsiders, artists and dreamers where many people were looking for alternative housing. “The desert is this liminal space that attracts outside-the-box thinking and problem solving, usually on a shoestring budget,” she said. It was here that Steel Hut Concepts’ first Quonset structure came to fruition in the form of an art studio/guest space. “We were looking for something that was financially attainable and that we could have agency over,” Saldivar said.
The word “Quonset” comes from an Algonquin First Nations word meaning “small, long place,” referring to the narrow peninsula known as Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where these structures were first manufactured. The Quonset hut was introduced during World War II as a packable structure deployed for housing and barracks, utilitarian and solution based space. “We’re still borrowing that same historical thread; they’re extremely affordable, they’re extremely sustainable, and we’re building for under $200 a square foot,” she said. Quonsets are long, arched buildings—these are particularly made of steel—and are architecturally sound in the clever yet simplistic design. Saldivar describes the buildings as, “an ultra-modern cathedral meets giant Airstream. The exterior can read utilitarian until you step into the vaulted interior, a simple arched elegance.” All buildings from Steel Hut Concepts are made from 80 percent recycled steel, and spray foam insulation made from recycled single-use plastic and soy protein. “Everybody should have access to contemporary design and attractive, sustainable housing,” she said.
Photo Gonzalez Architectural Design and Rendering
Saldivar is also a realtor for Cascade Sotheby’s in Central Oregon, and she is keenly aware of the uptick in recent costs for custom homes. “We’re seeing price per square foot costs upward of $800 for custom new construction, which is unobtainable for most and certainly doesn’t lend to the long term health of our communities,” she said. Steel Hut is a design and build model taking on custom projects in the region. The company is scaling the business to include grab and go plan sets which will be available on their website for out of region clients, or handy consumers who want to take on the project as homeowner builders. Their plan sets integrate Quonset shells manufactured by SteelMaster Buildings, a seamless collaboration making the process as streamlined as possible. From $3,200, someone looking for an affordable and green home can find a building plan on the Steel Hut Concepts website, and make that dream a reality in an ethical way. Steel Hut Concepts residential use structures create significantly less waste in comparison to other custom builds, because the Quonsets are predetermined to scale. “That’s a really exciting part about using this modular shell system—you can preemptively reduce a lot of the materials that are going to end up in the waste stream,” she said.
After obtaining a plan, the shells are an affordable alternative to traditional custom builds, ranging anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000 depending on size, meaning buyers and prospective Quonset owners have a massive advantage on the attainability of their new home. The zero-timber optionality also reduces the cost and keeps the building fire resistant. After that, the process of permitting, hiring builders and engineers, or building by yourself—as the buildings are all DIY friendly—is a simple step to having a dream home, ADU or garage.
There is one building option currently available for purchase, and in less than a year, about a dozen floor plans should be available for prospective homeowners to begin imagining their dream living space. Presently, Steel Hut Concepts sells many of the Quonset plans to out of region buyers, but Saldivar is hoping there will be even more demand for these builds in Central Oregon.
The scalability and customizability of the buildings is what makes the Quonset form less of a noun and more of a verb. They can be made bigger, smaller, taller or shorter. “The sky’s the limit. Think multiple stories, think row houses, think different pods connected with breezeways. It’s just infinite,” Saldivar said. As the buildings are all permitted to be used as primary residential spaces, there is nothing holding buyers back from stepping into a totally new frontier of housing.
The sustainable actions taken to reduce waste—eliminating factors such as timber costs—and the availability of the buildings is a game-changer for the future of housing in Central Oregon and beyond, Saldivar said. The team at Steel Hut Concepts is steadily brainstorming new, innovative ways to create access to clean contemporary designs, healthy for our communities and our planet.
Saldivar said her husband is a “jack of all trades” builder, mapping out the technical side of a project, while she is more detail-oriented. Steel Hut Concepts started as a passion project that is now seeing traction. “The market is changing, and consumers are looking at housing through a more creative lens,” Saldivar said. “I’m always dreaming of my next hut.”
Steel Hut Concepts | steelhutconcepts.com |503-473-4114
It all started in a garage for Bend’s Baldhead Cabinets, which is today a designer and manufacturer of heavy-duty, high-quality garage cabinetry. In the 1980s, Eric and Bobbie Fleming started a metal manufacturing company in their Costa Mesa, California, garage—creating heavy-duty metal security boxes to protect change receptacles in laundry machines. The boxes were sold to laundromats as the couple began to explore other forms of metal manufacturing.
Fast forward to the year 2000, when the Flemings were remodeling their garage, and a new idea popped into Bobbie’s head to create metal cabinetry. “It was my mom’s idea to make cabinets out of metal for the garage,” said Peter Fleming, the couple’s son, who was a teenager at the time. The cabinetry the Flemings created for their own garage was somewhere between a Snap-on tool chest and custom kitchen cabinets, built to the highest of standards using metal. “They thought, if we’re going to make a cabinet, we’re going to make a really nice cabinet,” Peter said. “The idea was to have a nice countertop, space for tools and plenty of storage cabinets.” When the project was complete, the Flemings took photos and shared them in a local Southern California magazine, which caught the attention of some potential customers looking to outfit their own garages.
Growing the Business
Once the Flemings zeroed in on cabinet manufacturing, their business began to grow slowly but organically through Southern California and beyond. Calling the business “Fleming Cabinets’” didn’t seem catchy enough, so the Flemings instead opted for the more memorable name “Baldhead,” after an engineer who has worked with them from the start who was bald. “The name stuck, it’s a name people don’t forget and people usually get a bit of a chuckle out of hearing it,” Peter said.
Since the beginning, the products and the experience of designing, creating and installing custom cabinetry has been something that appealed to a small, niche audience, Peter said. “This has never been something for your average garage,” he said. “This is the one percent of the garage market, not the masses.” In the early years of growing the cabinetry business, the company visited automotive trade shows and advertised nationally, aiming to appeal to customers looking to elevate their garages with high-quality cabinetry. Over time, the business grew organically and through advertising, attracting new customers and repeat clients looking to outfit another garage or car storage space. “It’s a huge compliment to have repeat clients,” Peter said.
It was a cabinetry customer in Bend that first enticed the family to move to Central Oregon, after they visited for an installation in the early 2000s. “The customers were absolutely head over heels for Bend, and were sharing all their favorite spots and things to do,” said Peter, who was getting ready to start college at the time. It took a few years to determine whether a move north to Central Oregon made sense for the company, but ultimately it was the right call and the business migrated to Bend in 2005. The business moved out of a 20,000-square-foot facility in Southern California into a new, comparably priced, 55,000-square-foot space in northeast Bend. There’s ample space here for ongoing cabinet manufacturing, as well as other metal manufacturing that’s still a part of the business today.
A Concierge Experience
Clients are drawn to Baldhead Cabinets for not only the quality cabinets, but for the experience from start to finish with an established company that’s rooted in the United States, said Peter, who is today part of the company’s management team, along with his parents and other managers. Peter explained that each project is designed and engineered with input from a customer, with cabinets created specifically for their garage. A series of consultations and communication builds repertoire and trust even before the transaction is made or cabinets are built.
When it comes time, the Baldhead Cabinets team is available to visit each home in-person for installation, ensuring the final product is up to a homeowner’s standards. “A lot of what we are selling is the whole experience,” Peter said. “At the end, people will say ‘I knew they were going to be good, but I didn’t know it would be this good.’” Over the years, the company has considered delving into more garage accessories, but has instead decided to keep its focus narrow, truly specializing in what they do best, cabinets. “We want to really focus on what we do, and do it well,” Peter said. “We take a lot of pride in what we do, and creating a product that we’d want in our own garage.”
To the untrained eye, the many small factors that elevate a house from traditional construction to a green, high-efficiency home are likely to go unnoticed. Whether it’s the effectiveness of insulation in the ceilings and walls, the configuration of studs within a wall or the number of panes in the glass patio doors, the details are what make all the difference in the quest to build green. With a little know-how, Central Oregonians can start to spot some of the differences in homes built with energy efficiency in mind, and those building new or remodeling may even push for these sustainable methods to be used in their own homes.
Since 1999, Timberline Construction of Bend has refined its own practices when it comes to green building, keeping up with the latest and greatest in environmentally-friendly building practices that clients seek out, while also making certain green features standard on all the homes the company builds. “Most of our clients have at least some concerns for their own health, the health of the community we live in, and the overall health of our environment,” said Kevin Lorda, a project manager for Timberline who has worked for the company since 2001. “Some clients are very motivated when it comes to conscious building, while others may just wish for some of the efficiencies and healthful aspects of these homes.”
Timberline owner Kristian Willman explained that while some of the energy efficient green building practices and products are done at the request of clients, others are standard practice for the company. “We’re doing some things as a builder as a standard,” Willman said. “These include really focusing on the envelope of the home—the windows, walls and insulation—the shell of the home.” Willman said creating a well-insulated, airtight building envelope is an essential part of green building, and something Timberline Construction is well-versed in.
Timberline Construction of Bend team members, from left, Peter Blackham, Tom Pulliam, Kristian Willman and Shon Rae.
Foam insulation, which is always used by Timberline, is sprayed into wall cavities, expanding to create an airtight seal that helps homes retain their temperature throughout the year—keeping cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Also inside the walls, prospective homeowners can choose whether to upgrade from regular studs in the wall to a staggered stud approach, a framing technique that keeps the two sides of a wall from touching, thus dampening sound and more importantly, reducing the touchpoints for thermal exchange—meaning even better insulating. “Our houses are so airtight, that we have to exchange air mechanically,” said Willman, who explained that HVAC systems and the opening of doors and windows help with this exchange, keeping home air fresh. During smoky summers, a home’s airtight seal and filtered air exchange is particularly valuable.
A home’s plumbing system is another area where sustainable options are worth exploring. Low-flow and low-flush faucets and toilets are becoming more common, while tankless water heaters continue to be an efficient tool for only heating as much hot water as is truly necessary. One tool that can help in the case of a plumbing emergency is Moen’s Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff, a product that alerts homeowners via smartphone of abnormal water usage at home, regardless of where they are. “I think every home should have one of these,” Willman said. Timberline can also install environmentally-friendly greywater systems that recirculate used water from showers, bathroom sinks and washing machines for use again in toilets and washing machines.
Sustainable building practices continue to grow in popularity, Willman said, particularly here in Central Oregon, where residents value outdoor recreation and taking care of the earth. “More people are becoming environmentally conscious, and I think people who are living in Bend or moving here are more outdoorsy,” Willman said. “It’s all about wanting to protect what we have in our backyard.”
It’s a gorgeous, unreal day over Madras with the high desert canyons collapsing into the rolling expanses of sage and brittlebush, and Tanner Steele is at the helm of a Cessna 172. The pack of dials and gauges before him blink and spin in a language he has come to learn. There’s the airport ahead. He banks. Mount Jefferson slides off his left wing. Mount Hood looms straight ahead. A sign in the cockpit reminds him to behave. No spins. No aerobatics. Steele, a Central Oregon Community College student enrolled in the school’s two-year professional pilot program, is calm and focused; just a red-headed twenty-year-old a thousand feet in the sky. Me? I’m getting queasy.
I close my eyes and that’s when I notice the sound. Something’s off. The constant drone of the engine has diminished to a worrisome sputter, and then a muscleless whisper. Is that an alarm going off? “Have you lost power?” I ask. “Oh no!” he says.
Steele gets to work. He sets the speed to about 65 knots which gives him an efficient nine-to-one glide ratio, meaning that for every nine feet he flies horizontally he’ll lose only a foot in elevation. That should be more than enough to make it to the runway, but then he starts muttering in what sounds to me like run-on gibberish: “Roughly in a downwind turn a little bit more fine runway off the right wing gonna go straight into a right base for one-six.” The runway drifts up slowly and with a squeaky bounce the plane comes to a stop on the ground. No fireball. No vomit.
A computer projection simulates the view from a Cessna 172 cockpit for realistic flight training on the ground. Photo courtesy of Central Oregon Community College – Timothy Park Photography
“Like a boss!” says his instructor, Chris McNulty from behind him. Then the engine magically restarts and Steele does it all over again.
This is all fake—the weather, the airport, even the plane itself. What I just witnessed was a flight simulation boasting a remarkable layer of reality. We weren’t high over Madras. There was no engine failure because there was no engine. Even Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, and the desert around Madras, were all just a computer projection on a large, semicircle of a screen set before a model cockpit designed to feel and look exactly like the cockpit of a Cessna 172. About the only thing real here is Steele, my nausea and the fact that training like this—along with countless hours flying the real deal sitting outside on the Bend Municipal Airport tarmac—will mean one day very soon Steele will almost certainly be a pilot. When that happens, he’ll be the guy anyone would want in the cockpit should a real emergency take place.
Steele is one of more than 200 students enrolled in COCC’s aviation program that teams up with Leading Edge Flight Academy at the Bend Municipal Airport to teach the next generation of plane and helicopter pilots, as well as drone operators and managers. During the day he’ll take classes in avionics (the study of the electronic systems used on aircraft) and aerodynamics, and then head out to the airport for a lab that includes flying real planes as well as time practicing in the simulator. In less than two years he’s already mastered his private pilot and instrument-flying certifications and will soon have his commercial license, too. That puts him that much closer to realizing a dream of flying helicopters that offer emergency medical transfer. “I’ve wanted to fly since I was a kid,” he said, adding he was going to transfer to Arizona State but then found COCC and Leading Edge. “I decided to stick around Bend.”
Aviation Student Spotlight
ZoË Doden, Bend | Age: 18
Zoë starts the Leading Edge Aviation Program at Central Oregon Community College Fall 2022
How did you become interested in learning to fly?
“I don’t know how a 2-year-old me found the interest, but I’ve wanted to fly for as long as I can consciously remember.”
First flying lessons:
“At Outlaw Aviation (in Sisters, Oregon),when I was 16 years old.”
Age you earned a PRIVATE pilot license?
“Just after turning 18 and a few weeks before graduating from Summit High School.”
Favorite (or most challenging) part of flying?
“I love how you can never learn enough about flying, which is also what makes it a challenging thing to pursue. Flying is a constantlearning experience.”
What is your ultimate goal after graduation from the Aviation Program?
“I want to be an aerial firefighter in the long term but I also have a huge interest in backcountry flying and seaplanes.”
Tucked away just below the busy streets of downtown Bend is Porter Brewing’s newest location, The Cellar, a cozy basement pub reminiscent of those found across the pond in England. In fact, the eight hand-pump beer engines stationed behind the bar were all imported from old-school pubs in the United Kingdom and are part of what makes this brewery unique.
Avara and Daven Roberts, the husband and wife duo behind Porter Brewing, wanted to bring something a little different to the Central Oregon beer scene when they first opened their Redmond brewery in 2018. In lieu of the typical hoppy IPAs found on draft in breweries all over Bend, Porter Brewing is focused on 100 percent cask ales, which offer a more balanced and malt-forward flavor.
“The two main differences between cask ales and draft beer are the temperature and the carbonation.” Avara explained. This means that all of the ales are served at cellar temperature and, unlike taps commonly found in breweries, the hand pumps used at The Cellar don’t add any additional carbonation.
Not super well versed in cask ales? No worries. The popular Irish Red Ale, an easy-drinking beer that’s still packed with a ton of flavor, offers an excellent introduction and is one of Avara’s favorites. With its soft toffee and caramel sweetness, biscuity palate, and touch of roasted dryness to finish, it’s the perfect beer for a blustery fall evening. There’s no more fitting environment to enjoy it in than at The Cellar.
“We want anybody and everybody to come in and feel like they belong here.” Avara said of The Cellar’s inviting and comfortable atmosphere. The basement location, with its old stone walls and personal family artifacts make The Cellar a cozy spot to grab a 20-ounce imperial pint and chat up the person next to you. “We don’t have TVs in here and that was very intentional, we just wanted this to be a space where people can talk to each other,” Avara said. “That’s what a pub’s for, right? We’re not a sports pub. We’re a proper pub.” See porterbrewingco.com.
This article was originally published Sep 20, 2022
They say love goes through the stomach. Then again, a gut punch does too. Over the past few years, the restaurants and bars of Central Oregon have seen both. Lucky for us, the good ones keep fighting. It’s no secret that restaurants have been some of the hardest hit businesses during the pandemic. Facing countless challenges from mandated closings to paying staff, owners were lucky to see the other side when their businesses were allowed to reopen. Though Central Oregon lost its fair share (say it ain’t so, Jackson’s Corner Eastside!), little by little the area is seeing a rebound in the food and drink space. Several new restaurants have opened over the past year, and a few pre-COVID successes are expanding as well. But don’t let the fancy new façades fool you. It’s really a tale of two sides—one on the outside, public-facing and shiny; the other on the inside filled with grit, heart and a whole lot of tears.
The Good News
First, the good news. Bend is growing, tourists continue to flock into town, and locals’ appetites are as big as ever. In a city filled with great restaurants, nothing excites foodies more than a new one to explore. According to Regional Economist Damon Runberg of the Oregon Employment Department, from a pure numbers standpoint, Bend is nearly at the same levels of establishments currently as it was pre-pandemic. In February 2020, there were 322 restaurants and drinking places in Bend that reported employment, he said. Fast forward to February 2022, exactly two years from the pre-pandemic peak, and remarkably there were 320 restaurants and drinking places reporting employment—only a net loss of two. Runberg did note that not all were the same and the restaurants that closed were largely replaced by new businesses.
Nome Italiano | Photo Lane Pearson
For SixTop Restaurant Group restaurants (Bos Taurus, Miyagi Ramen, Hablo Tacos and the new Nome Italiano) co-owner Kyle Mckee, making it through the pandemic was all about change agility. “The heart of the pandemic taught you to be nimble and flexible,” he said. “It’s a lot of re-imagining what a restaurant is and how things work.” McKee said. Miyagi Ramen transitioned well in the pandemic because it was already set up for take-out, and was stronger post-pandemic as a result. “Whereas Bos Taurus was more difficult,” he said. “It’s more about the dining experience, and the shut-downs were harder.” Andrew Soriano, co-owner of Boxwood Kitchen and the freshly opened Meadowlark in south Bend, said federal funding and outdoor seating helped to bridge the gap as well. “With the financial help, we were able to keep our good employees through the pandemic,” he said. The owners both say that teachings from the pandemic have been applied to their new locations as well. “The main thing you learn is how to operate in an inconsistent environment,” said Soriano. “You figure out how to lean on good people with less.”
Miyagi Ramen
Response to Unpredictable Times
Whereas pre-pandemic restaurants could be somewhat predictable, McKee said it’s anything but predictable today. “It used to be [that] you knew Mondays were the slow days and Fridays were going to be busy,” he said. “Now you’re just trying to figure out what the public wants and when.” This uncertainty has led to many restaurants paring down menus to cut food costs and implementing technology such as tableside ordering systems. The one thing that can’t be overlooked is good staff, however.
San Simón owner Brian Trottier said COVID provided an opportunity to show his staff how much they meant to him. “We’ve always said what made San Simón so special is the staff,” he said. “When the pandemic hit, we did what we could to help everyone out. We sold apparel; we did a Go Fund me campaign for staff before the federal programs started. The community was incredibly cool with their support.” According to SixTop Restaurant Group McKee, staffing is a balance. “You don’t want to burn people out,” he said. “Stress levels are at all-time highs and we’re trying to be more cognizant of what’s important to people. We really focus on creating a positive work environment to help.”
The challenge, however, is that restaurants can only pay staff so much while balancing the rising food costs and overhead to make a profit. Pair that with the high cost of living in the area and the low inventory, and it creates a tricky situation for staffing. Boxwood’s Soriano said he has been able to maintain his key staff but getting new employees in the door is difficult. “We see about a fifty-percent no-show rate for interviews,” he said. “People will say they’ll be there and then just never show up.” This has led many restaurants to operate with less-than-ideal hours, or close on days they’d otherwise be open. Ultimately, it creates a scenario that many owners fear could lead to the degradation of the food scene and ultimately, the culture of Bend.
Hablo Tacos | Photo Lane Pearson
Eat, Drink and Be Gracious
If the staffing is dialed in, though, there’s an upside for restaurants and bars in Central Oregon, according to SixTop Restaurant Group’s McKee. “There have been a number of new locations popping up, and it’s great to see a lot of the old ones surviving and thriving. Bend is known for being a great place to live and experience and food is a big part of that. As long as people continue living here and visiting our establishments, we can keep providing an opportunity for a great culinary experience.”
Hungry visitors to the area and locals with an appetite can help: Support your local restaurants and drinking establishments when you can, be gracious (yes, things may take longer) and tip your staff generously. Enjoy long-time favorite spots and visit some of the newest places in town to eat and drink.
Successes at First locations lead to Sibling restaurants
EAT
Nome Italiano is the newest spot from SixTop Restaurant Group. Upscale Nome models itself after “the classic red-sauce joints that made us all fall in love with Italian cuisine.” A great choice for a date or reliving fond memories from your vacation to the Boot.
1465 SW Knoll Avenue, Bend
Meadowlark, from the owners of Boxwood Kitchen and Rapa Nui Tiki Lounge, Meadowlark brings some much-needed goodness to the south side of town. Expect a range of offerings from artisan pizzas to pasta, and classics like pot pie, along with creative cocktails. Casual but refined, Meadowlark has a comfortable atmosphere perfect for happy hour with friends or dinner with your partner.19570 Amber Meadow Drive, Suite 100, Bend
Blue Eyes Burgers and Fries—the name says it all. Simple, classic and affordable, Blue Eyes Burgers and Fries is the newest venture from the folks behind Jackson’s Corner. A great option for the budget conscious or those who just want a good burger, Blue Eyes provides a classic diner vibe with a modern twist.706 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 100, Bend
DRINK
Flamingo Room Don’t let the name fool you. The Flamingo Room—brought to you from the San Simón team—is not a tiki bar. Instead, with its oxygen-inducing plant life and a creative drink menu, the atmosphere is cozy and accommodating for singles, doubles and small groups. 70 SW Century Drive Suite 130, Bend
The Lair Now in its fifth year, Kobold Brewing out of Redmond expanded with a downtown Bend location. The Lair, located in the space formerly occupied by the Whitewater Tap House, has an inviting patio in the back—a new spot for Central Oregon hopheads to gather. 1043 NW Bond Street, Bend
Bend has certainly changed during the past few decades. The number of roundabouts and breweries has exponentially increased. The home prices have gone through the roof. The proliferation of familiar business names—from Starbucks to Sephora—has become commonplace. However, some things haven’t changed. Chief among them, longtime local businesses that have not just survived, but thrived. Meet several familiar faces of businesses that have stood the test of time.
If you grew up in Bend, there’s a good chance you got your first bike at Sunnyside Sports. It’s equally likely that since then, you’ve bought your kids—maybe your grandkids—their first bike there, too. Jim Desmet and Gary Fowles opened Sunnyside Sports in 1972 on Irving Avenue. Over the years it moved and changed owners a few times before settling in a little house on Newport Avenue in 1990. The current owners, Susan Conner and Mike Schindler, bought the business in 2013, but that’s certainly not when their relationship to Sunnyside started. Schindler started working at the shop in 2000, and Conner has been there since 1988; she was the first woman they hired. Before Sunnyside moved in, the building housed a taxidermy business, and when Schindler started in 2000, the lot across the street—now housing Spork and other businesses—held a used car dealership. “There was nothing on Newport,” Conner said. “We owe (former owner Don Leet) a ton for that vision. One of the appraisers, when we were going through the design, said we should put garage doors in it so that when we went out of business it could be an auto shop or something.”
The bike business continues to change. More and more big bike companies are buying shops to control how their merchandise is marketed and sold. The proliferation of e-bikes, and technology and software complicates the industry. Nevertheless, Schindler said, “It’s still hard to get away from some of the things that make bikes beautiful. Even though chains are messy and they break, and derailers are not elegant-looking, [they are] still efficient.” It doesn’t hurt that Sunnyside’s pros often are still able to work on the bike someone bought from them in 1975 and still offer free checkups for those old bikes—as well as for their newest e-bike. “Bikes always need service,” Conner said. “You’re always going to need a person with a wrench who knows what they’re doing.”
Sunnyside specializes in bikes, but it also sells and rents Nordic ski gear. While other bike shops have popped up and dropped away, fifty years in, Conner and Schindler agree that what has kept Sunnyside going is the personality behind it. “Our people are the gold. Mike and I work for them,” Conner said. “You can buy bikes anywhere. And so to keep the staff and keep our people long term…I think to me that’s it, that’s all we have really in the end.” Mike believes a small business’s success is the result of a committee—it’s not one person who has an idea and rules with an iron fist. “Sunnyside’s a big ship, and it’s been around for awhile and it’s had multiple owners, and we’re taking the helm, but it’s almost its own energy and vibe, and we happen to fit that vibe and our staff and customers do, too,” Schindler said, and Conner agreed. “It’s its own thing, and we’re stewarding Sunnyside right now, and then hopefully someone else will be groomed to steward it through,” Conner said. “It’s not ours. We’re almost in service to the store. We work for Sunnyside.”
When we think of Bend’s growth, much of it has transformed the city’s west side. Amidst that growth is a garden center that opened in 1970 and continues to prosper today. Each year at the start of April, Galveston Gardens’ gates open, signaling to the community that it’s time to prepare for spring and get some plants in the ground. “We sell shovels. We don’t sell gold. We sell shovels,” said owner Dino Cloward. “What we’re really doing is helping green the earth again.” Cloward’s family has owned the property on Galveston Avenue for 100 years, and they live there still. When Cloward was about 10 years old, his parents, Giovanna and Richard Cloward, began considering a business they could continue long into old age. Galveston Gardens was born. This is the ultimate family business—started by Cloward’s parents. On a recent weekday Dino Cloward’s daughter Luciana was moving pots in the hot sun and preparing for the next day’s hoards of customers.
Luciana, Maria and Dino Cloward are the future generations of Galveston Gardens.
It’s not an easy business. Being open between April and September means that’s the only time the business earns money, and the other six months are spent preparing for that busy season. The work itself is physical—dragging hoses, moving heavy pots and bags of soil. When it’s tough, Cloward returns to his family’s Italian roots: “Get Mama! Get the dog! Get everybody involved and get all our neighbors! And we get in…We just pile in and go for it.” Galveston Gardens has seen plenty of change over the years, but where growth may have hurt other businesses, it’s only helped the garden center. “When we first started, there were 30,000 or 40,000 people living here,” Cloward remembered. “I don’t even know the number today, and it doesn’t matter to me. It’s just a lot. Growth, growth, growth.”Today, people drive from Seattle and San Francisco to pick up their flower baskets.
The region’s growing zones have changed, too. Where once Bend was a Zone 3-4 (meaning some plants simply wouldn’t grow successfully here), Cloward said it’s morphing to a Zone 6-7. “Bad for planet Earth, great for gardening,” he said. The garden center now sells lemon and olive trees, as well as plants that use less water and produce more blossoms. At the end of the day, Cloward and Galveston Gardens seek to be a beacon in the community, a place that gives back and helps Bend be its best self. “We have a responsibility—politically, financially, physically and in our neighborhoods,” he said. “Show up, have your heart here and make a difference.”
Downtown Bend has been at the forefront of our changing city, and Pegasus Books of Bend has succeeded through much of that change. Pegasus was founded by Mike Richardson, who launched Dark Horse Comics in Portland. Pegasus opened in 1980 and Duncan McGeary worked there from the beginning, before buying it in 1984. “In 1980 [downtown] was a disaster,” McGeary said. “That’s something people don’t realize about Bend is that the ’80s were not great, the mills were having trouble, the lumber industry was having trouble and they had built two malls which had emptied out downtown. The irony being that they’re both gone and downtown Bend is thriving.”
Duncan McGeary of Pegasus Books of Bend
Pegasus was part of a group of small businesses that moved into downtown Bend and made it interesting. His store remains, while many have closed up over the years. For McGeary, the foot traffic in downtown Bend has always made the rent worth it—and he said his landlord has always been fair. Longtime Bendites think of comic books and games when they think of Pegasus, but over time it’s grown to much more. The store also has new and used books, graphic novels, sports cards, toys and lots of pop culture stuff, including a nice selection of anime and manga. While he may not be able to change the locals’ perception, he’s proud to have stuck around through good times and bad. “I’m stubborn,” he said of sticking around through ups and downs over the years. “I don’t quit.” Bend is better for that stubbornness. On a recent weekend, McGeary greeted a very steady stream of customers—some browsing, some knowing exactly what they were looking for, and nearly all leaving with a book or a game in hand. McGeary marked the purchases down with a pen on a clipboard. You won’t find elaborate window displays at Pegasus–McGeary admits that he rarely changes them out. Instead, he believes it’s the product that keeps his business going. “To me the main job is to get good books, good comics, good games,” he said. “If you’re doing that job right you don’t have time to do anything else.”
McGeary doesn’t believe that books and bookstores are dying. “I actually think that there’s a lot of room for indie bookstores,” he said. “People are coming around. I know that in downtown it works. … COVID actually helped bookstores. [People] couldn’t spend money on dinner and the movies.” Lucky for McGeary and Pegasus, many turned to books, and while Bend’s rapid growth has turned some longtime residents off, McGeary is a proponent. “I don’t object to the rents, I don’t object to the tourists, I don’t object to the growth,” he said. “It’s funny, because I am a [Bend] native…I could not have made a living in the downtown Bend that I grew up in.”
One sign that your business is an official Bend institution? You have collaborated with Deschutes Brewery on a beer and it’s named after your store. That’s right, there’s a Patient Angler Pale Ale. The Patient Angler Fly Shop, a fly-fishing equipment shop, opened in 1984. It was originally founded by John Harken who started the store out of his home. Peter Bowers—whose background was in mechanical engineering and who worked as a bartender and then managed a tire shop—was a frequent customer who bought the store twenty-five years ago. Bowers’ Bend story is one we’ve heard before. He fell in love with Bend during a weeklong visit, and within weeks had packed up his life in Arizona and moved here. Fly fishing quickly became Bowers’ “ultimate goal and passion.” While a lifelong hunter and fisherman, Bower found that Bend sparked his love of fly fishing, and he sat in the shop on the weekends soaking up knowledge.
Peter Bowers of The Patient Angler Fly Shop
Twenty years ago, he moved the shop to its current SE Third Street location—previously the site of a film-developing business. The traffic has been a boon for business. “This shop has always been a local’s favorite,” Bowers said. “Everybody says ‘Location, location, location,’ which I didn’t really realize until I moved it over here because I had 27,000 cars a day going back and forth and seeing the sign that says ‘Fly Shop.’”
Bendites who know fishing, Bowers said, know to visit The Patient Angler. What makes his shop the best? “Me,” he said, laughing. “It’s professionalism, it’s customer service, it’s knowledge of product.
I know more about every product in this shop than every other shop put together,” he said. There are a lot of places to go these days for both equipment and information—the internet, sure, but also big-box stores like REI. Bowers firmly believes there is such a thing as too much information out there, and he’s happy to educate customers properly. “It really comes down to service in the long run. I can’t tell you how many times people bring me stuff from a big box store,” he said. “And it’s the wrong stuff, and then I have to educate them on why.” Bowers hasn’t spent money on advertising since the Yellow Pages. He employs full-time salespeople, and doesn’t focus on selling the most expensive rod, but instead on selling the right equipment.
It’s his high level of knowledge that makes a store like this stick around. There are repeat customers, of course, but The Patient Angler also sees tons of out-of-towners and new fly fishing enthusiasts. His success, and the sport’s increasing popularity, is a double-edged sword. On a day off, Bowers sometimes shows up to his favorite fly-fishing spot only to find someone already there, holding a map and using a fly Bowers sold him. Still, it’s a double-edged sword he can live with for a long time to come. The only change he expects to see going forward? He’s hoping Deschutes will start canning Patient Angler Pale Ale so he can sell branded coolers full of his namesake beer.
Traveling to Milan, Italy and displaying his work at SaloneSatellite 2022, a showcase for designers under the age of thirty-five, helped emerging Bend furniture designer Jacob Riggle take his work from a home studio to the international stage. Riggle, a professional graphic designer by trade, made his first piece of furniture in 2010 as part of a 3D design class. The geometry of his work was informed by his explorations of engineering as an original career path. In his current work, Riggle combines sculptural elements with functional form using clean lines and angles. Riggle’s first design prototype was for the “Piixel” [sic]—a shelving unit with stair steps, in an interpretation of shape in the same way images are seen on a computer screen. “I wanted to take it out of a digital context into a furniture form using stairs,” Riggle said.His most current prototype “Sllat” [sic] is a patio loveseat that emphasizes form with a repeat of a design element—in this case, slats of wood. A self-taught furniture maker, Riggle said the international showcase was an opportunity to get out of his comfort zone and have both the exposure to potential manufacturers and the education from the company of other designers. The showcase was part of Salone del Mobile di Milano, one of the world’s largest furniture fairs. Now back in Central Oregon, Riggle plans to continue to update and refine his work. See jacobriggle.com.
Lloyd McMullen’s home studio is up a narrow set of stairs leading to a room crammed with discarded objects that she transforms into works of art. It’s her “fortress of solitude” that might also be described as a mini scrapyard, a chaotic mélange of scrap metal, string, wire, lamp parts, old Vogue and National Geographic magazines, vintage dress patterns, broken glass, acrylic paint and all kinds of tools.
photo by Carol Sternkopf
The space testifies to a lifelong habit of rescuing odd objects that she reshapes to reflect today’s world. A common theme of McMullen’s artwork and life is metamorphosis and transformation.
A second-generation Oregonian, she grew up near Portland in the 1950s and ’60s when young women learned homemaking skills, such as sewing clothes from pattern books. “If you wanted to be one of the cool girls, you could buy fabric and a pattern with a cool girl on the package cover,” she recalled. “It promised a metamorphosis to becoming that cool girl image.”
From an early age, McMullen was recreating herself. Raised by a literary-oriented family (her dad was editor of the Gresham Outlook newspaper), she made art in secret and entered a contest where she won a scholarship to an art school that ended up being too expensive to attend. Instead, she earned a journalism degree from the University of Oregon in 1976.
Still interested in art, she spent a year at Lane Community College. A visiting professor from the San Francisco Art Institute, Alan Crockett, inspired her to depart from hyper-realistic drawings to more impressionistic images and colors.
A New Day | Photo by Gary Alvis
For the next several years, she toggled between jobs in journalism and graphic arts in Eugene until she married and moved to Redmond in 1984. Art in Central Oregon in the late ’80s was dominated by landscape, wildlife and Western themes. McMullen—who around this time changed her name from Carol to Lloyd in response to studies showing bias against artists with feminine names—joined with other artists to focus on more contemporary art. They formed Artists Local 101 and started off with a novel format to display local work.
They bought two vintage cigarette vending machines refurbished to dispense hand-painted art on blocks cut to the size of a cigarette package. A buyer could put $4 in the machine and take home an original piece of art. The heaviness of the machines and difficulty of moving them from various locations eventually scuttled the project.
Local 101 however, still grew its membership and held innovative exhibitions in random locations over the next ten years. “We partnered together to instigate contemporary art,” McMullen said. “This rowdy, random group had some of the best artists in town and a lot of stuff came out of it.”
McMullen and others delved into “Trashformations,” an American art movement of the late 1990s and 2000s that prized artwork made from recycled materials. They held a “Trashformations” exhibition outside in the Old Mill District and Bright Place Gallery which is now closed.
To Bee (or not) | Photo by Gary Alvis
“Lloyd has helped to push the edges about what art is in our community,” said Susan Luckey Higden, fellow artist, manager and member of Tumalo Art Co. in the Old Mill District. “Her art is earthy, urban, relevant, wryly humorous and has layered meanings that defy the obvious. Deep conviction runs through every project she does.”
“My art is mixed media and found objects,” she said. Pieces slated for her upcoming show entitled “Brave New World” include a barracuda made from found a fishing net and a six-foot-long cockroach, along with a 3D porcupine and smaller wall studies of moths, bees, a hummingbird and an owl.
“The show explores how we adapt to survive in our changing world,” she said, citing climate change, COVID, gun violence, rising bias and hate crimes as well as personal loss. “Everyday dawns with new challenges. What’s next? I want to remain optimistic; my work is hopeful. These times demand truth and tenacity.”
Kelsey Daniels spent eighteen successful years in the film production industry but always fantasized about what else she might do. “Between jobs, my friends and I would travel to wine places,” Daniels said. “That was the escape. I just had this passion to learn about wine.” Owning and running a wine bar felt like a pipe dream, but Daniels needed to see for herself. In 2018, she left her career and moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to La Verne, California with her husband Kent and began working at one. If passion remained after the hard work, Daniels would know the daydream was worth pursuing.
Over the next few years, Daniels learned the ins and outs of the industry and fully immersed herself in wine education. She became a certified sommelier with the Court of Masters and a WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) level three. Daniels decided it was time to take the risk and start her own venture. After deciding between a few locations around the west, Bend was the right fit. The Daniels visited throughout each season of Central Oregon, found a home with land in south Bend and saw there was demand for their restaurant concept: Flights.
With a few COVID-induced bumps along the way, the Daniels ultimately bought the location of the former Birdie’s Cafe on the west side near Central Oregon Community College in November 2021. “The fact that there was already a kitchen was huge,” Daniels said. “It was really important to me to have food and full kitchen entrées, because there are not a lot of places to taste wine and have a meal.” A fully-equipped kitchen ready to go meant their small business loan could be put toward interior design and remodeling.
Inside, the restaurant has jewel tones, unique wallpaper and oversized chairs to create a comfortable, casual spot for meeting friends over wine—the very thing Daniels did with her friends that inspired Flights Wine Bar. “Seeing people here doing that exact thing, laughing with their friends, creating that atmosphere and having regulars coming back that have embraced us from the get-go is really rewarding,” Daniels said.
The entrance to Flights displays a wall of more than 150 wine bottles available for no corkage at the restaurant or to take away at a discounted rate. “You can come in and browse and have a bottle here of anything we have,” Daniels said. “Or, if you do a flight or tasting—you can try before you buy. If you find something you love, you can take it home.”
At any given time, there are between fifteen and twenty wines by the glass available, and four flights to choose from—Lightside (whites), Darkside (reds), Local (Oregon and Washington wines) and Wanderlust (worldwide wines). Servers take the time to explain the region, tasting notes, interesting information about each wine served, and provide an opportunity for wine novices to learn more. Daniels has creative control over the wine she chooses and tastes each wine before adding it to the list. She does her best to fill the racks with small-production, family-owned boutique wineries that can’t be found at big chains, and works to constantly expose guests to new bottles. Price point is important at Flights; Daniels attempts to make wine accessible and offers competitive prices for bottles. “It’s easy to find a good $100 bottle of wine, but the sweet spot is finding a great bottle for only $30,” Daniels said.
Kelsey and Kent Daniels, owners of Flights Wine Bar.
While wine is at the forefront of Flights, the menu is not overlooked. Chef Nick Ragazzo was born in an Italian-Jersey family, has run his own food truck in Texas and helped to open Indian restaurants both in Bend and Portland—a unique round up of experience perfect for Flight’s focus on upscale comfort food. Dishes are created to complement the flight pairings and are updated seasonally. A few popular items include the steak tartare (locally sourced from D&D Ranch), a smoky brisket that’s braised in house and the indulgent mac and cheese, full of surprise bites of seared ricotta.
Flights has a dog-friendly patio, ideal for a fall afternoon. Daniels also puts on events throughout the week including trivia, live music nights, Fried Chicken Thursday, Wine Wednesday all-day happy hour and occasional five-course pairing dinner nights. Each serves the greater purpose of Flights—to create a place that feels like home, where you can relax and explore the world of wine.
Flights Wine Bar | 1444 NW College Way, Bend | (541) 728-0753 | flightswinebend.com
Behind every piece of clothing comes a history book of culture, beauty and significance. At Madras High School, the Native American Student Union which runs under the support of the Papalaxsimisha program—and began after partnership with Gordon Scott from OHSU’s On Track program—now offers classes in moccasin making. Jillisa Suppah, a NASU mentor, said that Papalaxsimisha roughly translates to “together for education,” which is a nod to the goal of NASU as well: to give Indigenous students a space in school to celebrate their heritage through art and education.
One mentor, Charlene Dimmick, learned how to make moccasins from her grandmother, which gave her the idea to pass the skill to students. “Towards the end of the school year we were talking about how students may or may not have their own moccasins,” she said. “A lot of our people stopped the practice or never had the opportunity to learn.” Now, rotating between the lunch hour and every other week after school—and in the summer—students have gone to the classroom of English teacher Clark Jones and learned from NASU mentors how to make the traditional footwear. These classes have also been a place for students to learn basket weaving and beading.
Dimmick explained that the mentors are teaching the style of moccasins that come from the Plateau region near the Columbia River; this is the same style that Dimmick’s grandmother taught her.
Suppah said that it eventually only takes a couple of hours—without any beadwork—to complete the moccasins. However, she’s noticed that for beginners and students, it can be intimidating on their first try. For example, sharp needles are used to poke through the thick material. “[Students are] using buckskin (deerskin), cut beads and seeded beads, with thread and beeswax,” she said. The fully embellished final products are a tangible representation of heritage carried into modern day. After hours of meticulous handiwork, vibrant, colorful beading and intricately threaded designs pop against the shoes’ soft material.
From left: Charlene Dimmick, Jillisa Suppah and Mable Jackson
Although the class is meant for NASU students to learn and create, the lasting impression of passing a relic from the Plateau Native American culture does not stop at the high school level. “I’m new. I am learning all I can from Jillisa and Charlene. Being around the students has been a real blessing,” said Mable Jackson, another NASU mentor. “There’s so much talent within our community and [the students] are able to share it.”
Dimmick mentioned that a dream of hers is for students to eventually end up creating their own regalia during their time in the classroom. For now though, her hope is to “teach as many kids as I can who may not have that person to learn from.” The heritage and legacy of these moccasins lives on in the efforts of the students and mentors of NASU; the goal among the experience being that more Indigenous students will learn the craft, and that the moccasin tradition will carry well beyond the classroom.
Two essentials for a Central Oregon camping trip are most certainly beer and a sleeping bag, so it’s fitting that the idea for sleeping bag beer holders was dreamt up at a campout in 2018. Bend’s Puffin Drinkwear now offers not only sleeping bag koozies, but versions with puffy jackets, parkas, life vests, flannels and more designs, which all keep a drink cold with style. Co-founder and President Tyrone Hazen gave Bend Magazine a little backstory on the growth of this Bend business.
Tell us about your company and how things got started in Bend.
Here in Bend we are known for our love of the outdoors…and BEER! So when a friend tossed me a drink holder made from remnants of an old sleeping bag, I was struck with the silly thought of combining the two by creating a sleeping bag for beers, adding some fun and personality to the utility. From there, we realized that we could create silhouettes for just about any interest someone has and really speak to someone’s identity.
When did you realize the company was really taking off?
Almost immediately. We walked into the Bend Store downtown with some samples in September 2018. While presenting the owner, Delia, with our sleeping bags, a man came in and saw what we had and asked, “Is that what I think it is? Can I buy two of those right now?” We left ten behind for her to sell and she called the next day asking for thirty-six more. Then she asked if she could have another 100 before the weekend. On Monday she called and asked to buy all of the inventory we had left. And while that was the first story of the exceptional sell-through Puffin achieves, it is no longer a unique one.
Any new koozie ideas on the horizon?
We are really focused on expanding into identities that are adjacent to things we’ve already produced. We started in outdoor, so sports is an obvious next step. We have a number of discussions going on right now that will have us creating sport-related Puffin of all different kinds. From there we are looking into travel and leisure (we have a NASA space suit coming out this fall…though I’m not sure that counts as “travel”). Entertainment and characters will follow thereafter.
Tell us about the company’s growth since starting in 2018.
Though we experienced significant headwinds and logistics challenges with COVID, we’ve managed to continue expanding rapidly from sales volume, revenue and employee perspectives. We have already maxed out our 9,000-square-foot warehouse and will be moving to a third-party logistics model with our next shipment. We have twenty full-time employees and another eight part- or full-time contractors.
What makes Bend a great place for the company to call home?
There isn’t a better community anywhere in the world offering the kind of support entrepreneurs need. From organizations like Economic Development for Central Oregon and Opportunity Knocks, to educational courses at Oregon State University-Cascades and Central Oregon Community College, to approachable individuals who have been where founders have been and want to offer support, I am not being hyperbolic when I say I truly don’t thinking there is a better place anywhere to start a company.
Tell us about the company’s Good Together philosophy.
We believe good things happen when people come together. Good Together was initiated by one of my co-founders, Christina Linton. When we initially brought her into the founding team, she told me she wasn’t interested in building Puffin unless it was doing something good in addition to being profitable. We agreed and let her lead the initiative. We partner with nonprofits and other organizations in need to help share their message and provide them with the support they need. If I’m being honest, no one needs a tiny jacket for their beverage, but if that one small item can expose an opportunity to help people doing good work in the world, we think we can build a net-positive organization known as much for our Good Together efforts as for our fun products.
What does the future hold for Puffin Drinkwear?
More growth! We have a clear line of sight to doubling our sales year over year through 2025. We will continue to add to our incredible team. We will consistently introduce new, high-quality drink wear that defines us as the masters of the category. Co-branding and licensing collaborations will become a major component of our business. And we will expand our Good Together impacts within the Bend community and beyond!
Sometimes overlooked as mere indoor access or a place to drop packages, the covered porch is an introduction to the home; it’s time that we put it to better use. While often small in space, the front porch can be transformed into an outdoor room, serving as an area for relaxing, light gardening or a place to entertain and socialize. With a few updates and decor additions, it can be easy to style this transitional space into a beautiful, welcoming area to enjoy during the summer and throughout the year.
Photo Lisa Petrole Photography
Furnish with Function
Making the most of a porch starts with a practical approach and simple, uncluttered furniture that fits the space. “To make your porch more functional, think about your best use for it, then design the furnishings and flow around that,” said Jan Brockway, owner of Pomegranate Home & Garden—a décor and gift shop nestled in a historic farmhouse on Bend’s northeast side. “A porch can be such a great extension of indoor living spaces, so I recommend considering some of the same elements—albeit a little more weatherproof—as you would for indoors,” Brockway said. “I love having some nice storage options; I’m also a big believer that whether indoors or out, wherever you sit, you should have some sort of landing spot nearby for drinks, snacks and books.”
Create a comfortable sitting area with a pair of chairs, hang a porch swing or squeeze in a small bench if space is tight. Next, include surfaces, from easily movable side tables to large picnic tables, for activities and al fresco dining. Finish with other practical furnishings such as rugs to define spaces, shelves for muddy shoes, a faux wicker trunk for throw blankets or a potting bench for planting projects.
Photo Melissa Michaels
Think Focal
Once the function of a porch is determined, it’s time to personalize it with stand-out elements that add character and give visitors a stylish welcome.
Command attention toward the entrance by transforming the front door into a focal point. Upgrade an old door to a new style to add architectural interest, or simply paint the door a fun color to create contrast—from sophisticated black to bright hues like yellow or green. Next, keep the color going with a few accent fabrics scattered throughout the space. “Sunbrella, and other weather-resistant fabrics, come in so many patterns and colors now; you can really play with that for a pop of color in curtains and pillows, especially if your main seating upholstery is in the beige or gray zone,” Brockway said.
To prolong porch gatherings past sundown, Brockway suggested adding statement lighting. “Outdoor lighting options have expanded, too; there are nice floor lamps designed for outdoor living and lovely outdoor globes to hardwire into a porch ceiling,” she said. “Good solar lights run the gamut from string lights to hand-held lanterns that you can carry from the dining table to lounge chairs. It’s all about creating some ambiance for day into night.”
Photo courtesy of Kay Volmar, @onceupona1912
Grow with the Flow
Not only good for gatherings, the porch also provides extra gardening space. Plants and flowers are a beautiful way to brighten an entry, but Central Oregon’s arid growing conditions require some know-how. “The most important thing is to know what the plant you’re buying is zoned for. Local garden centers will have the correct zones in stock and help you know how to take care of them,” said Michael Ludeman, owner of Earth’s Art Garden Center in Redmond. “People with smaller yards, the porch or back deck is where they want to hang out, and sometimes you can establish a small microclimate. For example, in places like Tumalo and Terrebonne that have very high winds, a protected porch area might offer a plant a better chance of survival.”
In Bend and the surrounding areas, select plants designated for USDA hardiness zones 3-5, then flank the doorway with planters, put up hanging baskets or add a trellis for shade and privacy. “Container gardening is really popular right now, and the advantage of that is you can move them around to fit the space,” Ludeman said. “You can move them to create a hedge, use tall grasses to make a screen, or I like to recommend climbing plants. If you want to create color, I’m excited we have a zone 4-5 wisteria, also Virginia creeper and even climbing roses.”
The last addition to a revamped porch space might be the planting of table grapes, which can wind around a porch trellis and soak up the sun while adding some charm to the newly designed space. Ludeman said, “They have a good-sized leaf and come back every year—that way you can enjoy the fruit of your labors.”
Artist Anna McKeever uses layers of oil and bold colors in this texture-rich piece, “Spring Bloom.” Photo Anna McKeever
When it comes to adding artwork to our homes, sometimes bigger is better. Interior design experts recommend choosing artwork that takes up two-thirds to three-quarters of a blank wall, or pieces that fill the majority of space above a fireplace or piece of furniture. This summer, go big when planning for new wall art, choosing inspiring, grandiose pieces, created by an artist or DIY-ed with verve. Choose rich florals and lush landscapes to bring the feeling of the outdoors inside, year-round.
Lush treetops and a soft, blue sky add peace and color to this living space. Photo by Anne Den Haan
Mount Ashland, 4:40 a.m.—With the sun still hiding behind the evergreens, nearby speakers sparked to life as music blasted to shatter the calm. Rolling out of bed, Nic Feldkamp rose to find dozens of people milling about before the start of the 100-kilometer Siskiyou Out Back Trail Run. For many, the idea would be a nightmare. Yet this breed of runners appeared happy. The group would soon set off to run for almost seventeen hours starting at 5 a.m. Feldkamp’s 50-kilometer (31-mile) race would begin an hour later.
Training runs for Ashley Sharpe and Brandon Stutzman may begin before sunrise.
Ultramarathon participation has boomed across the country and globe—the largest study on ultrarunning done by Run Repeat in conjunction with the International Association of Ultrarunning showed participation in ultramarathons had increased 345 percent in the decade leading up to 2018. Oregon’s mountains and trails are a hotspot for ultrarunners and those interested in pushing their bodies to the limit with early wake-up times, late nights and hundreds of miles of dirt caked on their soles. Running 31 miles, 50 or 100 may seem insurmountable, but ultrarunners say it’s not much different from a marathon except for a change in perception and a few key things.
Focus on Why
For those who have the itch of desire to run ultra distances, much of the battle is already won. “If you want to do it, I honestly believe you’re already ninety-percent of the way there,” said Feldkamp, who works at FootZone in downtown Bend and who has completed five ultramarathons—a run of any distance beyond a marathon at 26.2 miles.
“I think there’s a lot of merit to that,” said Dr. Lindsay Ross-Stewart, a sports psychologist and director of mental performance for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Illinois. Ross-Stewart acted as thesis advisor in 2022 to ultrarunner (and master’s student at the time) Megan Meckfessel. The study compared the difference in psychological skills between ultra-endurance athletes (those who had completed at least one ultramarathon, Ironman triathlon or a competitive cycling or swimming event lasting longer than five hours) and endurance athletes (those who competed in events such as marathons, triathlons, road races and cycling events) and was published in The Sport Journal. The study found the psychology between the two groups largely similar, but there were several differences. Ross-Stewart said, “When it came to motivation related to drive, ultra-athletes had a higher drive and then also persistence.” She added, “It’s not about being fit. It’s really about the psychological excellence.” The psychology behind running an ultramarathon, and the dedication to pushing human limits, is one of the main lures for many runners like for ultrarunner and clinical sports psychologist Cory Nyamora, who holds a doctorate in clinical sports psychology. “One of the draws is just seeing what your mind can do,” he said. “Training your mind to deal with the ups and downs and just keep going.”
The resilience and dedication needed to finish an ultra often boils down to finding your “why.”
In his first 100-mile ultramarathon—the Fire Fest Ultra in Nevada—Brandon Stutzman, an ultrarunner from Bend, made it 59 miles before calling it quits. Much of his inability to finish, he said, was because he didn’t have a clear reason for running the race. Before signing up for another, he found his “why”: To raise money for the Bethlehem Inn, a homeless shelter in Bend and Redmond where he’d lived with his family for a few months in 2011. In April, 2022, he successfully ran 100 miles on the Dry Canyon Trail in Redmond and completed 1,000 pushups and 1,000 pull ups in thirty-three hours to raise $14,500 for the shelter. For him, the running challenge was relative. “It’s not hard to run a 100-miler,” he said. “It’s hard to be homeless.”
Michelle Abbey trains near Benham Falls. Photo by Jesse Polay
Building Up
The trajectory to the start line of an ultra-endurance race is similar for many athletes. Many begin with 5k and 10k races before moving up to half marathons and marathons. Michelle Abbey, an ultrarunner in Bend, picked up running in her thirties. She started with a 10k mud run with a friend, then tried a half marathon and a full marathon. From there, she spent some time on triathlons before deciding to focus on running, where she began with a 50k, then a 50-miler and a 120-mile stage race. “I am that person who’s always in the back of the pack. It takes me forever. I’m chasing cutoff times,” she said. “But I do it. I think the reason it appealed to me in the first place is [because] I’m not very fast.”
It isn’t always the fastest who wins, it’s simply the one who can keep going the longest, which is the concept behind the Lastest Not Fastest—a last-person-standing trail race in Tumalo organized by Renee and Todd Janssen of Go Beyond Running and taking place in October. The rules are simple: Finish one 4.5-mile loop every hour, on the hour, as many times as possible. If you finish the loop in thirty minutes, you then have thirty minutes to relax before starting the next loop. If you finish in fifty-nine minutes, you then have one minute to rest. The race continues until there’s a single runner left. “It’s an unusual format,” Renee Janssen said. “But the thing about it is that it’s a good event for people who are looking to do their first ultra distance.”
High Mileage = High Calories
It’s not just mileage numbers that are high. When it comes to nutrition, the rules are pretty straightforward: eat more than you think you should. “More often than not,” Abbey, who is also a registered dietitian nutritionist in Bend, said, “people just don’t eat enough.”
Much of this is due to the physical stress of training, which can reduce hunger. Claire Shorenstein, a board-certified sports dietitian and host of the Eat for Endurance podcast, emphasized how important personalized nutrition is, especially for longer distances like ultra-marathons. “We have very limited stores of energy in our body in the form of carbohydrates,” she said. When your body runs out of fuel, it will result in the infamous “hitting the wall” or “bonking” where runners do not have enough in their system to continue running.
Most people, she said, struggle to consume a recommended sixty to ninety grams of carbohydrates per hour, and it can take a lot of preparation to train the gut to handle such amounts during a long race. Nutrition training takes place along with mileage training. Additionally, dehydration “is a big deal,” Shorenstein said. If runners don’t replenish the sodium, electrolytes and water they lose through sweat, it can dramatically affect a race. This becomes even more pronounced at altitude, where many ultras are held, when hydration needs can be twenty percent higher.
With all the different nutritional variables at play during an ultra-endurance race, aid stations look different from those found along a marathon route: “There’s a whole buffet of food,” Shorenstein said. Abbey agreed, “It’s like a picnic…potato chips, peanut butter jelly sandwiches, bacon sometimes, potstickers. There’s all kinds of weird stuff out there,” Abbey said. Plus, it’s important to find food for the individual that won’t mess up their stomach. This can be an important factor in whether someone finishes a race. “There [are] about as many different strategies to nutrition for ultrarunners as there are phone numbers,” said Brandon Mader, a competitor and race director for the Timberjack Ultramarathon held in the Deschutes National Forest each September. “Sometimes it just really takes a while to dial in what works for your body.”
Brandon and Justyna Mudy-Mader offer mutual support.
Ultracommunity
Running such a high number of miles can be a solitary activity, but the unique sport of ultrarunning creates a community of like-minded athletes. “The first day you went out there and decided to start to run, did you ever think that you’d be running marathons?” Ross-Stewart said. For support, she suggests leaning on the ultrarunning community—the same people that woke up with smiles on their faces at 4:40 a.m. along with Nic Feldkamp. It takes focus, persistence, and being thoughtful with training to compete at this level. “It’s just amazing,” Feldkamp said, “what the human body can do.”
Photo Courtesy of the Pendleton Roundup, Mikal Wright
For many of us, the word “Pendleton” instantly conjures thoughts of rodeo, fine wool and whiskey. This is justifiably so, with those three things alone drawing visitors from far and wide. Yet there are some tantalizing new places to visit alongside the tried and true offerings that warrant a weekend trip, whether for the first time or for a return visit.
The Pendleton Round-Up may be an initial lure for good reason. This traditional event is celebrating its 112th year in September 2022. First-time visitors often choose to take a peek at the textile operation on a Pendleton Woolen Mill Tour. However, for a different look at local tradition, the nonprofit Underground Pendleton Tour has been providing guests with outstanding infotainment since 1989. Passionate and well-trained guides lead groups through the Shamrock Cardroom, Hop Sing’s Chinese Laundry, a Prohibition-era cardroom, the Empire Ice Cream Parlor and through the tunnels beneath the sidewalks to the Empire Meat Market—among other historic spots including former bordellos. The after-hours bordello tour starts from the Shamrock Cardroom bar and is definitely adults only.
Then, venture beyond whiskey to explore the Prodigal Son Brewery and Pub, Pendleton’s first craft brewery. This is a stop for those who enjoy having a different “artisan” experience when visiting a new town. Prodigal Son produces an array of beers from golden ales and reds to porters and stouts. If not everyone in the group is a beer fan, there’s also a cocktail bar and a full menu of elevated pub grub. For wine aficionados, the U.S. Army veteran-owned Cerebella Winery produces a number of delightful varietals that are currently poured regularly at its downtown tasting room, and a larger facility is in the works.
Photo James Chambers
When it comes to food and drink, there is a time-tested trifecta starting with Virgil’s At Cimmiyotti’s. This landmark restaurant is a living, breathing incarnation of old-school style. Its steaks, seafood, classic cocktails and ambiance give it the feeling it might have been worthy as a Rat Pack mainstay. Kitty-corner from Virgil’s is the Hamley Steakhouse & Saloon. With wooden walls, bar and ceiling, big steaks and historic artifacts throughout, it’s a place that exudes “Pendleton” from every corner. For a proper fitting of Western wear, the Hamley & Co. Western Store touches shoulders with the steakhouse and is the place to go. Then, look out the Hamley saloon door to see the iconic Rainbow Cafe. Equal parts dive bar, greasy spoon and birthplace of countless questionable late-night decisions, the Rainbow Cafe is an institution. Founded in 1883, it’s one of the oldest taverns in Oregon. Here, just as many people are beginning their day as there are folks ending it, no matter what time a visitor walks through the door.
A number of newer establishments have cropped up in recent years to complement the old guard, including Great Pacific, located in the old Masonic Lodge. It’s a casual spot for American eats that provides well-executed sandwiches, pizzas and appetizers, along with a litany of craft cocktails and local beer options. Just down the road, Eden’s Kitchen boasts of their, “heavenly breads, wicked sandwiches.” They aren’t lying. In fact, they should work a word in there about their transcendent soups.
Home base is important. One of the finest lodgings in town is still the Pendleton House Historic Inn Bed & Breakfast. Elegance and attention to detail flow through every room of the converted Italian Renaissance-style home. This pink-colored palace on Main Street has been owned and operated by Tracy Bosen and Kevin Michel for the better part of a decade now, and is an institution. The gourmet breakfast is arguably one of the best in Eastern Oregon, so don’t check out early.
New since July 2022 is the MotoLodge Pendleton. The former 1950s motor-lodge motel has been fully renovated into a forty-room boutique affair that celebrates America’s open-road heritage. All of the vintage road trip charm still lives in the bones of the MotoLodge, but with the benefit of some much-appreciated modern touches including the Pendleton Whisky barrel sauna next to a heated pool and spa. Visitors are offered a pet wash station, on-demand mobile bike/vehicle wash, free parking and free lobby coffee in the morning.
Pendleton has changed to some degree with the shifting currents of time. It has managed to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s new while simultaneously keeping its feet firmly planted in tradition, and it is worth more than one look.
Pendleton Whisky was created in 2003 as a homage to the spirit of the American cowboy and to the Round-Up. While it is distilled in Canada (therefore, spelled whisky not as American whiskey) the drink was named for, and is now synonymous with, Pendleton. pendletonwhisky.com
When the Awbrey Hall fire blazed through a 6-mile corridor west of Bend in 1990, it laid bare a swath of land that would eventually become Shevlin Commons: a high-end neighborhood with some of the city’s most visionary building guidelines and award-winning architecture.
In the late 1990s, a developer with property bordering Shevlin Park proposed construction of 164 homes but abandoned the plan due to intense community opposition centered on the value of Shevlin Park.
In 2001, the property owners agreed to sell seventy-six acres to Bend resident and attorney, Andrew Crosby, who worked to achieve consensus among disparate perspectives for developing a portion of the property into housing while respecting the landscape. “The conservation community was concerned about the possibility of having multistory townhouses along the park boundary,” Crosby said. “People stepped forward because they cared about the property and wanted to preserve the feeling and keep open space.”
The center concept was a forty-three-acre conservation easement granted to the Bend Park & Recreation District that became a permanent, protective overlay and interface with the neighborhood.
The remaining thirty-three acres would provide lots for sixty-six homes and open-space communal areas. “I didn’t want large, poorly conceived homes packing the landscape. On expensive land, there’s always a pull to go bigger, and that was something we were trying to avoid,” Crosby said. “We capped height and square footage in three different zones.”
Shevlin Park | Photo Brian Garza
Lots ranged from 5,600 square feet to a half-acre in size. Homes closest to the park would be limited to a single story, with the second zone capped at one-and-a-half stories and the third zone at two stories. Construction guidelines promoted at-grade living to create a feeling of homes “being rooted in the landscape,” he said. In addition, design guidelines also promoted green and sustainable housing.
“Andy and his team created design guidelines true to the original idea,” said Susan Castillo, a resident since 2009 who served on the Shevlin Commons design review committee until recently. She and her husband hired James Cutler, the Seattle architect who designed Bill Gates’ 66,000 square-foot home, to design their home in the Overlook Pavilion zone closest to the park. “The neighborhood feels open yet close to town; rural but not remote,” she said. “We can go out the door, walk the dog down to the creek—which we can hear from our house—and see great horned owls on the snag nearby.”
Both Castillo and Eileen Drake, board president of the Shevlin Commons Community Association, agree that most people understand and support the design guidelines. “For some of us, [the design guidelines] are absolutely working,” Drake said. “We can’t find any place else like it.”
However, two decades into the development, they say new owners don’t always understand the purpose of the neighborhood and can struggle with the restrictive guidelines. For example, the design guidelines don’t allow non-natural siding, and homeowners can’t build fences or plant lawns and vegetable gardens. Landscaping is limited to native plants inventoried at the site or Shevlin Park. The result is open space around each home with pathways for residents and wildlife to crisscross the neighborhood.
Bearwallows Pavilion
“It’s not for everyone if they don’t embrace the nuances of living in nature and preserving the night sky,” said Drake, who along with her husband, built a home in the Forest Lodge, two-story zone in 2015. “We have lots of positive choices, including the option to interact with nature. This neighborhood takes that connection to a degree not found in any other area.”
Most people knowledgeable about Shevlin Commons agree that strict adherence to the design guidelines and the conservancy overlay makes it unique and highly desirable among high-end developments in Central Oregon. Drake reports that home sales are rare and happen quickly, often within a couple of days or weeks.
Of the sixty-six original lots, fifty-three have homes on them. Seven of the thirteen remaining lots are in a phase of construction, and the six other lots are not currently for sale—including those owned by adjacent property owners to protect their privacy. Home sales in the past year ranged from $2.2 million to $3.2 million.
Because homes weren’t intended to be large, Crosby built Bearwallows Pavillion, a community center with a large, grassy field to create space for casual gatherings among residents and their guests. The center won awards for its architecture and was a model of green construction, he said. Unlike other nearby developments like Tetherow or Broken Top, Shevlin Commons doesn’t offer resort amenities attractive to certain buyers.
“Shevlin Commons has been successful,” Crosby said. “It appeals to a certain buyer with a conservation mindset.”
People are losing their fingers and toes!” It was a phone call that Richard Berg received in 2005 from a stranger about the houseless people staying on China Hat Road that changed the trajectory of his life. At the time, he was president of the congregation at Nativity Lutheran Church in Southeast Bend. Berg wasn’t sure what to do, but he knew he had to do something. So, he and fellow church members collected firewood and brought it to the folks living in tents by the butte. That day, the Wood Bank was created.
Seventeen years later it has evolved into two wood lots, a partnership with six local tree removal companies and dozens of volunteers. Together they provide 300 cords of wood per year to more than 900 qualified recipients—from seniors to those disabled, ill, or on low or fixed incomes. If people are unable to pick it up, wood can be delivered to them.
The program is sustained by volunteers and runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, year-round. From April through September there are opportunities to chain saw donated tree trunks to a movable size, haul wood between lots, or use one of seven gas-powered log splitters donated by a benefactor to split logs into burnable sizes. During winter months—October through March—wood that has been seasoned for two years is picked up or delivered to recipients.
Volunteers Richard Berg, Robert Larkins and Dick Ross at the donation pick up site.
Margaret Estrada was on the receiving end of the program for ten years while she raised three of her grandchildren. “The Wood Bank saved our lives, really,” she said. “This house is eighty-two years old and only has a wood stove for heat. When I lost my job I couldn’t afford a cord of wood.” Volunteers from Wood Bank also installed new windows she had purchased and replaced her old wood-burning stove with a safe and efficient version that requires less wood to keep warm.
Volunteers, donors and recipients don’t need to be affiliated with Nativity Lutheran Church to participate in the Wood Bank. In fact, most aren’t associated with any religious organization. They participate as individuals, families or as organized groups. The work is not considered difficult, but it’s advised that gloves, closed-toed shoes and clothes that may be covered in wood dust and sap are worn. Typical assignments might include working alongside local business owners or a houseless person. The difference between the two people may not be visible, nor does it matter because Berg’s first rule of thumb is, “do not judge anyone, ever.” Volunteers return week after week because it feels good to give back and do something that makes a tangible impact on the community.
In the winter there can be as many as forty trucks in line to collect donated wood. Recipients are allowed the measurement of one level pick-up truck bed per month. While Wood Bank doesn’t charge for the wood, they do ask for a donation. If a person cannot donate, they’re asked to volunteer so the gift is less of a hand out and more of a hand up.
Henry Ford said, “Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice.” In the case of the Wood Bank, the spirit of volunteerism warms participants long after they give a helping hand.
For more information on services offered and volunteer opportunities, please visit nativityinbend.org.
Nachos might be one of the most versatile dishes out there. Finger foods? Sure. A full meal? Absolutely. Happy hour snack? Check! Take your pick from some of Bend’s most intriguing and satisfying nachos from those with classic chips and cheese to a plate with a twist of wonton chips and poke.
Head to River’s Place food truck lot or Dogwood at the Pine Shed for SOPA’s Asada Nachos. Unless you’re feeling really hungry, you will want a friend (or two) with whom you can share this platter. A large plate of tortilla strip chips is loaded with creamy nacho cheese sauce, carne asada and pinto beans, then topped with sour cream, cilantro, pico de gallo and avocado salsa. This heaping serving of nachos pairs well with a tart cider from the taphouse at River’s Place. Place an order with SOPA, then gather around the outdoor fire pits to stay warm in the fall weather. On game days, watch on one of the six big-screen TVs while digging into this hearty dish.
Dogwood: 821 NE 2nd St, Bend | River’s Place: 787 NE Purcell Blvd, Bend | Open Tuesday – Sunday
Luckey’s Woodsman’s Trailside Kitchen in Sister’s is serving up nachos fit for pre- or post-adventure. The Mountain Nachos at Luckey’s live up to their namesake—piled high. Juanita’s chips are layered with pork carnitas, Woodsmen beans, white cheddar queso, pico de gallo, roasted jalapeños, arugula pesto, Stellar sauce (a chipotle aioli) and cotija.
Luckey’s exists to provide convenient, healthy, fresh, and wild cuisine to outdoor enthusiasts and recreational and wildlife professionals in Central Oregon. From breakfast burritos, cold boxes, and hot kits to local ranch burgers, Luckey’s is sure to bring the campfire to you with delicious, outdoor-inspired food.
‘Aina Kaui Style Grill, located in the food truck pod at Ninth Street Village, has been making Hawaiian-style bites in Bend since early 2020. What started as a weekly special now sits proudly as a permanent—and popular—menu item. Their Poke Nachos are crispy wonton chips piled high with fresh poke, pickled kimchi veggies, fresh cabbage, and topped with furikake and their signature ‘aina aioli. For a near-perfect pairing, try them with a Funday IPA from resident brewpub, Bevel Craft Brewing.
On Tap:1424 NE Cushing Dr. Bend | Open Tuesday – Sunday
It’s no secret that Toasty, The Podski’s plant-based food truck, is known for its vegan take on a crunch wrap. However, if you love this riff on the fast food favorite, you’ll love their Super-Loaded Nachos. What makes Toasty’s dish special is their ability to make the platter of nachos taste like it’s smothered in real cheese. Their nacho “cheese” sauce is made with cashews—which are creamy when blended—and potatoes. Nutritional yeast gives the sauce its cheesy flavor, along with onions and a blend of spices.
Toasty’s Super-Loaded Nachos come as a plate of round chips topped with cashew queso, black beans, Beyond Beef, jalapeños and lime crema. They’re then topped with pico de gallo, onions, cilantro and jalapeños. For the perfect snack size, get them by the half order.
Don’t let the size of this taqueria fool you. Los Jalapeños packs a ton of flavor in their small-but-mighty turquoise building in Midtown. Bend has been enjoying the offerings of Chef Gonzalo Morales for more than twenty-five years. Luckily for hungry patrons, Los Jalapeños has four varieties of nachos to choose from. The most noteworthy might be their Supreme and Fajita Nachos. Supreme Nachos come served with fresh chips, beans, melted cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, black olives, pico de gallo, guacamole and your choice of chicken or steak. The next level is the Fajita Nachos, which adds grilled bell peppers and onions to Supreme Nachos. A margarita completes the experience during their happy hour, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
601 NE Greenwood Ave., Bend | Open Monday – Saturday
Over the years, we’ve watched Barrio expand from its Downtown Bend restaurant to multiple food trucks throughout Bend. While Barrio’s famous queso fundido is available at their flagship restaurant, nachos are available only at their food trucks. To start, freshly-fried chips are smothered in housemade queso fundido and piled high with black beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, cotija and a choice of protein. Choose from pork carnitas, beef birria, chicken tinga, or grilled mushroom and corn. For a not-so-secret add on, request a topping of poblano crema and pickled jalapeños for a minimal upcharge. Visit Barrio at On Tap and pair your nachos with one of thirty-five rotating taps. If you’re visiting their Midtown Yacht Club location, pair your nachos with a refreshing wine slushie or opt for a kombucha sangria.
Midtown Yacht Club: 1661 NE 4th Street, Bend | Open Daily
After a long day of work, or working from home, the summer sun beckons us outside to unwind and relax. There’s hardly a better way to end a day than with an outdoor setup that makes summer cocktails, chilled white wines and frosty beers as easy as ever to serve up for yourself or guests of honor. When picturing your outdoor happy hour hub, first decide whether to go big with a full kitchen and barbecue setup, or aim small with a standalone bar cart, party lights or fun dining table accents. Regardless of scale, adding some backyard bar décor will make an evening on the patio as lively and fun as one at your favorite Central Oregon watering hole.
photo jake moss designs (jakemossdesigns.com)Drink Trays – Use a stylish tray to load up on drinks and snacks, cutting down trips inside for refills.
Give it a shot
Not sure how to turn your patio or backyard into a welcoming space for drinks and entertaining? Start small with a stylish drink tray and ice bucket. Drink trays with handles allow a host to bring out a pitcher or several beverages at once, to offer choices or refills to guests. The tray can also carry extra items like coasters, napkins or a charcuterie board and keep everything together in one tidy spot on the patio table. Super insulated buckets like those from Corkcicle are big enough to stash a couple bottles of wine or several beers and the ice can stay cold for as long as 48 hours.
Set The Table! Elevate happy hour drinks and dining with reusable outdoor dishes and cutlery.
Decorative details
When it comes to serving up food and drinks outside, ditch the throw-away goods and instead opt for reusable plates, cups and utensils like bamboo plates, reusable plastic wine tumblers and colorful serving bowls. Liven up the table with napkins and coasters in bright, summer-inspired colors, woven placemats using organic materials or by relocating a vibrant potted plant to the center of the table. With small touches and minimal effort, the atmosphere can be easily enlivened.
Light the night
Nightfall always seems to come by surprise, so be prepared to keep the fun going with decorative lights to keep your outdoor spaces inviting. Black Edison-style string lights can be strung along fences and walls, or through the air from the roof. Try a set of large lanterns or a trio of candles on the table to keep all areas bright. Opt for a big citronella jar candle to keep the mosquitos away from everyone without having to break out the bug spray.
Raising the bar
Ready to go all out? A full backyard bar setup could include a fridge and sink built into a permanent structure, with a roof to provide shade. Construction and design can be as elaborate as any room in the house, or a simpler structure might use corrugated metal and wood, without full plumbing and electricity. Once the structure is set, build upon the outdoor bar space with stools or chairs for sitting at the bar, a circle of patio chairs around a firepit nearby or a rattan or wicker couch and coffee table for lounging once you have a drink. Park yourself behind the bar for the night to act as host or hostess, or designate friends to trade off mixing drinks.
When it comes to creating space for entertaining outside your home, the goal is to fashion a fun and inviting atmosphere, where people enjoy themselves and hosting is easy. Happy hour at home is less expensive than ordering out, so go ahead and justify the extra touches to make your outdoor space as fun and refreshing as you want.
photo jake moss designs (jakemossdesigns.com)
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in July 2020.
Stock the car with a picnic, water, the kids and the dog—it’s time for a road trip! From Bend, picturesque driving and sightseeing opportunities can be found in all directions. Here are three of our favorite scenic byways to get you out of the house and into the beauty of Oregon in a half-day’s drive.
Photo by Austin White
Oregon Outback
Photos top row: Felix Wittern, George Ostertag / Alamy Stock Photo, Jak Wonderly | Bottom row: Alex Jordan
Give the high desert a fair chance to work its magic, and it surely will. The desert is one of the last best Oregon surprises for many people. The wide-open skies, expansive vistas and clarifying austerity dig their way into your psyche. Just a couple of hours south of Bend, off of Highway 31, is Oregon’s Outback. South of LaPine, the road travels through miles of pine forest before emerging into the sagebrush covered high desert, punctuated with rimrock and the occasional ranch homestead. First you’ll encounter Hole in the Ground, which is exactly what it sounds like. Hike its rim and continue to Fort Rock, a massive, eroded, volcanic tuff ring unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Capture a selfie with the looming monolith, and zoom south through the small town of Silver Lake. Soon enough you’ll climb over Picture Rock Pass, so named for petroglyphs carved into the rocks at the flat top of the summit. Take a walk and keep your eyes peeled—you’ll find the figures of animals and humans clearly visible in the rock. From here the highway drops down into the Summer Lake basin, the alkaline remains of the former Lake Chewaucan, one of the largest water bodies in the region, had you been here 13,000 years ago. This basin is now a flat, bleached expanse, at the south end of which is Summer Lake Hot Springs, a gathering place for hundreds of years, with hot, healing waters as the draw. Today, Summer Lake Hot Springs is a developed place of respite and lodging that remains a destination for desert-lovers and hot springs aficionados from all over the West. Stop in for a soak and then continue to Paisley and dinner at the historic Pioneer Saloon.
Old McKenzie Highway
Photo by Alex Jordan
Choose a beautiful summer day and head west out of Sisters past the high school to reach the outset of Highway 242. Casually, 242 is known as the Old McKenzie Highway. It was constructed as a highway in the 1920s, but the route already existed as a wagon trail, established in the 1860s. Today, 242 is open seasonally and offers tremendous views of the Cascade Range, up-close angles of lava beds and access to waterfalls and hot springs. Stop first at the Dee Wright Observatory, built by a Civilian Conservation Corps crew in the 1930s. This open shelter built from the volcanic basalt that surrounds it has open-air windows framing the Cascade peaks. A peak finder helps you name the mountains you see. Hike the half-mile Lava River Interpretive Trail, which begins at the observatory, and is paved and all-abilities friendly. Then continue west through a spectacular forest of Douglas fir, hemlock and alder. Near the west end of Highway 242, a short loop hike takes you to Proxy Falls, one of the most frequently photographed waterfalls in Oregon. Grab a picture and continue on 242 to where it joins Highway 126. Just past this junction you’ll find Belknap Lodge and Hot Springs. A natural hot spring source feeds the soaking pools, set in spectacular landscaped grounds with a view of the spring-fed McKenzie River.
Cascade Lakes Highway
Photo by Alex Jordan
Cascade Lakes Highway is Bend’s backyard playground. A wagon road was constructed between Bend and Elk Lake in the 1920s, and the region has been a destination ever since. This National Scenic Byway begins with the route from Bend to Mount Bachelor, which is open year-round. Beyond Bachelor, the highway is plowed and open in May or June each year. From there, the road hopscotches a series of mountain lakes to the west and south. Take in incredible views of Broken Top and the Three Sisters, and then make a steep and winding descent past Todd Lake and Sparks Lake, from which you can capture a cool view of the backside of Bachelor. All of these mountains are volcanoes, and the legacy of lava is everywhere. Catch the jagged lava flow on the right of the road just after Sparks Lake and before Devil’s Lake, which is also near the trailhead to the summit of South Sister, if you’re so inclined. At Elk Lake, grab an ice cream cone, a beach-front spot, visit the Elk Lake Guard Station, rent a standup paddleboard or a boat, or grab a burger or a six-pack. On the way back into town, consider partaking in a sunset dinner at Mount Bachelor (advance reservations required). Return to Bend with your scenery-loving soul satisfied.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in July 2020.
The classic white picket fence has been a symbol of American culture since the late 1800s—offering enough security to pen in a golden retriever, and a short height to allow for friendly conversation with neighbors. While there’s some truth in Robert Frost’s line, “Good fences make good neighbors,” from his poem “Mending Wall,” there is more to modern fencing than the creation of a simple barrier along a property line. Whether constructed by professional builders or whitewashed by a gang of fooled school children, under the tutelage of Tom Sawyer, fences today not only serve a purpose, but offer an opportunity for homeowners and builders to flex their design muscles and create something beautiful. In Central Oregon, fence styles run the gamut, with horizontal, vertical and diagonal wood designs in various colors and stains; ornamental iron fencing or iron details; and standalone panels or barriers to bring privacy and decor to a stylish backyard.
Horizontal slat fencing by Between the Boards offers privacy and style for this home Bend’s NorthWest Crossing neighborhood. Photo Chris Murray Photography
Functional Entry
Gates offer a designated entry point into and out of a fenced area, and when executed well, are a crucial element and the most interactive component of a fence, according to Tim Davis, the owner and operator of Cedar & Stone, a Bend company specializing in artisan, residential fencing and gates. “I really love a well-swinging, cleanly latching gate,” said Davis, who has honed his expertise in fence design and construction for the better part of the past decade. “That satisfying snap when the gate latches. I know my gate is closed. I don’t even have to turn around.” With a creative mind and keen eye for detail, Davis helps his clients match form with function, with well-designed gates and fences in a variety of styles.
Aesthetics and Material
Today’s trends in fencing include simple, minimalistic designs with clean lines, and mixed material fences that combine wood with iron, cinder block or corrugated metal each offering a mix of curb appeal and privacy. Long-lasting, low maintenance fence varieties include those made of vinyl, aluminum and composite materials.
One Central Oregon company executing custom fencing in the region is Between the Boards, which has operated for more than fifteen years. When considering the current trends, Nathan Jacobson of Between the Boards said popularity in design can vary. “It changes month to month. We’ll do seven horizontal fences one week, then we’ll do ten vertical fences the next,” Jacobson said. Where modern vinyl fencing has been the less common option, ornamental iron fencing and the natural taste for various wood fences make up the bulk of their work, Jacobson said. “Cedar fences are what most customers are looking for. The horizontal fences have become much more desirable, for both fashion and durability,” Jacobson said.
For Davis, material type, color and orientation of the fence are all considered when designing a custom project. When acquiring lumber for wood fences, Davis hand selects each board and powder coats the hardware himself to ensure the highest quality. He also partners with local fabricator Damien Teitelbaum of Bent Metal Works, for custom steel frames for gates, adding another element to highly functional fences that can feel like art.
Photo Courtesy Cedar and Stone
Privacy
There’s a delicate balance when building a fence for the purpose of privacy. Too little fence leaves a property exposed, but too much fence disrupts the landscape, obstructs views or can feel confining. Additionally, some Bend neighborhoods have HOA regulations guiding whether fences can be built and the design guidelines of doing so.
Cedar & Stone has embraced creative ways to offer privacy without violating HOA regulations. Davis constructs privacy barriers using beautiful off-set horizontal panels. Using ingenuity and the same functional art approach, Davis can give homeowners the privacy they desire without devaluing the aesthetic or interfering with wildlife migration.
This fence in northwest Bend by Blake D. Petersen Construction frames the resident’s decorative outdoor vase. Photo Riley Visuals
Durability
An investment in quality fencing means that the structure will hold up to temperamental Central Oregon weather, which can be brutal on poorly constructed fences. “So many fences in the world are awful,” Davis said. “The gates sag, they drag, you have to lift them up to get them to latch.” It is the duty of a skilled builder to address potential wear from wind, snow, rain and sunshine when construction is first happening, lessening the chance that bad weather turns a good fence into an eyesore. For Davis, solid construction can include digging holes as deep as two feet and using 120 pounds of concrete per post to ensure a sturdy foundation. In many designs, Davis also includes a feature when an entire panel of fence can be removed by removing just a few screws. Without harming the integrity of the fence, this component allows access for future landscaping projects which might require large equipment. Features like these show how fences have evolved from the early days of a simple white picket fence into a design element that meets the tastes of the modern homeowner.
Today’s range of outdoor furniture can set the tone for the many ways we use our outside spaces—with a big trend toward what’s comfortable, durable and, especially in Central Oregon, what can withstand the weather.
After considering what’s desired in terms of design, use and style, look for furniture, textiles and decor made with the following materials to create an outdoor space that looks great and stands the test of time.
Metal, Stone and Ceramic
Powder-coated aluminum and steel have soared in popularity in recent years, including here in Central Oregon, according to Shanda McGee, co-owner of Powder House Ski and Patio. Powder-coated aluminum is not only available in a variety of colors and textures, it’s a durable material prepared to meet Central Oregon’s extreme weather. While it’s recommended to cover or store all outdoor furniture in the winter, McGee pointed out that powder-coated aluminum can withstand a beating from the high desert sun, and it can be rinsed off with a hose for easy cleaning. Many powder-coated aluminum seating options offer a modern, low, sleek style, and often feature deep, thick cushions on top, ideal for lounging.
Just like indoors, stone materials including granite are a coveted option for outdoor pieces like tabletops, though it can be tricky to maintain through changing seasons unless it’s heavily sealed. As an alternative, look for tabletops and other materials made from poured ceramic, a material that’s rising in popularity, according to Jed Teuber, co-owner of Furnish. Teuber said that poured ceramic can provide the look of stone or concrete but be much more durable.
Natural materials, including rattan, cane and seagrass can provide a light, coastal, even spa-like feel for a patio or backyard. But these natural materials aren’t usually associated with the mountains for a reason, and basic versions of these materials often don’t hold up to the Central Oregon elements.
Weather-resistant and vinyl wicker are better choices if you want to keep your patio furniture in good shape for the long-term. While traditional, round-topped wicker pieces are still an option, today’s weather-ready wicker can also be made to fit in with modern design, with clean lines and wide armrests perfect for lounging and resting your drink.
Recycled Plastics
Plastic can withstand a beating from inclement weather—including snow—even if left outside over the winter. Many companies even make their plastic outdoor furniture out of recycled items such as milk jugs to give
single-use plastic a second life.
Bendites have likely spotted the colorful traditional leaning Adirondack chairs made of recycled plastic that Powder House has in front of the shop each spring and summer. Furnish also carries a brand of recycled plastic Adirondack chairs that offer a more modern aesthetic, with a low profile perfect for sitting around a firepit.
Photo Kayla Mckenzie Photography
Woods
Wood is a classic option for outdoor furniture, but choosing this more traditional material can require more time and care to ensure it lasts a long time. A good wood option, especially in Central Oregon’s climate, is teak, according to McGee. “Teak is a dense wood with high oil content,” McGee said. “It will come from the factory really smooth, then get a peach fuzz to it, but it doesn’t crack and splinter.”
Ipe wood, which comes out of South America, is another smart choice for outdoors, according to Scott Holmer, owner of Patio World, explaining it holds a better finish than teak does. “It’s a good, rich wood, but it’s for someone who doesn’t mind putting work in,” Holmer said.
Mixed-material furniture is also an option to consider if your heart is set on wood. For example, Powder House has carried powder-coated aluminum chairs that feature teak armrests, so there is a natural element in the design without the full upkeep wood might require.
Textiles
In the more than twenty years McGee has been selling outdoor furniture, one of the biggest shifts she has seen is from traditional dining sets to deep-set, comfy lounge furniture. And the fabrics chosen to make umbrellas, cushions and pillows are just as important as the materials that make up the furniture. Outdoor furniture made to last costs more upfront, but it’s worth the investment for the life you will get out of it, said Holmer, who explained quality is ensured in the creation process. For textiles, it’s that the fibers are treated before the fabric is even woven.
Most modern cushions are made of materials that are fine to get wet, but it’s important they get the chance to dry out again. Ideally, you’re moving cushions inside and covering furniture over winter, so that piles of snow aren’t soaking and dirtying your furniture for months out of the year.
Choosing outdoor fabrics that are designed to be fade-resistant, washable and made with durable materials is key to creating cozy and comfortable outdoor spaces that feel inviting for years to come.
Follow the rules below to win a 3-night stay at Tetherow Resort, a private tour + tasting (and more!) from Crater Lake Spirits, bike or ski rentals from Skjersaas and Sagebrush Cycles, Backporch Coffee, tickets to the Tower Theatre and a beautiful gift basket which includes goodies from each location listed above created by Pelican Place. Prize Value is over $4000!
TO ENTER YOU MUST:⠀
1. Like the IG post on @bendmagazine + tag your friends/fam you want to join you on this amazing trip in the comments on the post.
✨BONUS: Save this post + share a story about the giveaway to IG and tag each of us + so we know you shared!
✨DEADLINE TO ENTER:⠀ Wednesday, August 31, 2022, at 11:59pm PST⠀
✨1 WINNER SELECTED: ⠀ 1 winner will be chosen in total at random. Winner will be selected on Thursday, September 1, 2022, and be notified via Instagram Direct Message and/or email. This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by Instagram or Facebook.
Destination Rehab is a Bend-based nonprofit that helps individuals with neurological conditions get back outside and into their communities. Eugene native Dr. Carol-Ann Nelson received her doctoral degree of physical therapy from Duke University before working at a large rehab facility for adults with neurological conditions in Florida. There, she noticed a gap in patient care–the rehab patients were receiving didn’t translate to real life scenarios, like going on a hike or strolling a museum.
After moving back to Oregon and settling in Bend in 2015, Nelson reflected on her experience and felt compelled to do something. She founded Destination Rehab in 2016 and now works with a dedicated team of physical therapists and volunteers who help bridge the gap between rehabilitation and actually getting back into the world.
Stephanie Odell, the donor journey coordinator (the person who turns potential supporters of the nonprofit into volunteers, advocates and partners through outreach, media relations and grant writing), explained how the nonprofit runs without a physical office or clinic. “Without a brick-and-mortar establishment, we do everything outside at local parks and trails. For the winter, we partnered with Embark Fitness and used their space twice a week when it was extra cold outside.”
Destination Rehab makes sure that the patient’s goals come first. “Neurological conditions present themselves differently in every patient,” Odell said. “Whether a patient comes to us wanting to get back on their bike or be able to go kayaking, or even if they just want to be able to go grocery shopping with confidence, we cater our treatment to make that possible for them.”
To meet these goals, Destination Rehab keeps up with the latest adaptive technology, offering their patients everything from recumbent bikes to an exoskeleton that can help patients walk again. “We have some patients that come to us after not having touched grass in years,” Odell said. “We build confidence and independence in our patients, as a part of the rehab. We have some of the best technology available to us, and we’re always on the lookout for new innovations that can help our patients.”
A volunteer assists a kayaker at Drake Park.
Treatment at Destination Rehab can be done in many different ways. The main form of treatment is their outdoor physical therapy program, which offers one-on-one rehabilitation with a physical therapist who specializes in neurological conditions, catered to the goals of the patient. The Adventure Group is a program that runs for six months during the warmer months. Sometimes patients gather for an activity that is physical, like hiking, and sometimes it’s something more along the lines of going to the High Desert Museum.
PEAK Fitness is another one of their programs. Similar in format to the Adventure Group, PEAK Fitness focuses only on physical activity and exercise, with monthly check-ins to evaluate progress and to keep the patients on the right track. A more unique program is the adventure retreat, which is a two-to-six week program where a patient from out of state comes to Bend for a rehabilitation-based vacation. The goal here is to provide exercises and a new sense of confidence that the patient can take with them when they head back home.
The team has just purchased a van that can haul around all of their required equipment, and they are hoping to travel to neighboring communities to offer treatment as well as encourage physical therapists in those communities to offer outdoor rehabilitation as part of their own services. Acquiring a brick-and-mortar location is on the horizon, but for now, the vast outdoor space in and around Bend does a great job.
“What we want to show people is that life doesn’t end when you are diagnosed with a neurological condition, or if you are the caretaker of someone with a diagnosis,” Odell said. “I’m so thankful that we’ve been able to give patients a second chance at life and inspire hope in the future.”
For more information on services offered and volunteer opportunities, please visit destinationrehab.org.
Rent a mountain bike in Bend and you’ll likely find these guidelines on a sticker attached to the top bar of your bike. The rental bike stickers were designed and distributed by the Central Oregon Trail Alliance as a positive way to encourage trail etiquette among bikers new to the trails, according to Emmy Andrews, executive director of COTA.
Photo by Kevin Prieto
“We want riders to know that Bend’s bike culture is friendly and helpful. The stickers communicate that message so everyone can have a good time,” Andrews said.
COTA’s rental bike stickers are one small example of a new approach to outdoor adventure and travel. Instead of tourism that drains local resources and pushes community members aside, this mindset encourages visitors to make a positive impact on their vacation destination. It’s called regenerative travel, and it’s making tourism better in Bend—for both visitors and locals.
TRAILHEAD TOURISM
Bend locals have long shared a passion for nature, and want others to experience it, too. Yet as tourism has grown, the influx of summer visitors deflates even the most enthusiastic Bendite. Our favorite places are being loved to death. Multitudes of hikers erode the trails; trailhead parking lots overflow with vehicles. Riverbanks are cluttered with trash; bikers conflict with horseback riders and backpackers. Solitude is difficult to find; adventuring has evolved into crowd management.
Can tourism in Bend continue at this pace without ruining the health of the ecosystem and the spirit of the community?
Many local stakeholders answer that question with a hopeful ‘yes.’ Conservation organizations, the outdoor industry and tourism marketing centers are partnering to instill regenerative principles into Central Oregon tourism. These new collaborations are creating ways for outdoor enthusiasts to give back as they play on the trails and rivers—and to leave Bend a better place because of their visit.
Regenerative travel as a concept is abuzz at the state level, with direction trickling down from the state tourism bureau, Travel Oregon, to regional entities including Visit Central Oregon and Visit Bend.
Visit Central Oregon’s efforts include support of the Deschutes Trails Coalition as it places professional trail crew members in the region to maintain trails for residents and visitors. VCO also promotes Travel Oregon’s “Take Care Out There” campaign, which spreads messages in line with regenerative tourism through videos and marketing. The organization has also partnered with The Environmental Center on a project encouraging tourists to rethink how they generate waste when traveling.
At Visit Bend, CEO Kevney Dugan and Sustainability Manager Serena Bishop-Gordon, are working to shift Visit Bend’s focus to include stewardship of natural areas impacted by tourism to promote regenerative travel. Today, their budget includes the Bend Sustainability Fund, a grant program that funds restoration projects.
Mountain Biking Phil’s Trailhead | Photo by Kevin Prieto
“Bend is unique in what draws visitors here. It’s not convention centers. It’s the mountains, rivers and trails—so that is where we should be investing,” Dugan said. “This fund lets us thank and support our partners driving the change toward healthy, robust ecosystems.”
In 2021, the Bend Sustainability Fund awarded $840,000 for eight projects ranging from trail building to riparian restorations to a nature playground at the High Desert Museum. Visitors can also donate to projects like these—especially after enjoying free access to hiking, biking and paddling trails that need regular upkeep. Visit Bend’s Pledge for the Wild program offers an easy way to give back.
Donations are important, but regenerative travel means shifting attitudes, according to Bishop-Gordon. “When people come to Bend, we want them to travel like they plan to return. That’s how we move the needle in the right direction,” she said. Their messaging guides visitors to “bring your best self” and the website lists volunteer opportunities to care for Bend like their own backyard.
Yet sometimes the best way to protect natural areas is simply to reduce the number of users.
At popular trailheads such as Green Lakes and Tam MacArthur Rim, peak-season crowds have changed the experience. Hikers left trash, widened trails and eroded creek banks, until the forests reached a tipping point. In 2021, the Forest Service established a permit reservation system for the Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson and Mount Washington wilderness areas. Reserved permits are required for day hikes leaving from the most popular trailheads and for all wilderness overnight stays.
“We often think of the outdoors as this infinite resource, until so many people in the same place at the same time limits the quality of the experience. People forget that everything they do on the trail affects other creatures in the forest—including the animals, plants, and even the water,” said Lisa Machnik, recreation staff officer for the Forest Service.
Almost 23,000 day-use permits and more than 40,000 overnight permits were issued during last year’s season; yet, adapting to the new system took time. “People felt frustrated with the need for permits until they saw photos of the damage and learned what that does to our water quality. We heard positive feedback about better trail conditions and more solitude with the permits,” said Jean Nelson-Dean, public affairs officer for the Forest Service.
Both Manchik and Nelson-Dean emphasize that the Forest Service can’t do it alone. Volunteers dig in for trail upkeep, especially through work parties organized by Discover Your Forest, a non-profit partner of the Forest Service. The business community pitches in too, like when REI donated trowels to be given away at trailheads (managing human waste on the trails is a significant problem).
Partnerships are also key for one of Bend’s newer conservation organizations: the Deschutes Trails Coalition. The coalition brings together agencies, organizations and the outdoor industry as resources for trail-related projects. Through their program $1 For Trails, participating resorts and businesses are able to collect $1 from their guests from the purchase of lift tickets, hotel accommodations and other items.
Jana Johnson, Deschutes Trails Coalition executive director, recognizes that sustainable trails bring more than environmental stability. “The economic benefit from trail tourism is substantial. Visitors support our lodging, restaurants, adventure guides—even our shoe stores. We are so lucky to have the capacity to make good work happen,” she said.
Bend’s signature network of flowy mountain biking trails grew over years of COTA-led volunteer work parties. Trail building remains COTA’s primary mission, but education is a close second—and etiquette stickers aren’t their only stewardship project.
This summer, COTA will partner with Cogwild and LOGE on a regenerative travel opportunity. Their “Ride & Dig” adventure package includes a day of trail work sandwiched between two days of riding with Cogwild, and LOGE Camp Bend offers a special rate for the package. SeeCOTA’s Meetup events page for more work party opportunities.
Restoring edges and berms, clearing brush and fallen logs and smoothing ruts benefits the volunteer as well as the trail. As Andrews explained, “Working in the dirt connects people to the trails and to other trail-lovers in the community.”
Forging connections between people and land is also part of the mission for Wanderlust Tours, an adventure guide service in Bend. New owners Courtney Braun and Jared Garfield are integrating regenerative travel principles into the company’s legacy of volunteer cleanup days. Rather than viewing visitors as a drain on natural resources, Braun and Garfield see the potential good that visitors can contribute to Bend’s unique landscape if they are given the chance.
“On every outing, we inspire our guests to love this landscape. Because loving something means wanting to protect it. When we offer a way to participate in restoration, they gain a long-term connection,” Garfield said.
This fall, Wanderlust will partner with the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and Hydroflask on a riparian restoration project at Ryan Meadow, a riverside area near Dillon Falls, southwest of Bend. Guests contribute with hands-in-the-soil work planting willows and wild roses to stabilize the riverbank. “That work creates emotional attachment to keep them coming back to check on their riverbank. Humans are wired that way,” Braun said.
Farther downstream, the impact of tourism on the river becomes more obvious. Most summer days, a fleet of orange tubes, kayaks and paddle boards float from the Old Mill to Drake Park. Regenerative travel is taking hold here too. Each tube rental fee managed by Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe contributes a dollar toward river restoration.
“We began this stewardship program with the UDWC last summer. By the end of the season, we collected over $30,000 for riparian work,” said Sue Fox, sales and events director at Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe.
Education is the key for protecting the river, according to Fox. Her three do-no-harm guidelines for river users? Bring nothing that can’t be attached to your tube (water bottles, dog balls and flipflops are notorious sources of trash). Use set access points instead of climbing across fragile riverbanks. Above all, keep in mind her mantra of “respect, protect, enjoy.”
“No one wants to do harm—people just need to learn the right practices,” said Fox.
MAKE TRAVEL MORE MEANINGFUL
How can every adventurer maximize their experience in nature while leaving it better than they found it? Rather than checking off the boxes on the list of must-do activities, follow these four principles of regenerative travel.
Know before you go.
On every outing, know your route and what you’ll need. Pack water, a first aid kit, trowel, map and a warm layer. Check where campfires are permitted and understand how to put them out. Last but not least, learn about the Cascade ecosystems to recognize what makes this landscape special.
Follow good trail etiquette.
Smile and say hello to other hikers and bikers; slow down and respect the right of way—especially for uphill bikers. Stay on established trails—trampling delicate plant life is not worth that perfect photo.
Find the local flavor.
The heart of Central Oregon’s economy beats strongest at our unique gear shops, food carts, boutiques and pubs. Fill up on local flavor while supporting the families behind the businesses.
Give back and pitch in!
Trail maintenance relies on volunteers and a shoestring budget. If you enjoyed using the trails, check out ways to give back with sweat equity. Can’t make time to join a work party? Pitch in through a donation to your favorite conservation organization.
The Heart of the Rogue Festival is an immersive two-day event celebrating all of the beauty that the Rogue Valley has to offer. This October 14 and 15 head to downtown Medford and experience the vibrant community of artists, musicians, creators and growers that together make the Rogue Valley such a special place. With a colorful confluence of food, wine, art, music and more, this free festival brings the best of the Rouge Valley right to you. Mark your calendars and take a sneak peek of what to expect when festival doors open this fall.
The festivities kick off at 4 p.m. Friday when the Blossom Lounge at Pear Blossom Park opens to the public. The Blossom Lounge will serve as the festival’s main gathering space, complete with lawn games, food and vendors. Browse a selection of locally crafted goods as you nibble on an artisan bite to eat from one of the various food trucks on site. The Rogue Valley is home to a robust farm-to-table movement, and many local chefs are using locally sourced meats, cheeses, produce and more in their dishes. The festival is a great place to sample some of these tasty foods.
The 21 and older crowd can pop across the street for something to drink from Wine Country Lane. Once you’ve made it through the ticketed entrance and received your tasting wristband, meander the street filled with local wineries, breweries and distilleries eager to give you a tasting. With a warm and dry climate, the Rogue Valley is an ideal climate for winemaking, and the number of vintners has grown steadily since the late 1960s. The Heart of the Rogue Festival is a great place to try the best craft sips that the area has to offer and learn more about the Rogue Valley’s extensive wine country.
The Blossom Lounge is also the best spot to enjoy live music performances at the festival’s main stage, with the Rogue Suspects kicking things off at 4 p.m. Composed of the region’s top vocal performers, actors, dancers and musicians, The Rogue Suspects put on a show that you won’t want to miss. The Danielle Kelly Project, a female-fronted retro dance party band that you can’t help but boogie to, will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. Night one wraps up at 8 p.m., giving you just enough time to get some shut eye before day two begins bright and early the next morning.
The Heart of the Rogue Festival has partnered up with the Rogue Marathon and Bikes & Brews to bring you some heart pumping fun to kick start day two. Those who are competing in the full marathon, a certified Boston marathon qualifier, will hit the ground running at 7 a.m. from Emigrant Lake in Ashland. The half marathoners will leave from Clearview Avenue in Talent and, and those competing in the 10k will begin at Bear Creek Park in Medford, both at 8 a.m. For active kiddos in the family, there will be a kids 1-mile race kicking off at 10:30 a.m.. All runners will cross the finish line at Pear Blossom Park so that the post race celebrations can begin straight away.
If running isn’t really your thing, there’s another way to work up a sweat Saturday morning with a biking event put on by Bikes & Brews and the Downtown Medford Association. With five different routes available there’s a ride perfect for every skill level, with routes ranging from the 4.2-mile beer cruiser to the 65.3-mile stout ride. Once you cross the finish line and whip that helmet off, pat the sweat from your forehead and get right into enjoying day two of the festival.
Post-race, vendors and food trucks will open up shop again, which means guests will be able to spend the entire afternoon checking out various craft goods, enjoying some lunch and playing corn hole on the lawn. The Brother’s Reed band, playing a contemporary blend of folk music, will kick off the live music of day two. Fogline, a country band considered to be one of the Rogue Valley’s best, will take the stage after, offering the perfect soundtrack for the remainder of the afternoon. The festival winds down at 4 but that doesn’t mean the party is over, head to the downtown brick and mortars which will be open and waiting for you. Keep the night going with drinks, dinner and some shopping as most establishments will be offering special promotions for the festival weekend.
The Heart of the Rogue Festival cannot wait to welcome festival goers with open arms this fall and show off all of the beauty and fun there is to be found in the Rogue Valley. Learn everything, from which vendors will be there to the best hotels to stay at to all of the official start times, at the Travel Medford website. Hope to see you all there!
On his first visit to Bend in 2008, Erik Hoogen walked through the Silver Moon Brewing alley and envisioned painting a mural along the brick wall. He spoke with the Silver Moon Brewing owner, Tyler Reichert, who told Hoogen wall art was only allowed in the Maker’s District of Bend.
Fast forward to 2019, and Hoogen had built relationships with James Watts and Matt Barrett, who took over Silver Moon Brewing in 2013. Meanwhile, the city had loosened the mural code; Hoogen’s vision was ready to become reality.
“They lifted the ordinance and right away when [Watts and Barrett] got the news, they said, ‘I know who we want to paint our mural’,” said Hoogen. “I had planted those seeds years earlier, but destiny knew that I was going to paint a mural in that alley.”
The alleyway now displays Hoogen’s “SMB Mixtape” with Side A and Side B: a monochrome compilation of portraits of ninety-nine famous musicians in remarkable realism, chosen so observers could find their favorite musician and appreciate the mural from their own perspective. Over four-month stints during the past two summers, Hoogen spent most of his time in the alleyway, drinking beer and painting. Typically, being an artist can be reclusive work, but Hoogen joked how often he’d hear an “excuse me,” followed by a request, or demand, naming the next artist he should paint. Often, he agreed.
Hoogen’s work was inspired by musicians and their ability to create common ground and unity between people. This was his criteria behind each idol he painted, including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh of The Wailers and Dolly Parton. “You think about these artists, about what they did. You think about their music and about how everyone’s together, and you’re looking at beautiful human beings from all races and nationalities,” said Hoogen. “Everybody thinks they’re looking at music, but what you’re looking at really is the human race coming together—unity and positivity and love and rhythm to the people.”
When Hoogen decided on the mural theme, Watts and Barrett were quickly on board. Given Silver Moon’s rapidly growing music scene, painting ninety-nine of the greatest musicians of all time was relevant, said Watts. He and Barrett were immensely supportive through the painting process, providing Hoogen with living space, paying for his gas and expenses and offering an open bar along with a generous paycheck. They even welcomed Hoogen’s dog, Bubba, who has since passed but can be found in the mural.
Hoogen attributes the ability to paint with consistency for eight months to the support and opportunity to be comfortable and himself at Silver Moon. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, staying consistent,” said Hoogen. “To just get in the zone and dial one after another perfectly became really powerful for me, especially with outdoor house paint in ninety-degree heat that dries in a second. I felt like the universe painted the whole thing, and I just channeled it.”
There’s still an unpainted section in the alleyway that Hoogen intends to return to. Perhaps the mural will be “Bonus Tracks” featuring additional musicians, or a completely different theme—observers will have to see for themselves in the upcoming years. As for this summer, Hoogen will be painting a mural for a private home project called River Sol, located near First Street Rapids.
Blending the energy of street art with the beauty of Central Oregon’s wild, open spaces, muralist Evan Namkung has developed a style that’s both bold and deeply rooted in nature. His work can be seen across Bend and beyond—the vibrant portraits of river birds enlivening a once-drab Old Mill District staircase, an evocative downtown mural merging urban and alpine imagery, or even the lone elk that appeared on Deschutes Brewery’s 2024 Jubelale packaging art and bottle labels.
Merging geometric abstraction with natural forms, his self-taught technique reflects his love of the outdoors, which he embraces through trail running and mountain biking. His style evolved from trying to represent light and contrast differently.
“I started playing with shapes in nature—like a tree—and made it more precise,” said Namkung. By adding bold, nontraditional colors, he could depict something familiar in an unexpected way, and it became his language for seeing and sharing the world. Bringing this talent into a home can clearly inject verve and personality into a private space.
“More and more, people are interested in art that isn’t necessarily traditional, like a painting in a frame or a picture framed on a wall,” said Namkung. “It’s having something that’s unique…created just for them. It certainly doesn’t get more personal than something painted directly onto the wall, specifically for that space.”
Beyond the aesthetic impact of custom art, murals can be the answer to interior design challenges. Namkung has worked with several clients who were stymied by walls that defied ornamentation by virtue of their size or location, especially in Central Oregon homes where vaulted ceilings and tall stone fireplaces often make decorating a challenge.
In a Sisters home, a roughly 20-foot wide wall with an 18-foot vaulted ceiling above a fireplace created the perfect canvas for a mural. For that space, he created a mural of a Great Horned Owl in flight adorned with some of his signature geometric elements. Instead of painting directly on the surface, he chose to make the mural removable by using a 12-foot by 6-foot canvas.
When meeting with clients, Namkung often discusses whether the mural should be permanent or portable—something they can take if they move. As a muralist, he’s at peace with not knowing whether someone may eventually paint over it. “That’s part of it,” he said. “That’s always a possibility.”
Namkung said some clients come to him with a very specific idea and then give him the freedom to play around with color. “Others give me total creative freedom,” he said. “I’m focused now on landscapes and wildlife—so if someone asked for a portrait of a person, I’d probably turn that down.”
A fox mural theme was specifically requested by the client for a hallway visible from the living room and kitchen. Namkung did some digital sketches based on a few images to create the look he wanted. “It felt as though it was tiptoeing around a corner—as you come out of the kitchen, it would be right there in front of you,” he said.
Photo by Phealan Robinson
Like a street artist, he works primarily with spray paint. “I’ve been figuring this all out along the way, and coming up with all my own techniques,” said Namkung. “That’s part of the fun of it, trying to problem-solve and figure out how to get my art to look the way I want, depending on the project.”
Most of the work, however, is the design process, with Namkung drawing digitally on his iPad, figuring out the shapes, colors and overall feel. Depending on the project, he sometimes uses a projector to trace outlines on the wall—a method that works well in tighter spaces such as hallways. Other situations, such as the staircase in the Old Mill District, required dividing the art into boxes with a matching grid on his iPad to scale the design.
He balances his creative work with a full-time role managing a behavioral health program for Deschutes County. At the same time, demand for his art is growing, with a recent commission for a large-scale mural for the renovation of a shopping center in Southwest Portland.
For now, Namkung is hesitant to pursue murals full-time—preferring the flexibility to step back and choose only the projects that truly excite him. “Having that freedom,” he said, “is ultimately going to make my art better.”
Whether it’s a fox tiptoeing through a hallway or an owl soaring across a vaulted ceiling, Namkung’s murals give homeowners a way to live more closely with the wild beauty that surrounds them.
This article was originally published July 18, 2022
For Evan Namkung, the pandemic ignited a passion that had been simmering in the background of his life. As a kid, he painted to have something to hang on the wall. As an adult, he’d lost the habit. Instead, he focused on his job as a social worker and his off-hours activities as an avid ultrarunner, skier and search-and-rescue volunteer. When the pandemic hit, he suddenly had extra time to pursue his love of street art and graffiti. Namkung began painting murals on buildings and in people’s homes and creating smaller images to paint on canvas.
Photo by Kevin Prieto
“Last year the combination of being stuck at home during COVID and all the social stuff going on in the world became a confluence for me to see whether I could grow something organically and invest time in it,” he said. Grow it, he did.
In the past year, the self-taught artist’s vision has appeared on buildings, breezeways, in businesses and art venues, garnering appreciation among art lovers who enjoy his fresh perspective on figures and the natural world.
Photo by Kevin Prieto
“Evan brings a different dynamic to Bend. His work is edgy and raw and combines a duality of meticulous portraits with a street vibe,” said Lacey Champagne, owner of Layor Art + Supply. “He captivates raw emotion and has a close connection with his viewers.”
Namkung grew up in Oakland, California, and moved to Bend in 2016 for a change of pace and to enjoy the outdoors. He became involved with the mountain rescue unit of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue. He finds the volunteer work that he does there to be like his other hobby, long-distance trail running. “They are meditative activities where you can focus and complete something,” he said, in contrast to his job as a social worker with Deschutes County Behavioral Health, where he finds that the work is never finished.
Photo courtesy of Evan Namkungphoto Kevin prieto
When Namkung is not applying paint directly to a building, he makes art in his home-office-turned-studio in NorthWest Crossing. The space contains large canvases stacked against a wall, many with vibrant colors dripped, sprayed and splashed onto the surface, striking an incongruous feel in the tidy, clean room.
He starts each project by surveying stock images on the Internet for interesting faces and figures, often people who might otherwise be ignored by the mainstream. He builds a concept on his iPad and then moves a canvas outside for the messy part of spray painting and dripping blobs of color to create the background. Next comes a line drawing which he projects onto the canvas or a hardwood board. He finishes the composition back in the studio.
Namkung’s paintings have been displayed at The Grove in NorthWest Crossing, Layor Art and Crater Lake Spirits Downtown Tasting Room. His murals adorn the Box Factory Breezeway and the City of Bend downtown parking garage. The latter work was part of the High Desert Mural Festival held last year featuring artists of BIPOC and/or LGBTQ identity, said the festival’s founder and fellow artist Doug Robertson. “One of Evan’s main objectives was to highlight accessibility to the outdoors,” he said, referring to Namkung’s mural on the city garage which depicts a young African American girl looking up at a butterfly, with a mountain range in the background.
“He’s merging city street art with traditional landscapes. He’s bringing something different with great technical skills,” Robertson said. “His color palette is bright and bold; a needed voice in our community.”
When asked what his future looks like, thirty-nine-year-old Namkung says his ultimate dream is to become a full-time muralist. “Painting balances what I need to keep myself healthy and happy,” he said. “Whether it’s the grit of city living, the diverse world of plants and animals, or anything in between, art constantly offers us chances to see our world differently.”
Looking for a relatively inexpensive and easy way to liven up your home this season? Try color blocking. This popular interior design technique simply means pairing two or more bold colors together on a single wall or within a room. Contrast paint with paint, or shake it up by pairing bright colors on walls or surface finishes with cabinets, upholsteries and decor items. This graphic mixing technique injects a room with playfulness, personality and dimension.
In 1964, when Marvin Wodtli was just 2 years old, his parents built a home out on Billadeau Road east of Bend’s city limits. They raised cattle and hay on their 40 acres, and it was so isolated Wodtli could walk out the front door and shoot a gun in any direction. “You couldn’t hit a house,” he said. “It wasn’t until the early 1970s that it started building up out here.”
Wodtli was a farm kid, working his parents’ land and moving pipe for his neighbors at two cents a pipe. It was all he’d ever done, and it got old fast. “I wanted to do anything but be on a farm,” he said. While his classmates were skiing and playing, “we’re moving pipe and doing hay, cleaning ditches. With a farm, it’s seven days a week. You don’t get Saturday and Sunday off.”
To that end, after high school Wodtli went to school to become a machinist, then switched to business administration. In 1989 he started a floor-covering business, then eight years later began managing Floor Decor, which he purchased and ran until he walked away in 2019. According to his wife of fourteen years, April Wallace, the business had changed, thanks in no small part to HGTV home renovation shows and the internet. “It was just a whole new era in terms of buying and merchandising, beyond what we’re used to,” she said. “So that became stressful.”
“I had a choice. I could either sell out and go work for someone else,” Wodtli said, “or I could do something with the property.”
Where did he end up? You guessed it—back on Billadeau Road. Wodtli and Wallace built a home on the remaining ten-acre property back in 2014, but when they began to think about farming again, they soon realized hay wasn’t a viable option, in part due to dwindling water from Arnold Irrigation District.
It was time to find a profitable, drought-resistant crop. “Everybody was getting into hemp, and to me that’s a fad,” Wodtli said. Plus, he didn’t like the smell of it, so after much research, he picked something more pleasing.
Marvin Wodtli and April Wallace
On June 1, 2019, the couple began to plant Lavandula Grosso, a classic French hybrid lavender, on the 8-acre plot. They tilled the field, ripped out the underground irrigation system and laid 12 miles of drip line; put down 8 acres of weed mat (stapling it at every foot); and eventually planted 15,200 lavender plants—by hand.
They finished planting on July 18, 2019, and 2nd Life Lavender was born. The company is named for lavender’s life-affirming properties, Wodtli’s second career and the farm’s second life. With their own harvester and two stills right on the property, Wodtli and Wallace harvest, distill and bottle their own lavender essential oil and hydrosol.
Wodtli and Wallace completed the 2021 harvest themselves over 29 days. Lavender can mold easily, so they only harvest what they can distill each day. It takes about 2.5 hours to distill a pot of lavender, and they distilled 98 pots last year. Right now, they’re selling their oil and hydrosol directly to practitioners and businesses. It’s not a big operation, but the goal is to become a wholesaler: bottling the product and selling it in bulk—to chiropractors, acupuncturists and massage therapists, for example.
2nd Life Lavender’s plants are organic certified, though the farm hasn’t been certified. “We follow all the practices—we hand weed, we spray nothing,” Wodtli said. “A lot of people when they harvest, they cut the lavender and put it on a tarp, drag it over to a trailer, dump it out on the ground and then load the pots to distill it. Our harvester puts the lavender in bags and then the bags go into the pots, so it never sees the ground.”
His care extends to the still, too. Wodtli filters the water before it goes into the still, then filters the oil when it comes out. “We’re doing everything we can think of to make the purest product,” he said. Indeed, the jars filled and waiting to be bottled are remarkably clear, with not a speck floating in them.
The farm conserves a ton of water as well. Wodtli estimates he saves about 60 percent of the water previously used to grow hay. He built a storage pond—when it’s full, it can hold 350,000 gallons of water. “There is no way, if we had kept the hay field, that we would even be able to have a hay field. We unknowingly got in at the right time to make the changes.”
Wodtli praises the benefits of the lavender oil and hydrosol, from the well-known (stress reducing, sleep enhancing) to the unlikely (hand softening and burn healing). Maybe one of the best benefits of Wodtli’s lavender farm? It has given his family property a new, sustainable life and has also breathed new life into Wodtli, who had grown tired of his previous career.
“My belief, through my whole career, has been to do the best job you can,” he said. “And I’m doing that. That’s what we continue to do.”
Last year, Sunriver Resort launched a new chef apprenticeship program in collaboration with the American Culinary Federation. The four-year program trains chefs on the job, ultimately graduating twelve per year with hopes that these highly trained professionals remain in the Central Oregon restaurant industry. Executive Chef Joshua Hedrick explained to Bend Magazine the origins and hopes for this innovative approach to growing local chefs.
Tell us how this program came to be.
The apprenticeship program started as a conversation with key stakeholders here at Sunriver Resort about finding the right people to join our culinary staff—those interested in building a career. After spending virtually my entire professional life in this industry, I feel an obligation to pay forward what I’ve learned and inspire the next generation of chefs in a supportive learning work environment. This program became a personal passion project of mine, and with the backing of the team here at Sunriver Resort, I believe we have created something very special to offer someone looking to build a culinary career with clearly defined growth opportunities.
How does the program work and what are its goals?
Our collaboration with the American Culinary Federation, the oldest and largest certification body in the United States, means the education has a proven track record dating back to the 1970s. Every student is a full-time, year-round associate here at the resort and has access to all of the perks that come along with working for a top-tier employer, including a very good starting wage with yearly increases and promotions built right into the education. A student comes to work like a normal employee and works a normal week in the kitchen learning the trade; then we have online training through the ACF and class time every Wednesday.
The program is set up in three building blocks of education and experience levels starting at the absolute fundamentals of what being a chef is, i.e., knife skills and safety training. Over the course of four years, the training progresses to a very proficient line cook with the skill set in costing and menu development to be ready for a sous chef level position. We take advantage of how many kitchen and service types the resort has to offer, so over time students will gain experience in a fine dining setting with à la carte service, banquets and weddings, as well as fast casual and café settings. The certification level available through the program here at Sunriver Resort is higher than if you graduated culinary school.
How are apprentices selected?
Anyone can apply, and those with an interest in food and passion for hospitality should. There are no minimum experience requirements and no cost to the students. This really is the best of everything for the apprentices—a true get-paid-to-learn situation!
Our first class is getting ready for their first testing and promotion. It is amazing to be a part of the students’ growth and see their confidence build through the experience. We are working to expand the campus-feel of this program and in the next few months will start to offer classes with outside professionals and chefs in things like butchery, pasta making and business finance.
How are you engaging with the community?
Being a key contributor to the local community is something that is important to us. We hope that working here inspires our apprentices to feel a sense of connection to the local community. While the program is relatively new, we are starting to make headway on raising awareness throughout the broader community. We plan to create real opportunities for our graduating students by hosting job fairs and encouraging local restaurants and resorts to attend. This is a unique program that we are very proud of, something that adds to what makes Sunriver Resort special—for both our guests and our associates. That spirit and passion shines through in the quality of our dishes and presentation, all while contributing to something bigger career-wise for our chef apprentices as well; a true win-win.
Mackenzie Stabler was nervous. Dressed in a waxed canvas vest with a badger fur collar and a black helmet, she fixed her horse with heavy bags and equipment for the day. The hazel and gold Argentinian hills stretched ahead, daring her forward. Everyone was on edge, horses included, as all prepared to fight through the harsh Patagonian wilderness.
Memories of a friend who left a 600-mile derby in Mongolia with a broken nose and fractured ribs followed Stabler to the event start. By the end of the day, one rider would be retired medically. Of the thirty-five riders who started, five more would follow. “I just want to survive the front part of this race,” she thought as she plunged into the wilds.
A Wild Idea
Stabler, the director of operations for Humm Kombucha, joined the Gaucho Derby as a break from her usual life in Bend. The competition launched this past March 3, with participants racing Patagonian ranch horses 310 miles over ten days through the visceral landscapes of Patagonia to the Argentinian village of El Chalten.
The Derby was created by adventure tour companies The Adventurists and The Equestrianists, which offer long-distance multi-horse races in Mongolia and Patagonia, and are working on bringing races to North America, the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Europe.
The race runs on a “horses first, humans second” approach and tests the endurance of the riders, not the horses. Every 30 kilometers (18.6 miles), horses are checked out by veterinarians. Horses are swapped out nearly every day, meaning that participants ride about seven different horses throughout the competition.
Many riders raise money for charity while riding—Stabler chose to support the Central Oregon chapter of Camp Fire, a youth development organization focused on the outdoors.
Carmen Jackson and Stabler trained together with plans to ride the race as a pair. Though they were not together the entire race, here they are pictured about to cross the finish line together. Photo courtesy of The Gaucho Derby, Sarah Farnsworth Photography
A Life Astride
Horses have been a central theme throughout Stabler’s life. When she was five years old, her parents recognized her interest and helped her get involved in traditional equestrian jumping. At nine years old, her family moved frequently—to Hong Kong, Macau, Southern California, Idaho and Washington. “But horses were there throughout,” she said.
Stabler’s first foray into backcountry horse packing came around five years ago. She filled her bags with supplies, strapped them to her horse and headed into the woods. She loved it.
Eventually, she met Stevie and Dylan Delahunt who co-run Intergalactic Equine and train riders for adventure races such as the Gaucho Derby. When Stabler heard about the race, she knew she wanted to do it. The outdoors, the travel, the horses—it was irresistible. “I signed up right away,” Stabler said. “I hardly even researched it. It just combined everything that I love.”
Two months later, however, COVID-19 struck. With the world closed, she focused on training—spending hours riding through the backcountry of Central Oregon with Stevie.
The remoteness of Patagonia meant that medics and a support crew rode days ahead of the competitors, and Stabler would need to rely on herself if need be. Skills with maps and GPS point-to-point navigation were a necessity, as were survival skills. Stabler focused on getting ready for the challenge.
Patagonian Perils
Halfway to the end of the race, another rider’s foot got stuck in a strap as he was dismounting. He flipped with his foot in the air and his head on the ground, right by his horse’s hind leg. A moment later, the horse kicked, connecting gruesomely.
They thought he was dead. Around two minutes passed before he regained consciousness. Stabler held his head and neck in place for twenty minutes as a medic jerry-rigged a neck brace out of a CamelBak. There was no room for error in this race. She recalled, “It made me really reflective on my life in general—just realizing that I have a really good life, and I really like all the people in it.”
A few days later, Stabler and Carmen Jackson, who she had trained with back in Bend, were lost. After getting turned around in some woods, they spent the day looping up and down massive hills with frustration building. Despite the lost time, however, they found themselves laughing about the incident afterward. Though they were competitors, Stabler realized how much she enjoyed the other riders, and how much she wanted to ride with them. “I just wanted to spend time with all of them,” she said. “They all had such cool stories.”
While the lost time cost Stabler and Jackson vital positions in the race to El Chalten, Stabler did finish, and found that simply surviving the wild was an accomplishment. Stabler is back in Bend now, re-immersed in her regular life. If she did the Derby again, the only thing she’d change is to go slower and ensure she fully absorbed everything. “All the smells, all the sights,” she said. “I would touch the dirt and really make sure I was logging in my memory where I was and what was happening.”
Maijken and Jason Gillihan remember waking up one morning in the spring of 2020 at their home in Beaverton and making a decision: they didn’t want to wait any longer to make their dream of living in Central Oregon a reality. Native Oregonians who met in college when they were both summer greeters at an Abercrombie & Fitch, the two weren’t strangers to buying and selling homes and moving around. They’d moved five times the decade before, and when they called their real estate agent that spring, the broker joked that “it was about that time again.”
This move would be different for the Gillihan family, which includes daughter Ashbury, now 9, and son Indy, who just turned 3. Rather than buying another finished home and renovating and decorating to their liking, the Gillihans planned to purchase a lot, and build new. The property they settled on was a two-and-a-half-acre parcel in Squaw Creek Canyon Estates, a small neighborhood along Whychus Creek about 7 miles east of Sisters. “We knew we always wanted to move to acreage and build a white farmhouse,” said Jason, who has a background in design and project management and previously owned his own furniture building and woodworking business in Portland. As part of the move to Central Oregon, Jason had gotten a new job as a senior project manager at Bend-based Sierra James Construction, a position that would allow him excellent access to a team of builders for the family’s new home.
The Gillihans picked out a stock floor plan from Architectural Designs online and worked with Sara Bergby of Bend’s Enclave Architecture on custom modifications, including taller ceilings throughout the home and a twenty-four-foot high great room ceiling, along with the addition of a butler’s pantry adjacent to the kitchen. “I think the changes we worked on together really improved the house and made it into what they needed,” Bergby said. “Everything just feels a little more spacious.”
Construction began in the spring of 2021 and lasted seven months, an impressive feat given pandemic-related delays in the supply chain. As framing began this past summer, the Gillihans contended with peak lumber prices and even a wildfire—the 4,000-acre Grandview Fire in July 2021—threatening the area. But by early December, the family moved into the newly finished, 2,450-square-foot home, Christmas decorations in tow.
The interior of the white farmhouse is thoughtfully designed and decorated, with a fresh and modern feeling. “We love neutrals and lots of texture,” said Maijken (pronounced MIKE-en) who spent ten years as a marketing professional for Nike before starting a new marketing job with LiveWire–Harley Davidson’s electric motorcycle company–earlier this year. The couple worked together on the design of the home, picking out fixtures and appliances, styling furniture and adding décor such as a mixed-media gallery wall that extends up the walls of the office opposite the entryway. “Jason has a really strong design eye, as do I,” Maijken said. “I think design is our love language.”
As visitors enter the Gillihan home, they pass the office on the left, followed by the “kids wing” on the right, with bedrooms for Ashbury and Indy and a bright, white bathroom. Ashbury enjoys looking out her bedroom window to see a family of squirrels that frequent a juniper tree with vibrant green moss on it. The kids’ rooms open up to the great room, anchored by a floor-to-ceiling wood burning fireplace, adorned with Montana moss rock and a reclaimed barnwood mantle. “We wanted the fireplace to bring some of the outside in,” Jason said. To the left of the fireplace is the home’s primary suite, with backyard views. The primary bathroom features a dual vanity on the right, with white oak cabinetry from Harvest Moon Woodworks of Bend. “In my opinion, they’re the most premium cabinet maker in Central Oregon,” Jason said. The bathroom has a corridor in the center, with stalls on the left for a walk-in shower space and toilet space. The walk-in shower with a large fully opening window was a request of Jason’s, who was thrilled to open the window to falling snow during his first shower in the new home. His and hers walk-in closets sit at the end of the bathroom corridor.
Back in the great room, durable luxury vinyl plank flooring extends from the living room into the kitchen, which features more beautiful cabinetry from Harvest Moon Woodworks. Off the kitchen is an opening to the butler’s pantry, which offers kitchen prep space, a sink and a wall of storage filled with dry goods and snacks. There’s no formal dining room, but there are stools along the large kitchen bar, and a cozy dining nook off to the side. “In our last house, we had a formal living room and a formal dining room that just collected dust,” Maijken said. “Here, we use every single space in this house.”
Feeling settled this spring, the Gillihans were wrapping up front porch finishes and dreaming of future plans for landscaping in the backyard, including installing a handmade walnut swing that Jason built with the family name inscribed across the seat. This summer, the family is planning more lake days to Suttle Lake north of Sisters, where Ashbury can break in her new kayak. Back at home, the pull-through driveway in the front yard is becoming a racetrack for the Gillihan children and their neighbors, who love riding bikes. After years of moving between homes, the Gillihans say their new house feels like a long-term fit. Maijken said, “With every house we had before, we did updates and remodeling, but this one is truly built for us and how we live.”
Jake Woodruff knows that roofing may not be the sexiest subject out there, and that a new roof doesn’t usually top a person’s list of “cool” large purchases. Regardless, having a quality-built roof overhead is incredibly important for everyone, from first-time homebuyers, to business owners to lifelong Central Oregonians keeping up with important maintenance on their family homes. That importance of a quality roof is why if given the chance to do it all again, Woodruff would follow his same life path to becoming the owner of a premier Central Oregon roofing company, Northwest Quality Roofing. “If I had known what I know now, I don’t think I would have done anything differently,” Woodruff said.
Jake, Gretchen and Zackery Woodruff
Building a Team
Woodruff joined the roofing industry at age 19, shortly after moving to Bend. He started working for a roofing company, and continued on in the business, honing his skills before moving onto the business side of the industry. He and his wife, Gretchen, started Northwest Quality Roofing in 2009, with a vision for the company that’s built right into the name—quality. “We don’t cut corners,” Woodruff said. “If it takes a whole day longer to do a project, then that’s what we’ll do.” Prioritizing quality is something Woodruff has instilled in his team of about twenty-seven employees, most of whom work in the field as foremen and crew leaders, roofing technicians and roofing apprentices. Woodruff acknowledges that roofing is a demanding job, often involving tiring days in the sun working on installations. He believes it’s the company’s strong values and great benefits that help Northwest Quality Roofing attract and retain quality employees. “We offer more than just a job, it’s really a career,” Woodruff said. ‘We’re fortunate to have an awesome core crew of people who have been with us a long time.”
This June, the company was focused on hiring to fill out its team for the busy summer season. Already on the team is Woodrfuff’s son Zackery, who is on staff as a roofing apprentice. Like his father, Zackery, 21, is starting first to master the manual labor side of the business, learning the ins and outs of materials and installation.
Roofs for All
Northwest Quality Roofing works primarily with residential homeowners, though the company also does new installations and reroofing of commercial buildings. While most customers are looking for traditional asphalt roofing, the company also offers metal roofing, which tends to be more durable and offer a sleeker look, but for a higher price tag. For metal roofing, the company has machinery to cut and seam sheet metal that can be used on-site at projects, helping to lower costs and speed up installation time, Woodruff said. In addition to roofing, the machines can also be used for custom sheet metal features like chimney caps, custom parapet caps and other custom architectural elements. Choosing between roof styles, and knowing when it’s time to replace a roof is something the Northwest Quality Roofing team helps homeowners with regularly.
Giving Back
As a way to give back to the community, Northwest Quality Roofing in 2016 began a contest to give a new roof away to a deserving homeowner in Central Oregon. Each year, the company partners with other community sponsors to gather the materials needed to offer a new roof, and then donates the installation, for a prize valued at $10,000 to $15,000 Residents can nominate themselves or another homeowner each spring in the “Raise the Roof” contest, and then employees select from some of the most deserving candidates to choose a winner. “It’s probably one of the best things we’ve done within this company,” Woodruff said. In early June, Woodruff said a handful of entries had already rolled in for the annual contest, with a winner to be chosen by mid-June. Woodruff said that replacing a roof can be a big-ticket purchase for a homeowner, and not always one they can afford. Being able to provide a roof for free can really be a valuable gift for someone, Woodruff said. “Central Oregon has been super good to myself and my employees and my family as we’ve grown our company,” Woodruff said. “For us to give back like we have, at the end of the day, it’s really the thing that keeps us going.”
When the Market Hall opened in NorthWest Crossing’s new block-wide development, The Grove, in May of 2021, it aimed to bring Bend together for a communal dining experience. Today, The Grove’s Market Hall is home to nine food and drink counters, carts and markets. Large community tables fill the Market Hall’s nearly 14,000 square feet, allowing groups and families to choose from multiple eateries while enjoying a shared experience. Later this summer, The Grove will unveil Ranch Butcher Chef, a modern butcher counter and restaurant, on the main floor of the Market Hall’s neighboring commercial building, Assembly. Here is more to know about the westside’s evolving shared dining space.
Thump Coffee
As one of the early Market Hall occupants, Thump Coffee serves the caffeinated classics and customer favorites found at their Downtown Bend and York Street locations. Although their newest cafe is settled a mere half-mile from their bakery and roastery, Thump recognized the need for more options and convenience for local customers. “We love the foot traffic that comes in and, of course, the beautiful space,” said Anne Juárez, Thump Coffee’s Operations Manager. She added, “It couldn’t be a better spot to build community.”
Customers love Thump’s Madagascar vanilla mochas, house-made chai lattés, and Mexican mochas—just to name a few. Their beans are locally roasted at their York Café, Roastery & Bakery, where baked goods are made fresh daily and delivered daily to the Market Hall. And while Thump takes pride in the quality of their product, “The customers are so fun. We love our neighboring businesses [with whom] we’ve had the pleasure of building relationships,” Juárez shared. Thump is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Try: An iced coconut milk chai with a burrito bowl from Bend Breakfast Burrito.
Waypoint
Date night meets après ski (or hike) at Waypoint, the Market Hall’s resident drinking establishment. When Bend Brewing Co.’s owner, Packy Deenihan, noticed the construction of The Grove, he first took note of its unique and modern architecture. After falling in love next with the concept of a dining hall, the idea for Waypoint was born. “We built Waypoint with the vision that it could be a place to bring a date and cozy up in one of our booths or a place where you can come down with the family and keep things ‘Bend casual,’” Deenihan shared.
Waypoint was the first indoor establishment to open at The Grove, with food cart Sunny’s Carello—now Sunny’s Italian Joint—parked outside. With a rotating cocktail menu, Waypoint’s resident mixologists develop new and unique libations three times per year. Additionally, Waypoint has created its own private label for the cocktail lounge, Waypoint Spirits, distilled in Astoria. During peak hours, patrons can skip the bar line for beer, wine and cider from the new Beer Cave, adjacent to the bar counter.
Sunny’s Italian Joint
New name, same fast-casual Italian-inspired eats. For more than two years, Sunny’s Italian Joint operated as a food cart under the name Sunny’s Carrello. After securing a spot at The Grove, they traded the cart for a counter and expanded their hours and menu. Co-owner and Chef Amy Wright has worked with many different cuisines during her 31-year tenure in the restaurant industry, but her heart belongs to Italian fare. “With all of the cuisines I have worked with and cooked with through my career, Italian-inspired food and fresh pasta have always been my favorite to cook,” said Wright, who owns Sunny’s Italian Joint with her partner, Courtney Wright.
The pasta alla vodka sauce is one of the most popular dishes at Sunny’s; followed by the roasted pork pasta, which takes 48 hours to simmer to perfection. All of their pasta—which is handmade in-house—can be made gluten-free, and many dishes are prepared dairy-free. Similarly, all sauces, dressings, desserts, focaccia and pizza
dough are made in-house.
Try: A Kingston Negroni from Waypoint Bar with the new primavera pasta from Sunny’s Italian Joint.
Elly’s Ice Cream
Enter Grove’s Market Hall from its west-facing entrance, and the first thing you’ll notice is the irresistible aroma of freshly made waffle cones wafting through the Market Hall. Creative ice cream concoctions are the specialty at Elly’s Ice Cream: The Grove’s exclusive dessert counter. Owner Elly Sisney recognized a gap in the ice cream market—specifically in her home neighborhood of NorthWest Crossing—and decided to start her own shop.
With specialty sundaes such as the s’mores inspired Gone Glamping and their most popular ice cream flavor, Cookie Monster, Elly’s is more than just an ice cream counter—it’s a sweet tooth destination for children and adults alike. This summer, Elly’s will offer ice cream cakes by pre-order and catering for private events and parties.
Try: A double scoop of toasted coconut ice cream after a curry dish from ThaiPas. Shown here is the Khao Soi Gai Northern Thai coconut curry noodles soup.
Sebastian’s Seafood & Specialty Market
For Sebastian Galletti, the seafood industry has always been a part of life. After spending eleven years working at his family’s multigenerational seafood distribution business, he decided to step out independently. Sebastian’s offers a multitude of high-quality seafood options, including a full-service seafood case, imported specialty items, hand-selected wines, grab-and-go items and a seafood cafe.
Sebastian’s seafood case is likely to impress customers seeking hard-to-find seafood options; it’s often stocked with yellowfin tuna, snow crab, Alaskan sablefish, squid and Chinook salmon, among several other options. Additionally, Sebastian’s prepares in-house ahi poke, ceviche, seafood salads, and fresh dips and sauces. The cafe offers dishes like the popular fish and chips, swordfish sandwiches and fish tacos.
Try: Mahi mahi tacos from Sebastian’s Seafood & Specialty Market with Bend Brewing Co.’s Metolius Golden Ale from Waypoint.
The Grove Market Hall Carts and Counters
Bend Breakfast Burrito
Grab and go breakfast burritos, burrito bowls, salads and sweet treats are at this mobile cart located inside the food court. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Elly’s Ice Cream
Elly’s Ice Cream is a modern ice cream shop with nods to the classics and serving the very best ingredients. Open weekdays 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesdays 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Weekends 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Greenleaf Juice
This plant-based spot features smoothies, açaí bowls, juices, oatmeal and chia bowls, and soups and salads. Open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Left Coast Burger Company
Left Coast is your destination for diner-style burgers with all of the fixings, fries and milkshakes. Open daily from
11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sebastian’s Seafood Specialty Market
Your local market for all things seafood with a full-service seafood case, and ready-to-eat takeaway. Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
ThAiPAS
Spice-lovers come here for authentic Thai street food served traditionally. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thump Coffee
Locally roasted coffee and house-made baked goods. Open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Waypoint
The second location from Bend Brewing company features BBC craft brews, fresh cocktails, and a curated wine list. Open daily at 3 p.m.
Just a few years ago, Anna Amejko Peterson was loving life as a swimwear designer in sunny Southern California. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising—FIDM—she was putting her design eye to use choosing designs, fabrics and styles for a major surfwear brand and traveling the world for work.
But after meeting her future husband during one such trip to Fiji, the trajectory of her life began to shift. Peterson and her husband Dave settled in San Francisco, and she began commuting weekly to Newport Beach for work. Peterson eventually chose to move on from her fifteen-year career in the swimwear industry and start to dream of what was next. It was around this time that the newlyweds set off on a motorcycle trip.
“I read an article about this place called Bend, and nature and outdoor anything has always called my name,” Peterson said. “We were here for two days before we called a real estate agent.” By Halloween of 2019, the Petersons were sitting on the porch of their new Central Oregon home, waiting for the moving van to arrive. “It was the fastest, large life decision we’ve ever made,” Peterson said.
Antique Store Shopping Changed Everything
The couple got busy enjoying the Bend lifestyle and decorating their new home. It was on a visit to an antique store in Redmond when Peterson saw a vintage, rustic wooden bowl with twine pulled through holes along the rim. The item sparked an idea, and Peterson went home to sketch out an art piece on her computer, using her knowledge of design programs from her work in fashion. She envisioned a wooden canvas with holes where yarn would come through—like embroidery or cross-stitch but on wood. Peterson refined her process through trial and error, and began creating nature-inspired designs and patterns, stitching in neutral and earth tones to create large wood and yarn canvases fit to adorn walls. “Friends and family saw it first, and pretty soon people were wanting pieces for their own house and neighbors were commissioning things,” Peterson said. A new business, Amejko Artistry, was born, using Peterson’s maiden name to help brand the company.
The first several months consisted of Peterson refining her process, and building up a collection of pieces to show to stores and showcase at pop-up art markets. Peterson likes to describe the finished pieces as nomadic artwork, though they can also be called fiber art, or mixed media. “I’m inspired by a lot of different global designs, and I have a love of the southwest, geometrics and elements of nature,” she said. “I feel like the word nomadic can kind of go anywhere, and be anything.” The pieces are made of durable, 100 percent wool yarn, stitched in planned patterns onto custom-ordered raw birchwood canvases, which Peterson stains in a variety of shades. Pieces have hundreds, sometimes thousands of holes, carefully drilled to create designs and landscapes.
During Her Early Days in Bend
Peterson remembers walking by a small red barn at the edge of the Old Mill District, and picturing a future in the space. “I remembered walking by that spot and saying out loud, ‘that would be an amazing spot to be if I ever was an artist,’” she said. When she heard the space was available last year, Peterson felt as though all the stars had aligned. Temporary walls were built in the historic barn to hang the Amejko Artistry pieces, and Peterson uses the 20-foot-by 20-foot room as her workspace, allowing passerby to come in and watch her create new pieces and browse those available for sale.
Peterson said the process of starting Amejko Artistry was intimidating, but the reward has been worth it. “At first I didn’t know that I could do it, it was scary,” she said. “But I’ve just been so grateful to meet so many amazing people, and I feel so honored to have my artwork hanging in people’s homes.”
When buying or selling real estate, prospective clients might think they’re working with just a single broker to move the deal forward. While that broker might be the one to answer calls and texts, there’s a team of people who keep things running behind the scenes of a brokerage. Office administrators, finance officers, marketing specialists, principal brokers and those educating and training other brokers are all acting as support staff to keep a brokerage hustling and bustling. For Windermere Central Oregon Real Estate, this support team is a highly skilled group of five women, keeping the company organized, prosperous and cutting-edge as it celebrates fifty years of serving the region.
Left to right: Traci Brown, Jaynee Beck, Carolyn Moor, Natalka Palmer and Sherry Brooks
“The leadership, insights and solid hard work our Windermere women bring to this company every single day is nothing shy of world class,” said Dave Feagans, owner of Windermere Central Oregon Real Estate. Our company could not survive without the combined strength and solidarity of these fascinating women.” Feagans said there are five women in particular who are on staff at Windermere helping to operate and support the company’s five offices across Bend, Redmond, Madras and Sunriver. The women, three of whom are brokers themselves, help serve the company’s ninety brokers with training, organization, transactions, scheduling and other support. They bring a wealth of professional experience to serve others, but each also has their own professional and personal accomplishments, including decades of service to the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, service on association committees and years of charitable service.
Windermere Chief Financial Officer Sherry Brooks is a principal real estate broker who entered the industry with a background in accounting. As part of Windermere’s support staff, Brooks said she’s helped the company remain competitive and relevant, implementing a new accounting system and implementing a paperless transaction system. “We essentially are the stagehands making sure all the behind the scenes things work as they should,” Brooks said of herself and other support staff. Outside of work, she volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, donated her vacation rental to various causes and once hosted Ugandan musicians in her home.
Natalka Palmer brings thirty-one years of experience in the real estate field to her position at Windermere, where she directs education of brokers and assists with technology and marketing. “To be able to pass on all that I have learned over the past thirty-one years to our agents gives me joy,” Palmer said. Palmer serves as a state director and on the Professional Standards Committee for the Central Oregon Association of Realtors.
Office administrator Traci Brown has spent fifteen years in the real estate and property management fields, and supports Windermere’s Redmond office. “I can’t imagine spending my work day anywhere else,” Brown said. Outside of the office, Brown volunteers with Hospice of Redmond, Redmond Area Park and Recreation District and the Redmond School District, as well as participating in Windermere’s own community events.
Jaynee Beck, a managing principal broker for Windermere in Bend and Sunriver, has been in the real estate field for thirty years, and is heavily involved in the Central Oregon real estate industry. She’s the first vice president of the Central Oregon Association of Realtors and plans to serve as president of the group for the second time beginning in 2024. At Windermere, she helps other agents navigate real estate transactions and provide training to newer brokers. “It’s my job to help our agents be successful,” Beck said. “We have great agents, and it’s fun coming to work every day.”
An office administrator with twenty years in the real estate field, Carolyn Moor is a new addition to Windermere, but already making her mark as a member of the company’s support staff. Moor said she’s excited to grow in her role at Windermere and take advantage of the company’s opportunities to give back. “Windermere has really opened my eyes to helping our community in volunteering,” Moor said. “I am so excited to be a part of all the plans they have for the future.”
When the five females who make up the Windermere Central Oregon Real Estate support staff get together, it’s clear the group knows how to work hard, but also have fun. In May, they planned a fun photo shoot with the ladies stacked in boxes and another where they “put their heads together” to support the company. “Real estate is an ever-evolving business, and with that comes a requirement to adapt, pivot and bring creative solutions to meet our brokers’ needs, as well as the needs of their clientele,” Feagans said. “These ladies serve our brokers with integrity and class.”
Coming to the office looks a little different for the employees of Bend’s Epic Insurance Brokers & Consultants (formerly known as Century Insurance). Maybe it’s the two-tap kegerator next to the flatscreen TV or the comfy leather furniture. Or maybe it’s the flex desk arrangement, which allows employees to come and go throughout the week and use any desk they please or settle into a conference room for some quiet work time or a meeting. “We really wanted an environment that was welcoming and flexible, but also fun,” said Jason Epple, a principal who has worked with Century Insurance for twenty-three years.
Epple said that when the pandemic hit, the insurance company’s thirty-ish employees headed home to work remotely. For years, the company had talked about making the office more of a flexible coworking space than a strict office environment that people were required to be at each day, and the reset during the pandemic became the push to make it happen. With a lease ending at the company’s 11,000-square-foot office, they took the opportunity to move into a smaller space on the first floor of The Bulletin building on Southwest Upper Terrace Drive.
The company worked with designer Jennifer Gooding of Domaine Design House to design the new office and with Kellcon Construction to execute the tenant finishes on the space, which prioritizes flexibility and fun. “We loved to be able to transform this company into a more modern style of working,” Gooding said.
“Employees no longer sit at their desks all day. Offices are now a base for a hybrid-style of work—a mix of virtual, collaborative, focused, home-based and on-the-go, and businesses need to design their workspaces to support these different working needs.”
Highlights of the newly designed space include a floor-to-ceiling built-in bar area with two keg taps, fridge and dishwasher on the left and a full bar on the right, with the beverages tucked away behind slide up doors. A flat-screen TV at the center of the bar is best viewed from the barstools around a high-top waterfall table, or from the adjacent leather seating area.
Inside the office, agents and account managers pop in and out, between visiting clients and working from home. Together, the team at Epic provides turnkey insurance solutions for individuals and companies in Bend, throughout the state, and in several neighboring states. Established in the 1990s by a group of agents with more than 100 years of experience at the time, Epic Insurance today is one of the longest-running, locally owned agencies in the region.
“We love what we do and we love being here—and this space has made it really great,” Epple said. “As long as our customers are happy and we’re productive, that’s the key. And we’ve found that we could do it even better while having such flexibility.”
Jim Peterson was thrust into the world of fine art a bit by happenstance, as a 21-year-old looking for a job in Scottsdale, Arizona. “It was just going to be a summer job for me,” said Peterson, who signed on to be a shipping and receiving clerk at an art gallery. As time went on, Peterson came to realize that the couple he was working for were becoming great mentors, teaching him more and more about the business of fine art promotion. “I started to realize I was really consumed by this whole experience—I loved the art business,” Peterson said.
Fast forward twenty years to 2007, and Peterson, while continuing to work at the Scottsdale business, had met his wife, Natalie and together they had two children. With plans to raise their kids in a more temperate climate, the Petersons looked north for a new community to call home. A Seattle native, Jim liked the idea of settling back in the Pacific Northwest, and took a trip with Nathalie to visit Bend. “We came up here initially scouting it out as a place where we might open our own art gallery,” Jim said. On a visit to downtown Bend, they wandered into Mockingbird Gallery, then owned by artist and fine art expert Pamela Claflin. “She was the authority of fine arts in this area, and we wanted her input on whether Bend could support another fine arts gallery,” Jim said. After the trip, the Petersons returned to Arizona and mulled over a future of starting a business in Bend.
“Red One Cent” by Wendy Chidester
As it turns out, the Petersons didn’t have to contemplate the idea of opening their own gallery much longer, as just a few months later Claflin reached out with a proposal to sell the successful art business to the Petersons. The family took a leap of faith and settled into Bend to begin the next chapter of their lives. “We knew we found the right community—this is home,” Jim said.
Fifteen years later, the Petersons have settled into the new gig, working with a variety of artists to keep their offerings fresh and diverse for collectors who visit the space, which sits at the crossroads of Northwest Wall Street and Northwest Minnesota Avenue, truly in the heart of downtown Bend. Today, the gallery represents forty-five artists, five of whom have been with the gallery since before the Petersons took over. “You always have to think about how to keep your collectors excited,” Jim said. ‘When we add an artist, I think the most important thing is adding somebody to the mix that provides our collectors with something new, exciting and stimulating. The new artist should be complementary to the overall package of artists we carry.”
“Kindred Spirits” by Hib Sabin
In another effort to keep collectors excited and expand the style of art the Petersons carry, the couple in 2017 opened a new space for contemporary art. The 800-square-foot contemporary gallery was tucked underground on Oregon Avenue for the first four years in operation, while the owners gauged whether the community and visiting art collectors had the same interest in contemporary art as they did in representational art. After seeing a resounding “yes” from the community, the Petersons moved the contemporary gallery, Peterson Contemporary Art, into a new larger space last July. “We more than tripled our square footage and have tripled our sales since the move,” Jim said. “It very quickly became as popular a gallery as Mockingbird. The response from the community has been overwhelming. People love it.”
The new 2,800-square-foot Peterson Contemporary Art is in the Franklin Crossing Building, another prime downtown location for an artsy space, and a popular stop—along with Mockingbird Gallery—for monthly First Friday Art Walk attendees. “People are getting really excited to celebrate downtown again,” Jim said of the post-pandemic return of the art walks. The art walks are often used as art openings for new artists or new collections, offering a chance for artists to mingle with collectors and the public. Among the crowd could be young appreciators of art, or those who may wander in by happenstance, unknowingly kicking off their own journey into the world of art.
The bug bit early. LB Gossett first started rollerblading as a child, at an indoor skating rink called Skatin’ Jakes in Chattanooga, Tennessee before taking her new hobby outdoors to streets, sidewalks and skate parks. “One of my most vivid memories from my early skating days was when our road had just been freshly paved and my brother took me out around dusk to test it out and teach me how to do crossovers,” said Gossett, who is now a kindergarten teacher at Bend Forest School.
As an adult, Gossett moved to Portland where she continued her skating hobby outside in parking lots, in parking garages, at the Lone Fir Cemetery and along the Springwater Corridor near Oaks Bottom. “Even though the pavement isn’t the smoothest, I much prefer skating outside,” Gossett said. Now a Bendite, Gossett enjoys skating at Pine Nursery Park, where she and other skaters use a 1.25-mile loop maintained by Bend Park and Recreation District. “It is consistent, but it isn’t so small that you get bored after a few laps. After three loops around I usually feel ready for three more in the opposite direction,” said Gossett, who also enjoys skiing, biking and running. “Skating gives me a fun physical outlet that is more exciting than running and takes less prep or planning than some other sports.”
While Gossett’s love of skating has remained steadfast since her elementary years, the popularity of both quad and inline skating has ebbed and flowed since the 1880s when the European invention of roller skates first made its American debut. Popularity with quad skates soared during the roller disco era of the 1970s and 1980s, while inline skating—or rollerblading—saw a peak in the 1990s. In Central Oregon, residents first laced up their skates at a roller rink in a former creamery building known as the Midtown Rock Rink & Roll (now the Midtown Ballroom), a space that served as the area’s roller rink for years.
Today’s skating scene in Central Oregon is more robust, with areas for skating in parks, on paths and at rinks and courts across the region. So many options is a good thing, as the popularity of the sport has surged in the past few years, thanks in part to the pandemic. In early 2020, Google searches for roller skating quadrupled from March to May, and one popular skate manufacturer, Moxi, reported a 1,000 percent increase in sales in March 2020. Whether the sport brings skaters nostalgia or serves as an outlet for exercise or fun, there are plenty of ways to join in and get your skate on.
Roller skating continues to grow in popularity because it’s a fairly easy sport to break into, offers a good workout, can have a social aspect and isn’t too expensive, according to Gossett. “It doesn’t take long to pick back up if you learned at a young age, and it is enjoyable even while you’re learning,” she said. “I’ll also say the low impact is a huge draw because as long as you aren’t doing crazy stunts it’s a smooth way to get your sweat on.”
Gossett enjoys solo skating and social skating. “A great thing about Pine Nursery is that you often see other folks—adults, kids and families—skating around,” she said. “But I also enjoy skating solo a lot, and listening to music while dance-skating to soul, funk or disco when I’m trying to get out of my own funk is great. When it’s a quieter day, Pine Nursery is a nice spot to practice more balance or stopping skills in the more open paved spaces.” There’s always room for challenge and improvement in skating, Gossett feels. “Ideally, I would like to strap on my rollerblades at home and skate anywhere around town, but I’m still building my urban rollerblading confidence.”
A great option in Bend for novice skaters is to join a skate park meetup, like those put together by Community in Bowls, an international organization that works to spread the stoke for skating in skateparks. Local organization co-administrator Willow Fraser has been leading the charge for quad skating in skate parks in Bend since 2017. Through CIB, Fraser organizes monthly meetups at public skateparks with workshops geared toward beginner skaters. Creating a space where everyone feels welcomed and comfortable in a park setting is critical to the cause, she said.
Like every sport, skating has its nuances. While some might say there’s a divide between blading, skateboarding and quads, Fraser said all are welcome at the CIB meetups. “I love skating with all types of skaters and welcome them at any skate session or CIB Bend meetup,” Fraser said. “I myself only quad skate—I tried skateboarding briefly, but my heart is on eight wheels. But some of my favorite skaters to session with are rollerbladers and skateboarders.”
Fraser, a former roller derby skater, currently offers private skate lessons for beginners and intermediates on flats, indoor ramps and outdoor park features. She continues to host CIB Bend roller skate meetups and promote Ladies Night at Bearings Skateboard Academy (open to all women, non-binary and trans skaters on any wheels) and another Ladies Night at SOLSK8S.
As interest in roller sports has fluctuated over the years, local indoor roller rink options have also changed. After Bend’s Midtown Rock Rink & Roll ended its run in midtown, Cascade Indoor Sports offered skating for many years until 2019, when the facility opted to shift its rink into a space for indoor go-karts. This paved the way for The Pavilion in Bend, a winter ice skating rink, to boost its summertime offerings to skaters. “Adding roller activities for the non-ice season has been a great complement for skaters looking for year-round activities,” said Julie Brown, communication and community relations manager for Bend Park and Recreation District. “Over the past couple summers, we’ve seen an increase in registration programs and drop-in times, and we’ve added more for summer 2022, including Friday night roller dance.” From April to September, the Pavilion skatepark features open skate, Friday night roller dance, parent-tot skate and play, pick up roller hockey, and Sunday family skate times. Roller skates, skateboards and scooters are allowed in the skatepark. The Pavilion has also stepped up to become the home court for youth inline roller hockey team, the Bend Bullets, and for roller derby team, the Lava City Rollers.
Oaks Park in Portland is the biggest roller rink west of the Mississippi. In operation since 1905, it’s one of the ten original amusement parks erected in America, coined the Coney Island of the Pacific Northwest.
Many Oregonians recall skating at Oaks Park decades ago, enjoying the old fashioned four-manual Wurlitzer organ, speed skating, couples skating and backwards skating; riding the bumps, the uneven floor on the back wall and requesting top 40 songs at the DJ booth. Oaks Park still operates today with year-round skating as well as other seasonal amusements. oakspark.com.
Where to Skate:
In the past two decades, skate parks have multiplied around the west, including in Central Oregon. Here’s a rundown on skate parks and roller rinks to check out in the region for all skill levels and with varying features.
PONDEROSA SKATEPARK
Features of this southeast Bend park include a 4,000-square-foot skate path with a mini ramp to practice pumping, roll-ins to work up to dropping in, and small quarter pipe and rollers to practice absorbing and producing speed. BENDPARKSANDREC.ORG.
THE PAVILION
An ice rink in the winter, The Pavilion in Bend transitions into a skatepark from April to September, with open skate and family skate times, as well as organized roller hockey leagues and other programs. BENDPARKSANDREC.GOV.
ROCKRIDGE SKATEPARK
This flowy bowl-like park in northeast Bend is great for just rolling around and carving practice. The skatepark is 11,000 square feet in size but can get busy, so try visiting in the early morning if you’re a novice. BENDPARKSANDREC.GOV.
MADRAS BIKE & SKATE PARK
This 10,000-square-foot skate park on the west edge of Madras features a nice, small bowl great for learners. CI.MADRAS.OR.US
REDMOND SKATEPARK
Features include a small mini ramp and banks, as well as bigger features that are really fun once the skater is comfortable, like bowls, a snake run and street features. REDMONDOREGON.GOV.
They say geology is the study of pressure and time. Lucky for the rockhounds in Central Oregon, geological time is on our side.
photo courtesy of prineville chamber
In certain circles, Central Oregon has long been known for rockhounding. Since the pandemic, local rockhounding is on the rise, and for good reason: our region is home to arguably some of the best rocks in the country. From agates to obsidian to the Oregon state rock (the coveted, and very superhero-sounding, Thunder Egg) the area is flush with sought-after rocks. That is, if you know where to look.
First, let’s lay the foundation. Rockhounding is simply a term for the act by which amateur collectors (i.e., those who collect for personal purposes and not for profit) search and gather rocks, fossils and minerals. Rock is composed of one or more minerals— a solid, naturally occurring substance composed of one or more elements. Gemstones, meanwhile, are semi-precious minerals such as diamonds, garnet or opals.
If that all sounds a bit confusing, there are plenty of seasoned rockhounds in the area to help. For beginning collectors and veteran rockhounds alike, a good place to start is the Central Oregon Rock Collectors (CORC), a club of enthusiasts across the region who connect over their shared passion for rocks. Though the club meets only once a month, they have a very active Facebook page where members share tips, ask questions and show off their latest finds.
Glass Buttes is known for great obsidian finds | photo courtesy of prineville chamber
April Anable, vice president of CORC, said the club is an amazing way to learn what rocks are in the area and where to find them. “There’s a vast amount of knowledge in this club,” she said. “In addition to the members, we do field trips once a month which are somewhat guided, so you’ll know exactly what to look for and where.”
Anable said that Bend itself is pretty barren, but an hour east toward the Ochocos or north toward Madras, you’re close to the good spots. “Around Hampton Butte you’ll find petrified wood, and Glass Buttes is unique with all types of obsidian,” she said. “Prineville and the Ochocos have a lot of jasper, petrified wood and agates.”
Membership in the club has grown considerably since the pandemic, and Anable said the group is a diverse one. “The pandemic opened people’s eyes to rockhounding,” she said. “It used to be just the old timers, but we now have more families involved and kids getting into it. The community is pretty awesome.”
Petrified wood found at Bear Creek | photo courtesy of blm – prineville district
Tim Larocco, owner of the CigarBoxRock Lapidary, Bend’s only rock shop, agrees. “It’s pretty exciting to see the younger generations getting into it,” he said. “But the folks with the most knowledge are the ones who have been doing it all their lives,” he said. “There’s a wealth of expertise there and they know all the good spots—it’s priceless.”
In addition to CORC, there are several maps and guidebooks to help point you in the right direction. The Prineville Bureau of Land Management district created a popular Central Oregon rockhounding map, which is available for purchase from the Prineville Chamber, the BLM Prineville District, Deschutes National Forest and the Ochoco National Forest, as well as other locations such as the CigarBoxRock Lapidary. Rockhounding Oregon and Gem Trails of Oregon are two guidebooks that also give a wealth of information, including tools, where to go and what to look for. Collection limits vary by location and material, so be sure to do a little research before you go.
Glass Buttes | photo courtesy of prineville chamber
Once a location is homed in, all you really need is a shovel, bucket and a keen eye. A few other basic tools, most of which can be found around the house or garage, will come in handy as well: a pry bar, a magnifying glass, a spray bottle (helps to clean and identify in the field); safety glasses, work gloves and a magnet for identifying meteorites and other iron-bearing rocks like hematite and magnetite. And of course, keep in mind that unless you are digging at a private dig site (with permission), you will be in the wilderness so the essentials like a map and compass (and a spare tire around Glass Buttes!) are a must. Lastly, remember to always follow the Leave No Trace principles and leave a location better than you found it.
Once you’ve found your rocks, consider purchasing a tumbler for polishing and finishing. Like many activities, once you get hooked you can quickly go down a rabbit hole with gear. “The lapidary side of things is a slippery slope,” CORC’s Anable joked. “You buy one rock tumbler and then all of the sudden you have rock saws and bigger tumblers.” Plan for next year to check out all of the goods, as well as prized rocks, at two local rock and gem shows that are held in the spring in Prineville and Madras.
When it comes down to it, for rockhounds such as Anable, the true joy of rockhounding is the discovery. “For me, it’s like an adult treasure hunt,” she said. “As a kid, you see a pretty rock on the ground, you pick it up. Some of us just never outgrow that.”
It was exhilarating to run on the path once favored by legendary University of Oregon track-and-field star Steve Prefontaine. Pre’s Trail—named for the distance-runner who competed in the 1972 Olympics—has bark-chipped loops ranging from one mile to 10,000 meters; bucolic trails that begin at Eugene’s Alton Baker Park and wind through Douglas fir; and big-leaf maple alongside the Willamette River.
photo Eugene, Cascades & Coast
I was a bit intimidated to run my slow eight miles surrounded by elite athletes in the city nicknamed Tracktown U.S.A. The energy in the area was palpable as employees at hotels, eateries and shops prepared to welcome 2,000 track-and-field athletes from 200 nations who will compete in mid-July at the World Athletics Championships.
The events take place at Hayward Field. More than a century old, the facility got a spectacular facelift in 2020. The new open-air stadium—with nearly 20,000 seats—boasts unobstructed sight lines, comfortable seating and superb acoustics. I explored the space after my run, marveling at the elegantly curved roof and the views of green hillsides all around.
Later, I checked out the interactive historic exhibits in the 4,000-square-foot Hayward Hall, located at the base of the ten-story torch-shaped steel tower which depicts five University track and field icons. I learned more about the University’s athletes and track and field coaches, including Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman.
Hayward Field | photo courtesy of university of oregon
All that running and exploring made me hungry, so I headed over to Lane County Farmers Market—open downtown on Tuesdays and Saturdays—to pick up a basket of strawberries, an orange cardamom pinwheel from Creswell Bakery’s booth and a rajas quesadilla on a homemade tortilla from Delicias Tiki Tiki. I stopped for iced coffee at Italian-themed Perugino and then, finally sated, headed over to 5th Street Public Market.
5th Street Market Alley | photo Eugene, Cascades and Coast
The Market and the newly constructed 5th Street Market Alley offer a thrilling array of boutiques. Athletes can pick up new gear at the Nike Store and Title Nine or across High Street at Run Hub where staff can hook you up with community runs and other events. I browsed for Oregon-themed gifts including a stuffed Sasquatch toy at Made in Oregon and beer-scented candles at Sassy Kitchen and Gifts. I simply had to sample the cocoa bomb whiskey at Heritage Distilling Company and the local Pinot Noir from Pfeiffer Winery’s downtown tasting room.
I opted for a room at The Gordon Hotel, a year-old boutique hotel on the west end of the Alley. Immediately, I was entranced by the lobby ceiling composed of hundreds of illuminated mason jars, and the Art Bar full of paints and markers so guests can exercise their creativity. The works of local artists decorate every hall and room in the hotel; my room featured colorful paintings by Eugene artist Robert Canaga, along with a stunning view of Skinner’s Butte and an incredibly comfortable bed.
Mural in downtown Eugene by Beau Stanton. Part of the 20X21 Mural Project. Photo courtesy of 20×21 Mural ProjectCarlita’s | photo Bella Media
My legs felt the effects of my morning run, so I was happy to head one floor up to Carlita’s, The Gordon’s rooftop bar that specializes in tacos with a Pacific Northwest flair. After a superb margarita and housemade lime tortilla chips with roasted tomato salsa, I headed downstairs to Gordon Tavern for roasted cumin-dusted cauliflower, bucatini pasta with sautéed shrimp and seasonal veggies. Handel’s Ice Cream had just closed for the evening, so I resolved to return for a scoop of caramel latte another day.
The next morning, I grabbed coffee and toast with Oregon berry jam from Magpie Coffeeshop in the Alley and looked up a self-guided tour of Eugene’s 20X21 Mural Project—a citywide public art program that commissioned twenty-two murals from artists all over the world. I headed over to study Afghan artist Shamsia Hassani’s mural of a woman playing a keytar, then finished my walk at nearby Tsunami Books. On display inside the door, I discovered the owner’s recommendation: Bowerman and the Men of Oregon: The Story of Oregon’s Legendary Coach and Nike’s Cofounder.
Editor’s Note: Sadly, Boss Rambler closed in 2025. Please let us know if you know of other locations serving boozy frosés.
Few beverages embody the summer season more than an icy cold slushy. Best slurped down with a big, colorful straw, slushies bring back a bit of childhood nostalgia on hot summer days. Add a little alcohol, and the slushy becomes all grown up, and a favorite choice for warm weather visitors to Bend’s Boss Rambler Beer Club.
“When it’s ninety degrees outside here, it’s definitely a nice thing to help cool you down,” said Kate Molletta, who co-owns Boss Rambler with her husband, Matt Molletta, and brewer Jacob Bansmer. A few months after opening the beer club in 2019, the team rented a small slushy machine to do frosés for Fourth of July. “It was a single barrel machine, and it would sell out quickly, and it would then take an hour to do a new batch,” Kate said. After the holiday, the team invested in a two-barrel machine of their own, and then an additional three-barrel machine to meet the growing demand for the drink. Having five barrels going at the same time allows Boss Rambler to offer up a variety of flavors, including the traditional rosé-based wine slushies, POG (pineapple, orange, guava) rosé and champagne-based varieties such as the margarita-flavored, slush-a-rita. Those who prefer one of Boss Rambler’s award-winning beers can also partake in the fun by adding a slushy beer foam topper to their brew. Slushies come in a festive hurricane-style cocktail glass or in a group-sized pink flamingo bowl to enjoy with friends. For those on the go, slushies are packed up in a zip-top bag that holds a straw, like an “adult Capri Sun,” Kate said. Just remember not to slurp it down too fast, or else—brain freeze.
Boozy Slushy at Home
Pour one bottle of rosé wine into a baking pan or ice cube tray and freeze overnight. The wine will not freeze solid because of the alcohol.
Create strawberry simple syrup by combining 1/2-cup water and 1/2-cup sugar and microwaving until bubbling, about 90 seconds. Stir until the sugar dissolves, add 1 cup freshly chopped strawberries and refrigerate overnight. Strain through mesh strainer.
In a blender, mix the (mostly) frozen wine, 4 tablespoons of the strawberry syrup, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and blend. Pro tip: Add 1/4-cup vodka for an extra kick.
On a hot summer’s day in Bend, it can seem like the entire town is in the Deschutes River. According to the Bend Park and Recreation District, in recent summers, more than 200,000 river users floated and paddled the river between Memorial Day and Labor Day. For the uninitiated, it can seem intimidating. You see the people in the river, but how did they do that? Here is the how-to and know-how for safety, fun, and floating this season.
Safety First!
The river doesn’t come with lifeguards. You are responsible for yourself and your teammates in this adventure. Know that life jackets are required by state law—each boat or paddleboard must carry one per person on board. Boaters and paddleboarders are also required to carry a whistle.
The section of river through town is very friendly for floating, but it’s still a river; there is a risk of harm, and the waters can be cold. Pay attention and have a good plan before you set out. Choose solid equipment, such as durable tubes available at local retailers and for rent at local shops. Wear solid shoes that protect your feet and that you can walk in comfortably. Flip flops can easily fall off, and bare feet can be injured by rocks, gravel, and hot sidewalks.
Carry a waterproof pouch for your car keys or your phone, and buy a floatable sunglasses strap in case you go for a sudden swim. Finally, remember that alcohol is not allowed in the parks, parking lots, or on the river.
Photo by Rosemary Behan / Alamy Stock Photo
Be an Eco-Warrior
Preserving the river and its ecosystems for generations of floaters to come requires recreating responsibly. Please remember that plants and animals live in the Deschutes River and depend on clean water to survive. Enter and exit at designated boat landings and portage paths. Secure your gear to prevent losing personal items in the river, and never dispose of garbage in it.
Get the Goods
Visit the Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe at the main Bend location off Industrial Way to rent standup paddleboards (SUPs), kayaks, canoes, and more. Rent a SUP or kayak at Tumalo Creek and Kayak’s location in Riverbend Park. Reservations are highly recommended; same-day tube rentals are walk-up only and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Bend Park & Float station, next to The Pavilion on Simpson Avenue and Bradbury Drive, is your center stage for all things floating. Rent a professional-grade tube with up-to-date safety standards, and buy sunscreen and snacks. You’ll find changing rooms and a shuttle connection there, too.
Shuttle It
Parking can be tight all along the river corridor, and maybe hoofing it isn’t what you had in mind for your day’s fun. Try the Ride the River shuttle service! The shuttle runs between Park & Float and ends at Park & Float through Labor Day. Shuttles depart every 15 to 20 minutes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. with round-trip advanced tickets available at Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe. See their website for reservations. On your reservation date, check in at Park & Float to receive a wristband valid for the entire day.
Photo by David Litschel / Alamy Stock Photo
If you’re planning to walk, the best option is to park across from The Pavilion and split the walk up to one mile before and one mile after your float. Shuttling vehicles isn’t recommended as parking is limited, but is available at Riverbend Park, Farewell Bend Park, Miller’s Landing Park, and Park & Float (across from The Pavilion)—one block away from McKay Park and about a one-mile walk to Riverbend Park. Mind the new neighborhood parking permit required in the areas around Riverbend Park and Drake Park.
The Bend Whitewater Park
The river between McKay Park on the west side and Miller’s Landing on the east side is the site of the state-of-the-art Bend Whitewater Park. The three channels included are: a rolling passageway for floaters, a whitewater channel for experienced paddlers and a nature habitat channel designed to preserve wildlife.
More Parks
Bend Park and Recreation District has eleven riverfront parks, including Farewell Bend Park, Riverbend Park, McKay Park, Drake Park, First Street Rapids Park, and others. Some parks are better than others for sunbathing, watercraft access, river surfing, and other activities. Find a park locator at bendparksandrec.org.
The best way to keep from growing old, according to Tim Casinelli, age 54, is to never lose your love of play. As the general manager of Deschutes Brewery & Public House in downtown Bend, Casinelli’s work days are jam-packed, yet he carves out time for regular doses of playfulness through his favorite sport: bodysurfing. Bodysurfing is more than a fun pastime for Casinelli. He’s been a competitive bodysurfer for almost four decades. Last fall, he won his ninth title of grand champion at the World Bodysurfing Championship in Oceanside, California.
The Purest Form of Surfing
Bodysurfing is exactly what it sounds like: riding waves without using a surfboard or boogie board.
“Bodysurfing is simple and pure. It’s just you in the water; you’re part of the wave. And when you get in the tube, nothing in the world can compare for sheer fun,” said Casinelli.
Bodysurfers often wear fins to swim into a wave more efficiently. Once the wave starts lifting the surfer, they stiffen their whole body to stay planed at the water surface, keeping arms extended to accelerate away from the breaking whitewater. Experienced bodysurfers who find that sweet spot on the wave’s green face add tricks to the ride, flipping and rolling like dolphins playing in the surf.
Casinelli started bodysurfing as a kid in Southern California. His father, a lifeguard, made him learn to bodysurf before he could use a board. “Bodysurfing forces you to become a strong swimmer because you can’t rest on the board. The ocean can be unforgiving, and you have to respect it,” he said. Bodysurfing became a family activity with his father and brother, who also competes. Casinelli learned to read waves, predict how they break and move, and won his first championship title at age 15.
Casinlli trains at the Bend Whitewater Park.
A Lifetime Sport and a Lifestyle Sport
During competitions, each heat of competitors has fifteen minutes in the water to surf the waves. Judges award points for each surfer’s two best rides. The size of the wave, length of ride, the surfer’s position, style and maneuvers are all considered. But for Casinelli, the competitions are just as much about the community as about the points awarded. “The guys in my age group—we’ve got a long history and a lot of camaraderie. We bring out the best in each other,” he said.
“Bodysurfing is both a lifetime sport and a lifestyle sport,” he added. Long-time competitors fill the 60-plus age bracket and stay involved in bodysurfing culture. Over the years Casinelli has taught junior life-saving skills and bodysurfing basics to young newcomers. “Getting new people into the sport is inspiring because that kid energy never goes away. It stays fun,” he said.
Bodysurfing Without an Ocean
Eight years ago, the Deschutes Brewery team reached out to Casinelli with an opportunity to manage the pub and restaurant. Casinelli, along with his wife, Kim, and daughter, Laila, were in San Diego at the time. Until then, most of their lives had been spent along the coast, and leaving the ocean was hard. When your passion is bodysurfing, don’t you need to live near the waves?
Fortunately, the Bend Park and Recreation Department was just finishing construction of the Bend Whitewater Park. Located just below the Colorado Avenue bridge, the project converted an outdated dam into a recreation area with a passage for floating rafters, a natural habitat channel for wildlife, and a whitewater channel with four wave features for kayakers and surfers. This wave park was the key for Casinelli to keep bodysurfing, for training and for fun. He’s a familiar face at the wave park, bobbing and diving through the whitewater with Laila, now age 12, who is carrying on the family tradition of wave riding.
Tim Casinelli is the general manager at the Deschutes Brewery pub in downtown Bend.
Bodysurfing the wave park is harder than in the ocean, explained Casinelli, because you swim upstream against the current. “Training in the river makes ocean waves feel easy. It’s like I have jet pack boosters when I swim with the flow of the wave,” he said.
River bodysurfing may be more difficult, but it’s just as rewarding for Casinelli. “When you swim and surf simply for the joy of it, you feel energized even as it exhausts you. I never feel tired afterward—I feel like I’m floating.”
After the winter months, the arrival of spring with its abundance of strawberries is a sweet entrance to the changing season—and the beginning of fresh fruit pie baking season. Next up are the cherries, appearing in mid-June and sticking around for a month or so of deliciousness. By August, the stone fruit season has arrived and peaches are a-plenty. Which will you bake into a pie this summer? All three, of course.
Strawberry
Is there anything better than the sharp sweetness of the first spring strawberry? Oregon is the #4 growing region for strawberries in the United States, with only California, Florida and North Carolina producing a larger crop each year. The delicate fruit was made for the Willamette Valley, which offers the perfect combination of fertile alluvial soil and pristine mountain water. Many Oregon strawberries have been grown on family farms for generations. These delicious berries first appear in mid-May, last through July, and come in several varietals. All you need to know is every one is delicious—especially in a pie.
For a great Oregon strawberry pie with a chocolate twist, check out this recipe.
Peach
Peaches are native to China, which remains the top producer today. But Oregon does a fine job of growing this tasty fruit too. Come August, head to your favorite farm stand and grab a bushel of this fruit with perfect velvety fuzz-covered skin, bright yellowy orange flesh and juicy flavor. Peach trees typically take about three years to begin producing fruit, and some of the farms in the Willamette Valley planted orchards in the 1970s or earlier. The best peach-producing trees, however, are under twenty years old, and farmers often replant orchards with fresh trees to keep fruit production at its best. Five types of peaches are commonly found in the Willamette Valley: veteran peaches, red haven peaches, blazing star peaches, star fire peaches and vivid peaches. Red havens are a great choice for baking. Slice, bake, eat, yum.
For a delicious, rustic style peach pie, check out this recipe.
Cherry
The unassuming tart cherry has been around since the beginning of time, traveling to Oregon via circumnavigation of the globe. From its beginnings in Asia, the cherry made its way to Europe and was brought to the New World in the 1600s, working across the U.S. slowly but surely to the West Coast. Tart cherries like mild, dry climates, and the Willamette Valley’s favorable weather does just fine. The reasonably short harvest season, from mid-June to mid-July, is your chance to jump on the cherry wagon and get them while they are fresh and sweet. Cherries just might make the prettiest pies, with the rich dark red color calling out for a bite.
For an easy, homemade cherry pie, check out this recipe.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in July 2020
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In a fast-paced world, we often don’t have time to think about where our food is coming from, and going to the grocery store becomes another tick on a list of things to do. However, when we do finally slow down to enjoy a meal among friends or family, there is comfort in knowing the care that goes behind our food’s journey into our home. Food, after all, is built on relationships. Where we get our food from and who we build those connections with should be nearly as important as who we are choosing to share the meal with. This is why Community Supported Agriculture programs—or CSAs—are carving their path through Central Oregon and beyond.
What is a CSA?
CSAs remove the grocery store or third-party distributor as a main source of produce. Instead, there is a direct relationship between the buyer and the farmer. At the beginning of a growing season, a farmer will sell shares of their farm’s production for an agreement of a certain amount of fresh produce—and sometimes dairy, meat or eggs—to the buyer on an established schedule throughout the season. According to Pacific Northwest Community Supported Agriculture, the bond between customer and farmer fosters a mutual understanding of the risks and rewards of contributing to a CSA. This may include unexpected environmental factors at times leading to a smaller amount of produce for a part of the season. On the other hand, the reward is the security of knowing you are receiving fresh, nutritious food with each share.
The Benefits
The benefits of participating in a CSA can be equally advantageous from the perspective of both the farmer as well as the consumer. The money paid towards a share at the beginning of a growing season allows farmers to better prepare for the rest of their season. In turn, customers have access to fresh produce directly from the farm and the security of knowing where their food is coming from.
The value of contributing to a local farm doesn’t stop at the human–level; the impacts of joining a CSA show a ripple-effect throughout the surrounding environment. “[Local farmers] understand how to cultivate soil health, preserve water, and grow fresh food to nourish our community,” said Annie Nichols, agricultural support manager for High Desert Food and Farm Alliance. “You are also reducing the food miles that your food must travel to get to you, in turn decreasing the associated pollution and emissions associated with transportation.”
Finding the Right CSA
With the number of CSAs growing in Central Oregon, it’s important to consider your individual needs when it comes to creating the relationship between a farm and yourself. “Different farms will offer different options in terms of size, delivery method, and what they grow, so I would recommend visiting the farm’s websites to better understand which is the best fit for you. Many CSAs sell out quickly and typically they open for sign ups in February or March,” Nichols said. A number of farms accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits so that these programs are accessible to the entire community. Additionally, organizations such as the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance, are helping to promote food security and access in Central Oregon. The alliance makes the process of finding a CSA straightforward on its website.
Fresh, Local Food All Year
Just because the growing season comes to an end, doesn’t mean that finding food locally and sustainably needs to.
Year–round, indoor farmers markets such as Central Oregon Locavore also provide the space for farmers to sell food directly to customers. Agricultural Connections Harvest Boxes can be purchased one box at a time or with a weekly subscription.
Farmers markets in town are another way to build on customer–farmer relationships and get early access to fresh food. “The benefit for the vendors [at the Bend Farmers Market] is they have a space to sell directly to consumers,” said Marielle Slater, president of the board of the Bend Farmers Market.
Slater also said that some vendors at the farmers market have their own CSA and even use markets as a location for pickup. This means that, depending on your choice of CSA, you have the option to explore other local resources while picking up your share of produce.
When the frost has thawed and the stoneflies make their debut, it’s go-time in the Lower Deschutes River canyon. This part of north-central Oregon is sleepy in the winter, but wakes up in the late spring as the big bugs emerge from the water. While anglers mark the season change with their annual pilgrimage to the river with the hopes of landing a native redside, there’s a host of other activities to enjoy in this part of the region, from rafting to kayaking to hiking. It’s a magical time of year on the Deschutes River, and this season, this river, and all that they offer may convince you to stick around in the canyon for good.
Near Terrebonne, a half-mile hike to Steelhead Falls is well-worth the trip to see this stunning natural display of geology and gravity. The trail is open year-round, but without many trees or shade, the sandy trail is best trekked before summer heat starts to bear down. You may spot some anglers in the area, but it’s most popular as an easy day-hike that suits the whole family.
Just outside of Maupin, White River Falls is equally stunning and significantly less busy than other waterfalls in the region. Before it became a state park, the falls used to be the power source for mid-century hydroelectric dams. Some of the dam structures remain along the river (though the buildings have been boarded up with “No Trespassing” signs), and it’s worth visiting to see and read about the history of the place. Today, the park is mostly accessible, with paved pathways that lead to a view of the falls and grassy areas with picnic tables. A steep path a little less than a mile long will take visitors down to the river, where they can explore the shallow water and cool off in the local watering hole.
A few tips to make the most of the day: Get started early to get to the trailheads before it gets crowded. These are less traveled than other waterfall hikes in the area, but still draw plenty of people on a weekend. Pack a lunch to eat at the falls or make a plan to visit one of the local restaurants afterward. Apply sunscreen and wear a hat. Though it’s not the peak of the warmer seasons, there are few places to hide from the high desert sun out here.
Rafting & Kayaking & Paddleboarding
Maupin is the last town on the 100-mile stretch of the Lower Deschutes River and the basecamp for river recreation. Local river outfitters are just getting their seasons started by May, and on warm and sunny weekends the river will start to fill with rafters, kayakers and paddleboarders. Book a guided trip from one of the companies in town if you’re new to the sport or looking for a low-impact, high-energy family adventure. They will take care of the entire trip—gear, shuttles, lunch and more—so you can enjoy the day. Outfitters such as All Star Rafting, Deschutes River Adventures, and River Drifters are just a few of the companies in town that cater to families. The most popular full and half-day trips take rafters through the classic rapids and on extra excursions, like the natural rockslides below White River Falls.
Many companies in Maupin also rent gear for those who want to enjoy the river without a guide. Some experience in kayaking or paddleboarding is encouraged, but one of the draws of the Lower Deschutes is that it contains stretches of water that don’t require any technical whitewater skill. Rent gear from one of the local shops, book a shuttle and drive downriver past Sherars Falls to get away from the crowds. Floating from one of the boat ramps down to Macks Canyon, the last takeout on the access road, is a memorable experience. You’ll spot wildlife, practice your paddling skills and see fewer other boats on the water.
Fly Fishing
May is the busiest time of year for fly fishing in this region, because the stonefly hatch draws anglers from around the Pacific Northwest who are addicted to watching big fish bite dry flies on the surface. Trout are eager to feed on large bugs after a winter of measly rations, and anglers take full advantage of the conditions.
If you’re new to the sport, you’ll have much better luck finding fish when you book a guided trip with a local outfitter, who can get you set up, take you to the best spots on the river and help you land a native rainbow trout, named for its striking rouge body. Fly & Field Outfitters in Bend, Fin & Fire in Redmond, Deschutes Angler and Little Creek Outfitters in Maupin, and Fly Fisher’s Place in Sisters all book day and overnight trips. One of the draws of booking with a guide—besides learning from the experts—is to experience the river from a drift boat and to fish the sought-after left bank of the river, which gets much less pressure from anglers. Out of Warm Springs, Littleleaf Guide Service is well-known and guides above Maupin.
Don’t be surprised by the crowds on the river access road in Maupin. There are thirty-two miles of river access available to the public by car, and on weekends in May it will be filled with anglers looking for a place to cast. Stay patient and persistent, and you’ll find some water of your own—and the work is well worth it when you finally land a native redside. Fly fishing can often be about the journey as much as is about the result, but in spring you can have it all. Everything is alive on the river this time of year. Wildflowers and grasses are blooming along the river, ospreys have returned from their winter homes, and a multitude of insects and animals emerge, signaling that the seasons have changed. The confluence of all this just might make a Lower Deschutes believer out of anyone. Read more about preserving the waters of the Deschutes River here.
Overnight Lodging in Maupin
Oasis Cabin Resort
This historic cabin resort was run by the same family for more than fifty years. In the past few years, it’s undergone substantial upgrades by new owners. Book a cabin for a retro-inspired stay and to hear live music on weekends. oasiscabinresort.com
River Run Lodge
This quiet lodge is tucked within walking distance of the river and the best restaurant in town. Small rooms can accommodate couples, and a larger suite can host the whole family. riverrunlodge.net
Imperial River Company
Located on the water, this hotel offers an on-site bar. Sip drinks and enjoy the firepits alongside the meandering river and wave to rafters as they pass by. deschutesriver.com
Rhino Skin Solutions was created in 2015 in Central Oregon for Smith Rock climbers. Developed to help combat the brutal effects of sharp crimps and rough rock, Rhino has evolved into a suite of skincare products for athletes. We sat down with founders Justin and Andi Brown to discuss the company’s niche, challenges and future.
What niche do your products fill?
Rhino makes products that dial in skin needs to maximize friction as well as creating products to help recover after a long day of climbing. We worked with alpine, sport and traditional climbers of all skill levels, skiers, yoga instructors and doctors. We are the only company with a full line of products to tailor your skin to your needs, as well as any rock type, based on our skin humidity testers that key you in to how your skin is reacting. We set out to make a product that prevents splits and cracks, and keeps skin durable. Helping to renew sore and worn skin, muscles and joints is our priority.
What has growth looked like for Rhino?
We started six years ago and invested $5,000. We are self-funded and growing steadily every year, picking up more outlets to carry our products in addition to our business-to-consumer web sales. We are now in about 200 climbing gyms and stores nationwide as well as sold in more than ten countries.
Why Central Oregon for your headquarters?
EDCO and REDI have been extremely valuable resources and the small business community is incredibly supportive. The recreational opportunities are abundant and the lifestyle is second to none. A walk on the river, dinner at a pub and a fun successful peer group make Bend a great location to live. We will be adding a third person to our family in April and can’t think of a better place in the world to raise a kid. Every kid I have met from Bend is compassionate and intelligent. We have to give the community and educational system credit for that.
Why “Rhino”?
We wanted a name that was not specific to climbing and conveyed strength and durability. We had some very generous friends help us with a logo and it just came together perfectly.
What are your best-selling products?
Our flagship product is our 100 percent natural Repair cream, which uses mostly plants with the exception of honey to soothe and heal skin. It contains essential oils as well as magnesium, willow bark and salicylic acid. It’s non-greasy, cooling and anti-inflammatory; It is the best lotion you can buy.
Tell us a story about a challenge that arose for your company and how you responded.
We make everything right here in Redmond, Oregon. We had some sourcing and manufacturing issues which produced less than ideal end products. It’s scary sending out a letter telling people of your failures. However, people appreciated us standing behind our products and it made them love Rhino. Self-investing to grow a business is difficult. Cash flow becomes king and incremental improvements are all you do. It could be less expensive in the long run if we brought on investors, but the process of growth feels good and proving the company at each step is so valuable.
What are your goals for the future?
We plan to be completely solar powered by the end of the year. Our goal is to be in 600 climbing gyms this year and pick up more retailers in other outdoor categories. We also give back to the community, like donating over $20,000 worth of product to nonprofits and community events. This helps customers feel like buying Rhino is helping their community…which it is.
What do you get when you connect a married couple who come from global marketing, design and filmmaking backgrounds at Nike with an award-winning Northwest architect known for sculpture- and landscape-inspired building designs? An artful home drawn from the Central Oregon high desert.
Greg Hoffman, former Nike chief marketing officer, and his wife Kirsten Brady, a former film producer at Nike and now a nonprofit consultant, were looking for an architect to design a home for them in Bend. In doing their research, they found several buildings they admired which shared a common designer, Corey Martin, a principal at Hacker Architects. The company’s portfolio in Central Oregon includes the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship building in northwest Bend and the Lakeside Bistro and pool house at Black Butte Ranch. Both structures are an evolution of Northwest Modern design with walls of glass that transport those on the inside to the desert landscape outside. “We reached out to Corey and asked what a home would look like with similar design elements,” Hoffman said. “We wanted a design that respected the environment and a design language that integrated it into the landscape.”
The result of this creative collaboration is a 4,300 square-foot structure of modern minimalism reminiscent of Japanese homes that blur boundaries between inside and out. “It’s not trying too hard to say, ‘Look at me,’ but rather to fit into the landscape,” Martin said. “It’s sophisticated and at the same time very simple.” Situated in the community of Tetherow, the home is built in three segments that form a “U” shape around a courtyard that serves as the main entry and a place for a moment of Zen, according to Hoffman. Highly polished panels on the ground and fourteen-foot windows reflect sunlight and changing weather patterns that can only be described as spectacular.
An impressionist take on the nearby Sparks Lake overlooks this room.
The front entry leads to a large open space for living, dining and kitchen areas. The front wall faces the resort golf course through floor-to-ceiling glass. The interior spaces are defined by discrete elements, or panels, that look as if they’re slipping past one another. “We framed the views and also blocked other views,” Martin said. Two large exterior rectangles are offset like squares of a checkerboard and connect with a large roof overhang to create a covered outdoor dining and entertainment area. The remaining exterior space opens to a firepit set in large concrete slabs that blend into the natural landscape, which leads toward the golf course and lake.
In a traditional home’s living room, the wood-burning fireplace would be the focal point, but in the Hoffman-Brady home, it is surrounded by windows that carry a person’s gaze upward into a protected courtyard between the open room and master suite with a layer of wood louvers at roof level that let the sky in while creating shadow patterns in the living room and hallway.
Martin’s years as a sculptor influences how he approaches architecture. He designs with a carving versus a building-up process. “We conceptualized a solid form and then removed space from within to create the design,” he said. “The house is seen as having been carved out from within.”
Two wings angle off the main living area—one side contains four bedrooms, including the primary suite with its in-ground whirlpool and a den, while the other wing houses the pantry, mudroom, laundry and garage.
Keeping with the minimalist design, interior cabinets are devoid of handles, and the sleek, horizontal pendant lights over the kitchen island blend with the kitchen’s horizontal cedar back wall. Panels throughout the structure are unembellished and are “seen as discrete elements” Martin said. Countertops in the baths and kitchen are quartz with a thin reveal—the principle being less is more. And unlike more traditional homes, there’s no trim on any wall or door.
Greg and Kirsten posing with their two kids, Rowan and Ayla, and the family’s dogs, Ruby and Rocco.”
Taking cues from the Central Oregon environment, colors throughout the home are earth tone. The dark cedar walls in the interior and exterior siding are inspired by charred tree trunks from wildfires and volcanic eruptions. A natural cedar covers the open room’s ceiling. The kitchen has dark wood and countertops versus “an entirely white kitchen that screams,” Hoffman said. “The color palette and form should reveal the character and personality of the owners.”
Brady selected textural items such as rugs and furniture, and worked with Portland interior designer Hether Dunn to choose interior elements. Furnishings include mid-century modern European pieces that soften and contrast with the home’s angularity. Art is present in every room, including sculptures, paintings, prints and wall hangings by mostly Northwest artists. A painting of Sparks Lake hangs in the entryway, seemingly saying “welcome to Central Oregon” to those who enter.
As the family’s second home, the couple travels back and forth from their primary residence in Portland but would eventually like to spend half their time in Central Oregon, where they love hiking and walking their two dogs, Ruby the Tibetan terrier and Rocco the French bulldog. Their two college-age children are welcome to bring their friends to the home so long as they always use a coaster—dad’s cardinal rule. “Overall, it’s important to always be in an environment that is greater than yourself,” Hoffman said. “What draws people to Central Oregon is being surrounded by geographic wonders. It keeps everything in perspective.”
For most of Cheryl Mill’s life, no one around her talked about adverse life experiences. “It used to be that you didn’t talk about trauma,” she said. “You learned to suck it up.” But in the past several decades, trauma and its impacts on mental and physical health have become much more understood. Research-based books such as The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. have shed light on how overwhelming experiences affect the development of brain, mind and body awareness, all of which can alter our capacity for love and work.
“We’ve learned that sucking it up doesn’t help,” said Mills, thirty-five-year resident of Bend and co-founder of Haelan House and the Healing Trauma Conference. “Burying trauma actually tends to make things worse. Trauma gets stuck in the body, and comes out as pain, disease, illness, relationship issues and addiction issues.”
The good news to come from this modern body of research is that, just as trauma occurs within the body, so may it be healed. There are many methods for healing trauma—this is the message Mills is determined to spread through Haelan House, a non-profit she founded with fellow Bend resident Susanne Frilot. “Haelan,” from Old English, means “to heal.” The organization presents the Healing Trauma Conference in Bend, in its fourth year this May.
Mills is certified in mindfulness and meditation training. She met a like-minded soul in Frilot, who runs a Meetup called the Bend Wellness Community. In 2018, the two were discussing the concept of ACES, or adverse childhood experiences, which can include sexual or emotional abuse or neglect, food or housing insecurity, witnessing violence and addiction, and more, all of which are now widely acknowledged to impact adult health and stability. “What are we going to do about this?” said Mills. Frilot replied, “Why don’t we do a conference?”
The first Healing Trauma conference was held in 2019 at Mountain View High School. “It was ambitious but successful,” said Mills, recalling twenty-five practitioners who spoke about modalities for healing trauma. The 2020 and 2021 conferences were held virtually, as will be this year’s event. The primary goal is education, beginning with the basics—what is trauma, and how does it affect ourselves and others in our lives? “There are still many misunderstandings about what constitutes trauma. You don’t have to be a war veteran to suffer the effects of trauma,” Mills explained. “Almost everyone suffers some kind of trauma at some point in their lives, and it’s also a very individual experience. The same events won’t affect two people the same way.”
Mills and Frilot wish to share the many healing resources available in our community. “Often when people first realize they have trauma, they think they need to see a counselor or a doctor,” Mills explained. While there is nothing wrong with those classic approaches, doctors and counselors are quite overwhelmed in the era of COVID-19, and trauma research has unveiled dozens of other successful treatment methods. “There are so many effective modalities to releasing and healing trauma,” said Mills, including acupuncture, dance, journaling, yoga, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing). “We want to introduce new healing modalities from the research, and help people understand that trauma can be healed, and that you can heal yourself.”
They say variety is the spice of life, but what happens when you have a variety of spices? You get introduced to a world of flavor, from smokey and sweet to tangy, peppery, floral and every flavor in between. Some innovative Central Oregon businesses are creating unique spice mixes locally, sometimes even featuring ingredients grown on farms just outside of Bend. Read on to learn about five unique spice mixes and how to incorporate them into your cooking.
Smoked Nasturtium Salt from Sakari Farms
Sakari Farms is known for growing Indigenous produce from ancestral seeds that have been passed down for generations, exempt from commercial genetic modification. One of their crops is the nasturtium flower, an edible flower used on salads that produces a floral, spiced and peppery flavor. In the Smoked Nasturtium Salt, the flower is dried before being mixed with a high-quality smoked sea salt. The resulting salt mix can be used in baked goods, savory dishes, ice cream, brines, meat dishes and cheeses.
Bake it: Bake a whole wheel of brie in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with about a tablespoon of blueberry jam, fresh nasturtium petals and a sprinkle of the Smoked Nasturtium Salt to taste. Serve with crackers.
Brush olive oil and sprinkle Park Hill Maple & Spice on to a salmon filet for a delicious, simple meal.
Mt. Baker Chai Seasoning from Savory Spice
Savory Spice is a spice shop located in Bend’s Old Mill District with a huge selection of spice mixes featuring global flavors and ingredients. The Mt. Baker Chai Seasoning is named after Mt. Baker in Washington; a tourist attraction that has a wide appeal, like this spice. This mix is a sweet, earthy and spiced mix that relies on cinnamon as a core ingredient, along with ginger, cardamom, allspice and more. Add to your next baked good for a complex and satisfying flavor.
Mix it: Chai Apple Butter
Peel, chop and core ten large apples. Add half a cup of brown sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice, one teaspoon of vanilla paste, a half teaspoon of salt and five teaspoons of the Mt. Baker Chai Seasoning to a slow cooker with the apples, and cook on high for five to six hours, stirring occasionally. Mash and blend the resulting mix and store your apple butter for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
Park Hill Maple & Spice from Savory Spice
Also found at Savory Spice in the Old Mill, the Park Hill Maple & Spice mix is a dried maple sugar based mix featuring sweet and peppery notes. This mix is named after the beautiful tree-lined streets of Denver’s Park Hill, which are reminiscent of neighborhoods of old. The core ingredient of this mix, pure maple syrup, is as old-school as its name. This mix is perfect for adding some sweet spice to savory dishes like pork chops and salmon, or for making a sweet glaze for grilling meats.
Glaze it: Mix three tablespoons of your Park Hill Maple & Spice mix with three tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, two tablespoons of whole grain dijon and two teaspoons of olive oil. Mix until the ingredients are fully combined and serve anywhere you’d like. This goes great on chicken, ham, potatoes, roasted veggies, any sort of caprese dish and even as a finisher on pizza.
Founder and Owner of Bend Sauce, Craig Reinhart, came up with the idea for a dry-version of Bend Sauce when he noticed how much chipotle byproduct the sauce was creating. “The sauce is made from whole chipotle, but we strain out the pulp, seeds and skins to keep the product smooth,” Reinhart said. “We knew these parts of the chipotle pepper had tons of flavor, so we began experimenting by dehydrating these byproducts of the sauce.”
Those dehydrated byproducts were turned into a flavorful powder. Twenty-five percent of Cinder Dust is made from that powder, while the other 75 percent is made from the same ingredients as Bend Sauce, just their dry counterparts; vinegar was replaced with vinegar powder, for example.
Cinder Dust is a very versatile addition to any kitchen. Its smokey, sweet and spicy flavor lends well towards Mexican dishes, but can really be used as a meat rub and seasoning on anything; try sprinkling it on popcorn, or using it as a cocktail rimmer.
Sprinkle it:Sauté ground pork, finely diced sweet onion and garlic over medium-high heat with olive oil until the meat is browned, breaking up any chunks you see. As you are cooking the pork, sprinkle in a generous portion of Cinder Dust along with salt. Mix about a cup of sour cream into a bowl with a squeeze of lime juice, some freshly chopped cilantro and Cinder Dust to taste. Add a teaspoon of water at a time to the bowl and mix thoroughly each time until the chipotle crema has reached an ideal consistency. Warm up your corn tortillas, fill them with the sautéed pork, sprinkle on some queso fresco (or any cheese you prefer) and top with a drizzle of your chipotle crema.
Original Bend’s Best BBQ Seasoning & Rub from Cody’s Country Catering
After three generations of barbecuing, a move to Oregon, a rebranding and years of serving up supremely good food, Cody’s Country Catering still uses the same seasoning and rub that they started with. In 2013, Cody’s Country Catering started to sell its spice mix, and it has been very popular ever since. “We were using it on our own food and constantly had people asking us about it, so we said ‘why not?’” said Cody Serbus, the current owner.
The mix itself is a blend of eight spices, but the exact measurements of the ingredients are kept a family secret. Paprika, salt, onion, garlic and parsley all play a role, and the final mix is a sweet and savory,
all-purpose seasoning and rub that goes perfect on tri tip, the restaurant’s staple.
Grill it: Rub your roast head-to-toe in Bend’s Best BBQ Seasoning & Rub one to three days prior to cooking. Prepare your grill for hot direct heat on one side, and indirect heat on the other. Sear the roast for 3-4 minutes per side in direct heat. After searing each side, move the roast to the side without direct heat, fat-side up, maintaining a grill temperature of between 250 and 300 degrees. Cover the grill and cook until the internal temperature reaches between 120 and 140 degrees, depending on preferred doneness. This should take anywhere from twenty to forty minutes. Once the roast reaches the preferred temperature, remove from heat and rest for fifteen minutes. Slice thinly against the grain and enjoy.
Cody’s Country Catering | 900 SE Wilson Ave. #B, Bend | bendcatering.com
Alyson Brown, cocktail creator and flower enthusiast, founded Wild Folk Flower Apothecary in 2017 out of a desire to share her love of flowers—particularly their medicinal, therapeutic and edible elements—with Central Oregon (and beyond). She began to incorporate a floral element into almost every aspect of her daily regimen. “That meant everything from the flowers I brought home from the flower shop to the tea that I drank, skincare I used, the food I ate, and of course, the cocktails that I made,” Brown shared. She shared her floral-infused techniques on Instagram, which led her to write a cocktail recipe book. In the summer of 2021, The Flower Infused Cocktail was published with more than sixty floral cocktail and mocktail recipes. Subtitled “Flowers, with a twist,” Brown’s book also shares methods for creating sugars, simple syrups and infusions using edible flowers. Botanical spirits and garnishes complement these floral libations. The Flower Infused Cocktail can be found in many Central Oregon shops and boutiques, as well as via her website. For a flower cocktail reminiscent of tropical islands and warm weather, try Brown’s riff on a piña colada—the calendulada, infused with a slightly spicy calendula syrup.
Calendulada
6 dashes Angostura bitters
1 oz white rum
1/2 oz overproof rum
1/2 oz Suze (a bitters made from the plant gentian)
3/4 oz lime juice
3/4 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz cream of coconut
1/2 oz spiced calendula syrup
Slice of pineapple
Dash bitters into the bottom of a glass and fill with ice to the very top. Shake remaining ingredients in a shaker with ice until chilled. Pour into the prepared glass. Garnish with a calendula flower, a pineapple slice and pineapple leaves. The full recipe and description can be found on page 167 of The Flower Infused Cocktail.
We stood thigh-deep in the refreshing water of the Lower Deschutes River, waiting for the next fish to rise. The four of us ladies had decided to unplug from our busy lives for a 50th birthday celebration and found ourselves deep within the rolling canyons somewhere between Trout Creek and Maupin, immersed in the revitalizing beauty and energy of the river.
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Over the three-day trip our guides from Deep Canyon Outfitters, Brendan and Dylan, led us to their favorite spots—entirely uncrowded yet abundant with fish. They also taught us the golden rule of fishing—never leave fish to find fish. Our whoops and hollers echoed as we caught red band trout, one after another.
Each evening, we arrived at a fully-prepared camp, thanks to the porter, Nikolai. The birthday celebration dinner started with bacon-wrapped jalapenos as soon as we were onshore, followed by grilled pork with apricot chutney and completed with eclairs and cookies. Pure decadence!
Reflecting on last summer’s trip, we realize it wasn’t the fish caught, the wildlife glimpses or even the pampering of post-river hors d’oeuvres—it was living innocently and carefree with lifelong friends. How lucky we are to have this fisherman’s paradise right in our backyard.
“A river is water in its loveliest form, rivers have life and sound and movement and infinity of variation, rivers are veins of the earth through which the lifeblood returns to the heart.” – Roderick Haig-Brown
When Emily Aygun, owner of Altius Pole Studio, was convinced by a friend to sign up for her first pole dancing class more than fifteen years ago, she nearly never walked through the door. With persuasion from the instructor, Aygun entered the class despite her nerves and found a welcoming and encouraging community that she never knew existed.
Seksé Fit | photo AltiusAerialPhotography
“Pole has shown me that I’m bigger than myself, and my ego is not as important as I need it to be,” said Aygun. “It’s allowed me to appreciate my body for what it could do over what it looked like. I’ve found a lot of self-confidence, self-assurance and faith in myself through discovering pole dance.”
Pole dancing and fitness is a multifaceted sport that includes many ways to use a pole, from choreography and tricks to endurance and fitness. The poles are fixed floor-to-ceiling in wood-floor studios, with the option for spinning or static settings. Seksé Fit, the first dance and pole fitness boutique in Bend, opened in 2019 in the Box Factory and offers mood lighting, vibrant ambiance, and spring cushioned hard-wood floors. Altius Pole Studio, which opened in 2021 off Empire Avenue, lets in bright natural light in a small yet spacious space. Both studios offer a complete variety of pole options with classes catered to beginners to experts.
Altius Pole Studio | AltiusAerialPhotography
Christina Easly (“Biggs”), Kimberly Yannariello (“Roach”), and Kimberly Thurman (“lil’ Kim”), co-founders of Seksé, faced pushback when they first opened their doors—the idea was still risqué to some of the community. “Pole is still tethered to strip clubs, but we’re trying to redefine it and make it more mainstream,” Yannariello said. Given the option of excusing the sexiness of pole dancing or embracing it, they chose to embrace it, breaking down barriers and stereotypes of pole while introducing it as a type of fitness for anyone and everyone, while letting people know it’s okay to feel sexy. “We’re trying to redefine what it means to be sexy,” Easly said. “We’re saying it’s not about how you look, it’s more about how you feel, the things that make you unique and what’s sexy to you as an individual.”
Seksé Fit was created for people who may not have experience dancing but are looking to get in shape without the monotony of training or typical group fitness, Easly said. “We have the total range of people who don’t like going to gyms, haven’t worked out in a long time, and are looking for something fun to do to keep them motivated,” Easly said.
In an introductory pole class, students may learn a few transitions, like a pirouette, adding up to complete a sequence on the pole, along with a warm-up, cool down, and a few tricks. The result is a full-body toning and sculpting workout, increased flexibility and greater mobility, plus cardio throughout the class.
You’ll leave feeling like you’ve found a community and have the support that maybe you’ve not ever found before.
Pole creates a space that permits people to focus on themselves—both Aygun and Easly are mothers and understand the need for an antidote to the demands of parenthood and family. “This is a place to be a grown-up—dress how you want to dress, bring everything to the table and let it go,” Easly said. “Everyone deserves an hour a day to do something good for themselves.” Aygun similarly said the most positive feedback Altius receives is that it’s a place for members to escape the crazy world and focus on themselves for a moment.
The overall sentiment of pole dance and fitness is that working out should be fun. “The more you play, the exercise and the outcome of the exercise is a side effect,” Aygun said. “If your goal is to get fit, why not have fun?”
“Just come in and take that step,” Easly said, adding to show up with a sense of humor and an open mind. “You’ll leave feeling accomplished,” Aygun said. “You’ll leave feeling like you’ve found a community and have the support that maybe you’ve not ever found before. And, it’s just fun.”
Less than a mile down the trail, hikers reach the emergence of Lightning Springs. Though one might think they’ve found the Crater Lake leak, these springs are fed by melting snow and emerge above lake level. Several backcountry campsites here invite campers to enjoy this mountain oasis.
