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Ellen Waterston’s New Book Explores The Oregon Desert Trail

If Ellen Waterston had her way, the title of her new book would be “High Centered.” Like a truck stuck on a hardened mound of mud on a desert backroad, sometimes we must push ourselves back and forth on both sides of an issue to figure out how to move forward.

Waterston, an Oregon poet and author with a long history of writing about the high desert, likes a metaphor. But her publisher, University of Washington Press, decided on something more straightforward. Walking the High Desert: Encounters with Rural America on the Oregon Desert Trail was published June 17. The literary nonfiction book chronicles her journey on the 750-mile Oregon Desert Trail, documenting the people, places and issues that she encounters along the way.

This is Waterston’s seventh book and the most journalistic endeavor of her published titles. Her earlier books are memoirs or poetry collections. But land and place and the meaning of it all is a common theme throughout her writing. For Waterston, any person, especially a writer, cannot escape the nuances, details and meanings of where they plant roots. Of tackling this book, a travel memoir that also reckons with Oregon’s divided politics, she said, “It just wouldn’t go away. I just needed to do it.”

Waterston came from New England, then found ranching in the eastern part of the state. Now living in Bend, she works as an advocate for emerging writers, Oregon’s literary world and for Oregon’s public land. She started the Writing Ranch in 2000, a series of workshops in remote locations designed to pull out everyone’s inner writer. She was the executive director of PLAYA at Summer Lake and is an instructor with Fishtrap, a writing conference in Joseph, Oregon. She has an honorary Ph.D. in humane letters from Oregon State University Cascades, is a two-time WILLA Award Winner in Poetry and the winner of the Obsidian Prize in Poetry. She founded the literary nonprofit Nature of Words, and six years ago, founded the Waterston Desert Writing Prize.

She’s also supporter of the Oregon Natural Desert Association, although she doesn’t agree on all their points. But that connection drove her to the idea to hike the ODT and write about it. “In the simplest sense, I have a background as a rancher and a ‘townie,’” she said. “I am sensitive to both the perspective of those who live and work the land versus those who are more consumers and also environmental perspectives.”

For Waterston, the place that has shaped her the most, that has called her onto its trails and into its small towns and beside its people, is the Oregon east of the Cascades. “It’s the sequence of the places we live that make up the chapters in our biography of place,” writes Waterston in her newest book. “The high desert is, without question, my longest chapter.”

Readers of Oregon’s local history, advocates of the environment and high desert dwellers on the left and right side of the aisle will connect with this book. In Waterston’s classic voice that imparts her immense research while speaking to readers like a friend, Walking the High Desert is an important addition to Oregon’s literature about place. She paints rural life without patronizing it, and earnestly fights for preservation without sacrificing the realities of rural subsistence.

In the end, she may not have gotten the title she wanted, but she said that the book overall, “has been a wonderful experience for me as a writer.” Though, she still thinks it should have been called “High Centered.” “I think it’s apt because when we see things truly, it’s hard to take sides,” she said.

Locally built Bend TakeOut links restaurants and hungry homebodies

When Phil Geiger moved to Central Oregon in the late 1990s to snowboard, he held a few different jobs before signing on to be a driver for a small restaurant takeout delivery business. But before he even got comfortable in the new position, the company’s owner told Geiger he was behind on payments to restaurants and planned to declare bankruptcy.

In an effort to keep the business running, Geiger bought the company for $1 from the owner (who had initially acquired the business from a previous, original owner), agreeing to slowly pay the restaurants back if they would continue working with him. “I went to every restaurant we delivered for, and said that I would take on his debt,” Geiger said. All of the restaurants—about a dozen—agreed, and just like that, Bend TakeOut had a chance at survival, and success.

In those early days, Geiger was busy building the company’s first website on dial-up internet, uploading copies of menus from the restaurants they worked with. It was years before a company like GrubHub would make its way to Central Oregon and a decade before DoorDash was even conceived, so not everyone really got what Geiger’s company was all about.

“People didn’t understand what we were doing—they would think they were calling the restaurant, even though it was our number on the site,” he said.

Staff spent a lot of time on the phone, describing menu items to customers, placing orders and then using walkie talkies to relay directions to drivers. Drivers then used map books to navigate around town. Geiger remembers instructing his employees to “stand in a certain spot, and hold the radio above your head to get better reception.”

To keep busy and continue growing their customer base, the company rarely said no to requests, even those that were a bit off the wall. “We’d never say no,” Geiger said. “I was just trying to keep drivers as busy as possible.”

Co-owner Angie Bove, who started with Bend TakeOut about ten years ago as a driver, said she remembers drivers stopping by the store to pick up extra things for customers on their way to deliver orders. Bove recalled one regular customer who loved ranch dressing and had requested it from a restaurant that was all out. “I remember the driver actually stopping at the store and getting a bottle of ranch for the customer,” Bove said.

Over the years, the company has grown to serve more restaurants around the region, and technology, including tablets for restaurants and an app for customers, has evolved to make the process of ordering and delivering simpler. The company also launched its takeout delivery service in Redmond. “We’ve been in town fifteen years now, and we have a big customer base,” said Bove, who worked her way up from a driver, to dispatcher, to account manager and part owner over the years.

Both Bove and Geiger agreed that when companies like GrubHub, DoorDash and UberEats started serving Central Oregon, they worried it might impact their business. But the company is local and does things a bit differently, Bove said. “We all have different models of business,” she said. “And we think there is enough delivery business for everyone.”

For one thing, Bend TakeOut works with a courier service to ensure someone is always on staff to deliver, unlike some of the apps that allow drivers to set their own schedules, risking having no one available on a busy night. Bend TakeOut also has a minimum order amount and sets delivery fees based on the distance between a restaurant and delivery address—an amount that goes directly to a driver.

This spring, business was busy, but different, at Bend TakeOut, as restaurants navigated the impacts of COVID-19. The company started working with new restaurants and receiving more individual orders, but less big office orders, Bove said. Today, the company works with about fifty restaurants, many of whom also work with other delivery services, offering customers more options.

And while that competition keeps the takeout delivery space more competitive in Central Oregon, the owners say what sets Bend TakeOut apart from its competitors is that the company is local. “We’ve lived in Bend for a long time, and we love it here,” Geiger said. “And if you have a problem, you can always pick up the phone and talk to someone.”

Tips for Summer Stargazing in Bend and Beyond

When most of us look to the night sky, we see pulsing planets and satellites skittering across the stars. If we’re lucky, we might catch a meteoroid burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

But when Bob Grossfeld looks into the night sky above Central Oregon, he sees multiple galaxies and millions of years into the past—literally. Grossfeld, observatory manager at the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory, said the closest neighboring galaxy sits roughly 2.5 million light-years away from our Milky Way. So, when he peers into a telescope to spy the Andromeda Galaxy, Grossfeld sees what it looked like more than 2 million years ago (since that’s how long it took light to travel that distance). “If you think about it, you’re looking back in time every time you look through a telescope,” he said.

Here in Central Oregon, very little light pollution dampens the nighttime glow, and the Cascades break up most storms before they arrive in the region—leading to clearer skies with fewer clouds. Even better is that starry night skies are free for all to enjoy. All you have to do is step outside.

If you’d like to try stargazing this summer, here’s what to know for getting started—and what you might see on a given night. You’ll have millions of years’ worth of galactic wonders to keep you busy.

How to Get Started as an Amateur Astronomer

Most telescopes—the kind you find at big-box stores—do some things well, but nothing well enough to justify the investment, according to Grossfeld. Instead, he recommends a decent pair of binoculars. “Usually, binoculars are more usable than the telescope would have been,” he said.

Grossfeld also suggests downloading a mobile app—Star Chart and Sky Guide, to name two—for basic details, such as stars, planets and constellations. The apps use augmented reality to identify visible features in the night sky—requiring only that users point their phone or tablet skyward to identify what they’re currently viewing.

For a deeper dive, Grossfeld recommends reading Astronomy Magazine for star charts and in-depth information about what you may see in a given week—such as satellites, comets, and more.

Where to Go Stargazing

The most important piece of equipment isn’t a telescope or binoculars; it’s the dark night sky, Grossfeld said. “You just need to be able to get away from city lights as much as possible,” he said. Nearby mountain highways and the endless high desert alike offer ample opportunities for easy, yet rewarding stargazing.

One idea is to visit the sno-parks surrounding Mount Bachelor—like Dutchman Sno-Park. You’re at a high enough elevation and far enough away from the city to enjoy dark night skies, he said, and the iconic peak makes a nice backdrop as the stars come out. East of Bend, try the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and small communities, such as Brothers. You’ll find almost no light pollution between Bend and Burns, leading to darker, more dramatic skies.

Overnight stays and sky views at The Spot

Less than two years after toting her telescope to Smith Rock, Fallscheer opened the Asterisk Observatory at The Spot in March 2024.

A two-part experience begins with an overnight stay in what is known as The Spot—a brand-new guesthouse that’s open in spring, late summer and autumn; the three-bedroom home comes with a kitchen, hot tub and firepit. The Spot is open to groups who want to rent out the whole place, as well as solo travelers and smaller parties who’d like just one or two bedrooms, and who may share the house with other astronomy enthusiasts.

What can you see in Central Oregon’s starry night skies?

Dark skies over Central Oregon mean an embarrassment of astronomical riches for even first-time astronomers. For instance, nearly a dozen major meteor showers can be seen this summer—including the famous Perseid meteor shower, taking place between mid-July and mid-August.

Stargazers can also spy Jupiter and Saturn—which Grossfeld calls “the two best planets to look at in the sky.” Jupiter’s moons can be seen with a pair of binoculars, as can Saturn’s iconic rings. To the south, the Milky Way can be seen on moonless nights—specifically, the area of the Milky Way where new stars are formed.

Grossfeld said, “With a pair of binoculars, you can see most of the cool features in the center of the galaxy.

4 Places to Drop a Line and Fish in Central Oregon

Central Oregon has many lakes, reservoirs and rivers for people to enjoy as temperatures begin to rise, and the summer heat sets in. These bodies of water offer many activities people can partake in, such as fishing. Fishing is a popular pastime in Central Oregon. Facing the difficult choice of where to drop a line this weekend? Here are four places for people to try out and fish near Bend.

Crane Prairie Reservoir

Noted as one of the top places in Central Oregon to fish by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the drive to Crane Prairie Reservoir is just under an hour, southwest of Bend and past Sunriver. One highlight of the reservoir is that as people fish, the beautiful Cascade Mountains overlook the water. The many birds are also an attraction, as noted by Dave Merrick, the manager of Fly & Field Outfitters in Bend. “The views from the lake are some of the most spectacular in the area and sharing your fishing spot on Crane with numerous bald eagles, osprey and cormorants is a daily treat. They can put on a great show,” Merrick said. Many species of fish that people might get the chance to catch at the Crane Prairie Reservoir are redband rainbow trout, hatchery rainbow trout, brook trout, largemouth bass and kokanee. Some of the best months to go fishing are June, July and August.

Wickiup Reservoir

Another fishing spot that people can enjoy is Wickiup Reservoir in La Pine which is about 24 minutes south of Crane Prairie Reservoir, or also about an hour drive from Bend. The largest of the Cascade Lakes, this reservoir was created in 1949 by the Deschutes River dam project. Some species people can catch at Wickiup Reservoir are kokanee, coho salmon, whitefish, chub, brown trout, rainbow trout and brook trout. If you have access to a boat, use the boat ramp by the Gull Point Campground and hit the water for a great day.

Lake Billy Chinook

Hop in the car and make the hour-plus drive north of Bend to Lake Billy Chinook, out by the Central Oregon cities of Culver and Madras. Formed by the Round Butte Dam, the lake is at the confluence of the Crooked, Deschutes and Metolius rivers and is open year round, with the exception of the Metolius River arm, which is open March through October and also requires a tribal angling permit. People can catch rainbow trout, brown trout, kokanee, bull trout and smallmouth trout, and this lake is actually the only place in Oregon where people can keep one of their bull trouts. It does have to be twenty-four inches in length though. If the arm of the Metolius River is intriguing, this river is best accessed from the town of Camp Sherman. Merrick said that the Metolius River is one of the most challenging fisheries in the area, and that the quality of the fish is world class. “The Metolius is one of the country’s largest spring ‘creeks’ and it’s cold and amazingly clear water can be mesmerizing,” Merrick said.

Prineville Reservoir

Prineville Reservoir, the longest drive of the four with about an hour and a half trip, is open year round. While the reservoir is known for ice fishing from December to February, it’s also a great place for fishing in the warmer months. Some of the fish people can expect to catch are rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black crappie and brown bullhead. One of the best times to fish for bass and crappie are from May to October. Many other activities at the reservoir that people can be entertained by are waterskiing, wakeboarding, paddle boarding, kayaking and much more.

All four locations require people to have a fishing license, and you’ll need a fishing rod, tackle and lures. For more information on licenses, restrictions, when to fish and more, go to myodfw.com.

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In 2014, Melissa Gottlieb came to Bend from the east coast and found herself in a moving nightmare: the house she had rented was in foreclosure and four months in, she was forced to move her family yet again. After hearing similar horror stories from newcomers of rental waitlists and unexpected hassles, Gottlieb decided something had to change and founded Bend Relocation Services in 2017.

“When I moved here, I needed a best friend—somebody I could call,” she said. “For a city that has 100,000 people, there are so many choices for neighborhoods, schools and activities, which is fantastic for people who live here. For people who are coming here though, it’s incredibly overwhelming.”

Gottlieb began her business with a website; soon calls and referrals from local organizations started pouring in. Bend Relocation Services offers assistance with finding rental homes and corporate employee relocation as well as à la carte services tailored to a client’s needs. As “professional problems solvers,” Gottlieb said the company aims to help clients mitigate issues and navigate Central Oregon’s fast-paced market.

“Our objective is to find out ‘If you want to move here, what is getting in your way?’” she said. “If someone is coming from far away, they can only view what is available at that moment, and we are cheaper than a plane ticket.”

On the rental side, the company works with more than thirty regional property management companies and homeowners to narrow down rental listings and schedule video tours for home viewings. In addition to finding a house, customized services range from meeting moving vans and picking up pets to babyproofing houses and installing internet.

Having helped hundreds of families in the past three years, business continues to boom. In November, Bend Relocation Services partnered with the Bend Chamber of Commerce to launch a second site, movingtobend.com, that provides newcomers with detailed, up-to-date information about how to live, work, play and learn in Bend.

“We’ve seen fantastic public response to the site already,” said Garrett Jaenicke, Bend Chamber Director of Marketing and Member Services. “The old, physical relocation packets we used to hand out were really lacking in relevant content, so migration into the digital space was the right solution.”

For Gottlieb, the company’s success goes back to simply being there for people; she said she finds purpose helping others start a new life in the town she loves.

“I adore Bend, but I’m also very sympathetic to the struggles of getting here and it’s a privilege when clients let me into their lives,” she said. “It is important to me to give people the information they need so when they get here they can stop stressing and just start living.”

Bend Relocation Services | 541-668-5078 | bendrelocationservices.com

Q&A with Gather Nuts, Bend’s Artisanal Nut and Seed Purveyor

Shanna Koenig Camuso launched the whole food artisanal nut and seed company Gather Nuts in Bend in 2019. The Texas native and certified nutrition consultant came to Central Oregon with her husband six years ago from Colorado, seeking a milder climate that still offered the outdoor recreation they both loved. When she was in nutrition school, Koenig Camuso had started making “activated” nuts and seeds, which means soaking them to release nutrients and roasting at medium heat to preserve good fats, in her kitchen. Over time she got more creative, adding unique flavor profiles like maple cardamom and turmeric curry. Soon others were encouraging her to sell these delicious treats, and Gather Nuts was born.

Why nuts?

I wanted to create a whole food artisanal nut and seed company to support healthy eating on the go. Our lives are increasingly busier and eating well can be a challenge. Recent studies show that people are snacking more than they are sitting down for meals. Nuts and seeds are the perfect snack—easily transportable, filling and nourishing—and they’re nutritional powerhouses. High in fiber, healthy fats and protein, they keep you fueled throughout the day, while their vitamins and minerals support the body.

What led you to Bend and to this business?

Growing up, nuts were a staple food in my family, but I never truly understood their value until I was in nutrition school. I learned about the soaking process and the need to protect healthy fats from high temperatures. Nuts and seeds have barriers that protect them from natural threats in nature. If these barriers are not broken down through a soaking process, they can be difficult to digest and some of their nutrients remain locked away. I started to experiment with soaking and roasting at home. I’d open my spice drawer and imagine what would combine well—Turmeric Curry Cashews was my first flavor. I began sharing them with friends, who convinced me that I needed to sell them.

Tell us about the philosophies behind Gather Nuts.

Our mantra is People. Planet. Animals. We work in each of these areas to support healthy eating while minimizing our environmental footprint. Our goal is to not only provide snack options, but to encourage culinary creations with our products to add a quick and easy nutritional boost and added flavor. Some of our favorites: topping oatmeal or salad with our Maple Fennel Pumpkin Seeds, or sprinkling Chocolate Coffee Cashews over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Every business decision revolves around how we can do the least amount of harm to the planet, from where we source our products to our packaging and efforts to reduce waste. Our nuts and seeds support plant-based eating, which has the potential to greatly reduce the effects of climate change. One of the leading causes of climate change is food: what we consume, the production of it, and its waste. One-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by meat production alone. Lastly, we offer an alternative to animal-based proteins that is more beneficial to your overall health.

What’s it like to run a business such as this from Bend?

Bend is a fantastic place to be an entrepreneur. You can really feel the hometown spirit here. People rally behind new brands and strong products. Retailers have been exceptionally open and embracing, especially because our products are a great fit for Central Oregon’s active lifestyle. I’ve found mentorship from the local organization Opportunity Knocks, which facilitates a monthly small group meeting of food companies like myself. There’s an increasing recognition that the food manufacturing industry is growing in Bend. People are making a concerted effort to ease some of the challenges food startups here face: high cost and low inventory of commercial kitchen space, lack of warehousing, distribution and co-packing.

Share some of your most significant challenges with us.

One of our biggest challenges is making an initial introduction of our nuts to the consumer. We often do tastings at First Friday Artwalk, Newport Market, farmers markets and various retailers. After falling for our flavor combinations, people connect with our brand and the health benefits of our process.

Where are your sales strongest?

Currently our retail sales at places like Newport Market, West Coast Provisions and Palate Coffee are strongest, but over the holidays, our ecommerce sales soared. People loved sneaking our nuts and seeds into stockings and giving them as hostess gifts.

How is Gather Nuts different from other purveyors?

Gather Nuts uses exclusively organic ingredients. We work with two wholesalers that are multiple certified in being organic and fair trade. Most commercial nuts are sourced from the least expensive places possible, with growing practices that aren’t sustainable. So, we begin with a higher quality nut. Then, how we process our nuts is different. Most companies roast their nuts at high temperatures which can damage the fats. This technique produces nuts as quickly as possible. We soak our nuts and seeds in saltwater for twenty-four hours and slow roast them at a low temperature, which takes longer but it’s the essence of why our products taste the way they do.

What are your goals with Gather Nuts?

We are an ambitious company with high growth expectations. We know the snack industry is growing rapidly, as is the consumer demand for plant-based products. We are positioning our company to grow alongside consumer demand.

May the power of our voices together bring change

The recent incidents of violence, death, racial discrimination and social injustice we’ve witnessed in our communities remind us we have a long way to go in achieving equality for all.

We stand with our black neighbors and friends and those who work for equality and truth. All around us are people working tirelessly to illuminate and eradicate injustice. We see you, we hear you. Now more than ever we need to listen and support one another. As individuals and organizations, we need to examine our roles in creating inclusivity, equality and change.

We can do more. We recognize the true leaders in our communities, the true change makers, not those who capitalize on chaos to hurt the community and local businesses. We encourage community and unity in the fight to end injustice and brutality.

May we all come together for change and healing, a rising tide of strength against injustice.

Sunny Southern Oregon

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On a road trip weekend getaway to Medford, both the journey and the destination are the rewards.

Ready for a weekend getaway to a lush outdoor paradise full of adventure, with plenty of culinary, wine and cultural charms as well? Put Medford and the Rogue Valley at the top of your list. Plan your next summer escape to sunny Southern Oregon, where the all-day fun is only outpaced by the glorious scenery.

From Bend, Medford is a three hour and fifteen minute drive to the south and west. Drive south on Highway 97, taking in Lava Butte just a few miles south of Bend. This cinder cone is one of the first signs of the volcanism that will appear throughout the journey—there will be more! North of La Pine, note Paulina Peak rising to the east. The peak is the highest point in Newberry Crater, a collapsed volcano, and Oregon’s largest volcano by area. Save a trip to this crater for another time, as we have another even more impressive volcanic crater to visit on this journey, and continue south to the junction with Highway 138.

Traveling west on Highway 138, you’re surrounded by thick pine forest. The road steadily gains elevation as you approach the Cascade Range. Stop at the Mt. Theilsen viewpoint for incredible views of this stunning peak, which boasts a narrow pinnacle pointing towards the sky. Follow Highway 138 to Highway 230, which parallels the Rogue River, one of Oregon’s prettiest and most renowned rivers, which you’ll follow south all the way to Medford.

Halfway to Medford, turn off on Highway 62 to Oregon’s only National Park, Crater Lake. The 33-mile Rim Drive is not to be missed, circling this glimmering jewel of a turquoise blue lake. Here you’ll find your next lesson in volcanism. 7700 years ago, Mount Mazama exploded magnificently, in an eruption 42 times greater than that of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Rock and lava collapsed into the mountain’s center, creating a massive caldera in place of what had been a 12,000-foot peak. This caldera, or volcanic cauldron, filled with rain and snow over centuries to became Crater Lake. Have lunch at the historic Crater Lake Lodge, built in 1915, before continuing south on Highway 62.

The scenery just keeps on coming on this picturesque highway, which winds under a rich forest canopy. Stop in Union Creek to see the Rogue River Gorge and Natural Bridge, two scenic spots that are accessed by an easy walk on a good trail. Here the river courses through a narrow canyon, creating beautiful waterfalls and rapids. Also, nearby along this stretch of the river are Pearsony Falls, Mill Creek Falls and Barr Creek Falls. Back towards Bend is National Creek Falls, accessed by a half-mile hike through a lush forest—another worthy stop, perhaps on your return journey.

Before you leave Union Creek, visit Beckie’s Restaurant, tucked in a classic old log cabin and known for its pies. Next door is a little ice cream shop—if you aren’t full of pie, grab a cone and hit the road. This last stretch follows the Rogue River through the lower Rogue Valley, a lovely grassy plateau that supports agriculture and outdoor exploration.

You’ve arrived in Medford at last, and the fun is just beginning. This rich valley is home to dozens of farms and vineyards. Start with the Rogue Valley Farm Tour, a self-guided adventure to farms, restaurants and artisans around the entire valley. The purveyors on this route support sustainable practices and provide guests with amazing things to eat, drink and buy. You’ll have a tough time choosing your favorite destination on this route.

Along the way, you’ll also encounter many wineries and vineyards. RoxyAnn Winery, 2Hawks Vineyard and Winery and EdenVale Winery are just a few of Medford’s treasures, with tasting rooms open to the public in outstandingly scenic locales. Sip on a glass of sauvignon blanc or tempranillo with a view of rolling vineyards. Or make it a day and sign up for a wine tasting tour with your own designated driver.

Downtown Medford is a burgeoning urban center, with new restaurants, boutiques and shops opening all of the time. Make a stop at the Urban Cork to try a variety of local wines in a trendy modern space. Grab a farm to table meal at Common Block or Porter’s Depot. Breakfast at Over Easy is not to be missed—this popular downtown eatery does a most memorable brunch.

Ready for adventure? The Rogue River is legendary for water play. Take a jet boat tour, sign up for a whitewater rafting trip, try kayaking, stand up paddle boarding or just go for a swim. While you’re out exploring, catch a festival or some outdoor music. Or just take a Sunday drive and take in as much of this region as you can.

Have one more afternoon to fill with fun? Medford is home to many golf courses. Swing your clubs under incredible summer skies at Centennial Golf Club, Quail Point or Bear Creek courses. No matter your score, you’ll have fun in the sun. Then head back for Bend with the thrills and tastes of Southern Oregon lingering in your mind.

Please call or check online ahead of time for all intended destinations to learn the status of any COVID-19 limitations that might be in place at the time of your visit.

Meet Butch Boswell, Bend’s Guitar Repair Tech Turned Craftsman

When it comes to skill, style and creating a niche in a genre, individuality is key for musicians.

Each artist, playing type, and creative ability resonates differently. And Butch Boswell has the ability to capture that individuality, creating one-of-a-kind masterpieces of instrumentation.

The Boswell Guitar workspace is tucked into a small shop near downtown Bend. The space reflects Boswell’s style of simplicity combined with historically rooted-techniques, and is vacant of tech and glamour you might find with the industry’s larger manufacturers. This is exactly how Boswell has intended it. “I build my guitars by hand, in small batches of two to three guitars at a time. I only use the finest materials I can find, and my search for those materials never stops. I take every possible unknown into consideration, and if it has the potential to make the guitar sound better, I’m going to use it,” Boswell said.

Boswell has been able to master his craft over the years, while sustaining his passion for the work. But working as a luthier, or guitar-maker, was not always his dream. In fact, Boswell recalls getting into guitars “almost accidentally.” When he first graduated high school, he immediately started his college career at Cal Poly University to pursue his then-passion of architectural engineering. But after college, he spent fifteen years repairing instruments with some of the nation’s best repair groups including Taylor Guitars and Rudy’s Music Soho, eventually turning from repair to building his first acoustic guitar. Boswell’s customers wanted a repairman who could also build guitars, so he got to work with his first design, and hasn’t looked back since. In 2015, he decided to move his operation to Bend, and local musicians have been benefitting ever since.

For Boswell, the guitar-build process starts with finding the best wood. “I am absolutely a wood junkie. I’m always thinking about wood, always looking for wood, always talking about wood,” Boswell said. “Old growth material is hands-down the best, and what I try to use exclusively, but it is getting harder and harder to come by.” Older woods like Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack Spruce lend themselves well to Boswell’s work due to their stability, strength, lack of absorption-capacity, and in many cases, their beauty. After all of the measuring, cutting, sanding, staining and crafting of an instrument, his lofty goal of creating the, “absolute best guitar there is,” is finished with finite attention to the details that substantiate a true Boswell guitar.

Though he loves his current solo-act as guitar repairman and builder, Boswell has his sights set on future goals. Eventually, he wants to open a high-end repair and consignment shop, and grow a team of people to help accommodate the demand for his work. Often, he finds himself wanting to take on more work for his customers than time will allow, and having a trained team to expand his creative reach would bring value to his customer’s needs.

Boswell’s customers deliver many glowing reviews. “Butch is the epitome of a master luthier,” wrote Bend resident John Luce, in a Facebook review. “His guitars consistently possess that magic that only occasionally exists in other high-end instruments. His tireless attention to build quality, aesthetics, and most importantly the tonal properties of virtually every piece of wood result in what can only be described as the finest new flat top guitars attainable.”

A custom creation can inspire a musician to take their music further, according to Boswell. “Why would any two Boswell guitars be the same when every player is different?,” he said. “As a hand builder, that’s the luxury I have: to be able to craft each instrument specifically for each player. I want to provide a guitar that will inspire even the most discerning players, compliment their playing, and accompany them into new musical territory.”

Bend author Dave Edlund crafts series of thrillers starring Peter Savage

Every good thriller series has an iconic lead. There’s James Patterson’s Alex Cross, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan. Closer to home, Bend author Dave Edlund has crafted a series of thrillers around Peter Savage, an ordinary guy who finds himself in extraordinary life-or-death situations.

“He’s not a Bond character. He’s not Jason Bourne. He’s an ordinary guy,” said Edlund over the phone. “He doesn’t have all of these special training and strengths that you would see in most thriller heroes.”

Instead, Savage is a character filled with self-doubt who constantly second-guesses his actions. It’s what makes him a real and relatable character, and what has propelled Edlund into a successful second career as a novelist, judging by the fact that the Peter Savage novels have landed on the USA Today Bestsellers list.

It was Clive Cussler’s books that got Edlund obsessed with the thriller genre in his mid-twenties and also inspired his dive into writing just over a decade ago. He wrote the first Peter Savage novel, Crossing Savage, as a gift for his 9-year-old son, who had started reading Cussler’s novels at the time. Edlund was familiar with nonfiction writing, but had always harbored a fantasy to try his hand at his own thriller. “It’s just because I have an active imagination, and that can be applied to science or fiction,” Edlund said.

The crime and mystery publishing genre made $782 million in 2018, according to Statista, second behind romance. But penning the next lucrative thriller series isn’t Edlund’s main goal.

Writing bestselling novels is actually just a side job for Edlund. After graduating from University of Oregon and getting his PhD in chemistry, Edlund moved to Bend in 1987. He worked for Bend Research for nine years before starting his own venture. Since then he’s co-founded two companies. His latest is Element One, which develops technology related to hydrogen generation, or clean energy. “It’s very exciting to be involved in something where you’re doing good,” Edlund said.

He’s also contributed writing to science and technical books and is an inventor on hundreds of patents in the United States and abroad. He travels often for his work, and finds time to write his novels in airports, airplanes and hotels.

His science and technology background is evident throughout his novels, which are deeply researched and plotted with real life scientific and ethical dilemmas. It’s a conscious decision to not only have an interesting plot point, but also to inspire curiosity in his readers about the technological and scientific advancements that are at the forefront of his novels. “I’m not just aiming for entertainment,” Edlund said. “I hope that readers will take away some knowledge, some interesting or useful information.”

Edlund’s writing talent is in his storytelling. The Savage novels, published by Light Messages in North Carolina, move at a quick pace and make even expository paragraphs on genetic engineering fly by. The latest two novels in the series, Lethal Savage and Hunting Savage, are set in Central Oregon, and readers will enjoy recognizing familiar businesses and landmarks in the story. Edlund raised his two kids in Bend, and still lives here with his wife and three dogs.

With five Peter Savage novels published, Edlund is ready to move on to a new central character. He’s currently working on a new thriller series with Danya Biton, a female character from the Savage novels, as the lead. Watch for the new series and find the Peter Savage books at independent bookstores in Central Oregon and online.

How Bend’s Cascade Youth and Family Center helps homeless teens

How does a teenager end up living on the street? It could be too dangerous for them to stay at home, so they run away. Their family might be homeless and can no longer take care of them. Their parents may have kicked them out because of their sexual orientation.

Whatever the reason, Cascade Youth and Family Center meets homeless youth where they are—without judgement—and is the only nonprofit in Deschutes County that provides comprehensive services for runaway and homeless youth. CYFC opened in 1989 and is one of the many at-risk youth programs offered by J Bar J Youth Services.

If there is a crisis at home, families and kids can first call the center’s 24-hour hotline. Staff members provide crisis intervention, and emergency shelter is available to help kids stay off the street if they are in danger of running away. CYFC then provides mediation to help resolve conflict, strengthen relationships and keep the family together.

If kids do end up on the street, the center’s street outreach team lets them know about the LOFT—a group home on Bend’s west side where teens are welcome to a hot shower, a warm meal and access to services. The LOFT offers drop-in hours weekly for homeless youth in Central Oregon—no questions asked.

Teens can also move into the LOFT permanently for two years while they finish high school, are working or are looking for a job. It’s a stable home with a caring staff that helps kids get back on track.

When residents are ready to move out, they continue to be supported by their case manager as they transition to independent living.

Last year, CYFC provided emergency shelter for sixty-five homeless or runaway youth, 150 hours of family mediation, and the LOFT provided a home for forty-nine teens. Finally, 94 percent of the LOFT’s kids transitioned to a safe and stable living situation after the residency.

How you can help

Donate now. Go to cascadeyouthandfamilycenter.org for more information.

Follow CYFC on Facebook and Instagram. You’ll see the most pressing needs posted there.

Gift cards. The residents need everything from work boots to school supplies to winter coats.

A Look Inside Five Mobile Businesses in Central Oregon

While many entrepreneurs dream of one day opening a brick and mortar storefront to showcase their business and reach customers, the risks and cost of doing so can be a barrier for many.

Finding the right location can be a challenge, expensive, and a storefront is a commitment that typically comes with a long-term lease or mortgage. This leaves some local entrepreneurs thinking outside the box, beyond the typical storefront, instead hitting the streets in their trucks and trailers and setting up shop wherever makes sense. Their rents are low (sometimes free), they can make house calls for customers, and they’re nimble enough to adapt in the face of economic uncertainty. A mobile business may not work for every company, but these Central Oregon business owners are cruising along.

Head Over Wheels

Hair stylist Jyliana Renstrom was looking for something with a little more independence than renting a chair in a barbershop, but with a little less overhead than operating her own Main Street salon. And flipping through photos online one day, she came across a converted Airstream trailer that sparked an idea. “I wanted to take a leap of faith, and so I did this,” said Renstrom, a Bend native.

After a client connected her with someone selling an empty 1947 trailer made of World War II airplane parts, she set out to make her dream a reality. Renstrom opened Head Over Wheels in April 2017, and within eighteen months she was booked solid. After testing out a few locations, including at Spoken Moto and Podski’s, Head Over Wheels found its current home at The Camp, 305 NE Burnside Avenue in Bend.

Inside the salon are two styling chairs and one washing station, as well as a seating area, shelves for products and ample sunshine from the trailers wide front windows. “Everything inside is really thought out,” Renstrom said.

She said her costs for rent and to operate the shop add up to a little more than renting a station at a salon, but are much less than if Renstrom wanted to open a typical brick and mortar business herself. Going mobile means Renstrom gets to focus on being a stylist rather than being bogged down by the responsibilities of operating the business. Overall, it’s a decision Renstrom is happy with. “It’s cool how my community and my clients have come together in different ways and supported me in this journey,” Renstrom said.

The best part of getting your hair done in a shiny “hairstream?” Checking out your reflection in the chrome after you step out the front door.

Visit the trailer

Sneak a peak of Head Over Wheels at The Camp, 305 NE Burnside Ave.

Find the latest info and book an appointment by visiting headoverwheelshairco.com.

Central Oregon Knife Sharpening

When Arlan Mendell got his first knife and sharpener from his grandfather at age 12, he could never have imagined decades later he’d be running his own mobile knife sharpening business in Central Oregon. While he carried the knife and used it throughout his life, and taught his own sons to sharpen their knives, it was nothing more than a hobby until 2016, when the previous owners of Central Oregon Knife Sharpening were selling their business.

Five years later, Arlan Mendell runs the mobile shop with his son, Peter, traveling to businesses throughout the week for sharpenings and setting up in front of grocery stores to pick up business from the public. Though he can sharpen too, Peter Mendell mostly handles administrative tasks and interacts with customers, while his dad does the majority of the knife work. “I’m the horsepower and he takes care of the finer details,” Arlan Mendell said. Shop dog Lily, a very fluffy Corgi, handles the summer sunbathing and occupying children who tag along to drop off or pick up knives.

The Mendells get a lot of their work from restaurants, school districts and other businesses using knives and scissors, like dog groomers and hair stylists. Being mobile means limiting the time their customers spend away from their equipment, and the mobile sharpening shop has all the tools a permanent location would. “Just because we’re mobile doesn’t mean we lack in quality,” Arlan Mendell said.

The remainder of the company’s business comes from Central Oregon residents with regular kitchen knives. They can be dropped off and sharpened in as little as twenty to forty minutes, which works out to a shopping trip or a couple errands.

The Mendells said there are pros and cons to being on the go, but they like the freedom to travel around, including making visits to Madras, Prineville, Sunriver and La Pine, in addition to Redmond and Bend. Because they’re constantly mobile, there’s no rent to pay, keeping overhead costs low. “It’s a double-edged sword,” Peter Mendell said with a laugh. “Having a brick and mortar store, people know where you are…but on the flipside, we have flexibility.”

Find the truck

Check cosharpening.com for updates about the truck’s location.

Central Oregon Knife Sharpening’s regular stops: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays at Newport Market in Bend | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays at Whole Foods Market in Bend |Occasional Saturdays at Taco Salsa in Bend | Second Friday of each month at Ace Hardware in Sisters

Tumblewood Beverage Bar

The Tumbleweed isn’t your typical bar, and not just because it’s on wheels. Owner Kindra Hayward set out to create a mobile saloon that is classy and sophisticated, while also maintaining its western charm. The result is a converted horse trailer, with four beer taps, an espresso machine and everything needed to serve up signature cocktails for a wedding or special event.

“I knew I wanted the western flair, while staying classy and true to who I am,” said Hayward, who lives in Prineville with her husband and three children, ages 7, 4 and 1. The idea first came to Hayward about four years ago, but as a busy stay-at-home mom and with the family’s new house under construction, opening the mobile bar kept getting put off. With some help from friends with skills in carpentry and metal fabrication, the Tumbleweed was finally completed last summer. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this,” Hayward said.

In August, Hayward worked her first wedding, dishing out specialty cocktails along with another server. She said the Tumbleweed’s niche is that it serves two to three specific cocktails for each event, not a full bar, meaning the bride and groom can choose some signature drinks for the night. This can include wine, beer, kombucha, coffee or cocktails.

Hayward said the low overhead of starting a mobile business means it’s accessible to more people, as long as they’re willing to work hard. Growing primarily by word of mouth and some social media, Hayward said the business is slowly gaining popularity and she’s booked numerous weddings for the upcoming season. “I’m super grateful, and in disbelief that I had this vision and I’ve seen it through,” Hayward said. “I’m so blessed with all the support.”

Book the bar

Visit tumbleweedbeveragebar.com to schedule the Tumbleweed for a future event

Fancy Pups

When Taylor Prichard started Fancy Pups Mobile Grooming in California three years ago, she transitioned from working at a grooming shop with a storefront location, and some of her furry customers came with her. “Because of the fact that I started my mobile business in kind of the same area, I was able to see an immediate difference in the dogs,” Prichard said. Dogs that were overwhelmed in a busy grooming office with other dogs, blow dryers, clippers and ringing phones were suddenly more at ease.

A year later, her family moved to Redmond, and she worked to restart the mobile grooming shop here. For new customers, Prichard meets with dog and owner inside their home to fill out paperwork and discuss grooming needs before heading out to the trailer, which has warm running water heated by propane and a generator for power. Typical appointments last an hour, but could be more or less depending on the dog’s size and type of grooming. “The dogs will run out and meet me and jump right in the trailer,” she said. Prichard said the one-on-one attention the dogs receive is less stressful for dogs and faster overall.

While Prichard loves the flexibility of being mobile, traveling mostly between Bend, Redmond and Prineville, one challenge is the weather. She starts later in the mornings in the winter to avoid icy roads and sometimes tells clients she will be late if its snowy. She’s also aware of the temperature to make sure her trailer’s pipes don’t freeze.

Two years into running the business in Central Oregon, Prichard said that despite being one of many groomers in town, including other mobile groomers, she’s found a strong customer base.

“This is a super dog friendly area, so it really took off here,” she said. “There are plenty of dogs to go around.”

Schedule a grooming

Visit fancypupsmobilegrooming.com to schedule an appointment

Wildflower Mobile Boutique

After a life-altering concussion from a car accident in 2019, Tara Parsons was looking to take her career in a new direction, away from computers and the hustle and bustle of her previous jobs.

Parsons was a customer of Bend’s first mobile women’s fashion boutique, and thought maybe a small mobile business would work as her next career. When she stopped into Wildflower Mobile Boutique to chat with then-owner Mariah Young about her idea, fate stepped in. Young had decided two days prior she was going to sell the shop and Parsons, of course, was interested. Three weeks later it was a done deal. “She had done an amazing job with such a great vision,” Parsons said of Young. “The truck has such a good reputation in town.” Parsons has since taken the helm at Wildflower, and continues to stock boho-style women’s clothing, as well as locally made jewelry and beanies. “I try to have a huge variety,” she said.

The typical home base for the boutique is at Spoken Moto, though Parsons will scoot over to downtown during First Friday, set up in front of the new Kevista Coffee on Century Drive and hit the road for occasional events and fundraisers. The truck can also be booked at no charge for a ladies night or other events, by request. “Being mobile is so great, I can just pick up and go,” Parsons said. “I can plug in with an extension cord and be ready.”

With minimal costs to operate, Parsons said she feels the business is flexible and “recession proof.” Are there any downsides? Parsons said it took a little trial and error to get the converted Frito-Lay truck to stay level, a necessity to keep the doors closed and the shop warm in the winter. And, Parsons said, “She is a bit of beast to drive.”

Find the boutique

The Wildflower Mobile Boutique’s most recent home was parked at Spoken Moto, 310 SW Industrial Way, Bend

Use the Track the Truck page at wildflowerfashiontruck.com to confirm its location | Email wildflowerfashiontruck@gmail.com to arrange a visit from the truck for events

Rock Climbing 101: How to Start Climbing in Central Oregon

So you wanna rock climb? Easy. First, you identify a problem, send it, and boom—problem solved! Uh, what!? Ok, let’s back up… For the uninitiated, climbing can be a pretty intimidating sport. It’s filled with specific terminology and slang, specialized gear, multiple disciplines, and let’s be frank—in a town like Bend, Oregon, a mere stone’s throw from Smith Rock State Park—it’s also filled with a lot of bad ass climbers. Yup, intimidating indeed.

However, once you make that leap (or Dyno: a leaping move in which the climber lunges to the next hold, momentarily leaving the rock), climbing can be a truly rewarding sport for both the body and the mind.

Photo courtesy of Smith Rock Climbing School

A Zen Workout with Friends

Climbing is an incredible workout—both physical and mental. There’s strategy involved in determining the best route, figuring out the right handholds, manipulating your body and keeping your mind sharp while exerting energy up a rock wall. You develop strength in the core, legs and arms, dexterity, and muscles in places you never knew you had muscles (finger muscles, people!)

It’s a sport that’s best done with friends, and in a town like Bend, a great way to make new ones. Chris Wright, longtime Bend resident and accomplished climber and certified guide, said the climbing community here is warm and welcoming. “Central Oregon is filled with a lot of highly talented climbers yet it’s a very supportive environment,” he said. “People just want to help people, and it’s never a contest. Whether it’s a 5.5 [beginner route] or a 5.14 [expert], people are supportive, inclusive and encouraging. It really bucks the trend of how climbing can be sometimes.”

Sounds Great, Now Where do I Begin?

You’ve got the motivation, the gusto and are determined to make a go of climbing. So where to begin? The indoors is a great spot to start. Learning at a climbing gym immediately eliminates the weather factor and provides a safe environment in which to learn. In Central Oregon, the Bend Rock Gym (BRG as the locals call it) offers programs and classes for both youth and adults, and you’re guaranteed to have a knowledgeable climber or friendly staff member nearby to answer any questions and help get you started.

“Our goal is to support the Central Oregon climbing community, from beginners to elite,” said Rich Breuner, Director of Operations at the Bend Rock Gym. “We do everything in our power to ensure that people leave with the best possible experience and go away loving the sport as much as all of us that work here.”

Depending on the individual, Breuner said there are many ways into climbing. Two of the most popular are bouldering (a style of climbing closer to the ground without the use of rope) and top roping using auto-belay systems (which allow you to climb vertical walls securely without a partner). “Bouldering lets you feel the more dynamic movements and has more athletic moves while top roping and auto-belays let you feel more sequential moves and get you higher off the ground. We typically start people on auto-belays as it’s a great way to get to know the movements of climbing in a comprehensive way.”

At press time, BRG was closed per COVID-19 precautions. See the website for details before you visit.

Into the Great Outdoors

You’re feeling comfortable at the gym, the staff knows you by name, you have the lingo down, and you’ve even sent that boulder problem you’ve been working on for weeks. You think you’re ready to venture outside. But where? And more importantly, how?

First things first, grab a buddy. Or better yet, two. Climbing can be a very safe sport, but unless you’re Alex Honnold of free-solo-climbing fame, it’s not one that can easily—or safely—be done solo.

With a friend nearby to spot you, and a crashpad below in case of a fall, try your hand again at bouldering—this time on real rocks. Central Oregon Bouldering, a 2017 guidebook by Jason Chinchen, is a great resource to bouldering in the area and includes all the hot spots right outside of town that locals have been hitting for years. Bend is fortunate to have a number of options within a few minutes’ drive, including one beginner friendly spot just off the Deschutes River near the Meadow Camp trailhead.

The Holy Grail: Smith Rock State Park

If you’re up for a bit more vertical, head to the birthplace of US Sport Climbing, Smith Rock State Park, located a quick five-minute drive from Terrebonne. With many routes developed in the 1980s by climbing legend and Bend resident Alan Watts, Smith Rock has something for everyone.

“Smith remains a mecca for climbers the world over,” said Wright, who’s been guiding at the park for years. “It has something for everyone and often all within a stone’s throw of each other. You can go out with someone who can barely belay and someone who’s trying to crush and have two great routes for both, all within a thirty second walk.”

According to Watts’ 2010 guidebook, Rock Climbing Smith Rock State Park, there are over 1,800 routes at the park and surrounding areas—many set by Watts himself. With so many routes, however, it’s best to start at Smith with knowledgeable guiding services. Smith Rock Climbing School, Chockstone Climbing Guides and Now! Climbing Guides are among the most well-known, and She Moves Mountains is a great option for women looking for female guides and mentors. (Oregon State parks were closed at press time per COVID-19 precautions; check online for current access information.)

Lizzy VanPatten, owner and founder of She Moves Mountains, said guiding services help climbers navigate to the best places for their abilities. “It’s tough to find the best routes if you’re unfamiliar with an area, and especially if you’re new to the sport,” she said. “Guiding companies not only find the appropriate routes for your abilities, but also provide details like where the shade will be during a hot summer day, or the sun on a cold winter day.”

Additionally, VanPatten commented that guiding services help meet climbers where they’re at with their skill level. “Our goal is to cultivate an experience that leaves the client feeling empowered,” she said. “No matter gender, body type or experience, we believe that all people belong in climbing.”

Gear Up

Wow, gear overload! Yes, climbing has a lot of gear, and yes, it can be expensive, but fear not, you can start small. In fact, it’s recommended. Chris Wright recommends starting with rentals at the gym until you’re both knowledge about the gear, and comfortable using it. “Start small with climbing shoes and a chalkbag,” he said. “You can always rely on quality gear through guides, and then start to accumulate your own over time as you get more into the sport.”

The Essentials

CLIMBING SHOES for a beginner, climbing shoes can feel a little strange (and tight—yikes!) so it’s a good idea to rent them to start, try a few different ones to get a feel for them, and then consider purchasing at a local retail shop like Mountain Supply or REI once you’re comfortable and confident in what you like.

CHALK & CHALKBAG

GUIDEBOOKS

Level up

HELMET a must once you start venturing outside

HARNESS a great item to rent before purchasing your own

CRASHPAD for bouldering

ROPE, QUICKDRAWS and a BELAY DEVICE for longer routes

Breaking Down the Discliplines

AID CLIMBING using gear to ascend a section of rock; often used to bypass difficult sections of a route that cannot be free climbed.

BOULDERING a form of climbing typically close to the ground and without the use of a rope; minimal in nature.

FREE CLIMBING using your hands and feet to ascend natural features on a rock.

FREE SOLOING a form of free climbing without using protection. In short, mega consequences if you fall so best not be a hero (or statistic).

LEAD CLIMBING a more advanced style of climbing that requires the climber to protect themselves on the way up with a rope secured from below.

SPORT CLIMBING rock climbing using pre-placed protection such as bolts along the route, usually involving difficult or dynamic moves that allow you to push your free climbing skills.

TRADITIONAL CLIMBING rock climbing where removable protection is placed by the lead climber and removed by the second (or last) climber. Also called “trad” climbing.

TOP-ROPING a low-consequence form of climbing where the climber is secured using a rope attached to the top of the pitch, ensuring falls (if they happen) are short distances.

Making the Grades

Climbing routes are graded on a system ranging from 5.0 to 5.15c, easiest to hardest. Typically, beginner routes range from 5.0 to 5.9, while intermediate routes range from 5.10a to 5.11d, advanced 5.12a to 5.13d, and pro 5.14a to 5.15c. Central Oregon offers opportunities for all skill levels from beginner to a 5.14d at Smith Rock State Park.

Students Dive into Outdoor Industry with New OSU-Cascades Program

When students in a new outdoor products class at Oregon State University-Cascades were asked last fall to brainstorm a new product to design, Daniel Rogers suggested heated flyrod grips. An outdoor enthusiast who enjoys flyfishing on Central Oregon rivers and lakes, Rogers, 20, explained that while you can’t wear gloves fishing because of the technical maneuvering required, chilly temps can still make your hands cold.

The class liked Rogers’ idea, and began studying each phase of product development to learn what it would take to make the concept a reality. “We worked on sketches, a materials list, costs, suppliers and charted it out on Excel,” Rogers said. “Now I’m thinking start to finish about things.”

The students weren’t actually manufacturing the flyrod grips, but instead were learning the steps involved in product development as part of the first introductory class for the university’s new outdoor products degree program. The degree, which students can officially declare beginning this fall, is a project four years in the making, launched with a $250,000 gift from Bend-based insulated water bottle company HydroFlask in 2016. More than thirty outdoor products companies from Central Oregon and elsewhere, including Black Diamond, Patagonia, SmartWool and others, offered input as the program was developed.

HydroFlask’s donation helped the school hire outdoor products expert Geoff Raynak to lead the program. “When this position came up, it was just sort of perfect,” said Raynak, who spent twenty years in the industry, including engineering bicycles and more recently at Bend-based Ruffwear, which creates outdoor products for dogs.

Students attend outdoor sports expo Outdoor Retailer in Denver

Raynak said the unique degree program was developed because there is a need among outdoor products businesses for employees with a broad understanding of the industry, including its history, the design and manufacturing of products, engineering and marketing, all factors that come into play for a business. “This program didn’t come out of thin air,” Raynak said. “It came out of the industry looking for well-rounded future employees. They want students who have an idea of the scope and history of the industry, an understanding of the entire process, a respect and understanding of what it means to be stewards of the land and the experiential sense.”

For student Will Kramer, 21, switching from majoring in engineering to instead pursuing outdoor products has given him a sense of how he might turn his engineering skills into a career. “I can more clearly see my future,” said Kramer, who took Raynak’s fall outdoor products class, which focused on water products, and the winter term class, focused on winter products.

In January, the class headed to Outdoor Retailer in Denver, Colorado, where students were able to meet up with outdoor clothing and equipment manufacturer DaKine, as well as browse the hundreds of other booths showcasing companies within the outdoor products industry, collecting business cards and leaving their heads spinning with ideas for the future.

While the program is still in its infancy, it has the potential to grow quickly. Raynak said he’s responding to a three to five inquiries a week from prospective students. Part of the appeal for students is the fact that it’s located in Bend, a place where more than 100 outdoor brands call home, and where outdoor adventure is close by. “Employees or students can do cone runs at Mount Bachelor before work, or go run the river at lunch,” Raynak said.

Raynak said he’s talking with many of those local outdoor product companies about ideas to integrate with the program, through things like internships and projects, as well as bringing in outdoor experts to speak to classes. The hope is that once students graduate, they consider working for some of the same companies or developing a new product here in Central Oregon. Raynak said, “A poster child of success would indeed be someone who graduates from the program and is an entrepreneur here in Central Oregon, in the outdoor industry.”

The stories behind the Deschutes National Forest’s historic guard stations

Today, the Deschutes National Forest’s natural landscape is known for awesome beauty and plenty of recreational opportunity. But once upon a time, the forest was home to a few select families. Seasonal forest guards spent their summers in guard stations, helping rangers protect the district’s resources, often in remote locations down unpaved roads and miles from ranger stations in Bend, Sisters and Crescent. Forest guards’ families often lived there with them. Some kids grew up at guard stations, and came away from those years with great stories to tell.

Dick and Dave Robins at Paulina Lake Guard Station

In the summer of 1942, John P. Robins, his wife Helen and their young sons Dick and Dave arrived at the Paulina Lake Guard Station, just as the Civilian Conservation Corps, finished building it. District Ranger Henry Tonseth had hired Robins, a former Sisters High School principal then teaching algebra in California, as his summer forest guard in the Newberry Caldera. Robins had previous experience as a Deschutes National Forest guard and fire lookout. He’d be at Paulina Lake Guard Station for seventeen summers, and Dick and Dave would grow up there, tagging along with their parents and eventually helping their father with his work.

Dave recalled helping pack supplies to Paulina Peak Lookout on burros when just a little guy. “My job with the burros was to apply an electric shock from a battery operated [livestock prod] whenever the burros stopped walking to get them going again,” he said.

Once, when Robins and his sons were working at the start of the trail up Paulina Peak, the boys spotted a mother bear and cub. When the bear began moving toward them, the boys jumped in the truck and—taking normal precautions—locked the doors. This left their dad outside the truck. He yelled to the boys, they unlocked a door, he jumped in, and all were safe.

Dick and Dave grew up and eventually left Paulina Lake Guard Station for college and careers. But they always returned for visits to Deschutes National Forest—specifically to a cabin their mom and dad had built on a Metolius River summer home tract.

The refurbished Paulina Lake Guard Station now serves as a Newberry National Volcanic Monument summer visitor information station. Stop in on your next visit to this national monument within the Deschutes National Forest to see where Dick and Dave grew up.

Frances Wynkoop at Elk Lake Guard Station

Dick and Dave were “old hands” at Paulina Lake Guard Station when, 30 miles to the northwest, 6-year-old Frances Wynkoop arrived at Elk Lake Guard Station in June, 1947 for the first of two summers there. Her dad, Clifford Wynkoop, a teacher in Sherwood, Oregon, was assigned as forest guard there.

Fran recalls that her mother, Marjorie, who’d grown up in New York City, cried all the last 35-mile dirt road stretch from Bend to Elk Lake, wondering where her husband was taking her and their child. But when she looked out the cabin’s window the next morning, she exclaimed “I never want to leave!”

On the northwest side of the lake, just north of Elk Lake Resort and surrounded by summer homes and campgrounds, the 1929 Elk Lake Guard Station was then the hub of a major recreation area. There, both Forest Guard Wynkoop and his wife greeted forest visitors, issued campfire permits and provided information and assistance.

Young Fran pitched right in around the station—where she helped with chores and trained a chipmunk she named Whiskey—and in the field when her dad collected campground garbage in his own 1930 Model A Ford pickup.

Fran had a lot in common with the Robins boys. Her parents also built a summer home on the Metolius River not far from the Robins’ summer home. Fran spent her teenage summers there and remembers fondly the accordion duets she and Black Butte fire lookout Paul Strebel played at the Camp Sherman dances.

Last occupied by a Forest Service recreation technician in the mid-1990s, the historic Elk Lake Guard Station was restored by Forest Service personnel and Passport in Time program volunteers between 1998 and 2001. The historic station was reopened as a visitor information center and historic site in 2001, welcoming thousands of Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway visitors every summer since.

Forest Guard Frances Wynkoop and visitors at
the Elk Lake Guard Station in the late 1940s.

Each station tells a story

Other historic guard stations along Deschutes National Forest roads have similar stories and offer enjoyable visitor experiences. Built by the CCC in the mid-1930s at the headwaters of the river for which it is named, Fall River Guard Station has been restored and available as a recreation rental cabin for more than a decade.

Historic Deschutes Bridge Guard Station, along the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway on the Deschutes River about three miles south of its Little Lava Lake headwaters, was recently restored and is scheduled to be available as a recreation rental soon. Behind this CCC-built cabin, an old log structure of the first Deschutes Bridge Guard Station compound remains.

Further south, in the Crescent Ranger District, historic Crescent Lake Guard Station has been a recreation rental for several years. And, to the north in the Sisters Ranger District, the restored Suttle Lake Guard Station is a rental property of The Lodge at Suttle Lake.

40 Miles from Bend, Escape to House on Metolius

The drive down the soft, red dirt road toward the House on Metolius property is quiet and still, and your regular GPS might struggle to bring you there. But following the step-by-step directions from the general manager, it was easy to find the Tamarack Cabin, a two-bedroom cottage overlooking the Metolius River and one of a handful of lodging options on the property.

A friend and I arrived within about ten minutes of each other on a Friday afternoon, her after a two-hour drive from Eugene and myself after a 45-minute drive north from Bend. We settled into our rooms inside a newly finished rental, the smell of fresh-cut lumber still lingering when we opened the front door.

The family-owned House on Metolius property is rich with history, used as a fishing retreat from the early 1900s, and popular with visitors from Seattle, Portland and San Francisco. One such visitor was John Zehntbauer, a founder of Jantzen, the swimwear company known for its iconic diving girl logo. Zehntbauer purchased a portion of the property in 1929 as a summer retreat for his family. Meanwhile, another corner of the property was developed into a lodge, called House on Metolius, operated by Eleanor Bechen, a co-founder of downtown Bend’s Pine Tavern. By the 1970s, Eleanor’s House on Metolius was merged with the rest of the property, and today it all remains with the Lundgren family, descendants of Zehntbauer.

Kept in the family for decades, the Lundgrens opened up the estate to public gatherings and rentals in 2010, offering up their 10,000-square-foot, eight-bedroom, eight-bath “Main House” and four other cabins on the property as rentals, including “Eleanor’s Cabin,” the original House on Metolius structure. The cabins are spread out on a hillside overlooking the winding Metolius River, a big open meadow and groves of willow trees. From most areas of the 200-acre property, the focal point is a snow-capped Mount Jefferson perched above the crystal blue Metolius.

“People will come out here for their peace and quiet all year-round,” said Rachel Gonzalez, general manager for House on Metolius. “It’s a very private experience and it feels like a world away.”

In 2019, the family finished construction on two additional two-bedroom cabins, Tamarack and Manzanita, expanding the lodging portfolio to seven rentals across the estate. The newer cabins offer a modern but traditional feel, with stainless steel counters and open shelving paired with wood-trimmed walls and black and white photos of people enjoying the property over the years. Two window seats are the perfect nooks to cozy up with Pendleton blankets for reading or sipping coffee and looking out at the river.

Together with the main house, the cabins provide ample lodging for a company retreat, family reunion or wedding. They’re also available for nightly bookings via Airbnb or the House on Metolius website. “It’s a place where everybody can be together,” Gonzalez said.

After settling into our space, we headed out for a walk around the property, blazing our own trail across the meadow, toward the west. There are over 100 natural springs on the property, Gonzalez said, with many trickling into the Metolius River. We found the smallest cabin on the land, Power House, a studio apartment above a riverside hydro-electric plant, used to power the property from the 1930s until 1950, when Central Oregon Co-Op brought power to rural parts of the state. The studio, once occupied by the plant operator, was renovated as a guest cabin in the 1990s.

Each cabin on the property has its own kitchen and dining area, and small outdoor grill, ready for guests to cook up whatever they desire. If cooking doesn’t sound relaxing, guests can venture to nearby Black Butte Ranch, Suttle Lodge or Lake Creek Lodge for dining, or pick up a deli sandwich or Mexican food a few miles down the road in Camp Sherman. The Camp Sherman Store is also full of fly-fishing gear, souvenir trinkets and a good selection of snacks and drinks.

After packing up from our one-night getaway at House on Metolius, my friend and I stopped by Camp Sherman, which was buzzing with visitors on an unseasonably warm early spring day. We parked near the store and set out for a quick stroll along the river trail. It turned into a two-mile walk along the shady, flat, path, winding past campsites and family cabins and offering views of ducks, geese and fish flopping in and out of the babbling river—the perfect end to a peaceful weekend getaway on the Metolius River.

‘Through Our Eyes’ Photos Showcase #CentralOregonStrong

Staying home saved lives, so that’s what we did. We stayed six feet apart. We sewed masks. We created things. We cared for one another. We made the best of it, and kept hope alive in our hearts. Bend Magazine reached out to the community to submit photos of life during #stayhome. Here are some of our favorites of the many photos we received from you, the greater Bend community. Together, we are Central Oregon Strong.

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4 Ideas for Tile Style in the Kitchen

Tiles might be one of the most fun home design surfaces to consider. Tiles come in all shapes and sizes, as many colors as you could ever imagine, and textures to add depth and visual accents to even the smallest, most simple room. In fact, when it comes to tile style, your biggest challenge might be deciding which of so many choices you want to make your own. Here, we consider a few options for your next remodel or new build.

Accent tiles

Add a random pop of color or texture to an otherwise clean, white tile surface for a bright, playful look in your kitchen.

Mix it up

Can’t decide if you want circles, rectangles, squares or octagons? Take a few different geometric shapes and textures and go wild with your home decor project.

Metal accents

Adding brass, stainless and even mirrored acccents to natural tiles is a hot trend this season. Match your fixtures or not—now is the time to play with design.

Monochromatic patterns

This tile pattern from Walker Zanger is on trend with 70s-inspired patterns and distinct colorways. Each tile is adorned in kaleidoscopic shapes, sharp lines and rounded corners, in a trio of earth tones.

High Desert Rookie Seth Brown Makes the Oakland A’s

Long shot lefty and Sisters local Seth Brown got his call up to the majors late last August. Not long after, he made his first play for the Oakland A’s, dropping a base hit down the left field line and picking up his first career RBI (run batted in) as part of a 19-4 win against the Kansas City Royals. You could say that things were off to a great start. “Congratulations, Seth Brown!” hollered the announcer to the nation. “Triple-A’s or big leagues—it doesn’t matter, bat still works!’’

NBC Sports’ Ben Ross calls Brown’s 2019 batting stats a historic start—Brown was the first player in Oakland A’s history to collect ten hits in the first five games of his career.

Brown, a first baseman and outfielder, hails from Klamath Falls and Medford. He graduated from Medford High School, went on to play college ball for Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon, and later for Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, where he earned a degree in law enforcement.

In 2015, the Oakland A’s brought Brown into the minors fold late in the nineteenth round of the draft. Brown said he got the call up while having a normal day around the house with his family. “I remember Jim Coffman, the scout, said, hey, you’re going to be an Oakland A, we gotta get you a pair of white cleats!”

Slow and steady, Brown worked his way up the minors ladder, starting at the AZL Athletics, and moving through seasons with the Vermont Lake Monster, Stockton Ports, Midland RockHounds, Toros Del Este (Dominican Winter League) and finally, the Las Vegas Aviators, from which he was ultimately called up to the big leagues.

Alex Hall of the A’s Prospect Watch calls 2016 Brown’s breakout year, likely due to the thirty homers he hit, compared to single digits the year prior. Brown said the key was to quiet his mind. “Minors is a long road and you’re grinding and it’s not for everyone. Long days, bus travel, standing in lines at fast food restaurants late night after games. It wears on the body and mind. Eventually I learned how to work as hard as I could every day but also have fun.”

Finding that balance helped Brown finally achieve what he’d long dreamed of. “When I got the call to the big league,” he said, “I was hitting in the cages that day, it was pretty unexpected. It was my manager’s birthday and he had gotten the best present that day, he got to tell me I was going to the big leagues. I tried to hold it together. I called my dad first. All I could say was, ‘I did it.’ It’s a moment that I will never forget—I had accomplished my dream.”

Some have called Brown a late bloomer, as he didn’t make the minors until 23 and is a major’s rookie at 27. However, his 2019 stats speak for themselves. In 112 games, he boasted a .297 batting average with thirty-seven home runs and 104 RBIs. ‘Sleeper agent’ or ‘ace up the sleeve’ seem better suited metaphors.

Don’t be surprised to see Brown and his wife Brittaney, a Sisters schoolteacher and baseball coach, giving pointers to local kids, sandlot-style, this off-season. “For kids looking to set high goals, don’t ever let someone tell you you can’t do something,” Brown said. “Any goal can be yours if you’re willing to put in the work…and say thank you to everybody who supports and roots for you.”

2020 Major League Baseball & COVID-19

In response to ongoing pandemic precautions, Major League Baseball has suspended all operations to include the remainder of Spring Training games and to delay the start of the 2020 regular season. The decision came in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the thirty clubs and the MLB Players Association. “The clubs remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins. We will continue to monitor ongoing events and undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts, and urge all baseball fans to follow suit,” said the MLB in a news release.

Central Oregon Spring Art Exhibit Update

Drawing on the Spiritual in Nature

Art by Dominique Kongsli on display at Wild Oregon Foods

From the wave sets where she surfed in Southern California to the high desert of Central Oregon where she moved to three years ago, painter Dominique Kongsli draws inspiration from the world around her. As a newbie in the desert, at first, she didn’t know how to approach the landscape which was “so vastly different than my former coastal domain.” But a collection of her recent work at Wild Oregon Foods (in the Bend Factory Outlet Stores) reveals the transition to aspen trees and manzanita, mountains, high lakes and owls.

The exhibit, “Forest Feast,” presents abstract paintings that fuse human and animal elements, such as eyes and antlers, with tree bark in strong patterns and colors. “My work tells stories of walks in the forest, of how the forests are alive, and have character,” she said. “They are sacred and that’s why I infuse gold leaf in my paintings—gold leaf was traditionally used to show the presence of God and the divine.”

The show also contains abstractions of familiar Central Oregon places, such as Mount Bachelor or Crescent Lake. “They contain an essence which points to the connections between spirit and earth, and are a joyful celebration of beauty,” she said.

The paintings are both whimsical and graphic, the latter pulling from her background as a freelance graphic designer. She has a fine art degree from Pepperdine University and a master’s in fine art from Claremont Graduate University and teaches graphic design at Central Oregon Community College.

“My message is that the world around us is alive, and that we need to take better care of it so that its beauty and resources last for future generations,” she said. “I want to create a consciousness of our footprint on the earth.”

The “Forest Feast” show will be on display through August or go to domkofineart.com to see more of her work.

Rimrock Gallery

April, May & June

Rimrock Gallery has begun a “2nd Saturday Event” from 1 to 4 p.m. in Prineville which kicks off each month’s lineup of artists and activities.

From April 11 to May 6, the gallery will feature two award-winning landscape artists from California—Willo Balfrey and Jim McVicker—as well as Colorado sculptor Mark Lundeen, who will unveil a bronze golfer, the last one available from a 100-edition casting.

From May 9 to June 10, see the paintings of Steven Homsher of Colorado and Craig Zuger of Oregon. Homsher portrays farm and animal scenes, while Zuger focuses on the natural beauty of places such as the Owyhee River Canyon and Steens Mountain. Sculptures by George and Cammie Lundeen from Colorado round out the show.

From June 13 to July 8, a Western-themed show of rodeo, horse and wildlife art will be displayed. Artists include Ginny Harding of Washington, Meagan Blessing of Montana and J. Broderick of Oregon. Harding’s pencil renderings are based on thirty years of traveling the national rodeo and race circuits.

Peterson/Roth Gallery

May

The spring exhibition that opens May 1 features paintings by Glenn Ness and Scott Switzer. Ness captures everyday scenes with sharp realistic images and contrasting light and shadow. He paints both rural and cityscapes, often telling the story of inhabited places, sometimes invoking the presence of people without incorporating them in the paintings.

Switzer’s work is full of abstraction and symbolism of nature, people and the animals. He has written that his paintings “capture the essence of nature and how I identify with my subjects. I fall into the land dreaming rather than wanting to conquer it.” The works are colorful and expressive of everything from animals to ski slopes to humans holding things.

Peterson/Roth Gallery represents a wide array of contemporary artists and is open seven days a week.

At Liberty

May & June

Paintings by Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, a contemporary Klamath Modoc artist from Modoc Point, Oregon, convey themes of Western colonization on indigenous cultures. Her show, “A Lie Nation, Alienation,” will be at At Liberty in downtown Bend in May and June. The recent work was influenced by the music of A Tribe Called Red and the poetry and lyrics of the late John Trudell in the track, “A Lie Nation.”

Using indigenous art practices, she harvests wild pigments like charcoal from burned forest floors or clay from the landscape and mixes them with acrylic gel medium to create earth pigments. But she also takes found objects and uses them as stencils with aerosol paint to reflect street art and graffiti.

Her work is widely collected and exhibited in such places as the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Missoula Art Museum and the Medici Fortress in Cortona, Italy. She received an MFA in painting from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and an MFA in contemporary art practices at Portland State University. At Liberty is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

Inside the Tumalo Home of Actor and Director Eric Close

Spending time with Eric Close is like hanging out with a friend. You can swap hiking stories, share intel on restaurant openings, discuss your favorite movies from last year’s BendFilm Festival and talk about the pros and cons of keeping junipers as part of your landscape. He lives modestly on acreage just outside of Bend with his wife, Keri, two dogs and three horses.

Close’s regular-guy attitude masks a career that has brought him fame and recognition. He’s worked with the likes of Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper and even the former Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who Close hired for one of her first acting jobs. His best friend of twenty-eight years, Dr. Robert Lum, a radiation oncologist in Ventura, California, said, “Eric’s a celebrity but he does not view himself as more than anybody else. He’s a regular person.”

That perception is echoed among those who know him. When he’s out in Central Oregon, people may approach him and say things like, “You look familiar,” or “Sorry to bother you but aren’t you the guy on ‘Nashville?’” “It doesn’t bother me at all,” he said. “Everybody is really friendly and genuinely excited to meet an actor from one of their favorite shows. I try never to ignore anybody or miss an opportunity to engage with my fans.”

An actor’s life

The Close family’s migration to Central Oregon started with the ABC drama, “McKenna,” filmed in Bend in 1994. Close rode the train from Los Angeles to Chemult and rented a home in Tumalo to be on location with costars Chad Everett and Jennifer Love Hewitt. “The show was kind of like “Fantasy Island” set in the mountains,” he said. “We filmed all over Central Oregon featuring many of its stunning locations.” The show conveyed upbeat stories about a family of wilderness outfitters helping people overcome life’s difficulties through challenging adventures in the outdoors.

Despite being cancelled after six months, “McKenna” proved pivotal to Close’s life, career and future connection to Bend. During filming, Close proposed to Keri in the scenic meadow at Todd Lake. He told his future bride that “if we ever have two nickels to rub together, I’d love to have a little cabin in Bend.” Next to San Diego where he was raised, he added, there was no place he loved more than Bend.

After “McKenna,” Close returned to Los Angeles where his career took off, landing roles on TV series like “Sisters,” “Dark Skies,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Now and Again,” and Steven Spielberg’s miniseries, “Taken,” for which he was nominated for two Saturn Awards for best actor.

But it was the crime drama “Without a Trace,” in which he played FBI agent Martin Fitzgerald, that put Close in front of millions of viewers. The CBS program aired on prime time from 2002 to 2009 and was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series award by the Screen Actors Guild. After the series ended, Close landed memorable guest appearances on long-running TV shows, such as “Criminal Minds,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and the hit legal drama, “Suits.”

And then came ABC’s “Nashville,” a musical drama which ran for six seasons. Close starred as Mayor Teddy Conrad, husband to country music superstar Rayna Jaymes, played by Connie Britton. The series was filmed in Nashville, requiring Close to be there for three years while his wife remained in Los Angeles with their two daughters. He jokes that because he traveled frequently between the two cities, the Southwest Airline crews would greet him with, “It’s the mayor of Southwest!”

Close has also acted in movies, most notably American Sniper released in 2014 in which he played DIA Agent Snead opposite Bradley Cooper.

Coming home to Central Oregon

In 2004, Eric and Keri began looking for property in Bend. Their friend, Troy Meeder, cofounder of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch (for which Close serves on the board), connected them with a neighbor who was thinking of selling.

“Troy put together a fishing trip on the Deschutes River, and while we were on the river, the neighbor and I struck up a conversation about the house. He told me what he wanted. I told him what I could pay,” Close recalled. Before the trip was over, they’d agreed on a price and sealed it with a handshake. Thirty days later, Eric and Keri were owners of a home on five acres in Tumalo.

For the next twelve years, the Closes continued to reside in Southern California where Eric could be near Hollywood and work. But they returned to Bend and their property as often as possible. Preparing to become empty nesters, the couple began to wonder where they wanted to spend the next phase of their lives. Could they make Bend their permanent home and still allow Eric to maintain a successful career in entertainment? “There were always tears when we’d leave Bend. We loved it so much,” Keri recalled.

Around 2010, Eric began to work everywhere but in Los Angeles. So, in 2017, the Closes decided to make the move. Their daughters were about to head to college. It seemed like a good time to be where they loved the healthy lifestyle, could spend more time outdoors and support the community.

Vacation-turned-family home

In the early years of property ownership, the Closes made a few changes to what they fondly refer to as “Getaway Ranch.”

“Friends and extended family have come here over the years to get some much-needed R&R from their busy lives,” said Keri. “But it needed a little TLC. Once we made it our permanent home, we updated it and made it our own.”

For the past two-and-a-half years, the couple has been remodeling and expanding the original footprint. They added a detached three-bay garage, incorporated a front entry and completely renovated the kitchen and media room. Keri designed the kitchen around her love of cooking and entertaining, “with a little help from Pinterest,” she joked.

They purposely retained the home’s rustic nature. “We want people to kick back, relax and enjoy the view,” Eric said. One of his favorite spots is the jacuzzi on the cedar deck with views of the Cascades spanning from Mount Bachelor to Mount Jefferson and their horses grazing in the paddock below. “It’s a wonderful place to be, very peaceful and calming,” he said.

One thing they discovered about the property was the existence of a few buried trash heaps left by a family who lived in the area in the 19th century. “I bought a metal detector and would go treasure hunting with our kids,” Eric said. “We started finding things like skeleton keys and children’s toys. The girls called it the treasure museum.”

The next episode

The couple is producing a film based on Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch cofounder Kim Meeder’s best-selling novel, Hope Rising: Stories from the Ranch. Keri wrote the script, and Eric will direct the movie in and around Bend. “One of my goals is to make movies and TV content right here in Oregon. It’s so beautiful and diverse,” he said. Both Closes look forward to the annual BendFilm Festival for which Eric has served as a juror in past years.

In addition to serving on the board of Crystal Peaks, Eric’s career has allowed the couple to become more involved in local and global charities. While filming a public service announcement for CBS Cares in South Africa, the couple learned about the Africa Foundation which helps people in rural communities by providing health clinics, schools and clean water. Since getting involved with the foundation, Keri joined the board and the couple has raised enough funds to build two preschools and an Orphans and Vulnerable Children Center in South Africa. Part of the support comes from net profits on the sale of Keri’s handmade jewelry sold online (prescreative.com).

For fun and exercise, the Closes take full advantage of Central Oregon’s trails, rivers, mountains and golf courses as often as possible. They like to take their horses for long rides in nearby federal lands or go camping at Big Lake.

Eric pursues his passion for golf on numerous courses around the area and had the rare privilege, even among celebrities, of playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament. “My best friend Robert was my caddy for eight of the ten years I played,” he recalled. “In 2015, I finally made the cut to play in the final round on Sunday. Making the cut is the coveted prize for the amateurs and you get an umbrella that says, ‘I Made the Cut,’” he laughed. “It was awesome standing on the 18th green with friends Jim Nantz, Nick Faldo and Clint Eastwood.”

So, if you see someone who looks familiar fly fishing on the Deschutes or Metolius Rivers, sipping a microbrew at The Bite in Tumalo or drinking coffee at Loony Bean of Bend, it might just be the celebrity among us. Feel free to say hello.

Craft Cocktails From Local Distilleries

Bend might be known for having the highest number of micro-breweries per capita in the nation, but distillers across Central Oregon are gaining traction. The demand for craft cocktails has led to a creative mélange of spirits and components by local mixologists. This spring, try one of these delicious concoctions.

Cascade Distillery

Best Bloody

Not for the faint of heart: Cascade Distillery infuses forty pounds of slow-smoked jalapeños in each batch of their Chipotle Vodka, resulting in a smoky vodka with a punch of heat. Their “Best Bloody” features the Double Gold Medal Award-winning spirit, perfectly concocted with Worcestershire, tomato juice, lime, salt and pepper. The Sisters-based distillery garnishes their smoky-forward cocktail with olives from neighboring Sisters Olive & Nut Co.—mild and nutty, with a firm texture.

Stihl Whiskey Bar

Ruby Rose ⇧

Rosemary and grapefruit are like soul sisters—there isn’t a combination in which these two don’t showcase the sweet, aromatic, bitter notes of whatever is being served. Stihl Whiskey Bar further supports these anecdotal findings with the Ruby Rose. Behind the red curtains at the downtown speakeasy, rosemary-infused gin, fresh grapefruit and agave are served over a big ice cube in this vigorously refreshing intoxicant.

New Basin Distilling Company & Navidi

Margarita

Vinegar and spirits are not a newfound combination, yet they’re gracing themselves on menus more often than before. New Basin Distilling Company in Madras has collaborated with Navidi’s Olive Oils & Vinegars to create The Mercantile & Spirit House, which specializes in low-glycemic balsamic cocktails. Using farm-to-table liquors—like their Stagger Gin, Strong American Whiskey and First Cut Vodka—and just a few splashes of club soda, patrons can choose their mixer from one (or more) of Navidi’s impressive flavored vinegars. For a springtime refresher, try the “margarita” made with gin, club soda and key-lime white balsamic vinegar.

Bos Taurus

Oaxacan Mule ⇧

Mezcal is making its way to signature cocktail menus across the United States. In 2018, consumption rose nearly 33 percent from previous years. Bos Taurus’ Oaxacan Mule pairs Del Maguey Vida mezcal with freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice lime, and ginger beer made in-house by lead bartender, Max Gellman. Poured into a traditional copper Moscow mule, the libation is served with a lime wedge rolled in Tajín and Hawaiian volcanic black sea salt.

Crater Lake Spirits

⇦ Rye Oh My

Crater Lake Spirits’ newest release, Rock & Rye, offers a ready-to-serve blend of Rye whiskey, dark cherry, blood orange and bitters, but they’re taking it to the next level. The Rye Oh My combines Rock & Rye with Ablis CBD sparkling lemon water, grapefruit and fresh lemon. Keep an eye out for this specialty cocktail making its way onto the seasonal cocktails list early this spring at the downtown tasting room and the Tumalo distillery.

Retro Styles Are Breathing New Life Into The Kitchen

Many Central Oregonians are proud of our last-in-the-world VHS video store, like the idea of a rounded silver travel trailer tucked in the driveway for weekend escapes and probably have a vintage cruiser bike around somewhere.

Though, for most of us, retro styles don’t often come inside (except occasionally into our closets), and they would rarely come near our kitchens—rooms we’d rather fill with the newest tools and gadgets meant to make cooking easier.

But the latest trend in kitchen design involves a throwback to the glossy, brightly colored retro appliances of our parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Some are new, inspired pieces and others are truly antique restorations. And depending on appliance, budget and look, going retro doesn’t necessarily mean compromising modern technology or function.

So move over stainless steel, there’s a new way to make a statement in the kitchen. Intrigued? Consider these three options when pursuing your kitchen’s retro resurgence:

photo Marina Storm, designer chad esslinger design

Retro inspired

As part of the retro kitchen appliance revival, a growing number of companies are debuting lines of fridges, stoves and other appliances with bright colors, curvy angles, chrome trim and classic hinge handles.
Italian appliance brand Smeg has been around for more than seventy years, and launched its first line of 1950s-style refrigerators in the late 1990s. In 2014, the company added additional products in the 50s style, including toasters and kettles.

Another company specializing in everything retro for kitchens is Big Chill, which offers up ovens, dishwashers, fridges and more in colors like Beach Blue, Buttercup Yellow, Pink Lemonade and 197 others.

The appliances are energy efficient and state-of-the-art, but if you’re still on the fence, try a dishwasher panel to give your existing appliance a colorful facelift, without the full commitment.

DIY restoration

If retro-inspired appliances don’t feel like the real deal, a DIY restoration project might. Find your tribe of vintage appliance enthusiasts online, at an antique shop or at an appliance store that offers restored pieces.

The internet is home to many others seeking or selling vintage appliances poised for a second life in a new kitchen. And don’t be afraid to search online for answers to specific upgrades or fixes. There are vintage appliance restoration forums with someone who might have an answer.

Restored and ready to use

Dreaming that someone else will find, restore and then sell a vintage appliance ready for its new life in your kitchen? It might remain a dream. Because of the knowledge, time and money that goes into restoration, most are kept by their owners. However, some retailers advertise newly restored pieces available for purchase. Check appliance stores, online classifieds and newspapers and you may get lucky.

Go Little

A bit apprehensive about switching out your built-in filtered water dispenser for something that reminds you of a childhood visit to grandma’s house? Ease into the world of retro appliances with something small, for your kitchen’s tabletop. In addition to Smeg’s sleek juicers, toasters and espresso machines and Big Chill’s microwaves, nearly every major appliance company is squeezing into the vintage market with their take on a retro mini fridge. Find them in colors like Bold Red, Silver Moonbeam and Mint Green, and take them for a spin on your kitchen counter.

Mission Building Offers One-Of-A-Kind Results

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When Francis Senger started Mission Building in Bend in 2008, he was focused on completing the historic renovation of a home downtown. During the recession, he continued to take on historic remodeling projects and added some small commercial jobs. Before long, the business had found its niche in Central Oregon, as a company focused on bringing the custom renovation approach to all projects.

Senger said he’s taken what he’s learned from multi-faceted custom projects, including historic remodels, and used the same sensibility with every job—building trust with clients, maintaining good relationships and taking a genuine interest in delivering a finished project everyone is proud of. “We bring that custom sensibility to commercial work, too,” Senger said. “In a sense, everything becomes custom. Certainly every client’s needs are custom, regardless of the level of finish.”

Inside one of Mission Building’s latest renovation projects in Redmond, custom elements shine through to highlight the history of the space. Once a bar with an attic on Sixth Street, Mission Building worked with the property’s new owner to transform it into two upstairs apartments and a fresh new commercial space downstairs for Ida’s Cupcake Café, a popular bakery. The new design is fresh and modern, with a nod to the building’s origins, repurposing original wood as shelves and benches, incorporating exposed steel beams and adding new brick walls throughout. It all comes together in a way Senger describes, with a smile, as “modern-historic-industrial.”

Mission Building’s custom work can also be found in downtown Bend, where the company renovated the historic E.M. Thompson Building. The 1915 structure and former home of Ranch Records was gutted and reimagined for Lark Mountain Modern, a home decor and design store on Wall Street, along with an upstairs space leased by the Tower Theatre Foundation.

Observing a building’s history and getting creative to incorporate it back into the finished design is what Senger and his team do best. This can be seen firsthand at the company’s new headquarters on Alden Avenue in Bend. The old Franz Bakery distribution center had collapsing structural elements, a failed roof, and other needs, but Senger thought restoring it would be right up his alley. After a new roof, new beams and footings, new garage doors, and a redesigned office interior, Mission Building has a new place to call home. “We took almost two years on this project,” said Senger, whose team worked on the new office between other jobs. “The client’s needs always come first.”

A steel banister leads downstairs to the company conference room, where modern and industrial styles meld together.

Today the space almost seems brand new, unless you consider the finer details—like exposed wood beams and original concrete and maple floors. Large glass windows were added throughout to create an open, bright space and the company’s signature industrial meets modern with a touch of history vibe is present throughout. Inside a modern entryway is the company conference room, which includes a table made from a handful of shined up two-by-fours on their side lit up by state-of-the-art hanging LED lights. “I really like the look of slick modern elements against the rustic industrial backdrop of a warehouse,” said Senger, who was careful not to design the space as too “industrial.” He hopes the office will reflect the company’s style, as a business that can do anything—from medical offices and storage facilities to restaurants and residential, and of course any project with a little history behind it.

Senger said Mission Building is projected to do double the business in 2020 that it did last year, and exponentially more than a decade ago. But he’s careful to point out the growth is organic and purposeful, ensuring each project gets the time and attention it needs to be a success for the clients involved.

Francis Senger’s office at the new Mission Building headquarters on Alden Avenue in Bend.

Today Mission Building has about twenty employees, and each is focused on how they play a role in building strong relationships with clients. “You’ve got to care about the client’s project as much as they do,” Senger said. “We don’t seek jobs, we seek relationships, I don’t really know any other way to do it.”

Mission Building | 479 NE Alden, Bend | 541-550-2747 | missionbuilding.com

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Mockingbird Gallery Celebrates 30 Years

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Downtown Bend’s Mockingbird Gallery is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2020. Surviving and thriving for thirty years is no small feat for an art gallery, especially in a modest-sized mountain town. “Art galleries come and go,” said owner Jim Peterson. “It’s something to be said that we are still here, still part of Bend and this amazing community after three decades. It’s something to celebrate, and that’s what we’re going to do—celebrate.”

This July, plan to attend Mockingbird Gallery’s 30th Anniversary exhibit, which will include works from the gallery’s representative 48 artists, plus new works from five guest artists. The exhibit opens July 3, with an artist reception planned for July 11. “The public is invited to come by, browse the work and enjoy the beauty,” said Peterson. The 53 works of art will be made available for sale by ‘purchase through draw’; hopeful buyers place bid forms in a box near the work, and at the end of a show, the winning purchaser is drawn from the box. “Purchase by draw is a different format, a fun and unique way to celebrate.”

Peterson and his wife Nathalie bought Mockingbird Gallery in 2007, from original owner Pamela Claflin. Jim got his start in the art gallery business in Scottsdale, Arizona, where at the age of 20, he became the shipping and receiving clerk for a fine arts gallery. He stayed on for twenty years. “I learned the business there, but after a while, we were ready to move on from Scottsdale,” he said. After a few trips to Bend, the couple took a “leap of faith” and bought Mockingbird Gallery—only to fall into a “rough beginning,” as shortly thereafter, the recession hit Central Oregon and the rest of the country hard.

“Ours is a story of survival,” said Peterson. “We learned a lot about how to run a business and came out even stronger. Within two years we were back on firm footing.” Since, Mockingbird has grown and evolved to be a cornerstone of downtown and a true gem for art collectors from Bend, Central Oregon and beyond. “We have a strong tourist base, and Portland is a big part of our success,” said Jim, who frequently crosses the mountains to help clients hang works of art in their homes.

At the end of the day, Nathalie and Jim Peterson’s philosophy is to promote art across all spectrums. “Our goal is to not only sell art, but to provide the community with a great cultural experience,” explained Peterson. “Coming into an art gallery should be a departure from reality, a bit of good medicine.”

Check the Mockingbird Gallery website for the latest information about viewing this summer’s exhibits.

Mockingbird Gallery | 869 NW Wall Street, Suite 100 | 541-388-2107 | Mockingbird-gallery.com

Peterson Roth Gallery | 206 NW Oregon Suite 1 | 541-633-7148 | Petersonroth.com

Indoor Gardens Bring The Outdoors Inside

Spring unfurls slowly in Central Oregon, leaving many of us hungry for fresh greenery—both for our senses and our dinner plates. Fortunately, cultivating an indoor garden can satisfy those cravings all year long. Today’s indoor gardens are more than a few scattered houseplants. They are creative design elements that merge aesthetics with health, and blend culinary delights into interior design.

nature, relocated

With a growing season that barely stretches from summer solstice to fall equinox, Bend’s climate challenges traditional gardeners. Moving the garden indoors solves that problem, without requiring much real estate. Vertical wall gardens, kitchen tower systems or clusters of beautiful potted plants allow gardeners to maintain the best light and growing conditions, no matter the season. If the allure of year-round fresh veggies and greens isn’t enough, bringing the garden inside has additional benefits.

Indoor gardens are like nature, relocated. Just as a walk in the woods boosts mood and mental health, living among indoor plants lowers stress and increases creativity. Those organic colors and textures complement the clean lines of modern décor, but that pop of lushness adds more than visual interest. According to NASA, indoor plants scrub chemicals from the air as they process carbon dioxide into oxygen. Aloe, ivy, lilies and snake plants boost air quality and remove toxins that off-gas from carpets and building materials.

Indoor gardens for foodies

Foodie gardeners begin with their favorite herbs: chives, cilantro, basil and oregano all grow well indoors. Every kitchen garden should include microgreens, too—sprouts of kale, arugula or spinach with their first true leaves. Microgreens add an intense bite of flavor and a punch of nutrients to salads and sandwiches. Harvest them early, or let leafy greens mature and snip full leaves as needed. Deeper pots can hold baby carrots, radishes and beets while their feathery tops add dimension to the garden.

In northern latitudes, even the sunniest windowsill won’t provide enough light for indoor edibles, which need fourteen to sixteen hours of sunlight. Fluorescent and LED grow bulbs provide full-spectrum light without the heat of incandescent bulbs; the ballasts and cords tuck into garden shelving or tower systems for a tidier look. Complete growing systems range from small countertop options to vertical towers with pockets for dozens of plants. Some systems use a growing medium for soil; others go totally dirt-free and feed the plants with nutrient rich water.

Living walls: The ultimate indoor garden

Succulents, bromeliads, aromatic ground covers and reindeer moss … oh my! Vertical gardens bring life to empty walls and transform bland spaces. In rooms with limited window views, a living wall serves as a natural oasis. Home office wall gardens not only inspire productivity, they muffle distracting sound from the rest of the house. Hung over the bath, the plants create a relaxing mood (and they benefit from the extra humidity).

A wide variety of frames and modular containers can be configured to fit spaces small or large. Many DIYers start with wooden pallets, a water-resistant backing and plastic pockets for individual plants. Some plant arrangements create undulating waves of color, others are freeform clusters with occasional blooms of lavender or thyme. There are no rules. In fact, not all wall gardens are living—a frame of dried mosses and interesting twigs becomes a work of organic art that requires no maintenance at all.

By starting indoor gardens in spring, nature lovers can have living walls and herb towers well established and thriving by autumn. A little planning and cultivating now makes the shift from outdoor to indoor gardening a seamless transition, guaranteeing a dose of green when we need it most.

Terrebonne Draws Oregonians Looking For A Rural Lifestyle

From Terrebonne over the phone, Matt Lissignoli said, “I’m sitting here looking at Smith Rock right now.” Not a bad view for a home and office.

Lissignoli and his wife Kendra have owned Smith Rock Ranch in Terrebonne for almost twenty years. They relocated to the small rural town after living in Powell Butte and working in Culver for five years. Looking for a better climate for their farm and a town where they could find a community, they landed in Terrebonne.

“Terrebonne was about as far north as you can go to still draw people from Bend,” said Lissignoli, “and about as far south as you can go to still have a long growing season.”

Terrebonne is split by Highway 97, which draws a lot of traffic for their ranch, particularly in the fall with their corn maze and pumpkin patch. The location means they are close enough to Redmond for access to everyday needs, but far enough away to have a property with ample space. The view of Smith Rock doesn’t hurt either.

“This property gave us a place where we could have our entire farm, and live here and run a business,” Lissignoli said.

In the more densely populated Bend and Redmond, those types of properties are few and far between. But outlying towns like Terrebonne offer those who seek a more rural lifestyle, close-knit communities and unobstructed view of the high desert landscapes a place to plant roots.

Growing Business

Terrebonne, French for “good earth,” is an unincorporated community between Redmond and Madras. With around 500 residential properties, Terrebonne is small but growing. Its population, based on the last census, was close to 1,200 people, although that number has undoubtedly increased alongside Central Oregon’s population boom. As home prices in Bend and Redmond skyrocket, homebuyers are looking to Terrebonne for more space and affordability.

Business is growing in Terrebonne as well. Early this year, the Thriftway was purchased by Rudy’s Market, Inc., the employee-owned company that runs Newport Market in Bend and Oliver Lemon’s in Sisters. CEO Lauren Johnson said the revamped grocery store, now called Oliver Lemon’s as well, was welcomed with open arms by the Terrebonne community.

“What a great group of people,” Johnson said. “We couldn’t be happier to be here.”

With the purchase, the local grocery chain now has three stores and 160 employees. In Terrebonne, they rehired all the previous employees as well as the owner. In addition to stocking essential grocery supplies, they are also bringing in more products from other Central Oregon companies, including Sparrow Bakery, Village Baker and Bonta gelato.

With population and tourism booming, purchasing the store was an easy decision for the company.

“We saw it as a tremendous opportunity. We’re just taking what was already a good store and making it a really great store,” Johnson said. “We view ourselves as a neighborhood market first and foremost.”

Other local businesses in Terrebonne include Crescent Moon Ranch, a popular alpaca ranch, Base Camp Pizza, Terrebonne Depot, Sun Spot Drive In, Redpoint Climber’s Supply and more. For those that make Terrebonne their permanent home, as well as those who come to visit, the area offers a small town lifestyle with all the amenities that come with living in Central Oregon.

Residents are just minutes away from one of the most popular state parks in Oregon, Smith Rock. Because of the moderate climate, the hiking and climbing destination is open year-round. Other outdoor recreation includes fishing the Crooked River and swimming in nearby Lake Billy Chinook.

Real Estate

The median home price in Terrebonne sits in the mid-$300,000s, according to Zillow, with home values rising steadily over the past decade. Whether buyers are looking for a single-family home or a large property with opportunities for farming or ranching, Terrebonne offers a wealth of options. For families considering a move to the area, Terrebonne has an elementary school in town, and middle and high schoolers attend the Redmond School District.

Above all, it’s the community that continues to draw newcomers and keep residents in Terrebonne.

“It’s not fast paced. You’re close to everything but not in the city. I’ve got great neighbors,” Lissignoli said. “It’s just a beautiful little spot in here.”

Pahlisch Homes Introduces Petrosa

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Working to meet the unique fiscal and lifestyle needs of current and future Bend residents, Pahlisch Homes is breaking ground on its largest Bend community to date: Petrosa, Latin for “rocky ground,” is planned as a 177-acre mixed used community in northeast Bend. Bound by Butler Market and Deschutes Market roads and a to-be-built extension of Yeoman Road, the new community will be developed over the course of the next ten-plus years.

Providing housing to middle-income households is one of the great incentives for the project. Low inventory levels and a booming Bend population have resulted in a “missing middle” to the housing supply with few homes that are affordable to middle-income households. Petrosa, however, will have approximately forty percent of its homes priced below the median price of homes at the time of construction.

“The entire team at Pahlisch is focused on creating quality homes for every stage of life,” said Dan Pahlisch, owner and president. “Whether you are getting your first apartment or buying your forever home, Petrosa is designed to accommodate the housing needs of a wide range of Bend residents.”

Made up of various architectural styles, the multiple types of housing will include single-family homes and cottages and townhomes for a total of approximately 1,100 residences. The community will also have an apartment complex, Solis at Petrosa, in the northwest corner of the property.

In addition to housing, Petrosa will offer the private amenities that are a well-known and enjoyed feature of many Pahlisch developments, in this case a pool, clubhouse, bike trails, and more than twenty-two acres of open space and a 5.3-acre park are planned at the community’s center. With the residents of the future community in mind, ten acres have been put aside for a new elementary school.

To further bolster the development’s walkability appeal, the design calls for a commercial area in its southwest corner that could accommodate a grocery store and other retail businesses. The site would not only serve the immediate community but also other northeast Bend residents and the users of Pine Nursery Park complex, which is just across Deschutes Market Road.

We are striving to create places that celebrate what we love most about Central Oregon.

Petrosa lies within Bend’s urban growth boundary expansion and is part of the city’s twenty-year growth plan in northeast Bend. To ensure adequate infrastructure for the community and the surrounding area, three new roundabouts will be built to provide access and Yeoman Road will be extended eastward to cross Deschutes Market Road and connect with Butler Market Road. The first housing phase to be completed will be the apartments, which are planned to be ready for occupation in mid-2021.

A long-time contributor to Central Oregon’s housing market, Pahlisch was established in 1983 in the Willamette Valley and moved its base of operations to Central Oregon in 2003. From its Bend headquarters, it now builds homes and communities not only in Central Oregon, but in the Willamette Valley and southeastern and southwestern Washington and has offices in Portland and Kennewick. The company, however, remains deeply committed to Central Oregon and the area’s ethos of community, and has supported the Youth Choir of Central Oregon, The Center Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Club and many other organizations.

While Petrosa is the company’s largest master planned community in Bend, it has been heavily involved in Butternut Creek and Rosedale Parks, two similar projects, which are in the south Hillsboro expansion.

“We couldn’t be more proud of our plans for Petrosa,” Pahlisch said. “A community like this will bring much needed services to the northeast edge of the urban growth boundary expansion and we are striving to create places that celebrate what we love most about Central Oregon. Open spaces, parks, trails and community amenities such as a pool and clubhouse allow room for families and community members to come together.”

Elevate Your Bathroom

Thinking of refreshing and updating your shower or tub? Maybe you’re even considering an entire bath redo, in which case you’ll want to think about how the shower and tub, or the combination of both, integrate with the style and function of the entire bathroom. So, let’s take a wide-angle perspective on bathroom trends and then sharpen our focus on bathing fixtures.

Today’s bathrooms are trending toward minimalism, with lots of glass, natural materials and open space. Bright colors and vibrant tile patterns may be okay for small spaces or as a wow statement, but larger spaces are returning to classic white—a favorite among millennials—and neutral accents, such as black matte or gunmetal for mirror and window frames and plumbing fixtures.

With that backdrop, let’s turn our attention to what’s popular in tub and shower design, along with potential drawbacks.

A Resurgence of the tub

Remember the clawfoot bathtub at your grandparents? It’s back. The Modern Bathroom website says, “what was originally marketed as a glorified horse trough (adding legs turned it into a tub) eventually became regarded as a must-have luxury item for the wealthiest homes in America.”

Clawfoots and modern versions of freestanding tubs are turning up in master baths (and even bedrooms) as a spa-like feature or for a touch of class. Choices range from industrial cube shapes to oval and round and everything from all black or all white to sizzling colors. When considering a standalone tub, be aware that it may require floor reinforcements, and the high sides can make it difficult for bathers to get in and out.

Built-in tubs have moved away from yesterday’s oversized, jetted versions to ones that can be customized for your space and bathroom décor. Maybe you’d prefer to design your own built-in soaking tub with mood lighting or to overlook a garden. Perhaps you’d like easy access for the kids’ bedtime splash or an older adult who lives with you. Incorporate a ledge for shampoo, candles and a glass of bubbly water or wine.

No threshold, no shower curtains

Bathroom design du jour is sleek and open. Showers no longer hide in a closed space between the wall and curtain or a sliding door with hard-to-clean tracks. Instead, look for doorless showers with no threshold and a partial wall often made of glass to keep water from splashing out. Drains have also gone minimalist, with showers that slope toward a grate or linear drain near the wall, thus eliminating the central drain and its visual distraction.

Large-scale tile for floors and walls is a favorite choice and simplifies cleaning and reduces cracks in grout. Marble is making a comeback—its natural swirls and patterns create visual interest in tones of black, white and gray.

But the open, walk-in shower has its critics. Bob Vila, TV home improvement guru, cautions people that a shower barrier “keeps warmth and the humidity inside the shower enclosure and keeps cold drafts from entering while you lather up. In a doorless shower, you may feel cold despite the heat of the water.”

The ubiquitous tub-shower combo

In America’s post WWII construction boom, track homes and the ever-popular ranch style popped up everywhere. Built for a growing middle class, they almost always included a stock tub and shower fixture. This venerable workhorse of the bathroom is still going strong, but homeowners can refresh or remodel an existing one by changing up a few things. Replace the curtain with a half or three-quarter wall of glass or other bathroom-compatible material. Take out the old chrome faucets and install a multifunction fixture—maybe a waterfall or rain shower head and a hand-held wand. Cover a wall with tile or marble.

In the end, what you choose to do in your bathroom, well, should stay in your bathroom. Consider the trends, but pick the one that will last for you.

Tips For Stress-Free Remodeling

Keep the stress out of remodeling by employing good planning and the right team.

Most of us dream of changing something about our home, whether it be a major transformation or just a small project. When the time is right to dive in, there are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and make sure the process comes off as stress-free as possible. Save yourself some headaches and mishaps by adhering to these tried-and-true remodeling tips.

Set the Budget

While it’s easier said than done, begin by setting up a realistic budget and trying to stick with it. According to remodelingcalculator.com, the national average remodeling costs are $17,625 for a kitchen remodel, $11,362 for a bathroom remodel and $61,120 for an addition. Get a quote from at least one contractor and consider adding another 10 to 20 percent above the quoted cost for the unexpected, which can range from electrical rewiring that’s been inexplicably chewed up by some rodent, to wood rot and mold. Give yourself that extra cushion in your budget.

Hire a Good Designer

When working with your designer, be mindful of your priorities; the nice-to-have, versus the must-have items. Yes, you may dream big, but be prepared to be realistic and flexible with your design. Whether you choose an architect or a home designer, a good one will help you decide what is reasonable within your budget.

Also, a good designer usually knows all the city and county codes by heart, which is extremely important with issues like height limits, or how many extra bathrooms you can add onto a house. Many cities change codes frequently, so what may be allowed one year, could completely change the next. An experienced designer will also know what the neighborhood homeowner’s association will allow in your particular area. He or she can also help you choose and order fixtures and finishes well in advance of when they will be needed, avoiding delays down the line.

Find the Right Contractor

It might sound obvious: get the best contractor in your area for remodeling. But this important step takes some leg work. Find a contractor with years of experience, who’s licensed and bonded and has a good portfolio, and who is happy to give you references from their past, and recent, clients. Do call the references—all of them.

Your contractor will be responsible for getting your building permits, which will be displayed on the front of the house. He or she should provide you with a program of works, or schedule, so you know what to expect throughout the remodeling project, such as when electrical power may be turned off in the house or when water will be shut down. This schedule should also include the deadline date of when it is projected to be completed (though remodels are notorious for going over time).

Always keep the lines of communication open with your contractor. For the next few months, you will see each other almost daily, and if something is not done correctly, it will be your contractor who needs to make it right with his sub-contractors. If your contractor signs off on work not done well, you will have no recourse with the sub-contractor. All the more reason to make sure you trust your contractor and to touch base with him or her often.

Timing is Everything

In Central Oregon, late spring and summer are your best seasons for remodeling. With a steady stream of workers coming in and out of the house, a winter remodel may mean a lot of snow being tracked in, along with heat leaving the house with doors open. However, do keep in mind that in our area, spring and summer are the most popular time to remodel, so finding a contractor who can fit you into their schedule may be difficult. The key is to give yourself plenty of time to plan for and execute the remodel. If you’re lucky, schedule a vacation so that you are away during some of the work.

Be Flexible

Even when you have done all the planning you can, always expect the unexpected and delayed deadlines. Products ordered well in advance may come in damaged and need to be reordered. Weather, illness and all of the other challenges that life presents may rear their heads. Being flexible means you may have to compromise, especially if your budget is being stretched.

Be a Thoughtful Neighbor

Unless you live on acres in the middle of nowhere, your remodel will affect other people. When you make plans for demolition, make sure your workers aren’t jack hammering at the crack of dawn. Odds are, big trucks will be in front of your home from time to time, so let your neighbors know what’s going on, and what your tentative date for completion may be.

At the end of the day, there probably is no such thing as a stress-free remodeling project. But there are ways to mitigate some of the problems up front, and keep perspective when challenges arise. Remember, even when a project looks like it’s going sideways, know that the finished product will make you a happy homeowner in the end.

Through Our Eyes Photo Submissions

This project is now closed. Thank you to all who participated!

Gorgeous example by @misslisphoto on Instagram

A “community call” to submit your photos showing Central Oregon through your eyes. We are looking for images that represent a day in the life during this time of #stayhome. Let’s keep it positive!

It’s a spring like no other in Central Oregon, but we know our readers are getting creative and making the best of staying safe and close to home. That’s why we’re launching the “Through Our Eyes” photo campaign to gather snapshots of life in Central Oregon right now. Send us your photos of how you’re spending your day, learning new things, whether it’s baking bread for the first time, enjoying a neighborhood dance party (socially distant, of course), trying a new kid-friendly activity or finding some fresh air outdoors—we want to see what you see! Use this form to submit your photos and if we select yours for publication, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate to the local business of your choice, as our way of saying thanks for helping us capture Central Oregon, through your eyes.

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span> <a href="https://oregonmedia.wufoo.com/forms/m1lu22m5076bvau/">Fill out my Wufoo form!</a>

Specialized electronics manufacturer grows rapidly in Bend

Apricity, an obscure word from the 1600s, means the warmth of the sun in winter. While the term never quite caught on, an electronics company in Bend with that name seems to be doing so.

Gabe Ayers had worked as an energy research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory for five years before he went out on his own, continuing to work on some of his pre-existing defense contracts. He founded Apricity in 2015 in Jackson Hole, Wyo., moved to Bend in 2017, and got a desk at BendTECH, the entrepreneurial coworking hub. “I saw there was a tech community—a landing pad,” he said.

The company develops embedded circuit boards, firmware, accompanying software, plastics and enclosures for electronics. Now with eighteen employees and a 4,000-square-foot space in NorthWest Crossing, the company is poised for more success.

Ayers anticipates the staff will grow to twenty-five employees by the end of the year. Even so, he stresses that the company doesn’t focus on growth in the way of a traditional startup.

“We have no external investment; we have no debt,” he said. “We’ll grow as we continue to increase our client base, but there’s no speculative growth.” That allows them to remain nimble and adjust the engineering team on projects without being top-heavy with project managers. The team is working on twenty to thirty projects at any given time and completes them in a fraction of the time as competitors, he said.

For example, creating an electronics product typically takes nine to twelve months, from inception to hitting the market. Apricity did one in ten weeks last summer, from the first phone call to finish — the plastics, circuit board design, firmware and cloud code, plus securing safety certification and Federal Communications Commission approval.

“We have strong business partnerships with people in the industry, and we haven’t been around that long, but we move fast, do good work, and everyone that works with us is happy and comes back,” he said.

Rogue Valley Wine Country Getaway

A few days float on the remote Owyhee River

Every bend in the Owyhee River hides something new and enchanting. On this stretch of remote river near the Oregon/Idaho border, canyon walls of black basalt and red rhyolite rise up to 2,000 feet before giving way to wide-open, sagebrush-covered badlands. From the water, paddlers can spy 14 million years of geologic history in towering rock formations, etched petroglyphs and bubbling hot springs.

And much of that scenery looks just as it has for thousands, if not millions, of years.

The 280-mile Owyhee River spans three states, originating in northeastern Nevada, and cuts through the heart of the 2.5-million-acre Owyhee Canyonlands—one of the most remote, inaccessible regions in the country. And with only three paved roads crisscrossing the region, your best bet for exploring this wild expanse is from the seat of a raft or kayak on the Owyhee River.

Even with the drive—at least four hours from Bend—getting on the water is easier than you think. Follow our journey through the Owyhee and plan a trip of your own.

Millennia by the Mile

Hunter-gathers roamed the Owyhee as many as 10,000 years ago, and petroglyph carvings—still visible today—indicate that Native Americans hunted and lived in the region for centuries.

More recently, a group of North West Company fur trappers became the first non-Native people to enter the Owyhee in the winter of 1818-1819; three Hawaiian members of the party left to explore but never returned, and the river was named for the trio (using the Polynesian pronunciation of “Hawaii”).

The first white settlers arrived in the 1860s to establish cattle ranches on the vast rangeland, and Basque sheepherders followed suit in the 1870s. More than 150 years later, ranching remains an economic driver and way of life in the region.

Wild on the Water

With a little know-how and planning, the Owyhee River is accessible to paddlers of all abilities. The high season for paddling is generally March to June—but check with the Bureau of Land Management office in Vale before heading out. Water levels and temperatures can fluctuate wildly, and heavy rain can render some roads impassable. And note that all paddlers must fill out a free self-registration form at each of the approved put-in sites before launching.

Paddlers generally put in along one of two stretches of river: the Lower Owyhee River and the Middle Owyhee River, both offering wildly different experiences.

The most common put-in site along the Lower Owyhee is near the hamlet of Rome, roughly four hours southeast of Bend. Trips along this stretch navigate Class II to Class III+ rapids through Sweetwater Canyon and the wide-open Chalk Basin before arriving at Birch Creek or Leslie Gulch.

Most paddlers on the Middle Owyhee, meanwhile, launch at Three Forks—a nearly six-hour trek from Bend—and take out at Rome. Experienced rafters enjoy the fast-moving, more technical Class IV and Class V rapids along this less-traveled stretch, which hosts some of the most dramatic canyons and red-rock formations in the whole Owyhee River basin.

The Owyhee Experience

Experienced paddlers can tackle the river’s rapids alone. Others choose from several outfitters that make the journey easy by providing multi-day trips that include shuttle services, meal preparation, campsite setup and teardown, and recommendations for smooth navigation.

At the end of each river day, unwind with a soak in hot springs along the Lower Owyhee, hike to nearby rock formations, spy wildlife (from raptors to California bighorn sheep), or gaze upon the stars glinting down from some of the continent’s darkest skies.

Take a little of the Owyhee’s beauty and serenity home with you, until next time.

Culinary adventures at Suttle Lake

The road winds through the forest beneath the lofty green canopy of hundred-foot ponderosas. The one-lane bridge over the creek is like a threshold into another world. Then you spot The Suttle Lodge, its massive timbers and national parkitecture fitting the environs perfectly.

At the hefty front doors, the giant carved wood slabs depict the lake, mountains, deer, a life-size swooping eagle and a Native American dancer, all created by artist J. Chester “Skip” Armstrong. Armstrong has said his goal was “to reawaken your soul to the primal energy and life force of earth-based imagery.”

The mile-and-a-half long Suttle Lake laps at the shore as you make way to your base, where you can get cozy, start unwinding and embark on a weekend adventure—this time, a culinary one.

Here in the middle of the forest this spring at The Suttle Lodge and Boathouse, some of America’s best chefs are swooping in like the eagle on the front door, each making the journey to create a multi-course dinner inspired by the surroundings.

Earlier this year, Chef Ben Sukle arrived from Providence, Rhode Island, where his restaurant, birch, was named one of the fifty best new restaurants in America by Bon Appétit in 2016. At a handful of long, rustic tables around the fireplace, locals joined guests from around Oregon and the country, sipping cava (a sparkling wine from Spain) while vinyl spun on a vintage record-player console. Each course, served family-style, enhanced the conviviality.

“Restaurants have such an easy platform to reach people,” Sukle said. “They aren’t just about keeping people from starving, they are cultural meeting places, integral to the community and dinners like this reinforce that.”

We passed platters of roasted Hama Hama oysters with cream, dill and pork fat and discovered we also shared a mutual friend with others at the table. Next came the Painted Hills beef tartar with umami-heightening mushrooms foraged by Sukle’s aunt and uncle who traveled from Coos Bay, and had nurtured Sukle’s interest in food as a boy.

When the Dungeness crab salad with preserved, sweet habanada pepper and ginger dressing made the rounds, I was certain I’d met another woman at the table before. After the steelhead salmon with Portuguese, spicy-sweet piri piri sauce and winter greens, we realized she was my dentist. Dessert, Portuguese egg tarts, citrus punctuating the sweet, creamy custard, were en route, so guests took a few minutes out on the deck, watching the moonlight reflect on the lake.

Strolling the path to their cabins, guests vowed to make another reservation soon. They weren’t alone. It had been Sukle’s first trip to Central Oregon, but he intended to return. “You come out here and feel these endorphin rushes from these giant trees,” he said. “I want to come back.”

Stay and Play

The Suttle Lodge offers eleven lodge rooms, a few lakeside cabins with kitchens and bathrooms, and a handful of rustic cabins. The lodge and the Boathouse restaurant are your source for food and amenities.

The lake is central to the experience here, no matter the season. Stroll, hike, mountain bike or ski around the mostly flat, three-and-a-half-mile trail around the lake, formed by a glacier 25,000 years ago. Kokanee (tasty land-locked salmon) may be biting as early as March.

At the nearby Hoodoo Ski Area, grab free-heel skis for a day of lessons, stories and Nordic culture, March 9, or check out Spring Fling pond skimming, April 11.

Deschutes Public Library celebrates 100 years

In 1904, a handful of citizens who lived in the not-quite-yet-incorporated community of Bend were craving greater access to news from all around the nation. They formed “The Bend Magazine Club,” a subscription club that allowed members to read a multitude of national magazines by borrowing them from one another. With this initial modest idea of sharing resources for the greater good, Central Oregon’s first lending library was born.

The idea quickly grew to include books donated from citizens or borrowed from the State Library, explained current Deschutes Public Library Director, Todd Dunkelberg. But what the library didn’t have, was, well, a “library.” Without a specific location to house books and magazines, patrons would meet wherever they could to make their exchanges, usually in various public spaces. “We did not have permanent homes for our libraries, relying on various store owners to lend us space to operate,” said Dunkelberg.

Deschutes Public Library was officially formed in 1920, bringing together independent, informal library systems both in Bend and Redmond. But it wasn’t until nearly twenty years later that a permanent structure was built, at the cost of $27,000. The Bend Library—today in use as the library administration building in downtown Bend—opened in 1939 as the region’s official library.

From there, the library only continued to grow. “By 1970, we had permanent facilities in La Pine, Sisters, Redmond and Bend, and a bookmobile service that traveled to the outskirts of the county,” said Dunkelberg. The bookmobiles brought the library to all sorts of people who may not otherwise have access to its resources, including those at the local lumber mills and living in rugged logging camps. Plenty of citizens traveled long distances to visit the library itself, too. It wasn’t unusual to see dedicated patrons ride up to the library on their horses, having come from the region’s most rural areas, said Communication and Development Manager Chantal Strobel, who’s worked at the library for 26 years.

Even back in those early decades, the library made available more than just books, Dunkelberg added. “Customers had the ability to check-out hardware and tools from our tool library collection.”

Despite the variety of services offered and the popularity with patrons at the county’s libraries, Dunkelberg says there were dark days in Deschutes Public Library’s history in 1998, when the organization faced permanent closure because of lack of funds. After a few months of closure, the library secured a small, but reliable tax district base, voted in by the people of the county that same year. Contributions from private donors, coupled with fundraising efforts by the non-profit Friends of the Deschutes Public Library, keep the library running.

Still, surviving a centennial is no easy feat for modern libraries, amidst the vast changing technologies and ever threatening budget cuts. To stay relevant, our library had to become more than just a place to borrow books, it had to become the heart and soul of our community. Those old enough to remember searching for books alphabetically in card catalogues housed in long wooden drawers or when librarians had to hand stamp the due date on the front page of a book, know how transformational the changes have been.

In 1920, the founders could never have imagined the kind of resources the six branches of the library would offer. Today’s Deschutes Public Library provides hardback and softcover books, audio books and downloadable electronic books. Patrons can also use computers, borrow movies, check out music of every genre, and attend a plethora of free cultural programs and speakers. The library partners with more than 180 agencies to help expand outreach, everything from working with the AARP and United Way to help senior citizens with their taxes and finances, to helping patrons with resume writing and interviewing skills through The Opportunity Foundation.

“Community librarians visit senior centers, day care centers, schools, low-income apartment buildings, and several other community areas that may not have access to library buildings or the technology to access information,” said Strobel. “We have partnered with ‘Thrive’ to bring social service assistance into our libraries to support people with basic living needs and access to affordable housing, food and other support systems.”

“What has not changed is the importance of being the vital infrastructure that helps bind our community together,” said Dunkelberg. “We remain one of the few spaces in our community where people can gather to converse, learn, work, play, connect and read without cost.”

“I would argue that libraries are more relevant today than in the past as we are immersed in this daunting Information Age. We are information stewards for the public,” said Strobel.

One hundred years ago, when Deschutes Public Library opened its doors, it allowed anyone who entered an opportunity for knowledge and empowerment. Anyone, no matter their color, employment level or financial situation, could enter the library and travel anywhere their imaginations took them, or learn as much as they could about any given subject. In that respect, the library hasn’t aged at all.

Bend Food Project rallies community to fight food insecurity

Sue and Larry Marceaux vividly remember the first collection of the Bend Food Project back in 2015.

The couple had heard about the Ashland Food Project—which has residents place a reusable green bag of non-perishable foods outside their front door every couple months for donation to people in need—and dreamed of bringing a similar program to Bend. They spent months planning the launch of the new organization, recruited a dozen friends to help collect food and identified a local food bank, The Giving Plate, to work with.

When the coordinators joined together on a drizzly day in October at The Giving Plate, the Marceauxs were stunned to see the results—2,572 pounds of food gathered through the first collection of the Bend Food Project. “We were so excited,” said Sue Marceaux.

Fast forward to 2020 and the organization will soon celebrate its fifth anniversary. The bi-monthly collections have continued and as of January the nonprofit has gathered, organized and donated more than 400,000 pounds of food to The Giving Plate, which then distributes it in Central Oregon. The original twelve volunteers have multiplied to 133 neighborhood coordinators and the local donor base has exploded to 2,500 residents setting out their green bags on collection days. The project makes it easy for volunteers to get involved. Anyone interested in participating in the bi-monthly donation can sign up to receive a green donation bag at bendfoodproject.com. Those interested in collecting from others can also sign up on the site. “We’ve been able to grow primarily by word of mouth,” Sue Marceaux said.

While the project continues to grow, so has the number of people in need. For longtime Bend Food Project volunteer Arlene Stafford, that was demonstrated before her eyes during a collection day early on. As volunteers hustled to unload and organize food outside The Giving Plate, a woman coming to pick up groceries from the organization mistook the commotion for something else, and thought the food was being taken away, rather than being delivered. “She had tears in her eyes. She was so frightened that it was going to go away,” said Stafford, who explained the food was just arriving, but found herself tearing up too. “I realized the desperation people feel when they’re food challenged.”

The Marceauxs said many factors play a role in the growing need in Central Oregon, including the lack of affordable housing and the high cost of childcare and healthcare. When a person is struggling to meet those needs, food can often fall to the bottom of the list. Larry Marceaux said, “I think it’s a real eye opener for people, how great the need is here.”

A creative pole-barn conversion inspired by the desert environment

Architect Pauline Lyders landed the job of her lifetime—designing the dream home for her family. “We succeeded in creating something unique to us but very livable,” she said of the renovated pole barn that she and her husband, David Neidorf, along with their two daughters, moved into last year. “There’s nothing precious about the materials we used—it is just what it needs to be,” she said of the elegant, modern-minimalist dwelling.

The couple moved to Bend from Los Angeles in 2011, and bought the barn, situated on ten acres off the Old Bend Redmond Highway, in 2016. Instead of seeing a plain structure amid the junipers, they imagined a living space integrated into the environment. Neidorf credits his wife for achieving their goal, but she sought his input throughout the process. “Truth is, David was my client,” she said.

The third partner in the conversation was Jason Duckowitz of Contour Design Build. “It was really important to Pauline to have a builder with an appreciation and understanding of design and who was part of the project from the beginning,” he said. “The three of us had a nice back and forth. I’d sometimes tell Pauline that a design might not work from a construction perspective, but she’d hold onto a concept, and she was usually right.”

The two-story layout is conventional in some ways, with a large, open room on the main floor incorporating the living, dining and kitchen areas and master suite with a private patio. The upstairs has kids’ rooms, an office, studio/guest bedroom, lounge and a deck. But creative flourishes abound in the 3,900-square-foot home, making it unique to the Lyders-Neidorf family.

When Neidorf heads to his office, he gets there from the master bedroom up a winding staircase. This unique and private entrance is for him alone—a place from which he runs his own property management company, Full House Consulting, Inc. He loves the office with its large north-facing window overlooking another beloved feature—an outdoor hot tub accessed either from the bedroom or directly through a sliding LaCantina door in the master shower.

An open aesthetic blends the living and dining areas on the main floor.

Duckowitz says it’s the first time in twenty years of building homes that he’s seen a sliding door in a bathroom. “It was important to Pauline to maintain an indoor-outdoor connection, both visually and physically to the space outside. The door through the shower was the simplest way to achieve that,” he said.

Without an attic, Lyders was free to design the second-story rooms with a combination of sloping roof and 10-by-10-foot cutouts or dormers, allowing for insertion of 10-foot-wide windows in each room. “When you sit in one of the upstairs rooms and look out those full-height windows, you feel like you’re outside,” Duckowitz said.

The couple’s daughters, Adin, 15, and Stella, 9, have bedrooms the envy of any child. “I tell my daughters they have the nicest rooms any kid ever had,” Neidorf said. Each is expansive, providing space for a queen bed, sofa, desk and areas for projects, games and music. Their mother also incorporated perhaps their favorite feature—a sleeping loft up a vertical staircase (Adin’s ladder is tucked in her closet). A small “sky” window in Stella’s room looks down into the living room and “gives her a sense of comfort and connection to be able to see us,” Lyders said.

The kitchen, dining and living rooms are spacious, with two of the barn’s original trusses exposed to honor the structure’s history. A series of tall windows faces the outdoors on two sides. Along the living room wall, a lichen-green recess houses the TV; another lichen-colored recess next to the dining room is for a bar and espresso machine. The bright green color matches the lichen that grows on junipers. A recess with neutral white vertical tile in the kitchen is for the range, oven and hood. A 14-foot, Caesarstone island divides the kitchen from the dining room where the family enjoys meals at the long antique baker’s worktable. The wool dining chairs are the color of blue juniper berries.

Large portraits of the daughters hang high on a wall and “make the room,” according to Neidorf. He commissioned Xander Berkeley, a well-known character actor and friend of Neidorf’s when he worked in film and TV, to paint the girls.

One of the family’s favorite spots is a covered deck off the second floor looking east over a pristine desert landscape. “It’s a place to meditate,” Lyders said. “Downstairs is about moving and engaging with each other. Up here it’s about witnessing nature.” The spiral stairs from the deck match the green-gold moss growing on rimrock. “It’s an escape hatch for my teen,” Lyders joked.

The pole barn’s exterior gable shape remains largely unchanged, although the new design lengthened the structure by 36 feet to include the garage and deck addition. “The easiest way to stay true to the structure and create a covered walkway from the parking lot to the main entrance was to follow the pitch of the existing roofline to the ground,” Duckowitz explained. “It tells a story of what the house was built from and draws you to the entrance.” With another nod to nature-inspired colors, the dark brown cedar siding was chosen to blend with the bark of juniper.

The creative collaboration between builder, architect and “client” resulted in a family home unique to its inhabitants while honoring its placement in the environment. “I live in my dream house that my incredibly talented and beautiful wife created,” Neidorf said.

Resources:

Building: Jason Duckowitz
Architecture & Interior: Pauline Lyders

Gene Baldwin’s custom hats are unique to your head only

Not all hats are created equal. That’s something you learn the first time you walk into Gene Baldwin’s hat studio outside Sisters.

Inside the narrow shop is everything Baldwin needs to create his handcrafted masterpieces, which range from more traditional cowboy and cowgirl hats to Gus crowns, cattleman hats, oversized fedoras or just about any combination of hat crown, body and brim a customer dreams up. Each hat Baldwin creates is unique to the style, needs and head measurements of its future owner.

“This will fit his head and his head only,” said Baldwin, showing off one of his latest pieces, a custom hat that’s just between the typical sizes you might see on the shelf at a western apparel store.

Though Baldwin takes great pride in his work as a milliner, or hat-maker, and seems at home in the studio—it wasn’t always his calling. Baldwin spent his career in Portland as a funeral director and then later raised Arabian show horses. “I like to do things that are different,” Baldwin said. It was only in the early 2000s, after retiring from Portland to Sisters with his wife, that Baldwin turned to hat making.

After taking up a new hobby of selling Serratelli cowboy hats, a friend asked whether Baldwin had considered making hats himself. It wasn’t long before he’d purchased, restored and in some cases modernized the needed equipment, including antiques dating back to the 1880s. One shelf of his studio is filled with curved wooden blocks, used to represent various head sizes at the beginning of the process. Baldwin stretches and shapes his material over the hat blocks using lots of steam. A plater is used to curve the brim into a ninety-degree angle and an antique crown iron smooths the top of the hat as it spins.

He has quite a measuring technique that he uses, so that it is truly your hat.

More than fifteen years after taking on his new hobby, Baldwin has earned a reputation for his custom hat making, and gained customers from around the world, mostly through word of mouth. “I’m busy,” he said, pointing to stacks of new orders around his studio. “There are times I’m getting two new orders a day.”

Baldwin estimates he’s one of thirty-five or forty custom hat-makers in the United States, though not everyone holds themselves to the same standards as Baldwin. The quality European hare and beaver Baldwin uses to form his hats mean they last longer, retain their shape better and stand up to the weather longer than more commonly produced wool hats or those with a blend of wool and some fur.

“They’re wonderful hats,” said John James, a friend and customer of Baldwin’s who together with his wife owns four Baldwin hats. “He has quite a measuring technique that he uses, so that it’s truly your hat.”

The hats aren’t priced for everyone—they start at $365—but for the cost, you’re getting personal fittings and a commitment from Baldwin to make a quality custom hat, the old-fashioned way. Old-fashioned values are important to Baldwin, who on his website shares a list of tips for proper hat etiquette (men, tip your hat when meeting a lady) and promises when it comes to hat making, he’ll take the time to do things right the first time. “He’s a good guy—if he gives his word he keeps it,” James said.

The hats earned Baldwin recognition many times, including top honors at the Art of the Cowboy Makers Contest for the five years he entered. The contest recognizes contemporary makers of traditional cowboy wear, including boots, saddles and of course, hats.

For Baldwin, it’s about more than hat-making, and he’s quick to share the stories behind each hat. Like the hat Baldwin was wearing this winter—sporting a silver and leatherwork band. The silver was melted down from a former customer’s wedding plates, gifted to Baldwin in hopes he could breathe new life into the material. The owner of the plates had recently lost his wife, and was so touched by the repurposing of the silver he wrote Baldwin a heartfelt email of gratitude. Baldwin carries a printout of the note in his wallet wherever he goes to illustrate the personal connections behind his work.

“It’s not just hat-making,” Baldwin said. “You can really touch people with the things you can do.”

Mixed-media creator, Whitney Nye, turned instinctual painter

When Whitney Nye begins a painting, she never knows where her muse will take her. “I don’t start out with an idea,” she said. Instead, she follows the creative impulse wherever it leads her.

Lodestar | oil on canvas | 52.75 × 74 inches | Photo aaron johanson

This instinctual style of painting has resulted in a large body of abstract and sometimes rhythmic paintings exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States. Her work is also found in many private and public collections, including the Jordan Schnitzer Museum, Eugene; Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville; Swedish Hospital, Seattle; and Oregon Health & Science University, Portland.

Nye’s mother and maternal grandmother were early DIY adopters, teaching her resourcefulness and fostering the idea that “if you need something, you can make it,” she said. Both women sewed their own and their children’s clothes. Textiles and fabric design was baked into the young Nye’s genes. When she headed to college at the University of Oregon in the 1980s, she “couldn’t stay out of the department’s textile weaving and dying areas,” she recalled.

A textile teacher at UO surprised her with a summer scholarship at Penland School in North Carolina, an international hub for craft education and creativity. After graduation from UO, Nye returned to the Penland School for a two-year fellowship where she could work in any medium. While there, she built a kiln, learned metalworking and woodworking and said she “dabbled in it all.” The experience was formative and she built relationships with other artists, as well as giving her familiarity with numerous materials she’d one day apply to her art.

In 1993, the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland offered her a residency, and she was soon working out of studio space in the Pearl District where artists were flocking. Some of her early work included large-scale installation art, sculptures and mixed media pieces incorporating her grandmother’s buttons, sewing patterns and ephemera. But her mother, Juanita Nye, an artist who studied with Portland sculptor Mel Katz, encouraged her daughter to try painting, a medium she had yet to explore.

Martha Lee, owner of Portland’s Russo Lee Gallery which has represented Nye since the early 2000s said, “Whitney has done sculpture and mixed-media-based work but has primarily been painting for the past several years, always with a level of abstraction using pattern and repetition.”

“She’s got an amazing sense of color,” Lee added. “A lot of people respond to her color, and although her work is abstract, there are many references to the natural world. Many of our clients are seasoned gallery goers, and Whitney’s work has something they can grab onto and recognize and put their own experience to.”

Draw Lots | oil on canvas | 69 x 62 inches | photo aaron johanson

She’s currently participating in a group show, “A New State of Matter,” at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, featuring artists who incorporate glass in their work. She has an upcoming exhibit in August and September at the Newport Visual Arts Center at Nye Beach. She’s curious about whether she’s related to the “Nye” of Nye Beach and will work with the local historical society to find out.

After many years of living and creating art in Portland, Nye returned to Bend in 2018 where she’d spent much of her youth. She has a small studio but her approach to painting almost demands a large space where she can staple as many as five unstretched canvases to the wall or spread them on the floor. “I like to be physical, close up and far away from a piece, using a variety of tools to add or take away textures and layers,” she said.

“When I’m working, I’m in the piece and lose track of time. It’s a reactionary experience. I make a mark and another mark and can get obsessive in the process, and I have to know when to get off the train,” she said, adding that she stays true to what’s interesting to her. “If a painting isn’t authentic, I’ll abandon it.”

Whitney Nye’s work will be on display at Bend Magazine’s offices in March and April, and featured each month in conjunction with downtown’s First Friday Art Walk.

To see more of her work, go to whitneynye.com, Instagram
@whitneynye or russoleegallery.com

No Option But North- A captivating and important memoir and political nonfiction book

I read No Option But North, a new memoir and political nonfiction book from first-time Bend author Kelsey Freeman, days after finishing the controversial new novel American Dirt. Both books tackle the perilous migration journey from Mexico and Central America to the United States, but only one has stuck with me.

Fiction can have its own truth, but the gut-punch of Freeman’s research and interviews, conducted during her time as a Fulbright scholar in Central Mexico in 2016, is impossible to ignore. These stories don’t have the same ribbon-tied ending as fiction, and interwoven between are important cultural and political context as well as Freeman’s own history and complicated feelings about her privilege. The result is a book that makes the reader feel present for these stories. Freeman is a captivating writer, and some of her observations—describing one migrant she interviewed as “tired enough to seem boneless”—show the depth of her raw talent and how acutely and compassionately she saw the migrants she interviewed for her book.

She wrote that she purposely avoids “the sort of immersion journalism that pretends that observing the migration phenomenon doesn’t affect it,” and carefully dissects the culture and politics that surrounds the narratives. It all belies her age; Freeman is just 26 and graduated from Bowdoin College in 2016. She had previously studied abroad in Mexico and worked on a research project in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Her research and writing is also influenced by her grandmother, who she dedicates the book to. Her grandmother was a German Jew who migrated to Italy and then America in the 20th century. She would tell Freeman stories from her experiences often, and Freeman found similarities in her research and interviews in Mexico. “It connects in ways that I feel intimately,” Freeman said in an interview over the phone.

Freeman confronts her own privilege head-on throughout the book. Within the first few pages, she parses through why she would be allowed a visa to study indigenous rights while the people she was talking to weren’t allowed visas to visit their families in the United States. “This privilege was a bitter, viscous taste in my mouth,” she writes at the end of her book.

“The essential goal and premise of my book was not to ignore the power dynamics at play, but to name them,” Freeman told me. “I think we do nothing by pretending those dynamics aren’t there.”

The reader can feel Freeman’s anger simmering beneath the surface of her writing. This blend of activism and journalism is vital to this story and makes it powerful. “I don’t aim to keep my own views out,” Freeman said. “What I’m trying to do with the book is connect structural inadequacies and injustices with lived realities and stories. When you’re talking about all that, it’s impossible not to be political.”

The book also contains black and white images of migrants who were passing through the migration center in Central Oregon. Taken by photojournalist (and Freeman’s sister) Tess Freeman, the images are powerful additions to the book, but Freeman’s writing and observations could stand on their own and be effective without them.

Today, Freeman works in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. She plans to keep writing about migration and other social and political issues while she continues working in Central Oregon.

No Option But North: The migrant world and the perilous path across the border will release April 14 from IG Publishing. Find it at independent bookstores like Roundabout Books in Bend and online at IndieBound and Amazon. Freeman will be at Roundabout Books for an author event Friday, May 15.

Sisters Entrepreneur & Surfer Laird Hamilton’s Superfood Empire Continues To Grow

In 2011, serial entrepreneur Paul Hodge was about to retire in his mid-30s. He’d sold his interest in a renewable energy business in New York, but he and his wife hail from Washington, and were looking to the West.

They moved to a 132-acre ranch along Whychus Creek near Sisters, to raise their three children and grow all their own organic food. That winter, in Kauai, a surfing buddy introduced him to world renowned big-wave surfer, Laird Hamilton. Hamilton, behind innovations such as standup paddle boarding, wanted to meet Hodge because he had a new idea.

It was the Golf Board, a motorized skateboard/golf cart. Hodge, although not a golf fan, helped develop it at his ranch and successfully launched it. Along the way, he and Hamilton got to be friends.

“He’d invite me to coffee before surfing, and he’d be putting all this stuff in my coffee, and I’d be out surfing and realize my energy level wouldn’t last just an hour and a half, but five hours,” said Hodge, 46. Hamilton educated him about fuel-efficient, medium-chain triglycerides in coconut and the benefits of trace minerals in things such as calcified red marine sea algae from Iceland. Hodge found Hamilton’s nutritional philosophies intriguing, so he did a bit of research.

“I said, ‘I think the world needs this, and it’s a great opportunity now to build a company based on your name,’” Hodge said. In 2015, they launched Laird Superfood, starting with powdered, plant-based, dairy-free creamers. Since then, the “rocket ship ride” has brought the Sisters company to about 110 employees, with a plan to employ 500 in the next two to five years.

Crazy Growth, Sisters Style

They expect to continue adding workers and build a 30,000-square-foot warehouse this year, Hodge said. Now Sisters’ third-largest employer, when they reach 500, they’d rank nearly in Central Oregon’s top ten, ahead of Deschutes Brewery, according to Economic Development for Central Oregon.

The speedy trajectory from startup to global company is significant, said Caprielle Lewis, Sisters Area Director of Economic Development for Central Oregon. “In just a few short years, they’ve created a sustainable, stable base of family-wage jobs that pay above the average Sisters wage,” she said.

All aspects, from research and development to product testing, packaging, sales, marketing and management are done in about 24,500 square feet of space in two buildings in the eight-acre former Clear Pine Business Park, which Laird Superfood owns. Small food businesses typically outsource manufacturing and packaging, but instead the company invested in the property and its own production facility to have better quality control, Hodge said.

Typically, startups (including Hodge’s dozen others), hire to meet demand, but this time, the company built a strong executive team first. “This positioned us for the crazy growth we’re seeing,” he said, plus a less stressful workplace offers time to enjoy Central Oregon’s lifestyle perks.

Hodge and Hamilton at the Laird Superfood ribbon cutting, Photo JONATHAN REYNOLDS

Riding Corporate Waves

The company took in $32 million in a private funding round that included the global shared workspace company WeWork. It had seemed the perfect fit—superfoods, from creamers to Hydrate coconut waters—would be fueling tens of thousands of entrepreneurs renting WeWork spaces. After that company’s IPO plan failed last year, though, the Sisters company bought back the shares. They’re seeking another strategic partner, and targeting the “corporate warrior.”

Meanwhile, innovation keeps flowing. In January, they launched a line of plant-based, liquid creamers with nutrient-dense mushrooms. The refrigerated liquid market is ten times larger than powdered beverages, and the company will introduce healthy snacks this year too, Hodge said. Products are carried in thousands of stores, from Whole Foods to Costco, while 60 percent of sales is online.

“We’re not just building a coffee creamer or hydration company, we’re building the Laird brand, the next large, trusted food brand,” Hodge said. “The goal is to be like a Kraft or one of these legacy brands. These larger companies are losing trust from the consumer, and we’re looking to bring clean ingredients back, build a brand that’s trusted, and continue to roll out these products across multiple categories. It’s really endless.”

Raising rabbits for 4-h competition keeps these teens hopping all year

On a hot summer afternoon just weeks before the Deschutes County Fair, Carey Silbaugh’s front yard in Bend was hopping—literally—with a dozen rabbits of various colors and sizes, along with the young women who raised them. It’s the June meeting of the Bunny Brigade, a 4-H club devoted to raising rabbits.

Like many teenage girls, they giggle and tease each other as they chat. But their conversation is far from typical. The discussion ranges from the differences between breeds like a Holland Lop and a Netherland Dwarf, to signs that a rabbit is sick. One of the older teens examines the eyes and ears of a friend’s rabbit, who seems sluggish. “Add a little Gatorade to his water,” she advises, “and feed him some pinecones.” In a world where many teens focus on social media and digital lives, animal husbandry is an unusual interest. But for the young women of the Bunny Brigade, raising rabbits is serious business.

The Bunny Brigade is one of several 4-H clubs working with rabbits in Central Oregon. The group has about a dozen members, aged 13 to 19. At monthly meetings with their team leader Silbaugh, they dive deep into rabbit care, anatomy, breeding and health. They also learn the business side of raising animals, and prepare to show their best rabbits in competitions. Along the way, they gain confidence, resilience and problem-solving skills, and create a community of mentors and friends grounded in a real, unplugged world.

Head, Heart, Hands and Health: 4-H Youth Development

Over 870 kids and teens are involved in 4-H groups across Deschutes County, according to Candi Bothum, 4-H Educator. “It’s not just about animals—we have clubs for every interest imaginable,” Bothum said. Whether it’s hiking, photography or animals, the clubs share a few core elements: developing knowledge in one key area, keeping a record book of goals and achievements, and participating in competitions like the county fair. All 4-H activities are open to girls and boys ages 9 to 19; younger kids can join the Clover Buds groups, which don’t include competitive events.

Most kids stay involved in their group for several years, explained Bothum, and 4-H becomes a strong influence in their lives. “College professors tell me they can recognize the 4-H kids in the class by their sense of responsibility and their time management,” she said.

The clubs are part of the Oregon State University Extension Service. Land-grant universities like OSU share the mission of providing community education throughout their states, with gardening and nutrition classes for adults and a wide range of 4-H activities for youth. Since its inception over 100 years ago, 4-H has grown into the largest youth development program outside of public schools.

For kids interested in animals, rabbits have an advantage over larger animals. Sheep, goats and cows require a barn and pasture, but bunnies don’t need a lot of space. As Silbough explained, rabbits offer a way for any kid to participate. “You don’t have to live on a ranch to do this. One of our kids keeps her rabbit in her bedroom,” she said.

Raising rabbits, building resilience

Destiny Beamer joined 4-H at age 7. Now 19, she’s moved on from 4-H but continues to breed and show her rabbits at a professional level, in additional to studying at Cascade Culinary Institute. Last summer, she participated in her twelfth and final county fair, and reminisced about the influence the 4-H rabbit groups had in her life.

“There were a few years in high school that were pretty difficult. My mom had a car crash, I got really sick and I had to change schools a lot. The one stable constant in my life was working with the rabbits and other 4-H projects,” Beamer said. “The friends I’ve met in this community are like an extended family to me,” she added, “and they inspired me to help teach the kids just starting out.”

Because of an undiagnosed learning disability, Beamer had trouble reading during elementary school. Her desire to gain expertise drove her to keep working through rabbit books, and she taught herself to read years before she learned she is dyslexic. “I learned to speak clearly too, by watching the older kids when they presented to the judges. I did what they did—calm down, slow down and speak up,” she said. Most of all, she explained, she learned to problem-solve when answers weren’t obvious, and figure out how to make things work—a skill that applies to all parts of her life.

Bunny business through the seasons

The winter months allow time for the Bunny Brigade to take stock of their successes at the previous August’s fair and start planning for the next year. Each member updates their record books, where they list community service events, budget expenses and income from their rabbits, and lay out their goals for the next season. The record books document years of work and achievement, and track the cashflow for each project to the penny.

By spring, team members evaluate their rabbits with an eye toward the county fair competition. They must decide which to show, which to breed and which to take to market. Selling rabbits at the county fair auction is an important source of income—the rabbits often sell for $130 per pound. Natali Gerdes, 17, clarifies that raising rabbits is not the same as having cuddly pets. “You look at it differently when you breed them as market rabbits. We look for specific qualities, and choose the rabbits to breed for that purpose,” she said. At the 2019 Deschutes County Fair, Gerdes received scholarship funds to grow her business with more rabbits, and was recognized with the Small Animal Sportsmanship Award for helping newer club members.

By early summer, the Bunny Brigade meetings focus on preparing for the county fair, where the girls will show their rabbits in hopes of a ribbon or a sale. They line up behind a table, settling their rabbits on carpet squares as Silbaugh plays the role of judge, quizzing them on rabbit anatomy and health. They demonstrate how to check the hocks (the heel of the paw pad, which can easily become infected), check for mites (blow gently on the fur to expose the skin) and check for malocclusion (pull back the lips to verify the teeth line up).

Once the fair begins, Silbaugh has high expectations for the Bunny Brigade. But she’s watching for teamwork and effort, not wins or losses. The Bunny Brigade policy is to be the last to leave the barn each day, staying to help and clean until all teams have finished. “I don’t care what color ribbon any of us take home. The fair is a chance for our whole team to shine,” Silbaugh said.

Her granddaughter, Cheyenne Silbaugh, echoes that viewpoint. As a Bunny Brigade member for several years, she’s won dozens of ribbons, yet is more eager to show her record book as a way to share her successes. As she explained, “The fair is a competition, and getting a ribbon is a reward for your work, but really we are more like a big family. We have fun with the competition, but we all help each other—that’s what it’s all about.”

Oregon Gets Cheesy

Last fall, Southern Oregon’s Rogue Creamery took the top prize at the World Cheese Awards with its Rogue River Blue. Since, cheese lovers around the globe have had their curiosity piqued about Oregon, home of the world’s best cheese. The Rogue River Blue itself is sold out for now, but here are more amazing Oregon cheeses to grace your cheese board this winter season.

Face Rock Creamery’s Vampire Slayer Cheddar

The Vampire Slayer Curds from Bandon’s Face Rock Creamery took first place in the national cheese competition in North America. Packed with loads of garlic in a base of classic aged cheddar, this cheese packs a garlicy punch strong enough to keep the vampires at bay.

Willamette Valley Cheese Co.’s Boerenkaas Gouda

Boerenkaas (or farmhouse cheese) is a Dutch-style cheese, handmade from raw milk. Located just north of Salem, Willamette Valley Cheese Co. makes this golden-rined, creamy textured, very approachable cheese with a complex flavor of fruit, milk and flowers.

Rogue Creamery’s Oregonzola Blue

Located in Central Point, Rogue Creamery makes only organic, artisan blue and cheddar cheeses. The Oregonzola has a smooth and yielding paste and distinct blue veins of Gorgonzola with flavors reminiscent of fruit, sweet cream and tanginess. As are all Rogue cheeses, the Oregonzola is cave aged for at least six months.

La Mariposa Creamery’s Chubut

This creamery in Lowell was founded by an Argentine whose father was a cheesemaker in their homecountry. The Chubut is a Welsh-style cow’s milk cheese that’s mild and nutty, with a firm texture.

Rogue Creamery’s Crater Lake Blue

Another Rogue Creamery stand-out. The blue veins of the Crater Lake Blue mirror the clouds reflected in Crater Lake, while the cheese itself reveals a complex, silky paste with flavors of sweet buttery cream, and a layered, pleasant fruity finish.

Tillamook Creamery’s Smoked Black Pepper Cheddar

Tillamook is one of Oregon’s oldest creameries, dating back to a dairy farmer association founded in 1909. A recent line of artisanal cheeses from this coastal cheese producer includes this smoked black pepper cheddar. Enjoy each hickory smoked, peppercorn infused bite of this cow’s milk cheddar.

Dog-Friendly Mudrooms

Choosing the right mudroom setup can bring some order to a dog’s life. A dog, like a Subaru Outback with a CVT tent on top and mountain bike rack on the back, is part of the Central Oregon lifestyle.

Almost half of Central Oregonians own a dog, and with dozens of dog parks, off leash hiking areas and breweries that allow your pup to sit next to you while you have a beer, the high desert is one of the dog-friendlier places to live.

At home, mixing style and function with the realities of owning a dog can be tricky. Bringing some order to a home’s entrances and exits can alleviate some of the mess that dogs track in and keep the rest of your home cleaner. Here are a few ideas for creating a space that has both style and function.

start with storage

A multi-functional space like a mudroom offers a great template to keeping your dog’s supplies contained. Investing in a built-in setup that can house a washer and dryer along with extra shelf and cabinet storage that is easily reachable when you first get home or when you walk out the door can make a space infinitely more usable. There are even ways to create built-in beds or kennels to leave your dog at home in a comfortable space that’s all their own. Create easily reachable spaces for items you need every day like dog food, harnesses and leashes, treats and poop bags.

consider the paws

Lucky for those of us that live in the high desert, mud isn’t a big issue throughout the year, but flooring is still an important consideration. Large ceramic tiles are durable and offer a high-end feel. A more affordable alternative is vinyl flooring that resembles wood or tile. Found at large chains and local flooring retailers, there are hundreds of styles to choose from that can match your home’s aesthetic and look real, for a fraction of the cost and much easier to care for—and can be scratch-resistant. Increase the life of your flooring by placing mats at the door and in front of high-trafficked areas to catch any excess dirt, snow or mud.

bath time

One of the best features to incorporate into a mudroom is a bath or shower for your dog. While something like a tiled, built-in, elevated shower and tub combo would be ideal, there are standalone sinks that can function just as well, including those that are elevated and those that sit on the ground so your dog can walk right in after a muddy adventure outside.

Hot Tech For the Home

We can’t forget about tech when we talk about the look and feel of a home. Our favorite gadgets help transform our spaces to function more smoothly, which is why the best tech is both fun to play with and makes our lives easier. Whether you’re looking for something to bring your home further up to speed, or simply want to treat yourself to a new tech tool, we’ve got a few ideas to get you well on your way.

← Lenovo Smart Clock with Google Assistant $80

Calling all sleepyheads, this smart alarm clock just may be your morning rise-and-shine solution. The Lenovo Smart Clock may help to get at the root of your sleep issues by reminding you to reduce smartphone screen-time at night. Plus, it can control any smart features in your home from your lights to your espresso machine, play music, and keep you on schedule for meetings and to-dos. The soft-touch gray cloth exterior blends in well with any style.

Sonos 5.1 Home Theater Surround Set $1,650 →

When you’re having friends over to watch the big game or indulging in a movie night, you want a system you love, and can easily use. This set delivers on both, offering quality sound carried through just four pieces—a Sonos Beam, Sonos Sub, and two wireless speakers, making set-up easy. Once plugged in and ready to go, the system responds to voice command, your remote, the Sonos app and Apple AirPlay 2.

← Google Nest Hello $229

Google Nest Hello is a smart doorbell that offers both convenience and peace of mind. It provides 24/7 streaming and continuous video recording, video coverage that’s wide and tall to give you a fuller picture of your doorstep and HDR video that shows sharp details even when it’s extra bright or dark out. Google Nest can also be personalized to you and your home to recognize familiar faces and play prerecorded messages when you can’t answer the door.

Sensate Faucet with Kohler Konnect $919 →

This smart faucet is like having another hand in the kitchen. With voice-activated technology, the faucet can connect to Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri to follow voice commands. You can ask your faucet to turn on or off, dispense measured amounts of water, fill to presets such as your coffee pot and even check your water usage. You can also use the faucet’s sensor to turn on, hands-free. But aside from the smart features, the faucet itself is a great fixture, allowing you to choose from two steam settings and four chic finishes.

← KitchenAid Smart Display: Coming soon

In the cold winter months, many of us spend a lot more time in the kitchen, which is why we welcome a gadget that makes cooking easier and more fun. Whirlpool’s new KitchenAid Smart Display is a water-resistant, ten-inch standing screen meant for your countertop. Messy hands in the midst of cooking? The KitchenAid Smart Display takes Google Assistant voice commands. You can ask it to play a YouTube recipe video, call your mom for help with your turkey or pull up recipes from Yummly, another Whirlpool brand. The only thing we don’t like about it is that it hasn’t reached consumers yet—but the display is expected to be released by early 2020.

Dyson Pure Hot + Cool $500 →

A combination heater and fan that purifies the air, the Dyson Pure Hot + Cool is a three-for-one tech find. The Dyson 360° Glass HEPA filter removes allergens and pollutants you can’t see from the air, while keeping your home cozy or cooling it down. Its design also allows it to circulate purified air, instead of only purifying the air around the fan.

Keeping it Natural

Backyard forests are behind the latest trends in interior decorating. Designers from all over the globe gathered recently at the largest furniture and decor industry trade show in the world, High Point Market in North Carolina.

Taking cues from Mother Nature, these contemporary interior design leaders pointed to our mountains, rivers and forests for nature inspired designs for the coming seasons. Coastal environments aren’t to be left out either. Right now, designers are wild about anything natural, whether derived from a branch, a rock or a seashell.

The trend boils down to bringing the outdoors, indoors. Looking to natural materials means living more simply, and finding sustainable, organic, and environmentally friendly approaches to decorating and living in our spaces. Getting back to nature in one’s own home allows the homeowner to relax and feel peace and tranquility.

Even more upsides to using natural materials: eco-friendly materials found in nature really never go out of fashion. Natural materials are typically longer lasting and hold up better than man-made items, as well. Choosing natural materials almost always means a reduction in off-gassing of toxic chemical compounds that can pollute the air you breathe within your home.

Natural Touch

The warmth of wood and rocks gives a home a warm and cozy feel. In Central Oregon, we see many homes already with a natural stone accent wall or hearth, along with a rough-hewn exposed beam, which gives an earthy and comforting feel. Bringing in a river rock wall or a brick feature wall will add texture to any home. Also trending are wood paneled walls, and entire ceilings made of reclaimed barnwood. For a more minimalistic and Zen design, eco-friendly materials like bamboo and linen for interiors will create a similar atmosphere.

At the High Point Market this year, rattan, cane and wicker furnishings were the rage, coupled with rooms filled with tropical leaf print wallpaper or Audubon-like prints of colorful birds. The look of these natural materials is a historical glance back to British Colonialists in Africa and India, when nature played a significant role in design, and furniture was made with what was on hand in the region.

As the colonialists found then, it’s still true today that natural textures of rattan and wicker pieces pair well with vibrant colors coming from floral or botanical prints of that area, and so designers are bringing back that look once again, in various motifs. While the color wheel may surround the earthy taupe, tan and camel hues, pops of vibrant color from nature are also an inspiration; greens, saffron red, cinnamon and persimmon orange will warm up the space and add personality to any room.

Décor from the Earth

Anything nature inspired is on trend this year, from mirrors framed with seashells, sticks or rocks to seashell light fixtures. It’s as if Madison Avenue designers came to Bend and borrowed some of our ideas, because interior décor such as taxidermy and antlers are being installed in client’s homes, to give homeowners that rustic, down home appeal. Another hot trend are stones. Cut polished stones are placed as décor: think thundereggs, granite and marble.

Organic materials are popular for flooring, whether it’s hardwood floors, or rock slabs, or even sisal and jute floor coverings. To fit this design aesthetic, window treatments should be made with organic materials as well, such as bamboo blinds, linen shades, and cotton or silk drapes.

Because designers and homeowners seem to be embracing new environmental consciousness with green natural materials, the push to natural décor may not be an actual trend, but a movement that is here to stay. As they say, nature never goes out of style.

Hint! House plants are probably the easiest solution to bring the outdoor world into the home. By increasing the number of plants and flowers in your home, you also allow the plants to do what they do naturally: clean the air.

Life Atop the Hill

It was 1970. Bend’s population was just over 13,000 and St. Charles Medical Center’s current location wouldn’t open for another five years.

But the then-small upstart Brooks Resources had the foresight to predict the town’s growth, and took a bet on developing a hill west of downtown Bend called Awbrey Butte. Now fifty years later, that bet has more than paid off.

“We always viewed Bend as a desirable place,” said Brooks Resources chairman Mike Hollern. “We thought Awbrey Butte was a good investment, and it in fact turned out to be.”

Today, there are close to 800 homesites on the butte that sits about 500 feet in elevation above Bend’s west side. Developed with attention to how each site could have ample space and privacy as well as fantastic views of the surrounding region, Awbrey Butte has attracted homeowners who are looking for all the perks of living near the hustle and bustle of Bend without being squeezed into urban-sized lots.

It took almost two decades for Brooks Resources to develop the butte. But in the 1990s, once water service was delivered and roads were carved into the hill, with the intention that they blend into the landscape, Awbrey Butte took off as one of the most desirable places to be in Bend.

There are a wide range of homes on Awbrey Butte, named for the pioneer Marshall Awbrey who lived in the area during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Buyers can choose from mid-century modern homes to classic Northwest craftsman—though there is continuity among the homes, driven by the homeowners’ association guidelines for building, including outdoor paint colors that match the surrounding landscape in order to better blend into the hill.

North Rim is the newest neighborhood on the butte. The private community has 121 one-acre homesite with a collection of custom-built homes. Other exclusive amenities include a lodge and park available to homeowners and guests as well as private tennis court. Awbrey Butte’s two public parks include Sylvan Park and Summit Park, with tennis courts and ample green space to play. A small business park sits on the butte’s north side, as well.

Kristi Kaufman, a real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Bain with two decades of experience in the area, said that homes on Awbrey Butte have seen an appreciation in value that is following the trends of the region. Buyers can expect to spend between $700,000 and $1.5 million for a home on the butte. “There is a wide range of homes that work for retirees who are downsizing, as well as 7,000-square-foot homes for large families,” she said.

The large lots, location in Bend and quality of homes continue to draw more buyers to Awbrey Butte, said Kaufman. “It’s a huge draw for people wanting to be on the west side for access, but who want a little bit bigger lots,” she said. “Awbrey Butte gives a little more space, more elbow room. The homes are larger than what you would find in west Bend, and value seems to be pretty good.”

Jason Epple and his wife Trisha built their home on Awbrey Butte in 1998, selecting the lot for its privacy as well as space for a long driveway and yard for their future family. Today, they’ve raised four kids in the house and have built long-term friendships with their neighbors.

“It’s a place where there aren’t busy streets or cars driving fast,” he said. “Our kids grew up playing in the cul-de-sac and the yard. The most important thing for us is the neighborhood community we’ve had over the years. That’s what makes it for us.”

They also appreciate life on Awbrey Butte because of its location in town and how it’s become a retreat from the ever-growing construction and traffic. “Bend has been expanding and growing outward, and it helps me appreciate the butte even more. We drive down the butte and it’s busy with a lot more traffic and people,” he said. “It’s really nice to drive up on the butte and have a quiet neighborhood.”

With kids in college, Epple has considered a move from Awbrey Butte, but they haven’t been able to find a place that matches everything they have in the neighborhood, including close access to trails, popular west side amenities and attractions, and of course, their neighbors.

“My wife and I would love to build a new house, now that life and circumstances have changed, but I don’t know where we would go,” he said. “I don’t think that there’s a place where we would go in Bend to be happier.”

A Japanese-Napa Fusion

When I heard about the winemaker’s dinner at 5 Fusion & Sushi Bar, I was a little giddy. As a Sonoma County native, I was thrilled to spend the evening pairing a prix fixe dinner with wine from Sonoma’s neighboring wine region. Beringer Brothers, a well-known name across the Napa and Sonoma valleys, showcased some of their library and vintage wines strategically chosen by 5 Fusion’s artisan chef, Joe Kim, who achieved level one sommelier status last year.

Kim, a three-time James Beard Foundation award nominee, curated each course as 40 guests gathered together with winemaker, Mark Beringer. Don’t presume nepotism, just yet. Beringer’s family actually sold the winery to Treasury Wine Estates over 40 years ago, long before the young Beringer was in the wine game. After spending over 20 years building a resume in winemaking, he applied for a job with Beringer Brothers “as a joke.” Fast-forward three years, and he’s now the head winemaker for Beringer Brother’s–making him one of eight winemakers ever at the winery that his great-great-grandfather founded in Saint Helena 140 years ago.

I was pleased to start the evening with some bubbles of rosé, as I don’t see many sparkling rosé wines by the glass or by the bottle offered in Central Oregon. Chef Kim paired five Beringer wines, two of which were named number-one wine of the year by Wine Spectator, with a tapas course, three dinner plates, and dessert.

I typically don’t gravitate towards Chardonnay–in fact, I avoid the varietal–but the first two courses were paired each with the butter white wine. Let me just say, it’s humbling when I am pleasantly proven wrong. Both Chardonnay wines were almost devoid of the buttery and oaky qualities that are less than agreeable with my palate. Chef Kim paired the first Chardonnay with a Japanese striped bass Crudo served over the most savory and decadent lobster velouté I’ve ever experienced (a velouté is similar to a bechamel sauce).

We ate our way through seared scallops and a ramen fettuccine served with a slightly sweet and spicy braised duck ragu. The wagyu beef and dijon fingerling potatoes plate was undoubtedly the star course of the evening. We bid adieu to our feast over a cigar-smoked chocolate mousse and a dark chocolate semifreddo. I imagined that the smoked mousse would emulate the dessert-equivalent of a Mezcal tequila. Still, it was best enjoyed in small doses with bites of the basil-infused semifreddo as a reprieve from its smokiness.

Lillian Chu, owner of 5 Fusion, is looking forward to hosting more winemakers dinners early next year. She has been facilitating similar events for the past ten years, which raised over $400 thousand for organizations such as the KIDS Center and Ronald McDonald House of Bend. All of the Beringer wines that were served at this event are available for purchase at the Good Drop Wine Shoppe.

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Disclosure: This event is the first for-profit winemaker’s dinner hosted by 5 Fusion.

Building The Extra Green Mile

Sponsored Content

Bend home builder leads the way in taking green practices, homeowners’ visions to heart.

When it comes to building a custom home, you want someone you can count on from start to finish. You need an expert guide who is going to stick with you.

That’s exactly how Dennis Szigeti, owner of Leader Builders, approaches his work in Central Oregon. Leader Builders is a boutique builder, specializing in high-end residential construction. At 65, Szigeti has been in the business for forty years—somewhat of a rarity in a line of work that includes long hours, daunting projects and big asks.

“As we say, we’re custom building your dreams,” Szigeti said.

After building in Hawaii for sixteen years, Szigeti moved back to Bend in 1995 and opened Leader Builders in 1997. The length of time Szigeti has spent in the industry is in line with his general approach to his work—going the extra mile.

Szigeti runs the business with his son, Ryder, who is project manager. The father-son team is supported by a couple of employees who, all together, build some of the most magnificent custom homes in Central Oregon.

But as in every aspect of Szigeti and his team’s work, they don’t stop there. They build these jaw-dropping homes using green building practices as a partner of Earth Advantage and the Energy Trust of Oregon. Leader Builders even earned a Green Home of the Year Award in 2018.

“A lot of it’s in practice,” Szigeti said. “We do a lot of recycling way above and beyond what would be the norm throughout the course of the build.”

And they’ve been known to use recycled materials where they will make a statement, such as building a ceiling out of reclaimed wood.

It’s the visionary aspect of the work that has drawn Szigeti in for so many decades. He loves getting to hear people’s ideas for different rooms and areas, and bringing together the various elements they’re looking for into one, cohesive home.

“I’m very passionate about the creative element and then building something people will love and enjoy for many, many years,” Szigeti said. “I look at it as the legacy I’m leaving behind.”

Making someone’s vision of a home a reality comes with plenty of challenges, which Szigeti thrives on. Even if it takes the Leader Builders team staining twenty samples to get the right look for a wood beam, they’re willing to do it—and have.

Whether it’s ensuring someone is on site for the build each day or doing walk-throughs with the homebuilder, Szigeti prides himself on being a builder who’s always willing to lend an ear.

“You’ve got to show up,” Szigeti said. It’s how he’s ended up crafting homes that are gorgeous to anyone yet personal to the homeowner. “We don’t pigeonhole ourselves into one category,” Szigeti said. “Northwest contemporary and mid-century modern are our two strongest styles, but we’ve done everything.”

Take for example, the home Szigeti recently built in Bend’s Tree Farm neighborhood. With a standing seam metal roof and Asian influenced architecture inside and out, the home perfectly suits its owners’ Japanese heritage.

The front gate to the residence stands tall with four wood pillars, clean lines and dark accents for a look that Szigeti calls “PNW meets pagoda,” which his team designed. In the living room, stained black panels encase the fireplace above the mantel, providing the perfectly contrasted backdrop for the homeowner’s white wedding kimono.

Adding a unique material to walls to create a standout scene in an unexpected place is a skill of Leader Builders. In a recent build at Tetherow, the team placed a steel panel in the living area above the entertainment center for a surprising texture that adds depth and texture to the space.

In every one of Leader Builders’ projects, it’s these custom details that make the home unique. From carefully chosen finishes and painstakingly placed lighting to upcycled materials and artfully laid tile—placed by Szigeti’s daughter—every detail is accounted for in Szigeti’s homes, and then some.

Inspired Design

Sponsored Content

Nathan Good Architects tailor home design solutions to each client for stunning, award-winning results.

The view from the Deschutes River to the Live Edge residence in Central Oregon. Photo by Rick Keating.

Imagine offering an object, an abstract idea, or perhaps a photograph of a lone sand dune to an architect and saying, “This is the design inspiration for my home.” Now imagine your personal style being seamlessly integrated into a stunning home design that honors its environment and goes on to win accolades for its green sensibilities and architectural innovation. Let’s take it a step further: your new home produces more energy than it consumes, and supports your aspirations for health and wellness.

Oregon architect Nathan Good can imagine all of this, because that’s what his firm does. “We once had a client tell us her inspiration for her home was a synthesis between the hemline of a flamenco dancer’s skirt and the interior of a nautilus shell,” recalls Good. “We had another client who wanted us to design a home that could withstand sustained winds of 150 mph, a forest fire or marauding bands of thieves. She wanted it to be off the grid, energy-independent, with a safe room where she could live up to two weeks without needing anything from the outside.”

An aerial view of the Live Edge home reveals the river below. Photo by Rick Keating.

How does this happen? How do you bring a sand dune, a skirt hem or the desire to age-in-place in a future-proof home to fruition? “Well,” says Good, who was one of the first in the United States to become a LEED-accredited professional, “We tailor our architectural solutions to our client, rather than plugging them into a preset aesthetic. All of our projects express our passion for daylighting, views, exemplary indoor air quality, and environmental responsibility.”

Another hallmark is also clear after perusing their portfolio: their ability to incorporate opposing ideals into their work, resulting in a smaller space imparting a sense of spaciousness, or casual luxury with precise attention to detail. “We had a lovely couple who wanted to build a unique home along the Oregon Coast,” remembers Good. “They were committed to utilizing all of the wood from a eighty-year-old barn that had been on their family’s property for generations. Everything was carefully dismantled because it was important to them that we infuse elements of their family history in every aspect of the home. They wanted it designed and built to last for many generations as a legacy project.”

Clerestory ribbon windows and a live edge dining table bring natural light and materials into the great room of the Live Edge residence. Photo by Rick Keating.

Nathan Good and his group of three other architects and an interior designer are known for their highly collaborative methods, involving all project stakeholders in a thorough, thoughtful design process. Their initial site assessments include analyzing views, rainfall, prevailing winds, annual temperatures and the path of the sun across the site through the seasons. They welcome input from their project’s clients and other team members, including interior designers, contractors, suppliers and energy consultants, resulting in the creation of a distinguished custom home.

Although Nathan Good Architects is headquartered in Salem, they have recently opened an office in Bend. Their custom home designs can be found throughout the western United States, Mexico and Hawaii. Demand for their services has resulted in a wide range of unique custom homes that span the spectrum from a modest fishing cottage overlooking the Deschutes River in Maupin to a 36,000-square-foot estate south of Denver, Colorado. “We’ve been designing custom homes in the Bend area for over ten years,” says Good. “Like many others, we see Bend as a haven for those who love the outdoors and feel a deep connection to the environment.” It’s no surprise, then, that when asked about some of their favorite projects, their designs in the Bend area quickly top the list. Central Oregon has been an opportunity for Nathan Good Architects to showcase their wide range of abilities, from multi-million-dollar residences to more modest cabins and retreats.

The home designed by Nathan Good Architects in response to their clients photograph of a sand dune. Photo by Rick Keating.

One home that captures the look and feel of Bend’s natural and cultural spirit is the Live Edge residence near Tumalo. The modern blufftop beauty is a LEED Platinum-Certified residence and was named GreenBuilder Magazine’s “Luxury Green Home of the Year” for 2018. Overlooking the Deschutes River from its rocky perch surrounded by ancient juniper and other indigenous plants, Live Edge complements the high desert landscape as if it took root among the sage and rocky outcroppings. The owners requested that the natural setting be preserved as much as possible, resulting in the home being designed to flow around ancient junipers and unaltered rock formations.

Still scratching your head over how a sand dune inspires a home? A signature project designed by NGA is still garnering recognition years after its completion in 2005 for its groundbreaking biophilic design. One national publication hailed it as “ingenious” for its functionality and beauty with a curved vegetative roof that reflects the client’s photograph of a graceful line defining the top of a wind-blown sand dune.

From left to right: Architect Forrest Good, Interior Designer Emily Doerfler, Architect Nathan Good, Architect Lydia Peters, Architect John Carriere, Business Operations Manager Meghan Laro.

2Sisters Ranch Wagyu Giveaway

2Sisters Ranch Wagyu is giving away their 2SR Butcher Box worth $450!

The giveaway includes:

The 2SR Butcher Box contains approximately 10 lbs of 100% Wagyu, which will fit easily into a household freezer. This box contains 2 New York steaks, 2 London Broil, 1 Flank steak, 2 Cross Rib steaks, and 4 packages of Carne Asada.

2Sisters Ranch Wagyu is a family owned and operated ranch in Tumalo, Oregon that raises 100% Fullblood Wagyu.

Their cattle are pasture raised in the fresh air and sunshine of Central Oregon, and are grass fed from nutrient-rich local hay, which produces an unparalleled umami flavor in the beef. On their family owned and operated ranch, they value the methods of traditional farming that prioritize the health and wellness of their animals. They believe the best beef comes from animals that are well cared for, and they work hard to provide you the highest quality meat directly from their pastures to your plate.

‘和牛’ Wagyu: ‘Wa’ means Japanese and ‘gyu’ means cow

2Sisters Ranch’s passion is raising the highest quality Wagyu beef with 100% pure Japanese genetics. Their herd was founded directly from the prominent Tajima and Kedaka lines, known for producing the highest amounts of marbling, tenderness, and exquisite flavor. They allow their cattle to grow naturally in order to maximize the superior meat qualities intrinsic to the Wagyu breed.

Bred from pure Japanese genetics

What does it mean to say pure Japanese genetics? In the 1970’s the first importation of Wagyu bulls occurred and over the next 20 years there were only a few more importations, totaling less than 200 Wagyu. In 1997 Japan declared Wagyu a National Treasure and ever since then there has been an export ban on any live animals or genetics. Fullblood Wagyu that are DNA certified by the American Wagyu Association can prove 100% of their lineage traces to the original importations from Japan. Fullblood Wagyu have never had any US cattle lines bred into them…only pure Japanese genetics similar to the Kobe beef being raised in Japan today. Read more here.

Grass Fed

Grass fed beef has been found to have healthier ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids than grain fed beef. It also often contains higher levels of anti-oxidants like vitamin A and E. Factory meat typically contains unhealthy fatty acids, includes hormones, antibiotics, and other biotoxins.

Healthy Fat

Highly marbled Wagyu beef have higher proportions of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) due to higher concentrations of oleic acid. Wagyu beef has the lowest cholesterol of all meats, even lower than fish or chicken.

Shop 2Sisters Ranch Offerings

And many more!

The contest begins on February 3 at 12:00 a.m. and ends on February 16 at 12:00 p.m. For the complete list of rules, visit our contest policy page.

The Childcare Question

Bend Chamber taking the lead on an initiative aimed at tackling the region’s childcare shortage.

If you asked Bend residents about the city’s top problem, you’d probably hear things like traffic congestion, affordable housing and wages. But if you asked that same question to parents of young children, you’d probably hear about the lack of affordable, quality childcare in town. It’s not just a problem for parents.

The lack of childcare is pushing employees out of the workforce at an alarming rate as parents of young children, particularly mothers, opt to remain home rather than return to the workplace because of the childcare shortage. According to a survey conducted last year by the Bend Chamber of Commerce, it’s also creating problems for employees who remain at work but are less productive because they are distracted by childcare-related issues, The survey confirmed what the business community knew instinctively: that the lack of childcare is an issue of concern for employers as well as employees.

It’s not just a Bend problem. Cities around Central Oregon are strapped for childcare, said Bend Chamber CEO Katy Brooks. In places like Madras, there are sometimes only one or two providers to cover the entire community, Brooks said.

“We have a society where both parents are working, or you’re a single person working with kids. This is a nationwide issue. We have not built the infrastructure by which we have an affordable, high-quality way to take care of our children,” Brooks said.

Brooks said the issue hit the chamber’s radar in 2018 when it was developing a series of discussions and programs around its “year of the woman” theme. One thing that kept coming up was how a lack of childcare options, especially for mothers of infant children, was keeping them out of the workforce.

“Only one out of three kids under the age of five are in childcare. What we don’t know is how many of them are just folks who have decided to stay home, but we do know there are waitlists for infants, especially under one years old, of at least one year,” Brooks said.

This past fall, the chamber decided to get proactive about the childcare crisis. It hired a “Childcare Accelerator,” a new position in the organization to provide more options for parents in the short term while developing a new model for childcare in the region through a partnership with Oregon State University and Central Oregon Community College.

The position is funded in part by contributions from local businesses who have a vested interest in alleviating the childcare shortage. For now, the job will be housed at the Bend Chamber under the umbrella of its BendNext program, the chamber’s non-profit workforce development program. The goal, however, is to work with partners like OSU and COCC to create an independent umbrella organization dedicated to taking on the childcare issue. OSU Cascades has already set aside land for a pilot childcare program that, if successful, could be replicated across the region.

“Our challenge is going to be [getting] some early wins and starting to add some slots now while we work on some of these bigger pilot ideas” Brooks said.

What They’re Saying

Megan Norris, Childcare Accelerator

A former teacher and a mother of two, Norris will work with businesses and other community partners to entice some of the region’s existing providers to expand capacity by opening new childcare centers. She has extensive experience in the intersection of public policy and private enterprise and has developed solar projects, mixed-use neighborhoods and worked with the California Sierra Club. Solving the childcare problem will require her to draw upon all that experience, she said.

So far, she has been encouraged by the initial conversation with potential partners. “The community coming together around this has been amazing. I think everyone realizes the need and is just embracing it and wanting to help,” she said.

Bend Community Healing

Wellness center’s approach emphasizes access and affordability.

Standing in a relaxed, yet tall stance, eight people raise their arms to shoulder height, graceful and ethereal as long-legged, long-necked cranes. As if moving through honey, striving for quality of movement, they take unforced, diagonal steps, shifting their weight, back to front. In a ponderous, powerful, plié of sorts, they take on the wide stance of the bear, heavy, with hidden agility. Traversing the room like playful monkeys, they extend upturned palms from under their chins, as if offering fruit.

In this qigong class, a dozen students, ranging in age from 20s to 60s, follow the lead of instructor Mark Montgomery. He founded Bend Community Healing in 2014, which now operates out of a small office/healing center off Century Drive on Bend’s west side. He offers meditation classes and acupuncture, community-style, in which a group receives the treatment simultaneously, provided on a sliding scale. Each person pays what they can, $20 to $50, no questions asked, and a $15 intake fee at the first visit.

Montgomery, who has studied with master acupuncturists and qigong instructors throughout the U.S. and in China, has long supported the community acupuncture model, believing that it doesn’t have to be expensive. In a stressful, conflict-filled world, we need spaces where strangers can turn off their phones and rest side-by-side, healing together in comfy recliners in a large room, amid soft, therapeutic background music. Community itself is a potent healing force, he said, and the way to popularize acupuncture’s effectiveness—from calming the mind to helping treat injury and disease—is to make it readily available.

Healing, energy-enhancing, calming practices such as meditation and qigong are free and easy to learn, Montgomery said. Qigong (pronounced chee gung) combines the Chinese words qi (life force or vital energy) and gong (cultivation or skill). The gentle movements, breathing techniques, and mental concentration are aimed at circulating, strengthening and purifying the qi.

“What’s frustrating for me is that most of the people who come in have things going on that are the result of never having been taught to tune in to, and feel and tend to their own energy, and for me, living in the 21st century, it is a non-negotiable,” said Montgomery. “We have to learn to bring our awareness of ourselves in the world into alignment… There’s a way that we can actually tune in and feel not just structure, but energy, and the more we can hone awareness, that ability to attune, the more we can start to take care of ourselves in a much more profound way.”

Ryan Redmond said he joined the qigong class six months ago to build on his experience in a similar practice, tai chi. Qigong has taught him how to stay in tune with his mental and physical energy in a distracting world. The 41-year-old said he respects Montgomery’s commitment to his clients, the sliding scale and welcoming space, in which clients share not just “rainbows and unicorns” but also their struggles. “People in class are experiencing genuine community,” he said.

Sophie Bijjani and Florian Pappafava discovered Bend Community Healing while visiting from Quebec and considering moving to Bend. Bijjani, 25, said she appreciated the time at the beginning of the qigong class for people to tap into their feelings and to focus on an intention throughout.

“It quiets the mind and gives an opportunity to focus on your body, and not just on what you have to do, what’s next, what’s best for your career or your kids,” she said.

Pappafava, 32, said, the class creates an inviting space for exploring your own energy. “I get something through living the movement rather than just doing it mechanically; it was nourishing to think and just live the movement. You are present.”

Six Resolution Reads For 2020

These eagerly anticipated releases belong on your bookshelf in 2020.

1 American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins American Dirt is already being called the next great American novel. The novel follows a middle-class family from Acapulco, Mexico as they flee north to the United States, hoping to escape the wrath of a brutal drug cartel. I haven’t read any of Cummins’ earlier work, but with raving blurbs from authors like Kristin Hannah, Stephen King and Julia Alvarez, this novel is definitely on my to-read list.

2 Weather by Jenny Offil Jenny Offil’s novel Dept. of Speculation was noted as one of the best books of its year by the New York Times and has been passed around as a quiet favorite in the literary world. Her newest novel Weather follows a librarian who agrees to answer letters written to an old mentor who is too busy to answer her own fan mail.

3 The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel When people ask me what book they should read next, Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven is my first recommendation. That means that The Glass Hotel has large shoes to fill. Still, I have high hopes for Mandel’s latest novel that involves Ponzi schemes and mysterious disappearances at sea. Like Station Eleven, I have a feeling that this most recent novel will be one of those hard to summarize, yet must-read books.

4 All Adults Here by Emma Straub In addition to owning and running Books Are Magic, a popular bookstore in Brooklyn, novelist Emma Straub manages to write contemporary novels to great acclaim. Her next work, All Adults Here, is a family-centered epic that is already garnering great reviews.

5 My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell Fifteen-year-old Vanessa’s affair with her teacher is a source of strength and confidence, until a former student shares a secret. Vanessa is not the only one to gather her teacher’s affection. Now she must reconcile her memory with the knowledge that she has been manipulated. Russell’s debut novel examines the power of memory, identity, and our willful need for self-deception.

6 Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer OK, it’s more of manual than a novel and it was technically released in 2019, but… if you’ve argued over a semicolon, debated the validity of the Oxford comma, or taken issue with a split infinitive, this offering from Random House’s copy chief is a must-have. Dreyer puts style and personality back into the tired world of style guides, adding humor and anecdotes designed to both entertain and educate.

The Ballad of Bend’s Other Butte

A mid-winter meditation on Central Oregon’s second mountain.

By late morning the parking lot was still empty, which seems unfathomable now when you think of Dutchman Flat. It was early January 2005. That was the year I fell in love with Tumalo. That was the year I learned how a bad winter could still be great.

Alone, I set out on the two-mile skin to the top of the 7,779-foot volcano in a ritual that would not change over the next 15 years. Hard breathing would soften into a steady chuff set to a mohair metronome swaying over snow. The cold air hitting hot lungs gradually lost its bite. With each stride, the curtain of spruce pulled back to reveal the pink folds of Mount Bachelor to the southwest. In the backcountry, the winding up of gravity is just as pleasurable as the release.

A place of easy access and easy reward is bound to tease out our natures, too. We players want what we want and will tribe up to get it. Two legs, four legs, blue smoke, pedal strokes: we stride, ride, spin and slide up and around those flanks in a microcosm of everything that makes Bend great. The peak may sit in the shadow of one of the nation’s largest ski resorts but Tumalo is a destination in its own right. We’ve mostly figured out how to tolerate, maybe even how to share.

I got to the top that day just as I’d do hundreds of more times over the years. The windswept ridge of storm-punished pines feels impressive every time. The backside bowl howled steep and tempting but the snowpack that year would prove be the shallowest in sixty years. No matter. I stripped skins, locked heels and came down the thousand feet.

Frank Zappa once said you can’t be a real country without a beer and an airline. I don’t think you can be a real mountain town without a Tumalo. It’s the season’s great equalizer, where what goes in is what comes out, and the you that’s up there is always better than the you that began.

High Hopes

America’s leader in online cannabis ordering set to expand in Bend

Ross Lipson (left) with brother and co-founder Zach

When Ross Lipson went off to Michigan State University in 2005, on his first day in the dorm, he got inundated with take-out food menus. Knowing there was a better way to connect restaurants and customers, he dropped out of college in the first week of school to launch one of the first online restaurant-ordering sites in the U.S. capable of aggregating offerings from multiple eateries. He replicated that with GrubCanada, the country’s first such service, which became a household name and the hub for online ordering.

After selling it in 2011, Lipson, an avid snowboarder, moved to Bend in 2012. His timing was fortuitous. When Oregon voters legalized cannabis for recreational use in 2014, Lipson saw an opportunity. He founded Dutchie (pronounced doo-chey) an online marketplace where consumers can place pickup or delivery orders from local cannabis shops. With hundreds of participating dispensaries across the nation, Dutchie is dominating the space and expanding locally. We talked with Lipson recently about the endeavor and his plans for its growth.

Tell us a bit about launching Dutchie in Bend in mid-2017.

Shops were starting up, as we all remember, on every corner—lines out the door. Everyone was very excited. I was personally excited. I enjoy consuming, the culture, the people, I see the opportunity. I’m in Bend, in Oregon, one of the first markets to go legal for rec[reation], and so I have this early exposure to this emerging industry, cannabis. I’m in line that first day of legalization, and my light bulb is going off in my head, screaming at me, saying ‘You need to apply the online ordering concept, everything you know, to the cannabis space.’ I called my brother (Zach Lipson), who’s my co-founder and chief product officer here. He was living in Chicago, he’s a tech startup guy, and serendipitously, he was going through an acquisition at the same time. I called him with my idea and he said, “It’s a no-brainer, you have to do it, and I’m in.”

How much is the company growing?

We launched here in Bend in mid-2017 with just one dispensary and now, two-and-a-half years later, we’re in twenty-two states, we’re in more than 500 dispensaries, we have forty-five employees, growing quick. We just signed a lease for a 13,000-square-foot building with room for 130 employees. We’re moving in November 2020, so we’re really aggressively recruiting. We are recruiting software engineers, product specialists—cannabis connoisseurs, customer support, sales, account management. Those are the buckets for thirty job openings.

Tell us about your funding and sales.

We’ve raised $18 million in funding. The lead on our first round was Casa Verde Capital, which is [backed by] Snoop Dog, and Gron Ventures led our last round, our Series A in September. We’re the leader in the nation in online ordering for cannabis —transacted more sales in cannabis than anyone in the nation last year. We’re right now annualized at doing $185 million in GMV, gross merchandise value—transacted sales. (The amount of sales made by dispensaries using Dutchie online ordering.) We work with many multi-state operators like Mission and ZenLeaf and the largest dispensary in the world, NuWu, in Vegas, and the closest recreational dispensary to New York City, Theory Wellness, which averages a two-hour line all day in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on the border of New York State. Order volume like you’ve never seen—over 1,000 transactions per day.

Who are your main competitors and how are you distinct?

Leafly and Weedmaps are our two main competitors, however, we’re very focused on online ordering. That’s all we do, whereas they do many things. They’re first and foremost product review, and a dispensary guide of listings in your area. They just recently launched online ordering.

What have been the biggest challenges so far?

I am so optimistic; I see the challenges as positive. In the cannabis space there are these rules and regulations that wear you down. Those are the reasons why the big players aren’t in—the barriers to entry—I love those problems. It all comes down to the mindset.

Bend’s Founder Left an Indelible Mark During His Stay

Take a look around the heart of Bend, and it’s hard to miss Alexander Drake’s handiwork. Drake arrived in Bend more than 100 years ago, but his fingerprints are all over this town, even if you don’t know where to look.

Drake laid out the town’s street grid, opened the first sawmill, developed the first canal system, and built the infrastructure to bring electricity to his town. And he did it all in just a little over a decade. About the time it would take today to get the permits for any single piece of the public works project.

Before Alexander and Florence Drake arrived, Bend was a rural outpost of just twenty-one souls at the turn of the nineteenth century. The Drakes had a vision of something grander.

“Alexander Drake came from money,” said Lisa Lee, historian with the Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID). “The elder Drake was involved in the railroad business and also served as a senator to the Minnesota senate.”

The Drake family fortunes took a hit in the latter part of the 1890s, in part thanks to two economic downturns and the railroad stock crash in 1894. The Drakes looked west to the frontier and saw opportunity. They left St. Paul, Minnesota for Portland, before finally settling in, what was then, Farewell Bend.

At the time of the Drakes’ arrival, Farewell Bend was barely a dot on the map. Engineer Levi Wiest helped Drake survey and map the irrigation canals for the federal government. In an interview with The Bend Bulletin on October 20, 1933, Wiest remembers a desolate place.

“There was only a little log schoolhouse in what is now Drake Park, a caved-in log cabin […] on the riverbank, and the Griggs deserted log cabin.”

Drake came to Bend to take advantage of the Carey Act of 1894. The Act gave investors a way to acquire public land if they could bring it under irrigation. With plenty of water on hand, Central Oregon was ripe for development.

In his book, Frontier Publisher, Jim Crowell writes, “Drake, even before leaving for the Far West, was familiar with the great economic potential of Central Oregon, especially its water resources, and soon after his arrival, he purchased land of his own.”

Entrepreneurial pioneers were already lining up to irrigate the desert land of Central Oregon. Charles Hutchinson formed the Oregon Irrigation Company in 1892. He had already filed a claim under the Carey Act but was looking to expand the footprint.

What happened next is murky, according to Lee. Hutchinson and Drake met at an irrigation conference in Spokane. Hutchinson was looking for capital to continue the expansion of his irrigation business.

“Hutchinson told Drake there were opportunities in Central Oregon and wanted Drake to join him as a business partner,” said Lee.

Only four months after arriving in Bend, Drake founded the Pilot Butte Development Company (PBDC). Days before the two “partners” were set to file the Carey Act paperwork, Drake cut Hutchinson out and filed the necessary documents as the sole owner of PBDC.

The Bend Company Mill built by Drake’s development company in 1903. The mill burnt in August 1915.

Drake received a state contract to sell the land and water rights and spent most of the next three years developing detailed survey maps for the future irrigation canals. But soon Drake was onto the next project. He sold his interests to Oregon Irrigation Company for $10,000 in 1904. (The equivalent of about $290,000 today.)

Building at the corner of Wall and Franklin streets, built by Drake

Drake’s vision for Bend did not end with plans to water the desert. Having helped spur an influx of settlers, Drake knew the growing town would need electricity, a commodity already enjoyed in large cities but scarcely found in rural areas. He founded the Deschutes, Water, Light and Power Company in 1909. He constructed a dam and powerhouse on the Deschutes at what is today Newport Avenue. While Drake sold his interest in the project before the lights came on in Bend, the work was a success. On November 2, 1910, the first electricity crackled through wires running from the powerhouse to business in downtown Bend, and 375 lights blinked on in the darkness.

A 1910 cover of Putnam’s Magazine features Drake’s log home and three “heritage trees” that are still growing in Drake Park.

As the father of Bend, Drake is credited with laying out one of the most picturesque townsites in Oregon, although that honor may go to his wife. In 1910, Drake hired a young civil engineer, Robert Gould, to start platting the townsite. Gould was assisted by Elmer Ward, who came to Bend the same year.

“Mrs. Drake loved every one of the cow trails on which these streets are located today,” said Ward in an interview with KBND’s Kessler Cannon in 1953. “She insisted that we locate the streets of Bend along those contours that formed the cow trails of those days. And we followed instructions. And that’s why we have the winding streets.”

The Drakes left Bend in 1911 for Pasadena, California—the same year that railroad tycoon JJ Hill hammered the last stake in the Oregon Trunk Railroad. The arrival of the rail line set off a second population boom and the construction of two massive sawmills that would transform Bend into a booming mill town for years to come. Drake wasn’t here to see the transformation, but he’d laid the groundwork for the town’s next phase of growth.

Florence Drake, whose ideas influenced Bend’s layout.

Drake died in his adopted hometown of Pasadena in 1934. The Bend Bulletin featured his obituary on the editorial page on October 12, 1934. The writer noted, “Had Mr. & Mrs. Drake chosen some other part of the west for their home, Bend might have remained Farewell Bend […] It was Mr. Drake who organized the Pilot Butte Development company, platted the Bend townsite and interested eastern capitalists in a community which, at the turn of the century, was merely a rangeland frontier.”

It seems fitting that the town’s crown jewel, the thirteen-acre Drake Park, bears his name. More evidence of fingerprints that time and memory may never erase.

Contemporary realist seeks to master the mundane

One of the first things Donald Yatomi does upon entering his home studio is to flip over a ten or fifteen-minute hourglass. It’s the amount of time he can reliably devote to painting, given his responsibilities as a father of four teenagers and his job as a full-time visual designer for Sony video games.

“We’re always happy to get one of his paintings because we know he is so busy,” said Tracy Knish, an art consultant with Peterson/Roth Gallery in Bend.

But Yatomi’s short stints in the studio have built a body of contemporary realism that depicts scenes not typically associated with fine art. Rather than mountains or meadows, Yatomi turns his eye and his brush to “the industrial mundane, the urbanized deserts and the metropolis serenity,” he said. “My challenge is to find the uncelebrated things in life – trailer parks, laundromats, the homeless. I’m not interested in capturing the romance of life.”

“I know I’m not a good painter, and I don’t want accolades as someone who handles the craft well,” he said.

Despite this self-effacement, Yatomi offers new insight on every day and often overlooked situations and objects. A typical Yatomi scene might center on idle passengers awaiting a flight, the lone patron sitting at a diner, salt and pepper shakers, or shimmering cocktails and beer cans. He turns everyday machines, such as cars, motorcycles and even washing machines, into statements of time and place.

Yatomi’s canvases have a rough-hewn quality of paint laid down helter-skelter. The result is a vibrancy of color and movement achieved with brushes, palette knives, spatulas, caulking guns and brayers. His handmade cabinet holds the implements as well as oil paint, which sometimes ends up on the carpet, evidence of a painter in a hurry. The studio also includes a mirror where he can view a piece in reverse. “When you flip over a painting, you can see composition mistakes,” he said.

He draws inspiration from American artist Chuck Close whose large-scale paintings of faces appear from a distance to be photo realism but upon closer inspection, “expose blemishes, stubbles, hair and pimples,” Yatomi said. “These are things we don’t like to look at when we get close to a person’s face. That’s what I like to paint, things that aren’t good to look at, the unromantic scenes of life.”

Yatomi calls himself a Realist after an art movement that took off in the mid-19th century. And while his subjects are real enough, his works have the soul of an Impressionist. Yatomi said he is drawn the Realists’ approach that avoided romanticizing subjects. “Before then, classical artists painted bourgeoise and the elite,” he explained. “Realists began painting the poor, farmers, people on long train rides, slaves and the unromantic. I want to capture places people don’t want to look at. My realism celebrates things we take for granted. My challenge is to look at subjects that aren’t on gallery walls and put my own twist on them.”

The Japanese-born artist graduated from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu with a BFA in painting, and then attended the prestigious Art Center of Design in Pasadena, completing a BFA in illustration with distinction in 1996. After college, he lived in Los Angeles and entered the entertainment design field, working in video and film. He also painted and wondered how he could feel so lonely. His canvases then and today evoke these mundane and lonely urban landscapes.

“I want to capture places people don’t want to see. My realism celebrates things we take for granted.”

While living in Southern California, he met his wife, Leslie, a Corvallis native. They lived in LA for a while and then spent several years in Salt Lake City. Sony Interactive Entertainment eventually moved the couple to Bend in 2006. An artist herself, Leslie wanders into the studio during our interview and the pair begins an easy banter about the urinal painting he’s working on.

Leslie: “It’s too personal.”

Donald: “That’s it! That’s the point.”

Donald: “One of our favorite things to do on a road trip is stop by a dive bar. I really want to be the guy who paints urinals.”

Leslie: “It borders on the line between humor and disgust.”

Donald: “A transgender man in Utah bought one of the urinal paintings. Until he transitioned, urinals were inaccessible. He bought the painting because that’s the space he always wanted to be at.”

The urinals were part of works he recently shipped to an art gallery in Utah. He says the gallery was initially surprised but when his show opened, all the urinal paintings sold. Despite his success, Yatomi says he’s indifferent about whether a painting sells, which gives him freedom to follow his own impulses.

Donald Yatomi’s work will be on display at Bend Magazine’s offices during February, beginning with a kick-off event on Friday, Feb. 7 in conjunction with the monthly downtown Art Walk. To see more of his work, visit Peterson/Roth Gallery or go to his website, donaldyatomi.com. Better yet, follow the prolific Yatomi on Instagram @donald_yatomi_fineart

Readers Choice 2019

Our Readers Weigh in on the best in dining, drinks, entertainment and more. Total votes:26,326

One of the greatest challenges in conducting a reader’s poll is determining what categories to include and just how far to drill down into our research. Details matter, we know that. And we appreciate it. So it’s difficult for us to, say, ask our readers for their favorite craft brewery (Crux, it turns out) without asking them to tell us who brews the best double IPA or winter seasonal. We want to know the answers to all of these questions. Alas, there’s issues of time, space and reader fatigue. So we stuck to the big overarching questions, like Best Breakfast (McKay Cottage), content to let readers argue amongst themselves as to who has the best Eggs Benedict. We removed a few categories that didn’t get traction last year and added more opportunities for you to weigh on categories like business, retail fashion and community events. In all, more than a thousand readers took the time to share their insights and opinions. In the results, we found a few surprises and witnessed some extremely close races. Most of all, we were reminded of the wealth of amazing experiences that are available to residents and visitors, thanks in part to the many small business owners who pour so much passion into their products and services. The next time you find yourself in one of these establishments, please congratulate them on their achievement. It’s no small feat, given the competition.

Category with Most Votes Cast
Best Breakfast (McKay Cottage)
Closest Race
Best Wine List (Portello Wine cafe)
Largest Winning Margin
Pole Pedal Paddle (Best Community Sports Event)
Largest Vote Getter
El Sancho (Best Taco)

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Cake Wizard on a Roll

Reggie Strom pulled out the family camcorder recently and got nostalgic. Strom is only 12, but he was watching an old recording of himself as a baby, barely over a year old, busy in the kitchen, pouring water back and forth among more than a dozen bowls, wielding an unplugged mixer to achieve artistic culinary perfection.

By the time he reached middle school last year, Strom’s skills were on par with his childhood imaginings. He’s whipped up wedding cakes, crafted European-style pastries and constructed the kind of elaborate desserts you might see at the Bellagio, all for the benefit of neighbors, friends and family in Bend.

Now, the rest of the world will get to see Strom put his skills to the test starting in January, the kickoff of the Food Network’s latest season of Kids Baking Championship. As one of a new batch of ten bakers age ten to thirteen, he’ll vie for a $25,000 prize by competing in challenges that test the contestants baking skills and originality. The competition, in which contestants strive for excellence in each throw-down or face being booted off the dessert island, is seemingly as difficult as just getting on the show.

Reggie’s journey began two years ago, when his parents, Julie Cavanaugh and Greg Strom, gave him for his birthday a class in making macarons at The Kindred Creative Kitchen. It was there, with owner Michele Morris, that Reggie, who previously was happy simply baking sugar cookies and other treats with his grandmother, Karin Cavanaugh, blossomed as a pastry chef.

“We just hit it off,” said Strom, 12. He took a few more classes.

Morris recognized his precision and organization, skills integral to the craft. “He always wanted to try new things and was happy to take my advice and feedback,” said Morris, who has worked at Michelin-star-rated restaurants in Las Vegas and taught baking and pastry at Cascade Culinary Institute. “He likes to completely submerge himself in it. I saw that spark in his eye.”

She suggested he investigate the Food Network show.

Strom submitted a short video and was asked to interview for the show via Skype. Casting asked him to provide a longer, fifteen-minute video of him at home, baking various confections.

Each time he’d progressed to the next interview stage, he’d be asked to submit more photos of his work. “It’s Monday and they’d ask for forty pictures of forty different desserts you’ve made,” he said. “It’s absolutely insane.”

Without a portfolio of everything he’d made in the recent past, they scrambled to meet each new deadline. They looked back for things he’d made with his grandmother. His mom ran to the store for ingredients and thought up new items for him to make. When they needed to show a video depicting his skill at piping frosting, they grabbed one of his cakes out of the garbage. “I cut a circle out of it, put it on a plate and piped onto it,” Strom said.

His mom even let him skip a day at Pacific Crest Middle School because he needed to make eight more things by the next day. By the time he’d submitted upwards of 150 photos, he made it to the final round of interviews with producers.

Every day for weeks he’d ask his mom if she’d heard a response. Nearly a month later, in mid-2018, he learned that he didn’t make it on the show. He was heartbroken.

“I wasn’t even talking about it,” Cavanaugh said.

His mother gave him a deadline of February 14, 2019 to decide if he wanted to try again, so that he’d have ample time to prepare. The deadline passed, but in early March, Strom said he was ready. In the interim, they kept taking photos of his work.

Strom went through the whole submission process again. When his parents learned he was selected for the show, they took him out to dinner to celebrate.

Strom was ecstatic but had to conceal his thrill. The show requires absolute secrecy about what transpires on the series, with suspense building through each episode that ends revealing which contestant is eliminated, a la Project Runway. To prepare, he took private classes with Morris, taking his skills to the next level, learning how to make French, multi-layered, mousse-filled entremet, toffee and work with chocolate.

When he missed the last week of school to tape the show in Los Angeles, he told friends he and his mom were just taking advantage of getting cheap tickets (not untrue, considering the production flew them there and provided their hotel accommodations).

The experience, from classes to competing on the show, has been transformative.

“Watching your kid find that thing that he loves so much is pretty cool,” said Cavanaugh, adding that she and her husband are sports junkies who know nothing about baking. “The whole show, from casting on, it felt like they believed in your kid more than any other kid on the planet. And the way they handled the kids, it’s emotionally intense for that age, and the producers were amazing, so kind, and so thoughtful.

That’s all they can say about the show, though, until it airs in January.

By the Book

What happens when a book club writes a story of its own

“You’re going to want to sit down for this,” the subject line of the email read. Kathleen, my dear friend from book club, had just been diagnosed with stage 3B lung cancer. Numbly, I sat down, trying to make sense of this. Kathleen, who is so healthy, never smoked, regular exerciser, mother of two young boys.

We didn’t start our book club as a support group or as a social safety net, but when Kathleen came to us with her diagnosis, there was no question that’s what it would be.

It’s been thirteen years since Erin and I started our book club. Over the years, the group has become more than a reading circle. Our book club has witnessed the most significant moments in our adult lives. Cancer didn’t kill our book club. Nor have marriages, divorces, children and careers. Our book club is alive and well, just like Kathleen, who is surviving her cancer scare, teaching us all a lesson in strength and courage along the way.

We’re not alone. By some estimates, five million Americans take part in a book club. There are dozens of book clubs in Bend and many more options to participate online. Deschutes County Public Library even offers a book club start-up kit.

Our book club started like most others. My friend Erin and I each invited a few people. We decided to read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love and see what happened.

That evening, we lived and traveled through Liz Gilbert’s story. We learned about the Dolce Vita in Italy, struggled with Gilbert during her ten days of silence in an Indian ashram, and followed her journey to become a whole person with Ketut in Bali. The sense of discovery of one’s self seemed to fit with a group of women getting to know ourselves and each other.

There are seven of us who gather now. Some of the original book clubbers have drifted off, and others joined in their place. This group of seven—we’re not going anywhere.

Amy is an artist. I am always blown away by her creativity and sense of adventure. Erin is an estate planning attorney with a wild, free spirit and steadying wisdom. Markay is a paralegal and explorer. Newly remarried, she and her husband are trying their hand at being Airbnb hosts. Andrea is just magic and cannot be defined by her job. She works in marketing, has a wicked sense of humor and a thoroughly contagious laugh. Donna is an acupuncturist and Chinese doctor by trade, as well as a gardener, and a multi-year Burning Man reveler. Kathleen is a physical therapist with a permanent twinkle in her big brown eyes and the heart of a lion. And then there’s me, Marisa, a photographer and communications director and now, I guess, a writer. Some of us are mothers, and some are not.

Our book club meets every six weeks or so—a decision we made early on to allow professional women with busy lives to have time to finish the book.

We don’t all make it to the end of every book, but most of us do. We choose our books spontaneously and in no particular order. Some of us love the feel of a printed book in our hands. Others cruise through the audio versions while folding innumerable loads of laundry. E-readers, library books, and dog-eared borrowed copies all make up our reading sources. No matter what the format, we all get pulled in by the beckoning world of the storyteller.

In a time when loneliness and isolation seem to be on the rise despite so many online “connections,” meeting in person with our book club provides a real community that has fostered lasting friendships and created a story of our own.

I remember sitting on Erin’s bed with her just days after her daughter Quinn was born, marveling at impossibly tiny fingers and toes. We listened with compassion as Markay voiced her disappointment in love and we all wished desperately for her to meet someone who deserved her. We were spellbound when Amy shared the discovery of a baby sister in a graveyard about whom no one ever spoke. We kept Andrea company after a fall left her with a severe concussion and housebound for a month. We all shrieked with surprise when Donna came back married from a trip to Cuba. And when I dodged hosting book club year after year because of my crippling anxiety, no one objected.

Thirteen years ago, eight strangers started a book club because it sounded like fun. Before we knew it, we had evolved into lifelong friends. Together we’ve been through births and deaths, traumatic injuries and life-threatening illnesses, divorces and remarriages. Today we are sisters, joined at the heart and soul, and bound together through the pages of our own story.

Second Season

For most boaters, kayaking is a summer sport. For the one percent, the best time to paddle is when the kids go back to school, the crowds subside, and old man winter begins to stir. With Jack Frost as our co-pilot, let’s pull on our dry suits and explore what paddlers around here affectionately refer to as the “second season.”

First Street Rapids on the Deschutes River

Type: Slalom

Difficulty: Summer – Class II; Winter – Class I

Levels: Spring fed, dam controlled

Length: 100+ yards

Commitment: Low

The only form of kayaking to qualify as an Olympic sport, slalom boating was developed by European skiers who transitioned from snow to water after ski season. Like downhill skiing, the sport revolves around timed runs through a predetermined course. In this case, it’s a series of hanging downstream and upstream gates.

Slalom boaters are known as rabble-rousing members of the kayaking community. They are also some of the most knowledgeable paddlers. In Bend, 71-year-old Bert Hinkley, a former Olympic coach and boater, leads the slalom covey that also comprises former Olympians, coaches and intermediate to beginner boaters.

While slalom boating was born in the Alps during spring, it’s a winter tradition around here due to weather and river flows. “What’s amazing, is in Bend, we have a mild enough climate to ski and boat on the same day,” Hinkley said.

Riverhouse on the Deschutes River: Sawyer Park to Tumalo State Park

Type: Freestyle

Difficulty: Winter – Class IV

Levels: Spring fed, dam controlled

Length: 4.6 miles

Commitment: High

Just downstream of First Street Rapids begins the so-called “Riverhouse” section. It’s a churning stretch of boulder-strewn runs and narrow whitewater chutes that attracts the region’s renegade freestyle boaters.

Will Howerton started his kayak career on Idaho’s Payette River, classic big water and a bucket list river for many Western kayakers. Still, he enjoys the Riverhouse run’s technical creeking charm. “The walled-in canyon section promotes a remote feeling, which is therapeutic for me,” Howerton said. He compares this paddle to the upstream summer run at Meadow Camp, Bend’s other backyard section of Class IV river. “Meadow Camp is a bit more difficult but has (the river) trail next to it, so it lacks the remote feel a bit,” Howerton said.

With four “named” Class IV rapids (The Wright Stuff, Flumes of Doom, Trex and Oger), the Riverhouse Run provides predictable risks and rewards, said Howerton.

Things can get even more interesting when dam releases upstream of Bend create surges that quickly push water levels from around 500-700 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 2,000 cfs. This typically happens in the fall or winter when irrigation district’s need to create room for spring runoff in upstream reservoirs. (A similar event happens during spring on the Crooked River when strategic releases create a short-lived section of Class III-IV water in the Crooked River Gorge below Smith Rock State Park).

If you are wondering just how cold it gets on the water, well let’s just say there’s a reason the crowds are gone. “I remember when, at the end of [one] paddle, my friends couldn’t get their frozen life jackets off. Sometimes you have to get in your truck and warm up before you can remove gear.”

Outsiders may wonder why anyone would paddle with ice on the water and frost on the ground. For many boaters, the misery is part of the challenge, plus there’s bragging rights on the line.

“In whitewater, your weaknesses come out,” said Howerton.

No matter the season, paddling challenges your body and mind.

“How well can you deal with fear? How well can you focus? How well are you prepared and organized?

“You will find out very fast what the answers are,” he said.

Metolius River: Gorge Campground to Wizard Falls

Type: Freestyle

Difficulty: Year-round Class III

Levels: Spring fed

Length: Two miles

Commitment: Medium

Easily offering Central Oregon’s chilliest splashes, the Metolius River springs from the earth with purpose, beckoning boaters and anglers under an umbrella of pine trees in a bassinet of basalt.

Artist and athlete Christina McKeown has been paddling for two decades and said there is nothing quite like the Metolius in a winter snow fall, when it’s akin to “paddling in a snow globe.” Picturesque encounters like limbo-ing under bridges, drinking from riverside springs and grabbing a sneaky, tightly wound tributary creek line make for one-of-a-kind paddle experience, particularly when it’s snowing.

The two Class III rapids in the gorge section are rhythmic, but rather short lived. Although bigger drops can be exciting, there’s a certain playfulness to the Metolius. The river seems to escort boaters into each rapid, pacing out the frequency like a metronome. By the time a paddler reaches the crux of the run, there’s a sense of rhythm to the task. Most other Class III’s on the run are avoidable. (Note: Beware the rogue, river-wide snags and lost fishing tackle dangling like holiday tinsel from the streamside brush.)

“Absolutely magical,” said McKeown, who’s kayaked on rivers around the world. “The Metolius is one of my favorite winter runs in the Central Oregon area, and the rapids themselves will keep you on your toes.”

North Umpqua River: Horseshoe Bend to Gravel Bin

Type: Freestyle

Difficulty: Class III – IV

Levels: Spring-fed

Length: Seven miles

Commitment: Medium – High

Lushly painted in velvet green and moss, the North Umpqua rumbles down the western slope of the Cascades, charging toward the Pacific Ocean. The fabled river’s abundant salmon and steelhead drew the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Zane Gray, but it has plenty to offer paddlers. There is scenery aplenty despite an adjacent highway. The Umpqua beckoned sisters Isabel and Violet Rodhouse, a pair of accomplished young boaters from Bend, who finish each other’s sentences when describing the ambiance of the Wild and Scenic North Umpqua. The duo paddles year-round but appreciates the appeal of winter solitude on the water. How to deal with freezing water and rain or snow? Simple. Don’t dwell on it.

“If you’re cold, just try not to think about it. If you think about it, it’ll make you more cold. I taught myself that skiing,” said Violet, 11, as older sister Isabel, 14, nodded in agreement.

The Rodhouse family started to paddling together four years ago, frequenting the North Umpqua. Father and national parks ecologist Tom Rodhouse said the landscape is part of the appeal. “There’s more diverse flora than we’re accustomed to in the high desert landscape,” he said. That includes madrone, oak and a conifer mix, a confluence of the Southern California Mediterranean chaparral and coastal vegetation. He adds that it’s fun to paddle through different geology, as well, including rounded boulders that contrast with Central Oregon’s sharp young, monochromatic lava rock. That’s right, Toto; we’re not in Kansas anymore.

With multiple jaunty, terrace-to-pool drops, Horseshoe Bend to Gravel Bin contains one Class IV rapid, Pinball and several must-make moves on Class III rapids that occur with regularity each mile. The Rodhouse crew agreed that Pinball is easier to navigate at winter water levels. The fun begins just above this rapid with a difficult Class II-III “pour-over” feature. At Pinball, boaters should start right of center and bounce spryly to the left. The rapid finishes with a chute and a center boulder at the tail, best passed on the left. Navigating the twists and turns, the Rodhouses didn’t miss a beat. When Violet flipped her boat, she caught a combat roll—no problem. All in a day’s play.

We Can Work It Out

An explosion of coworking spaces has created a wealth of options for Bend’s flexible workforce. Before coworking became the coolest thing to do in Bend since opening a craft brewery, it had to go through another stage where it wasn’t so glamorous. And it wasn’t so long ago.

Kelly Kearsley, a freelance writer and start-up cheerleader, was one of the early adopters. She and her husband, Justin, who was developing a start-up company, joined up with a group of software engineers who had rented office space off Greenwood Avenue.

“It wasn’t ‘cool’,” she laughs. “I mean, it was like a closet, and there were cubicles… But it was rad, because, back then, Bend was just dipping a toe into the tech industry, and this was a space where a lot of people were having meetups.”

Software engineer James Gentes was the ad hoc organizer of the group, buying pizza, and managing the space in his free time.

“It kind of grew organically. And we all shared one big lease and figured it out,” Kearsley said. Within a few short years the group had a new home on Emkay Drive and had adopted a non-profit model to foster the remote work and start-up culture emerging in Bend.

“We started thinking we could create a much bigger coworking community,” said Kearsley, who now serves as BendTECH’s board chair.

They didn’t know how right they were.

A movement afoot

Fast forward to 2019, when at least three new coworking spaces opened in Bend, two of them just a few blocks apart in the NorthWest Crossing neighborhood. Another was set to debut before the end of the year inside the SCP Redmond Hotel in downtown Redmond.

By a way of a loose count, the combined capacity of Bend’s coworking spaces sits at about sixty-seven private offices (some of which can accommodate multiple workers), 140 dedicated desks, and roughly 300 “flex memberships,” which allow members to drop in as needed.

At full capacity, that’s a workforce of more than 500 individuals. If it were a business, it would rank among the Bend’s top 10 private employers, bigger than Les Schwab and Deschutes Brewery in terms of personnel.

This trend isn’t surprising to Damon Runberg, Regional Economist for the Oregon Employment Department. “Bend is bringing in [remote] workers and small business owners who value our slower pace, high quality of life, and relative affordability,” he explains.

But what many of these “remote workers” discover, after working from their home office—or kitchen table—for a few months, is that working from home day after day isn’t always the dream gig it’s made out to be.

“Working from home sounds great, especially when you moved to Bend and you’re excited about being able to take that conference call in your yoga pants, and you can make that ‘slipper commute’ and not have to drive anywhere,” says Carrie Douglass, co-founder of The Haven coworking space on Bend’s near west side, off Colorado Avenue. “But six months into it, you’re thinking, ‘My toddler’s bothering me or walking in on conference calls,’ or ‘My dog’s barking when the truck drives by.’ After craving that flexibility, now you’re realizing that working from home every day might not be all that great.”

It’s for this reason that Douglass and her husband, Scott, founded The Haven. Beautifully designed and decorated to replicate a “residential feel,” with huge windows and sweeping views of the Deschutes River below, The Haven’s members are a mix of remote workers—part of a larger company’s distributed workforce—and self-employed professionals or freelancers, a breakdown that reflects both corporate America’s embrace of remote work and the rise of the entrepreneurial “gig economy.”

“I think companies have figured out that, as the workforce has changed, employees want more flexibility,” said Douglass. “Part of that includes being able to work remotely, and technology has allowed for that to happen.”

The Haven offers multiple “membership types,” from private offices starting at $875 a month, to dedicated desks in an open office setting for $449 a month, to multiple types of flex memberships, and even “day passes” for $40 each. Each of Bend’s coworking spaces operates using a similar membership system.

The Collective NWX, for example, deliberately features a selection of different workspaces that cater to different professional needs and budgets.

“We know that some people love to work in their house, but they just need a few hours to get out of their jammies and socialize with other people. So, we built a community drop-in space where you can come work for a couple of hours or meet a client in a location that’s not a Starbucks,” said Sara Odendahl, Owner and Managing Partner. “We also know some people might not want to work at home but don’t have a physical office elsewhere, so we created six private offices and twelve dedicated desks where members can work every single day.”

Creating community

Avoiding distraction isn’t the only challenge facing remote workers trying to make a go of it at home. Remote work can also be isolating.

“People are yearning for connection,” said Will Blount, president of dog outdoor accessory company Ruffwear and founder of another new coworking space in town, Embark.

He thinks this innate desire is one of the biggest drivers of the coworking boom. “Technology has allowed us to work from anywhere, and it’s allowed us to be connected with people anywhere. But at the same time, I think we’re really feeling disconnected. To physically sit in a room with someone and get to look at them, that’s something that you can’t experience over Skype or some other digital tool. There’s a real sense of communication that happens in the presence of other humans. And I think that our society is deeply yearning for that experience.”

Amanda Krantz, the executive director of BendTECH, said that the shared desire for community that leads professionals to become coworkers also sometimes leads to unexpected professional collaborations and partnerships.

“Many of our members initially just want a sense of community, a place where everybody else is also working,” she agrees. “But even if they didn’t come here trying to network, we’ve seen a lot of members meet people or find likeminded groups, and they go off and start companies together or hire someone away from what they were doing.”

Kelly Thiel, cofounder of The Wilds, a coworking space focused on creative professionals, said that the managers of Bend’s coworking spaces collaborate to help new members find the ideal space for their work.

“Each of Bend’s coworking spaces has its own flavor, so there’s a space for everyone,” she says. “Our flavor is more creative. The Haven has a certain flavor, and Embark and BendTECH each have their own feel.”

In the case of Embark, the coworking concept evolved from what used to be Ruffwear’s product warehouse in Bend’s NorthWest Crossing neighborhood. Though it welcomes members from numerous different types of businesses, its focus is in on the outdoor industry.

“What we’re creating here is a container where people who share a common goal can come together and learn and grow from each other,” says Blount. “We designed the place specifically to create these intersections where people from different backgrounds and companies are going to run into each other and spark a conversation about their passions. And, hopefully, a rising tide lifts all ships.”

More than an office

There may be a secondary benefit to a strong coworking culture in Bend, said The Haven’s Scott Douglass. Coworking has the chance to engage people not just creatively, but also civically.

“When you look over history, people tend to be connected to their community through their children’s school, their church and their place of work. Well, fewer and fewer people go to church, you’re only connected to a school if you have a school-aged kids, and now we’ve got this huge segment of 12 or 13 percent of people in Bend who aren’t connected to a local place-based employer. So how are people growing roots in a community and finding out how to be connected, finding out about volunteer opportunities and civic opportunities?”

Douglass said coworking spaces like the Haven can help fill that void by providing an environment where members of a disparate workforce can help each other connect to the community at large and promote civic engagement, like volunteering.

“If you’re at home Monday through Friday, head down, working by yourself, and then on evenings and weekends you’re accessing all of the wonderful resources we have in Bend—the river, the trails, the mountains—you’re really not fully participating in the broader community. And that doesn’t bode well when it comes to a city maintaining that sense of place,” he said.

Bend is a great community not just because of the proximity of the mountains or the urban trails, but rather because generations of citizens have invested their time and talents into building our parks, our schools and our social infrastructure.

“As our city grows, and as more and more talented people move to Bend, it’s important to ensure that their talents are contributing to our community overall,” Douglass said.

Modest Footprint Inspires Innovation

After downsizing into a 1,180-square foot home, Kathi and Tom Denton have no regrets, although Kathi misses a walk-in closet, and Tom parks his car on the street because the single-car garage functions as their primary storage space. The residence is about half the size of their last home, but the couple says its location in NorthWest Crossing’s Farmstead 12 development and the thoughtful layout has made the transition smooth.

“This location is perfect,” said Kathi. “We can walk to Portello Wine Café or Discovery Park, meet our neighbors at the firepit or snip herbs from a small raised garden bed.” It’s also close to hiking and biking trails and Shevlin Park, where Tom goes to practice tenkara, a Japanese fly-fishing technique.

Farmhouse 12 is one of several small-scale cottage developments in the popular and growing Northwest Bend neighborhood that prides itself on sustainable building practices, where every home is required to be Earth Advantage certified. Eric Meloling Construction teamed up with Greg Welch Construction to form Farmstead 12 LLC, which recently finished its last dwelling.

“Our intent is to make small homes livable and not feel like a small home,” Meloling said. The project features farm-style cottages arrayed around a parklike setting with a common area and a small barn with picnic tables and a fire pit where residents can gather.

The philosophy of downsizing corresponds with a housing-market trend toward smaller, more affordable homes. A recent story in the Washington Post cites data from the National Association of Home Builders that shows the average size of new houses fell for the third straight year in 2018. (Data for 2019 is not yet available.)

The Dentons bought their residence less than two years ago after Kathi completed treatment for breast cancer, and they found themselves regarding their lives differently. “Life is short, and the new house gave us a fresh start,” she said. “I don’t think about having cancer all the time.”

The two have been married twenty-three years and feel strongly about reducing their environmental impact. Moving into a smaller, more energy-efficient home is a big step toward that goal. They’ve never had kids, although they parent two cats, Gus and Deud. The couple explored the idea of small-scale living and became obsessed with tiny-home TV shows but ultimately decided that 400 square feet of living space wasn’t for them.

Instead, they ended up with a home that relies on a “reverse living” design that features a kitchen and master bedroom on the second level. It may seem novel, but it’s a case of form following function.

The Dentons’ home is squeezed into a narrow lot that required their designer, the late Charlotte Van Valkenburg, to create a two-story home that captured views, sunlight and access to Farmstead 12’s common outdoor areas. “It’s the genius of the designer who is able to see a piece of dirt and imagine what is not there now, but will be there someday,” Meloling said.

By necessity, the ground-level had to include the garage, which currently sports a T@B teardrop camp trailer as a fun sleeping place for visiting nieces and nephews. Tom added tall storage cabinets for shoes and coats that they don’t have space for in their bedroom. Sports equipment hangs on racks from the ceiling, and plastic bins store everything from photo albums to holiday decorations.

Visitors enter the cottage on the first floor, where a sliding barn door opens into a den that functions as a guest bedroom, TV room and office. A guest bath with a soaking tub, a laundry room and a converted coat closet for the cats complete the first-level layout.

But it’s the upstairs “reverse living” where the magic happens. A narrow staircase opens into a large, vaulted and contiguous space for the kitchen, dining and living rooms. One comfy chair and a sofa face the natural-gas fireplace and TV. The room is filled with plants (plastic because Kathi says she doesn’t have a green thumb), a large dining table with bench seating, an island and well-appointed kitchen with high-end appliances and hardwood floors. A deck off the living room is where the Dentons go to enjoy coffee with the sunrise or fresh air in the evening.

At the opposite end is the master suite with the bath, and one shared sink that they say is just fine. The bedroom has a view of Mount Bachelor and is large enough to accommodate a king-size bed and two nightstands, as well as a small nook with a view of Awbrey Butte. To add texture and character to the room, Tom built a floor-to-ceiling herringbone pattern on the wall behind the bed made of pre-cut barn wood.

When the Dentons moved into the residence, they left most of their previous furnishings behind and instead selected much of the cottage’s décor based on functionality, style and artistic preferences. “Living small forces you to choose the things that make you happy,” Tom said. “This fits our needs.”

Editor’s note: Designer Charlotte Van Valkenburg was killed along with her cousin in an automobile collision with a drunken driver in British Columbia this past summer. Bend Magazine featured Van Valkenburg previously for her work as a mentor and coach of the Summit High robotics team.

Pacific Flyway

Nab a direct flight to sunny San Diego for a warming winter getaway.

I pushed my toes into the warm sand of Coronado Beach, the Pacific Ocean lapping waves to shore in the near distance. A rented red beach umbrella cast shade over our temporary parcel of beach real estate in front of the Hotel Del Coronado. A cooler at our feet held a picnic for later, a magazine lay forgotten by my side, and the operative word was “lazy” as we kicked back in wooden folding lounge chairs and basked in the balmy air of San Diego’s Coronado Island.

Come late winter in Central Oregon, it’s not uncommon for cabin fever to take hold. Too many days of shoveling snow in dense layers of clothing and maneuvering cars down icy streets can just plain wear a person out. A warm-weather vacation is the logical cure. Several direct flights depart the Bend/Redmond airport to arrive in just a matter of hours in decidedly warmer climes, including San Diego.

My husband and I were treating ourselves to three nights at the historic, iconic Hotel Del Coronado. Opened in 1888, the Del (as it’s affectionately known) was the largest resort hotel in the world at the time of its construction. Built entirely from wood, this majestic structure has survived its many decades when so many others of its ilk have succumbed to fire, rot, or the bulldozer. Just another reason to appreciate this stunning property. Victorian in design, the hotel is painted in white with striking red peaked roofs. Equal parts history and luxury are all around. We rode the creaky, antique elevator—complete with a human elevator operator—to our modest but lovely room, before choosing the Babcock and Story Bar for a post-flight lunch with a view of the sea.

The sprawling grounds are elegantly landscaped, and there are plenty of places to tuck in and relax around the property. Several pools, a variety of bars and restaurants and a central courtyard vary the experience for the Del guests. But if the ocean is near, you can be sure that is where I will be. The wide, flat beach of Coronado Island is popular for walking, surfing and lounging, and overlooks the Pacific with a view of Point Loma to the north. With the proverbial “nowhere to go and all day to get there,” my husband and I napped, sipped and snacked away the afternoon in the sunshine, not missing the winter weather of home one bit.

Attraction Trifecta

Traveling with the family? San Diego will fit the bill. Several years ago, I took a not-quite-as-romantic San Diego trip with my parents and my young children. That visit revolved around the theme park trifecta of the San Diego Zoo, Lego Land and SeaWorld. At 100 acres, the San Diego Zoo is one of the largest in the world and is as immaculately landscaped as it is an ideal place to see many animals from around the world, including the giant panda. On par with the zoo, SeaWorld is one of the biggest and best aquariums and aquatic attractions in the world. Book seats at the live animal shows, including Orca Encounter and Sea Lions Live. Note: They aren’t kidding when they warn the audience they’ll get wet in the “splash zone.” Legoland will thrill the kids for the rides, and the adults might find they geek out on the large sculptures throughout the park, truly made entirely from Legos.

Balboa Park

The 1915 Panama-California Exposition was cause for the construction of this expansive park, now registered as a Historic Landmark, which includes gardens, seventeen museums and cultural institutions, restaurants and shopping. If you’re with kids, visit the historic carousel and the Natural History Museum. On your own, take a self-guided tour of the diverse architecture found throughout the park, including the Spanish Renaissance-style structure Casa De Balboa and the Balboa Park Botanical Building, which features more than 2,000 plants from orchids to cycads.

Mission Beach

About as classic Southern-California-lifestyle as it gets, the three-mile stretch of Mission Beach is excellent for strolling, people watching and sunbathing. While the spot is popular with surfers, the waves are mellow enough at shoreline to encourage kids (and maybe adults too) to splash in the ocean. Belmont Park anchors the central stretch of the beach, and is an East-coast style seaside amusement park not to be missed, with a historic roller coaster and street performances.

Old Town San Diego

Even the largest American cities started small at some point, and Old Town San Diego is the historic heart of the city and the place to see the heavily Spanish- and Mexican-mission influenced beginnings of the city’s first settlement. Museums and historic sites are dotted across these blocks, as are contemporary restaurants, shops and hotels. Don’t miss the 160-year-old Whaley House Museum (which is possibly haunted) and the Casa de Estudillo, an authentic adobe home restored with vintage furnishings to demonstrate life 150-plus years ago.

Cabrillo National Monument

In view from Coronado Beach is Loma Point and the Cabrillo National Monument, the first place a European explorer set foot on the West Coast. He was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the year was 1542, and the monument that exists here today is named after him. A hilltop statue commemorates Cabrillo, and is also the point from which visitors take in amazing views of San Diego and the sea, and in the right season, migrating whales. Walk to the historic Old Point Loma Lighthouse, restored to its 1880s appearance.

Weather Report

When it comes to weather, San Diego can offer a welcome respite from Central Oregon’s freezing mid-winter temps. However, despite its numerous beaches, San Diego is not the tropics. The proximity of the ocean and San Diego’s unique geography result in a Mediterranean climate. In January and February, daytime highs average in the mid to upper 60s. But you may encounter cooler weather. Smart travelers will plan a vacation with activities suited to a host of weather conditions.

Let’s Be Direct

While air travelers have long been able to reach San Diego from Central Oregon, a new direct flight from Redmond takes the layover out of the equation. The route was announced in August 2019, one of more than a dozen new direct routes on the West Coast provided by Alaska Airlines. Other direct flights from Redmond include non-stop service to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Explore: Paulina Lake Lodge

If the walls inside the cabins of Paulina Lake Lodge could talk, they would tell a story a hundred years in the making. It’s a tale of pioneers and preservationists who created and maintained this unlikely recreational outpost and continue to do so today.

Known to many Central Oregonians as a popular summer resort, Paulina Lake Lodge is a spectacular Pacific Northwest destination that takes on a new personality after the first snow arrives. Come winter, it’s basecamp for a devout snowmobile community, as well as backcountry skiers and those seeking a cozy winter escape.

On the heels of an epic late winter snowstorm, we visited the lodge to explore this Central Oregon gem. We found not only an epic volcanic wilderness to explore, but also a retreat of rustic comfort and small luxuries, including hot showers and warm meals.

A Short History of Central Oregon’s Mightiest Caldera

Six hundred thousand years ago, the first volcanic activity began to rumble beneath what is now Newberry Volcanic National Monument. Explosions of molten lava shaped the land in the ensuing millennia. Approximately thirteen hundred years ago, it all went quiet, frozen in time, forming a mesmerizing crater with two crystal clear lakes. The larger of the two is Paulina Lake, which takes its name from a legendary Paiute warrior and chief.

The seventeen-square-mile caldera is the crown jewel of the Newberry Monument, which was dedicated in 1990 and included the adjacent Lava Cast Forest, Lava Butte and Lava River Cave. Each feature tells part of the story of the massive shield volcano that covers more than 1,600 square miles.

The twin lakes are a draw for swimmers and paddlers as well as anglers (Paulina Lake holds trophy-sized brown trout and once yielded the state record fish). There are also ample hiking opportunities, horseback riding, and mountain biking trails and even a natural waterslide on Paulina Creek.

For many visitors, the season ends when the gate swings shut on the access road in late fall. For others, the transition to the winter season opens a whole new world of possibilities. We counted ourselves among the latter.

The Long Journey Inward

Our weekend getaway started at Ten Mile Sno-Park, which marks the end of the road for vehicle traffic and the beginning of a three-mile trek to the lodge, which is usually done using Nordic skis or snowshoes. Our reward: a feast of prime rib and Atlantic cod served with a hearty ale next to a crackling fire at the Paulina Lake Lodge.

At 3 p.m., we clipped into our skis, grabbed our bags, checked the map, and headed into the woods. The gentle uphill ski to the lodge offers views and nature stops, including the roaring Paulina Falls. The tracks lead skiers through a snow-covered wilderness. Alas, our expedition was beset by a broken ski binding that led to a somewhat arduous boot trek over the final mile and a half.

Undaunted, we arrived at the lodge’s restaurant and lounge just before dusk. Thanks to a recent storm, snowdrifts reached almost to the rooftops of the low-slung buildings and cabins. Smoke drifted reassuringly from the chimneys beckoning our band of weary travelers.

Despite its popularity with snowmobilers, the lodge was relatively quiet for our late-season visit. I found my group in the corner, beers in hand, and a cold one waiting for me right when I sat down. We soon met our generous hosts, Todd and Karen Brown.

The couple has operated Paulina Lake Lodge for more than twenty-five years. That’s thanks to their great hospitality and the resort’s long-standing role as an outpost for riders exploring the hundreds of miles of backcountry snowmobile trails around Newberry Volcano.

Quirky keepsakes occupy the lodge’s nooks and crannies alongside historical and contemporary photos of resort life. There’s a shrine of sorts to Todd, AKA the “King of Paulina,” complete with an old photo of Todd adorned with a crown.

“You know, we’ve been up here since ’93,” Karen said. “Our kids grew up on this lake. We’ve watched a lot of our guests grow up and start families. Being up here, on this monument, it probably holds our fondest memories.”

A Winter Wonderland

This winter, the lodge celebrates ninety years of operations, and not a whole lot has changed since those early days. You still won’t get a reliable cell signal, and you shouldn’t need one. Getting away from technology is part of the attraction here. There are fourteen cabins, ranging from the large “grand” cabins that accommodate up to ten people to the more modest one and two-bed “standard” cabins. Each cabin is outfitted with a kitchenette, renovated bathrooms, wood-burning fireplace, and is steps away from the main lodge.

Our home for the night was the Bluebird cabin, one of four so-called “classic” cabins that can accommodate large-ish groups of eight or more. After a hearty dinner, we shuffled back to our cabin to play cards and share stories. With plenty of wood to stoke fire, we slipped into cozy pajamas, and cracked open a bottle wine to warm our bellies. We eventually found our way to a bed of soft, homey linens. With a crackling fire to serenade, we drifted into a well-earned sleep.

Morning breaks with a chill at 6,300-feet elevation, and nothing is getting done before a cup of coffee. Several of us slipped out early and snapped on skis to watch dawn arrive over the snow-covered crater rim. Others opted to enjoy another hour of shut eye, pulling warm blankets tight against the cold outside. Eventually, we clipped into our skis and kicked over to the restaurant for a proper mug of morning brew. Alas, our short stay was almost over. After a quick breakfast, we hitched a ride with Karen on the resort’s snowcat, which shuttles guests back and forth from Ten Mile Sno-Park.

Just before we lost sight of the lodge, I glanced back and glimpsed Todd and his granddaughter on their snow machines zipping between the cabins. She followed him, staying right in his tracks. I wondered if I could make it here all winter, a mile high, enduring storm after storm, maintaining a 90-year-old property against the power of Mother Nature and the march of Father Time.

Luckily, I don’t have to. I know that the lights will be on the next time I visit. I also know that the cozy beds will be turned down, and the prime rib will be served up thick. I guess you don’t have to be a king to live like one at Paulina Lake Lodge—no matter what the season.

Contemporary Holiday Style Guide

Some of us wouldn’t dare trade out our family’s heirloom holiday decor for something new and flashy. Grandma’s ornaments, auntie’s crystal and mother’s china are what make the holidays the holidays. But others crave a fresh, clean and new look to spruce up the winter season. For those intrepid decorators, we offer these contemporary solutions to tired old traditions.

Monochromatic Accesories ⇾

Ditch your relative’s complicated nativity for strikingly unusual accents that still speak to the warmth of the holiday season, and carry over easily into the new year.

⇽ One Accent Color

Choose light monochromatic shades like white, gold and silver, and contrast them with bold splashes of red or green accents for a modern take on your tree.

Natural Elements ⇾

Bring the outdoors in during the chilly days of winter with elements of nature like pinecones, branches and tiny accent boughs.

⇽ Winter White

White is clean, classy and contemporary. Choose the most basic color for linens, candles and china for a simple but striking look this season.

Light it Up ⇾

Rather than the multicolored tree lights of Christmases past, string a multitude of single shade lights for illuminated appeal.

2019 Old Mill District Holiday Giveaway

Nowhere epitomizes Bend’s transformation from a sleepy lumber town to a world-class destination like the Old Mill District.

Once home to two of the largest ponderosa pine sawmill operations on the planet, the Old Mill District now showcases more than 55 restaurants, shops, art galleries and boutique fitness studios nestled alongside the Deschutes River.

The winter months are truly magical in the Old Mill District with SantaLand, roving carolers, Tumalo Creek’s Holiday Paddle Parade, gorgeous holiday lights and more.

That’s why we have partnered with our friends at the Old Mill District to bring you an exclusive Holiday Giveaway. One winner will be randomly chosen.

THE OLD MILL DISTRICT HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY INCLUDES:

Old Mill District – Gift Card $250

Hilton Garden Inn – One-night lodging value $200, subject to availability not valid July 1 – August 31 and expire December 30, 2020

Hampton Inn & Suites – One-night lodging value $200, subject to availability not valid July 1 – August 31 and expire December 30, 2020

desperado – $50 Gift Card

Radiant Day Spa – Swedish massage. $80 value

Bath & Body Works – Into the Night Candle and Body Care Bundle, valued at $65

Saxon’s Fine Jewelers – $100 Gift Certificate towards merchandise

Avalon Salon & Spa – $100 Gift Certificate

Flatbread Neapolitan Pizzeria – $50 Gift Card

CycleBar– 1 month of unlimited rides valued at $139

Pastini – $100 Gift Certificate

Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe – 2 full rental days. Rentals can be applied to your choice of a tube, kayak, paddleboard, canoe, or tandem kayak. Value up to $240

Naked Winery – 2 complimentary wine tastings and a $50 gift certificate

Anthony’s at the Old Mill District – Dinner entrees for two, up to $70

Free Spirit Yoga + Fitness + Play – 1 free adult class and 1 free kids’ open play session. Value $30

Lubbesmeyer Studio & Gallery – Signature Art Tile of your choice $49

Nashelle – Gift Card $75

Sweet Tooth Candy Shoppe– $15 Gift Card

Savory Spice – What’s Shaking spice set, $35

Greg’s Grill – $100 gift certificate

REI – Two ski/snowboard tune and premium hot wax upgrade, $120

Total value of over $2,000

The contest begins on November 22 at 5:00 p.m. and ends on December 22 at 11:59 p.m. For the complete list of rules, visit our contest policy page.

Willamette Valley Vineyards Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win a unique Oregon wine country experience!

The prize includes a night in one of two winery guest suites with luxurious accommodations, warm hospitality and breathtaking vineyard views. The Estate Tasting Room features a cozy setting with elegant fireplaces, an expansive patio and an impressive 65-foot lookout tower showcasing incredible views of the valley and Mary’s Peak. During the day, take a VIP private tour of the winery! Subject to availability.

About Willamette Valley Vineyards

Founded in 1983 by Oregon native Jim Bernau, with the dream of creating world-class Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley Vineyards has grown from a bold idea into one of the region’s leading wineries, earning the title “One of America’s Great Pinot Noir Producers” from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. All of the vineyards have been certified sustainable through LIVE (Low Impact Viticulture and Enology) and Salmon-Safe programs.

Prize must be redeemed by 6/30/2020. Winner must be at least 21 by the redemption date. Prize does not include $150 wine credit normally offered with a paid suite stay.

The contest begins on November 1 at 12:00 a.m. and ends on November 17 at 11:59 p.m. For the complete list of rules, visit our contest policy page.

Sign of the Times: Mural Projects around Bend

For a town that seems to have a little bit of everything, Bend is a virtual desert when it comes to murals, those vibrant urban canvases that seem to be everywhere in most cities.

Doug Robertson wants to change that. An artist and the founder of the nonprofit organization for the High Desert Mural Festival (HDMF), Robertson has been rallying artists and public art supporters to change a long-standing city policy that effectively banned murals.

“There were basically zero murals in Bend, so we needed to start [the conversation] there,” Robertson said.

Prior to 2015, murals were prohibited under the city’s restrictive sign code. Robertson got the city to take a small step forward in 2016 by lifting the ban in the so-called Makers District, a swath of industrial and retail business just east of the railroad tracks north of Greenwood and south of Olney avenues.

The response to the murals within the pilot project area was overwhelmingly positive, said Robertson. Business owners, like Lisa Johnson of Cascade Heating, appreciated the way murals act as a deterrent for graffiti while making an artistic statement. Johnson commissioned Robertson, to paint the “Blue Cowboy” mural on the west-facing wall of the building, which can be seen from the Bend Parkway.

The liquid-blue mural started as a sketch and grew into a two-story canvas that features silhouettes of two cowboys donning Josie Wales-style hats and floating in a kaleidoscope background of color.

Despite the success of the program it wasn’t clear if the mural policy would be relaxed in other areas of the city. But in January the city got a request, that made them reconsider the mural policy as it related to the entire city.

Pine Ridge and Elk Meadow elementary schools proposed a joint mural project to paint a retaining wall near an adjacent canal. Teachers and administrators pitched the project as a way to promote the arts among students while also being proactive about preventing vandalism and graffiti. However, because the proposed mural would be visible from nearby Brookswood Avenue, the project was prohibited under the sign code and was blocked by the city. Pine Ridge Assistant Principal Ned Myers, who also serves as board president for the High Desert Mural Festival, asked the council to revisit the code.

“We basically leveraged 200 fifth graders by pitching it as, ‘You’re restricting their educational opportunities,’” said Robertson.

So how do you say no to 200 children? Well, you don’t.

The city acquiesced. After reviewing and revising some of its sign policies, the city council voted unanimously this past spring to permit murals on nonresidential properties throughout Bend with a few exceptions. According to the findings from the public hearing, the council found that murals could “tell a community’s stories… increase appreciation for the arts and artists and increase overall attractiveness of the space.”

The 5th grade classes from Pine Ridge and Elk Meadow schools hope to complete their mural project in spring of 2020, but the policy change has opened the door for other projects as well. Over the summer, Central Oregon LandWatch, a nonprofit advocating for sustainable planning and healthier communities, partnered with local artist Kaycee Anseth to re-imagine the pedestrian crossing at the Franklin Avenue underpass as a safe, welcoming, and vibrant public space. Her work can be seen in the walkway linking Bend’s downtown to the emerging Central District west of Third Street.

Artist Kaycee Anseth working on the Franklin Avenue underpass mural; Photo Aaron Gifford

For Robertson and the High Desert Mural Festival, the real work of raising the visibility of public arts in Bend is just beginning. “We’re hoping to get as many murals up as possible and then build on that,” he said.

Bend’s Stand for Community Journalism

How a handful of citizens saved the High Desert from becoming another American news desert. (Pictured left to right: Bill Smith, Amy Tykeson, Louis Capozzi, Mike Hollern, Todd Taylor)

Amid cardboard moving boxes in her new office at The Bulletin, Publisher Heidi Wright takes a book from the sparsely filled shelves. It’s Saving Community Journalism: The Path to Profitability, by Penelope Muse Abernathy. The veteran media executive’s distillation of cutting-edge research and analysis reveals how newspapers can transform and find long-term profitability in the digital age. Wright’s notes, handwritten in fine-tipped black marker, fill the margins of the acclaimed study on shedding legacy costs, building a vibrant, multi-platform community and identifying new revenue streams.

Tucked inside the hardcover’s jacket were Wright’s talking points for potential investors — strategies outlining how her employer, EO Media Group, could rescue Central Oregon’s struggling daily newspaper, which had spent the past several years fending off creditors. By mid-2019, The Bulletin was facing the prospect of a court-administered sale to the highest bidder as part of a prolonged bankruptcy proceeding. It was the most uncertain time in the history of the paper that started in a log cabin near the Deschutes River 116 years ago. It had survived two World Wars, the Great Depression and the 2009 Wall Street collapse. Now it was on the auction block.

With a July 29 deadline approaching, two companies emerged as suitors, Tennessee-based Adams Publishing Group and Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers. A winning bid by either would mean that new owners with no other ties to the area would make editorial and business decisions. If either followed the playbook used by other corporate chains, Bend could expect a reduction in news-gathering resources and other cost-cutting measures aimed at boosting the paper’s bottom line while eroding its reporting.

But over the course of four days last summer, seven community leaders and two local foundations intervened with the hope of preserving the paper’s commitment to reliable, local journalism. They found a partner in Wright and EO Media, a family-owned newspaper company with more than 100 years of publishing experience in Oregon. They pooled about $1 million toward EO Media Group’s winning, $3.6 million bid for The Bulletin and the weekly Redmond Spokesman.

For those following the bankruptcy and sale, it wasn’t immediately clear who had stepped in to help EO Media with its winning bid. But in the days and weeks after the sale, a list of names began to emerge. It read like a who’s who of Bend business and philanthropy: The Tykeson Foundation, the Hollern family, the Taylors, Bill Smith, and others. Each of them made a different contribution, but they all shared one thing in common: a belief that a strong, locally controlled paper was critical to the political and intellectual health of a community that they love.

“People truly want to know, to be educated about issues, whether it’s the school bonds or healthcare, and I don’t know you’re going to get that from a non-local news source,” said Todd Taylor, who, with his wife, Lorri, runs Taylor Northwest construction and development.

The Search for a Suitor

To understand The Bulletin’s unlikely sale to a relatively small, Oregon family-run publishing company, you need to know how problems get solved in Bend. They get solved when conversations among friends inspire action. They get solved the same way they did, fifty years ago when parks official Vince Genna got tired of asking of his bosses at the city for more ballfields and instead asked his construction buddies to help him start building them. The result was a parks’ building boom.

This time, though, there was more at stake than a baseball diamond. The Bulletin is perhaps the primary news source in the tri-county area and one of the few outlets covering everything from sports’ scores to school bonds, to bills in the state capital.

As news broke that distant corporate entities might buy The Bulletin, it sparked conversations among community leaders. Louis Capozzi, a Bend resident and member of the Bend 2030 community visioning organization, was one of the first to contemplate a community-based solution. Capozzi, who also teaches in the Strategic Communication master’s program at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication in Portland, asked the dean, his longtime friend Juan-Carlos Molleda, about media businesses in the state that might want to buy The Bulletin with help from the community.

“He introduced me to nine in the state, and I couldn’t get a bite,” Capozzi said. “They either thought it was a bad investment or they had no resources, so I got a little discouraged.”

When Capozzi heard Oregon Public Broadcasting report a new potential bidder, EO Media in Salem, he called Wright.

“It was extremely uplifting,” he said. Wright pointed him to Saving Community Journalism. “I saw the quote on the flap from Dr. (Ron) Heifetz, at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government that describes a good newspaper as ‘an anchor’ because it ‘reminds a community every day of its collective identity, the stake we have in one another and the lessons of our history.’ And I thought, well that’s singing my tune.’”

Capozzi introduced Wright to Mike Hollern, Brooks Resources chairman, who helped oversee the transformation of the Brooks Scanlon sawmill into the land development company Brooks Resources. Hollern’s vision is woven throughout the community, from education and economic development to transportation and cultural resources.

Mobilizing the Troops

Hollern said he wasn’t expecting much to come of his meeting with Wright. “But, I ended up being very impressed with her background, the whole Forrester family, the Aldriches, (EO Media owners) going back a hundred years, and what they’ve done in Oregon,” he said. “To me, it was so clearly a desirable outcome for The Bulletin to be in their hands. They’d arranged a loan from their longtime bank for the basic purchase,” said Hollern.

What they didn’t know is if it would be enough to secure the winning bid at auction.

He told them he’d like to help with that. Kirk Schueler, Brooks Resources president and CEO, quickly contacted fellow trustees of The Bend Foundation, which is funded in part by Brooks Resources. It was created in 1947 to assist injured loggers and mill workers, and to award scholarships to industry workers.

The foundation typically gives grants to local social services, arts, culture and education nonprofits, and invests in traditional equity and debt markets. Its loan to EO Media was a rare foray into social investing, which considers both financial return and positive societal benefits, said Schueler.

“It’s unconventional, but the scale was appropriate, not a vast amount,” he said. “They may not pay it all back, but there’s the expectation that they will.”

Another investor, former BendBroadband CEO Amy Tykeson, said she wanted to prevent what happened to The Register-Guard in Eugene, which lost much of its local news coverage after it was acquired by New Media/GateHouse. The company is one of the large investment groups aggressively seizing newspapers at bargain rates in small and mid-sized markets across the nation.

Next to join the party was Jay Bowerman, son of Nike co-founder and University of Oregon track legend Bill Bowerman. His participation was symbolic and significant.

“He’s a very quiet, private guy, so I was surprised,” Hollern said. “But he and (Bowerman’s wife) Teresa are also very good citizens.”

Bowerman, an independent field biologist who led the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory for two decades, seems more comfortable doing amphibian ecology research, wiring frogs with tiny radios at 7,000 feet on Broken Top, than being quoted in news articles. “But I’ve always maintained a personal commitment to be honest with members of the media,” Bowerman said, adding that the open flow of accurate information benefits the community.

The Right Fit

Bowerman had met Capozzi at an OPB event in Bend last year and had kept in touch on issues of interest. When he’d heard from Capozzi about the support for EO Media, Bowerman met with Wright and some of her team. “I came away with the sense that this was something that needed to be done,” said Bowerman.

He cited the Oregon roots of the Forresters, the family that owns EO Media Group. There was also a personal connection. Mike Forrester, former editor of the East Oregonian, ran track at the University of Oregon under his father. Bowerman quoted Charles Samuel Jackson, who bought the East Oregonian in Pendleton in 1882, and led it to become a respected, influential daily before it became a cornerstone of EO Media. Jackson said, “Print the truth. Fight for the right. People like a fighting newspaper.”

The tone is similar to that of Robert W. Chandler, the gruff, philanthropic owner and editor of The Bulletin. He was considered one of the nation’s most prominent small-town newspaper leaders. After buying the paper in 1953, he gradually expanded his newspaper holdings. By the time he died in 1996, he’d founded Western Communications, which had 300 employees among seven newspapers, five in Oregon, and two in California.

Throughout the latter half of Chandler’s tenure, Bill Smith was helping shape Central Oregon’s evolution from timber outpost to outdoor mecca with Brooks Resources and development projects such as the Old Mill District. Having known the Chandlers for nearly five decades, he heard about EO Media going up against far-flung bidders and was the first equity investor.

“I think I’m going to make money, but… it was the local paper, that’s why I did it. Bend is Bend because we have a lot of [great] things here, including the luxury of having a local newspaper with local reporting,” said Smith. Having local news is only a luxury if it’s credible. To that end, all of the investors agreed they’ll have no editorial control.

Keep Investing

Observers say that whatever happens in the future, it’s significant that community members took a stand here for their local paper.

Abernathy, who has written three follow-up reports expanding on her research in “Saving Community Journalism,” has spent the last decade documenting the shifting news landscape. That work includes evaluating the threat of “news deserts,” rural or urban communities with limited “credible, comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level.” Her team at the University of North Carolina’s Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media has collected, researched and analyzed more than a decade of data about the state of U.S. newspapers and monitors it with a database of more than 9,000 of them. Their 2018 report, “The Expanding News Desert,” delves deeper into the implications for communities at risk of losing their primary source of credible news.

Abernathy could think of only two other such instances where a community stepped in to save a paper, once in Virginia in 2016 and in Santa Rosa, Calif. in 2012.

Investors noted that along with its storied history in Oregon, EO Media has journalistic resources and partnerships across the state. That includes a wealth of innovative strategies for digital engagement and senior management committed to being active in the community. The outlook for the bottom line is brighter, too. EO Media won’t bear the burden of Western Communications’ roughly $30 million in debt associated with the Chandler Avenue building.

Though rightly concerned about liabilities, investors were also keen to hear about opportunities. They listened to Wright’s vision for navigating strategies in the digital age while leveraging partnerships to produce news that feeds democracy at the state and local levels. Profitability hinges on measuring how audiences engage with the content and each other, said Wright, who’s looking at how digital subscriptions and membership models might best serve their audience.

For example, multi-tiered membership could have a community activist or community supporter level, which would allow you to convene online meetings and conversations around community topics. “I think that would fit well for Bend because Bend is so passionate,” said Wright, who lived here from 2014 to 2017 when she was chief financial officer for The Bulletin’s parent company, Western Communications.

Despite The Bulletin’s struggles, there is plenty to build upon, Wright said. EO Media’s paid print and digital circulation, including The Bulletin and Spokesman is about 66,000 and has more than two million web page views per month, she said. Oregon Capital Insider, a weekly newsletter, launched in 2014 with Pamplin Media in the face of declining statehouse coverage across the U.S., has nearly 100,000 opt-in subscribers. EO Media, including Central Oregon Media Group, the holding company for The Bulletin and Spokesman, has seventeen daily, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly publications across the state and one on the southern Washington coast.

Abernathy said the investors’ move is an important first step. To grow, owners need to invest in the business and news operations to attract digital advertisers and readers. This long-term strategy requires owners to have faith in the future, the paper’s mission, and endurance in the face of inevitable monthly and yearly financial fluctuations.

“One thing that’s historically true with media companies and acquisitions is that they fail if they do not … invest to transform the business,” she said. “You really need the capital. Transformation is never a [smooth] process. You’ve got to know when to push on and when to pull the plug, and not live on the razor-thin edge of available capital.”

It appears the investors may have the wherewithal for the long game. Smith didn’t flinch. “I’ll hold up my hand again and invest again,” he said. “I put in some money with the expectation that I would not put in any more, and I hope the enterprise works, but if I misjudged that they’d go in and turn it around, I’m not going to orphan the initial investment because they did not deliver.”

Though challenges remain, Wright is confident that there is a place for newspapers in America, no matter what form they take, and a home for The Bulletin in Bend.

“We reach a lot of people, and still we keep talking about the death of newspapers, and it’s like we have more audience than anyone, and I think we can grow it still,” said Wright.

Editor’s Note: This article was published by Bend Magazine in November 2019.

Julie Blackman: Landscape Painter

Portraying the essential nature of treasured places.

Julie Blackman’s landscapes conjure scenes of familiar places visited—national parks or stretches of open highways glimpsed through a car window. A highway arcs into the sunset. The John Day Fossil Beds throw off glowing orange and blue hues. The large sensuous boulders of Joshua Tree National Park evocate female forms. Orderly rows of Willamette Valley vineyards crest a hill beneath biscuit-shaped clouds.

“I look at shape and form in organic ways, almost like human bodies,” Blackman said of her abstracted landscapes. Blackman strips her subjects to their essential form, portraying them as living, breathing entities. Most of her paintings, done in either pastels or oil, have sharp horizontal contours, bright colors and clean, uncluttered views of the natural world.

“There’s a peacefulness of landscapes that don’t include houses, people and animals,” she said.

Landscapes are more than a muse. They were also a salve against severe depression that she experienced in her teens and early twenties. At the time, treatment for depression was in its infancy, but she recovered and says that, “observing the landscape still brings me an inner peace as it did then. My own sort of treatment.”

Blackman’s process is slow and deliberate, producing most of her work in a studio, although she does some plein air painting. Photos and sketches of places she’s visited inspire the process that involves brushing many layers of thin glazes onto the canvas to build depth and luminosity.

Blackman grew up near St. Louis, Missouri and showed an early interest in the arts. When she was twelve, her grandfather, a musician and painter, gave her a set of oil paints. The aspiring artist went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in painting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Blackman eventually ended up in Portland where she exhibited her paintings in the late 1970s. She took a “long break” to raise a family and work in Portland Public Schools as a special education teacher, but never lost her interest in artistic expression.

She picked up the brush again in 2005, which overlapped with her teaching job until 2009 when she retired from the school district and started painting full time. From 2008 to 2012, she participated in Portland Open Studios, a program that provides the community with the opportunity to tour and interact with local artists in their studios.

It was during one of the open studios that Bend resident Keith Levesque met Blackman and was drawn to her paintings. “I like the composition, colors and how I feel when I look at Julie’s work,” Levesque said. He and his wife have three Blackman paintings, including two they commissioned for their home. “When I look at a painting in my living room ten times a day and it relaxes me, that’s very valuable to me.”

In 2013, Blackman moved to Bend where her daughter Whitney Keatman, co-owner of Sparrow Bakery, lived. The artist initially worked from home but found she wasn’t as productive outside a studio.

“The first couple of years were kind of a struggle. I’m not as disciplined at home,” she said.

Blackman found structure and a place to mingle with other artists at Bright Place Gallery in 2017, an east side artist collective. The gallery is tucked toward the back of the 9th Street Village in southeast Bend. Blackman’s space is long and narrow with windows that let in natural light and an open aisle for gallery visitors to meander and see work in progress. Outside the gallery, you’ll find her work at the occasional show. For example, this past summer she displayed her paintings at Art in the High Desert in the Old Mill District, a showcase of some of the best artists and crafts-workers in the nation.

To see her work and meet the artist, visit the Bright Place Gallery, noon to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, or go to her website, julieblackmanart.com

Details Matter: A touch of dining elegance with Becerra’s Bistro

Growing up poor in Mexico City, graduating to working amid the glamour of celebrity chef restaurants in Las Vegas in the ’90s, and then fighting in Iraq after 9/11 hardly seems a logical path to opening a French-inspired bistro in Redmond. Yet it is a telling mélange behind the daunting drive of Moises Becerra, who’s aiming to raise the standard for dining in Central Oregon with Becerra’s on 6th Bistro.

This military and kitchen veteran recognizes that his visceral connection with Gallic cuisine is derived from his love of the traditional Mexican comfort food that his mother made for him and his four siblings, as well as from his father, a hospital cook.

“I’d come around the table when she was mixing tamale dough with a big spoon, especially during Mexican holidays,” he said. “It was a thing that personally made me happy, to see an abundance of food, a big mound of tamales, as well as the everyday food, like handmade tortillas. We were raised very poor, so we’d rarely eat meat, and when it did make it to the table, we were very excited. So, yes, food was very important.” Becerra wanted to be a petrochemist but couldn’t afford the requisite education. Instead, he went to work, came to the U.S. in the early ‘90s, and earned an associate’s degree in tourism and hospitality management from Lane Community College in Eugene. He went to work as a server at Spago in Las Vegas, just as Wolfgang Puck began launching his empire. “In Vegas, it’s very glamorous, there’s a lot of money, and you meet beautiful people from all over the world, but the restaurant competition is ferocious, so you have to have quality of service,” he said. “You’re not just a food carrier or order taker, you’re a sales manager, trained in customer service. It’s a phenomenon in Vegas and they push hard for it.” After the 9/11 attacks, however, he set aside his vision of managing a glittering restaurant and enlisted in the U.S. Army infantry, despite being in his early 30s.

In 2010, after returning from two deployments in Iraq, he decided to pursue his passion for cooking, attending LCC’s culinary program for a year, and completing the second year of the associate’s degree at Central Oregon Community College’s Cascade Culinary Institute. He worked at 900 Wall and Brasada Ranch for a summer then returned to Vegas to cook at Le Cirque and Mon Ami Gabi. “One of our ideas was how to bring that level of customer service to Redmond,” Becerra said. “I created a matrix of the nineteen steps of service in which we train servers, based on the American Culinary Federation book, Remarkable Service.” Employees must complete two days of training including a Powerpoint detailing why he and his wife, Sheila, started the business.

“We had been retired already, and now we’re coming back to open a restaurant,” he said. “It’s crazy, it’s so much work, why not enjoy retirement?” He didn’t want to have regrets. “We do things, we’re doers.”

His mission is to make the food and atmosphere as remarkable as the service, striving to use excellent organic, local ingredients. For instance, Redmond is historically a potato growing region and yet he rarely found potatoes on local menus, so he’s changing that.

“We are meat and potato people here, we like beautiful French mashed potatoes,” he said. “We mix in butter and milk from Eberhard’s just three blocks away.”

Aside from potatoes, the menu boasts an amuse bouche of housemade baguette with compound butters and salmon mousse, appetizers including charcuterie, four-cheese casareccia pasta with brie cheese foam, escargot and flatbreads. A roasted red beet salad is dressed with a Champagne vinaigrette and pine nuts.

There’s a traditional French onion soup, lemon-brined heirloom chicken, beef Wellington, roasted pork chops brined in beer and tamari with apple compote brandy, grilled lamb chops, beef Bourguignon and wild mushroom pasta.

Their pastry chef creates desserts such as maple bread pudding with house-made bourbon vanilla ice cream with toffee sauce and maple pecans and a dark chocolate mousse cake with black current mousse, black currant curd and whipped cream.

The couple’s goal is for the art deco ambiance to mesh with the downtown design and transport guests to another place and time. From the feel of a doorknob, a wine glass stem, a seat cushion or the splendor of a chandelier, Becerra has considered it all.

He knows that tourists come and go, but he wants to offer a year-round escape for locals, even if it’s just to relax with wine and dessert.

Ideas to Keep you Busy as Winter Settles into Central Oregon

Central Oregon is one of those rare places where people actually get excited for winter. We hold ski season pass parties, drink beers with names like Pray For Snow, and pine for that first morning when we draw back the drapes to find a fresh blanket of snow outside of our doors. Of course, not everyone is waxing their skis in early November and stashing away sick days for an onset of powder fever. Thankfully, there is plenty to do around town from adult-oriented recreation, like bar trivia and axe throwing bars (yes, it’s a real thing), to family-friendly activities like tree lighting and arts classes. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of activities to keep your whole clan engaged this holiday season.

Head to the Tower Theatre

Much has changed in downtown Bend over the past half-century. One constant is the Tower Theatre, which has served as Bend’s cultural hub for as long as just about anyone remembers. The historic theater continues to show films (it’s the epicenter of Bend Film every October), but it’s also a showcase for the performing arts, including live music and theater. Enjoy it all in November and December when the Tower packs in acts like the Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker, a holiday film series that includes a festive screening of the contemporary classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Grab a seat, order a large popcorn and a beverage, and enjoy some holiday-stress-free entertainment in Bend’s marquee venue.

Flying Axes! The Unofficial Logging Co.

Maybe it’s a sign of the times that axe-throwing has become a popular pastime, or maybe it’s always been fun to hurl weighty, sharp objects across a room. In any case, the holidays are the perfect time to work off some pent-up energy by throwing axes at bulls-eye targets. The Unofficial Logging Co. offers a 6-lane axe-throwing venue in downtown Bend in the O’Kane Building. Which means the food, drink, and fun indoor activity are all in one location, with beer, wine and food from The Brown Owl on hand. Round up the multigenerational crew (10 years and up please, and wear closed-toed shoes) for an evening of friendly, yule time, axe-throwing competition. Don’t be surprised if Grandpa wins.

Into the Woods: Snowshoe Tours

Staying close to the fire on a cold winter’s night might sound like the way to go, but every now and then you need to break out of the cozy routine and do something extraordinary. Wanderlust Tours Starlight and Moonlight Snowshoe Tours fit the bill. Naturalist guides take tour-goers away from the lights of the city into the dark and dreamy woods, where stars and moon shine bright and unhindered overhead. Breath the cold night air deeply and take in the vast sky for a little taste of the magic of the season that you won’t find at the mall.

Photo Courtesy Bend Park and Recreation District

Brake for the Arts

When people ask what there is to do around Central Oregon, recommendations tend to center around outdoor activities. What is sometimes overlooked is our vibrant arts scene that includes an interactive “art station” where adults and kids can learn how to fire pottery, create glass art, roll prints, sculpt and more. Located in a historical train depot, The Arts Station welcomes artists of all ages and experiences, offering classes, workshops and day-camps that are popular with families on school holidays and breaks. Parents can join in the fun through the Arts Station’s “With Your Child” classes that allow parents to work side by side with their kiddos to create a piece of unique art. No experience or materials are required. “Bring your body and your imagination, and we’ll provide the rest,” said Laura Von der Osten, recreation coordinator. More information is available through the Bend Park and Recreation Department website and Playbook publication.

Christmas Tree Lighting: Lights on High

Pomp, circumstance and twinkly lights—what more do you want from a wintry Friday night? Bundle up in a puffy coat, stocking cap and gloves, and kick off the holiday season with the Christmas Tree Lighting at Drake Park in downtown Bend. Scheduled for December 6 this year, the actual lighting of the tree occurs promptly at 6:59 p.m. to the oohs and ahhs of the crowd (that’s your pomp and circumstance). See Santa, eat candy, sing carols and much more at this must-do annual event.

Skate Away

Half a century ago, Bend’s fire department would roll out the water hoses to flood in downtown’s Troy Field in Bend’s version of New York City’s rink at Rockefeller Square. Leather-booted skaters could drop in anytime for laps around the temporary rink. Fast forward to 2019, and multiple options exist for ice skaters wanting to carve a few laps in a fresh sheet of frozen water. In Bend, The Pavilion offers ice time in the afternoon and weekends. Rental skates, a party room and a small concession stand make this a go-to spot for locals and visitors alike. If you want a true open-air experience, head for the Seventh Mountain Resort and glide around under the stars. Here, you’ll find another full-service rink that caters to guests and visitors. Down south, Sunriver has ice skating at its recently renovated pavilion on the Village Mall. If your travels take you north, check out Redmond’s contribution to the ice-skating scene. The city of Redmond operates a seasonal rink, usually open from November through February at the Downton Redmond Plaza at 7th Street.

I Know That One! Trivia Nights

Answer these three questions: On the seventh day of Christmas, what did my true love give to me? In what country did eggnog originate? What is the name of the Dr. Seuss character who steals Christmas? Okay, one more question—why do we love to know the answers to random questions? This season, distract yourself from more serious matters and choose from one of many regional trivia nights to bone up on your useless knowledge. Try Trivia on the Moon Thursdays at Silver Moon Brewing, Trivia Tuesday at the Lot, Kobold Brewing’s occasional Taphouse Trivia, and second and fourth Tuesday Night Trivia at Broken Top Bottle Shop.

Over the Top at Bend Rock Gym

Central Oregon has been a rock-climbing mecca since the early 1980s when sport climbing pioneers like Alan Watts set the first routes at Smith Rock. The iconic climbing area remains the epicenter of the climbing community here, but the sport has grown in interesting ways and places around the region. One of the most popular ways to climb doesn’t involve rocks at all. Indoor climbing, which uses manufactured walls with multiple routes and levels of difficulties, is perhaps the fastest-growing segment of the sport in Central Oregon. The official headquarters is the Bend Rock Gym on Bend’s east-side, where twenty “auto belays” allow climbers to work independently and at their own pace. The Rock Gym offers oodles of clinics and a cool learn-to-climb program for children and adults. While it may seem intimidating, no experience is required, and the staff is happy to help first-time climbers learn the ropes as it were. “We are working hard on eliminating that initial intimidation,” said Rich Bruener, director of operations.

Run with the Pack

Few winter activities offer the smooth exhilaration of cross-country skiing while being pulled by a dog. That’s right — think dog mushing with skis instead of sled and you have skijoring, an uber niche winter sport popular with dog-owning Nordic skiers. Skijoring affords an accelerated way to explore wintry Central Oregon with a canine companion. When the snow falls, take your skis and pup to an already-traveled trail, such as those at Tumalo Falls Day Use Area or dog-friendly Wanoga Sno-park. There, dogs will intuitively follow the tracks. But let your pooch roam free until he or she is comfortable around your skis. Then, when the time seems right, clip into your dog’s harness. With persistence and luck, you’ll be gliding along, propelled by canine combustion. Bend-based Alpine Outfitters makes skijoring-specific harnesses and towlines. Adanac Sleds & Equipment, is also a good skijor outfitter. The book “Skijor with Your Dog,” by Mari Høe-Raitto and Carol Kaynor, is rife with insight.

Pedal to the Metal

The go-karts of my youth were open framed contraptions powered by something that looked like and, probably had been, a lawnmower engine. I can only imagine how my 12-year-old self would have reacted if I had the chance to visit Bend’s K1 track, which brings the whole concept into the 21st century. Clean-burning electric carts wrapped in sleek Formula One style bodies allow racers to get a little glimpse of what it might feel like to whip around the track at Monaco. Wireless headsets allow racers to share track talk while zipping around the serpentine course as an official clock monitors lap times. The driver with the single fastest time around the track is the winner and invited to summit the podium post-race. But let’s not kid ourselves, the real attraction here isn’t radio heat sets or leaderboards, it’s speed. And K1 has plenty of it. The carts accelerate like a cat, reaching speeds up to 40mph on short straight away that throw drives into g-force generating turns. So, yeah, they’re fast. And fun. Lots of fun. – Eric Flowers

Haute Holiday Cuisine: Dining options to savor and memories to share

The first frost has arrived, the leaves have fallen from the trees, Christmas lights are up and is that, wait, holiday music creeping into the background noise? Yep. There’s no denying that shopping season is upon us. But let’s forget the retail madness for a minute and focus on something that matters, gathering up friends and family to share a meal and maybe a great glass of wine. Now is the time to indulge; we can count the calories in January when we’re working on New Year’s resolutions. If that sounds like a plan, we’ve put together a list of can’t-miss fine dining experiences that consistently deliver on food, ambiance and service. Your table awaits.

900 Wall (left)

A pillar of downtown Bend, 900 Wall serves up a traditional and reliable menu of new American fare. Among the best options are the beef tartare and beef carpaccio, deviled eggs prepared perfectly, outstanding quality oysters and impressive thin-crust pizzas. For entrees, the flat iron steak is a go-to, the duck confit is like candy it’s so tasty, but the burger infused with bacon and served with onion jam is a favorite. Hard to go wrong with anything there. A private dining area on the second floor overlooks the large dining room and makes this a great choice for small groups, or large families needing a reserved space for private celebrations.

Ariana (above)

Tucked into a bungalow on Bend’s westside, Ariana is about as romantic and delicious as Central Oregon dining gets. Chefs Andres and Ariana Fernandez opened for business in 2004, bringing their fresh perspectives to classic dishes. Expect local products and Northwest produce included in each immaculately prepared fine dining dish. Dine on entrees including filet mignon, salmon and rabbit surrounded by white tablecloth service and ambiance. The wine list is a particular treat, with bottles from the Northwest as well as all around the globe. Ariana is open for nightly for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

Black Butte Ranch Lodge Restaurant (above)

Tucked at the foot of the Cascade mountains on an expansive footprint that features forested hills and open meadows, Black Butte Ranch is a jewel that has beckoned visitors from around the Northwest for nearly half a century. The dining options are as varied the recreational offerings. From grab-and-go deli food to comfort casual and fine dining. When it come to the latter, look to the Lodge Restaurant where resort guests and visitors can indulge in chef James Healy’s menu that transforms traditional steaks, salads and chops into haute ranch cuisine, like the cocoa-rubbed pork tenderloin with bacon bourbon jam and cider reduction. Open for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s eve. Reservations recommended.

Bistro 28

It’s been several years since Steve and Cheri Helt took over management of the former Scanlon’s grill inside the Athletic Club of Bend. Owners of downtown’s popular Zydeco restaurant, the Helts remade the Bistro 28 menu with some of Zydeco’s popular dishes, incorporating that eatery’s Cajun and nouveau American cuisine influences. But there are differences between the two establishments, beginning with the ambiance. The downtown restaurant is a bustling urban eatery, while Bistro 28 is tucked into a quiet corner of the club. Diners will find differences in the menu as well, notably the wood fired pizzas at Bistro 28 that make for a personal meal or dish to share. With overflow space in an adjacent lounge area, the restaurant offers a great place for small groups and larger families. It also continues Scanlon’s longstanding tradition of being open on Christmas Eve when many other restaurants close their doors.

Pine Tavern

The Pine Tavern’s hot scones with honey butter taste great year-round, but the fresh baked treats are especially delicious when you’re tucked indoors in this cozy, historic restaurant as the snow flies outside. Opened in 1936, the Pine Tavern has anchored downtown Bend for 80 years. The restaurant is open for both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, with seafood, steak, pasta, ribs and more on the menu. Make a reservation ahead of time, and perhaps you’ll even earn a seat in the main dining room, where a Ponderosa pine tree grows right through the center of the action. Beginning at the end of November, a giving tree will sit in the lobby, inviting donations for the Bethlehem Inn, a local organization that helps those experiencing housing challenges. Also keep your eyes open for the annual Breakfast with Santa event, benefiting the Assistance League of Bend. A warm breakfast, a toy for each child and a photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus are included in admission.

Blacksmith Steakhouse Bar and Lounge (above)

Blacksmith is primarily a steakhouse, but it offers more than that. The pork chop is a standout and the Northwest ribeye served with a roasted mushroom bordelaise and horseradish mashed potatoes topped with crispy red onions might be the best cut in town. It’s a dark, comfortable dining room, a welcoming, large wrap-around bar and a great happy hour menu, including some impressive sliders. Their signature mac and cheese with a choice of smoked cheddar, bacon, or truffle is worth sampling all. Executive Chef Bryan Chang nails it on all counts.

Zydeco

Many Bend restaurants have come and gone, but Zydeco has stood the test of time for a couple of decades. Beginning at their first location on 3rd Street, and, since 2005, in a classy space downtown, Zydeco is a crowd pleaser serving Northwest cuisine with a Southern twist paired with amazing cocktails. Chef Steve Helt and his team have landed on many “Best Of” and awards lists during their long run. Visit Zydeco for a special holiday-season date night or a very special family gathering. Make reservations and sink into an evening of delicious food, including the much-loved redfish in zydeco sauce topped with crab meat, or the New Zealand rack of lamb with pumpkin seed romesco. Don’t forget room for the flourless chocolate cake.

Brickhouse

With locations in Bend and Redmond, Brickhouse has been entertaining diners around Central Oregon for almost a decade. The atmosphere is metropolitan cool in Redmond where the steakhouse enjoys a location in historic downtown Redmond. In Bend, Brickhouse settled nicely into the renovated downtown Bend firehouse on Minnesota Avenue. While the ambiance may vary based on location, the menu does not. Both locations serve classic Pacific Northwest fare with an emphasis on its aged cuts of prime grade meats and fresh seafood.

Broken Top

Once the sole province of club members, the restaurant at Broken Top now welcomes the public at large to dine. Open Wednesday through Sunday, the restaurant offers cozy, lodge-like setting in the expansive clubhouse overlooking the golf course. The menu includes many fine dining staples, as well as a few surprises like bison short ribs and shrimp and andouille sausage rigatoni. It’s all prepared with the same attention to detail that goes into every element of the Broken Top experience.

The Tumalo Steakhouse (above)

Formerly the Tumalo Feed Company, this Central Oregon institution has been undergoing a modest makeover since new owners took the helm in 2018. There’s been a few exterior renovations and small changes to the menu, but most of what makes this place an iconic eatery remains, from the clapboard feel to the wealth of historic and Western memorabilia. While the service is great, don’t expect all the trappings of fine dining—this is a real country steakhouse. But if you’re looking for a perfect porterhouse and a ton of fun, well then, dust off your boots, hang your hat by the door, and dig in.

Solomon’s at Tetherow

Located adjacent to the popular “Row” pub, Solomon’s takes the dining experience to another level at Tetherow. With views overlooking the David McLay Kidd golf course and distant mountain peaks, Tetherow offers a one-of-a kind setting. But it’s the menu that really takes center stage at Solomon’s where fine dining staples like rack of lamb are transformed into gastronomical greatness. An extensive wine collection and expert staff will help provide the pairing to make a perfect meal.

Brasada’s Range Resaurant

The uber-popular Powell Butte Resort offers year-round casual dining at its Ranch restaurant in the main lodge. However, its Range restaurant that showcases chef Doug MacFarland’s fine dining menu operates on a seasonal basis with operations typically wrapping up around Labor Day. Of course, there’s always the exception to the rule. In this case, the Range re-opens temporarily for special seatings on both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. While we haven’t seen the menu, you can be sure it will be rich in locally sourced ingredients and thoughtfully paired with regional wines and craft beers.

Carson’s American Grill and the Great Hall (above)

Sunriver Resort has the holidays down. The resort’s month-plus-long Traditions event hosts a myriad of events that scream “holiday” and “family.” When it comes to food, the attention to detail is no less exacting. Carson’s American Kitchen, Sunriver’s fine dining destination in the main lodge, is open for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day with a special menu and plated dinner. If you’re more of a buffet-style-family, you’re in for a treat. Sunriver’s grand historic Great Hall serves a special buffet on those two holiday days. Roasted turkey, blackened salmon, pumpkin soup, deviled eggs and much more are on hand, with tiered prices for adults and children (and free for children under age 5). Planning to party the night away at Sunriver for New Year’s Eve? Fuel up with dinner at Carson’s beforehand.

Stephanie Betteridge

Not so long ago the idea of having an “innovation officer” within city hall, might have seemed farfetched – a Silicon Valley construct dropped onto main street. Today it’s nearly a necessity as the way citizens interact with government and each other continues to evolve. As the city’s first Chief Innovation Officer, Stephanie Betteridge is tasked with solving problems that range from the everyday variety to those of epic proportions. At the same time, she is working to improve city processes and find opportunities to make government more effective and efficient for one of Oregon’s fastest growing cities.
Betteridge moved to Bend with her family this past April after holding the same position in Gresham. She said that innovation isn’t about chasing technology or relying on it to solve all our problems. It’s about using new tools and new thinking to address challenges and create opportunities.
We sat down with Betteridge for a conversation about how she drives change, the projects she’s leading and why governments like Bend are embracing innovation.

Tell us a little more about what your new position entails.
It is a super cool job. I get to be a connector and convener and bring people together to address challenges and opportunities. I also provide leadership to IT, Performance Management, and our Enterprise Software Replacement project teams. I developed the work plan of over sixty projects that support the [city] council’s four top goals [public safety, transportation, economic development, government efficiency]. I work with colleagues across the organization to ensure we are making progress in accomplishing those goals, which are all aimed at providing an excellent quality of life in Bend. Finally, I’m working with the city to create an Innovation Strategic Plan. This is our vision for how we can expand the use of data, technology, and continuous improvement to enhance service delivery to meet the changing needs of our community.

What are some innovative projects that you’re currently working on?
There are quite a lot. I’m especially excited about the traffic report and map. This is an interactive tool that allows community members to keep up-to-date on weekly closures and detour routes during peak construction season. We’ve also partnered with WaterSmart Software to provide water customers online access to their water use information. Customers can track daily water use, see how you compare to similar water users, and get notified of potential water leaks. And then there’s our speed radar data project, which collects information from speed radar boxes. We’re using the data to help determine if policing or traffic calming changes need to be made.

Is innovation crucial to Bend’s future?
Bend is a rapidly changing community with significant challenges around housing and transportation. There’s also a strong desire to keep Bend, Bend. We can’t afford not to be innovative. It’s important to have a designated position that focuses on looking forward, collaborating with others, and keeping pace with the capabilities of data and technology.

Ray Halm: Pioneer made Bend the focal point of an online learning empire

On Bend’s eastside sits a small industrial office building that connects thousands of students and hundreds of teachers to one of the nation’s largest online education networks.

The man behind the operation is Dr. Ray Halm, former president of Concordia University in Irvine, Calif. and a pioneer in the world of online education. Halm brought Concordia University Education Network, or CUEnet, to Bend when he moved here to retire in 1998. It’s been two decades since Halm relocated to Bend, but he hasn’t stopped working.

From a new, high-tech studio on the city’s east side, Halm and four full-time professionals serve as the “distance education” focal point for the Lutheran Church’s Missouri Synod U.S. education system that includes 1,200 pre-schools, 880 elementary schools, 100 high schools, nine colleges and universities, two seminaries, and several international schools.

It all started in 1996 when Halm, then president of Concordia University-Irvine, launched the first CUEnet broadcast, with a course on the modern novel. Halm taught the class live to twenty-one students in Irvine, three students on the Concordia campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., and one student at Concordia University in Portland. The idea at the time was to share academic resources between the schools. Rather than ask the Ann Arbor and Portland schools to add the class, Halm folded the students into the modern novel class at Irvine.

For the next two years, Halm continued to expand CUEnet course offerings across the Concordia University system, while still serving as full-time president at the Irvine campus. Before long, Concordia offered sixty courses online. Then in 1998, after 18 years as president, Halm was asked by the presidents of the other Concordia schools if he would be willing to devote full time to distance education.

“ [My] response, was that if it could be done from where we planned to retire, namely Bend, then we’d do it,” he recalls. “The initial response, not surprisingly, was ‘where’s Bend?’” Halm said. Once everyone found Bend on the map, all agreed that Bend had the necessary resources to become a center of distance education for the Concordia system.

Over the next decade, CUEnet went far beyond a single online literature course, to a global internet operation helping the Lutheran Church to prepare teachers for its thousands of classrooms.

Developing teachers at the baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral level is one of the church’s biggest challenges. For decades, no one could become a teacher at any of its elementary or secondary schools without having graduated from one of the Concordia campuses.

In recent years, however, growing numbers of older adults have sought alternative avenues to teach in Lutheran schools. To properly educate these “late bloomers” in the doctrine and practice of the church, it established a “colloquy,” or a program of religious instruction including eight academic courses, and a certification process.

The response was immediate and dramatic. The number of applicants grew from less than ten to hundreds per year. The Concordia system couldn’t accommodate these older adult students, particularly considering that many lived far from the nearest Concordia campus.

Our fear was that we would be seen as little more than a re-hash of correspondence education.

-Ray Halm

Using video textbooks and an electronic theological library, Halm and a corps of Concordia professors nationwide now conduct all of the colloquy studies over CUEnet from Bend.

Is CUEnet working? Halm shared the results of a survey of more than 2,000 colloquy students who reported, “97.5 percent satisfaction with the value of CUEnet learning,” he says. Equally impressive are the reactions of the professors on the different Concordia campuses who participate in the assessment process. “Our fear was that we would be seen as little more than a re-hash of correspondence education. Instead, professors have continuously ranked the quality of CUEnet education equal to or better than the traditional, on-campus program,” Halm said.

And, as the axiom goes, success begets success. Beyond the program for teachers, CUEnet also provides colloquy education for other ministers in the Missouri Synod, including deaconesses, directors of Christian education, and directors for family life. There is a teen education program, teaching aids, and a library for educators and laypeople.

Looking ahead, Halm believes that distance education will continue to enjoy increasing popularity within America’s higher education system. “With the price of higher education becoming so difficult for many to bear, I believe we will see growing numbers of students acquiring their college and university education through distance learning channels like CUEnet,” he said.

John Paul: An atypical jeweler

Forging old-world heirlooms for new generations.

One of the first things you notice when entering John Paul’s downtown store is the ‘60s-era Schwinn leaning against the wall. You might wonder, ‘What’s a bike doing in a jewelry store?’ But spend a little time in John Paul’s shop and you’ll realize that the bike is emblematic of all the unexpected, handmade items showcased in the small space. From chunky metal wrist cuffs to forged sterling pendants on thick chains to rectangular copper earrings stamped with mountains and inset with diamond moons, everything here exudes vintage craftsmanship.

Sharing space in the jewelry cases are an original window sign from Magill Drugs and an apothecary bottle with extract of blue cohosh recovered from the drug store when it closed in 2004. The three display cases also came from Magill’s and everything in the showroom was gathered locally and tells a story, according to employee, Bayly Winkler.

In short, visitors won’t find a collection of shiny, new pieces displayed under special lighting and designed by CAD machines and mass-produced. That type of jewelry is made to hide the hand of the artist, Paul said. Instead, this is a place where vintage, repurposed items revel in imperfection.

“I like to capture something imperfect and worn, something that might appear to be from the 17th century,” Paul said. “The difference between my peers and me is they’re using computers to design, mill and machine their wares, whereas I’m old school.” He said he was once on the cusp of modernizing his technique but learned from his first encounter with a computer that it wasn’t for him.

His upbringing in a Midwest auctioneer’s family imprinted on him a love of antiques and the stories that come with them. He earned a bachelor’s degree in metalsmithing from the University of Wisconsin and then apprenticed with master metalsmiths in Wisconsin and Colorado. He moved to Bend in 1997, where he says, “the universe opened up to me.” He opened his storefront, John Paul Designs, on Bond Street in 1997. In 1998, he became a founding member of the Central Oregon Metal Arts Guild. He has given back both his time and his artistry to the community, often contributing to favorite charities.

Paul’s knack for combining blacksmithing and metalsmithing with traditional diamond and stone setting has drawn many clients to his door. Custom work, particularly during bridal season, is a large percentage of his business, but he attracts clients through social media and word of mouth. He often spends hours with them, refining ideas that transform the buying process from selecting a piece to creating a piece.

If Paul’s work is old school, then his tools are almost Medieval. Walk into the rear section of the downtown storefront, or in a much larger industrial building near Bend High School, and you’ll find twenty years’ worth of tools that transcend time. “I’m the guy who lines up at 6 a.m. at an estate sale before it opens,” he said. With all the vintage equipment, he’s able to forge his tools, ensuring that every piece is unique. His advertising touts how “every blow [reveals] textures that can only come from hand forging metals into perfect imperfection.”

“My No. 1 rule is to only surround myself with things that bring me joy, from the vessel that holds Q-tips to what is beautiful and has good energy,” he said. “I like to carry on all the stories and qualities from something old and worn.”

A Touch of Modern: Bend’s historic Claypool home gets a major makeover

A historical home renovation should honor the past while looking to the future. That’s exactly what Justin Brevoort accomplished in his recent makeover of Bend’s “Claypool House.”

The Craftsman-style bungalow was built in 1919 and typical for the time: living room in the front, small kitchen toward the back, one bath on the main floor and bedrooms upstairs. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the Drake Park area home, save the fact that for almost a century it was inhabited by one family.

Guy and Doris Claypool owned Claypool Furniture Store on Wall Street from 1936 to 1999. They bought their modest home on Congress Street in 1929 for $1,500. There they stayed for more than eighty years, according to their son, Dale.

“In the 1950s, Dad sold the place and bought another home on east Eighth Street where everyone was moving,” Dale recalled. “That lasted about two months—Dad wasn’t comfortable in his new neighborhood. He bought his old house back, which cost him a fortune.”

Dale said that after his parents got the house back, they built a two-story addition in the rear, which had a fireplace, bath and entrance. His mother occupied the original part of the house until her death in 2010 at the age of 103. Dale sold the house in 2011, and ownership passed through a couple of hands before Brevoort bought it in May 2018.

“The first thing that grabbed me was how unique its architecture was for Bend. It combined Craftsman with elements of Southern California style, plus I liked its location in the Drake Park Neighborhood District,” he said.

But signs of recent neglect were showing. The siding was peeling off, and the roof was sagging. At one point, doors and windows were boarded over in plywood. “It was an eyesore on a street where other homes around it had been remodeled,” Brevoort said.

Large windows, a high ceiling and white cabinets draw chefs and visitors alike into the cheery space for hanging out or sitting around the dinner table.

A native Oregonian who grew up in Keizer, Brevoort spent many family vacations in Sunriver and Bend. He attended Central Oregon Community College and was a “snowboard bum” in the ’90s. Brevoort now lives in Hermosa Beach where he has a design firm, Creative Labz. Buying the Claypool home was an opportunity to reconnect with Bend. But it was also a significant undertaking to manage remotely. As an experienced home builder and remodeler, Brevoort envisioned a restoration that would bring the residence into the 21st century. Open spaces and modern finishes set the tone on the inside while the home’s exterior was renovated to meet the city’s historic preservation codes on the outside.

He assembled a team of designers, including his cousin Josh Brevoort of 0-plus, and Seth Ehlinger and Kadi Driver of Dos Designers. He selected Ryan Carroll Construction to handle the building phase, and Michelle Redo helped with the interior design. “We tried to balance modern building concepts with the home’s century-old roots while also adding creature comforts,” he said.

The first step was to gut much of the interior and pull out old wiring and plumbing. New walls, insulation and windows came next, along with a floor plan that preserved the 1950’s-era addition while transforming the main level into a great room that created a casual gathering space. While maintaining the ceiling height in the living room, the builder removed the attic over the kitchen, opening the area and bringing in more light.

Living room and original fireplace decked out in mid-century furnishings, including the RCA Victor record player.

A Japanese-inspired staircase with vertical, walnut slants beckons visitors upward to the second story. The front, east-facing bedroom features the original upper window visible from the street. At the other end is the west-facing master bedroom where the team replaced two windows with five, modernizing the back corner of the home and revealing a bird’s eye view. The master bath features a converted vintage credenza with two sinks in place of a traditional vanity. Between the two bedrooms is what Brevoort calls a “flex” room with sleeper sofa, a closet housing the washer and dryer and space for storage. A second upstairs bathroom is just off the hallway and contains a sink from the original house and a front porch light repurposed for the vanity. All the baths have black and white natural stone hexagonal tiles, quartz countertops and subway tile in the showers.

A new patio, pergolas and a gas firepit are some of the exterior upgrades.

The exterior also got a facelift. With approval from historical preservation groups, Brevoort’s team painted the entire home white, removed visual clutter, like overhead wires. They added sliding doors to the kitchen and rear addition, removed false window shutters and added pergolas on the west and south sides to blend with an existing open-porch pergola. The team also redid the entire yard with contemporary walkways and planting beds, and created a back patio with concrete pavers, a fire pit and outdoor seating and dining. It also preserved a curved, Roman-brick wall encasing a small veranda.

The interior décor and furnishings honor early 20th-century style trends, including art deco and post-war or mid-century modernism. A functioning RCA Victor record player stands beneath a wall covered in vinyl records that guests can enjoy. (He received city approval to use the home as a vacation rental and believes that this will allow him to share its history and location with Central Oregon visitors.) Most of the furniture is walnut, and an eclectic array of colorful artwork, including Shepherd Fairey prints, hang throughout the residence.

In the case of the Claypool, he’s rescued a bit of Bend’s history and repackaged it for another generation. “I’m passionate about real estate,” he said. “By building or improving structures, a person can leave a mark or legacy.”

Just Say No: A local effort aims to take a bite out of the global plastics problem

Photographer Brown Cannon’s travels have taken him around the globe. He’s photographed big wave surfers on Hawaii’s north shore and snapped images of whales near the South Pole.

He’s brought back stunning images from faraway places. His work has helped expose him and his audience to the wonders of the world, but it’s also revealed something dark and deeply troubling. Our world is being choked by a plastic pollution epidemic that is poisoning our seas and sullying landscapes. Rather than standby and watch the problem continue to grow, Cannon decided to do something about it.

Last year, he challenged his friends and social media followers to take a no-plastics pledge. No plastic straws, no plastic cutlery, no plastic bottles. He offered to give away a print of one of his photos in a random drawing to incentivize participation. He wasn’t sure how the idea would be received. The response was immediate. More than two hundred people signed on. Rather than stop there, Cannon decided to see how far he could take the idea. Over the past year, he has formed a non-profit and built a website to support a student-led campaign to reduce the use of plastics in schools.

He rolled out the No2Plastic campaign at the start of the school year in Bend and Denver. With student ambassadors pushing the program, almost 500 students have taken the No2 Plastic pledge. Participants agree to avoid using plastic straws, bottles and cutlery, or any combination of the three. Each pledge is immediately factored into a formula that calculates how much plastic waste is being saved from landfills and landscapes. As of October 1, students from nineteen schools had signed on to the program, with an estimated one million pieces of plastic waste saved.

“We are trying to get people to change a habit or two and see if that translates to deeper action,” said Cannon, in a recent interview.

In this case, he believes that it’s critical to mobilize a young generation of activists and consumers who are willing to change their behavior and are open to the idea that individual actions can have global consequences. He recently rallied students in the Bend High Environmental Club through a teacher connection. Freshly motivated from the climate action walkouts, students were quick to take up the cause.

“We see a lot of plastic in the kitchen and cafeteria, but meeting with Brown really showed us that we have a lot of plastic waste coming out of our school and personalized it a bit,” said Sydney Dedrick, a junior at Bend High.

Sydney and two other classmates GG Johnson and Kira Gilbert spearheaded the sign-up effort at Bend High where nearly 150 students have taken the pledge.

Even as more students get on board with the pledge, Brown said he is looking to expand the campaign by enlisting support from businesses and creating a resource hub on the No2Plastics website where individuals and companies can go to learn about plastic pollution and alternatives to reduce their contribution to the problem. Also, on tap is an aggressive recruitment of artists and ambassadors who can spread the message, helping to educate consumers.

“We want to approach this from an artist’s standpoint, creating beautiful imagery, films and videos that help tell this story and get people connected,” Cannon said.

He believes that the world can tackle plastics the same way that it got a handle on smoking—not by banning cigarettes, but by educating the public on the consequences of not changing our behavior.

“How did we get America to stop smoking? That was driven by those impassioned, emotionally charged campaigns. I think that stuff really resonated with people,” he said.

Seed to Table: A nonprofit farm feeds the community in more ways than one

When executive director Audrey Tehan started Seed to Table in 2013, she had a vision for a nonprofit farm that could change how Sisters thinks about nutrition while expanding the supply of fresh, locally raised foods.

She wasn’t sure how the idea would be received. As it turns out the community’s appetite for fresh food was largely untapped.

In its sixth season, the Seed to Table farm has expanded its production every year.

“Our mission is to increase the health and wellness of the community through nutritional food and education,” Tehan said.

At a time when Americans seem to be ever further removed from the source of their meals, Seed to Table aims to rekindle a connection to the land, while promoting a model of small sustainable agriculture.

The nonprofit farm sits on one and a half acres less than a mile northeast of Highway 20 in Sisters. A whimsical, hand-painted sign welcomes visitors to the property almost as warmly as Tehan does. During the approximately seven-month growing season, Tehan, who is a farmer in addition to being executive director, gets her hands dirty in the morning and digs into the organization’s operations by afternoon.

Tehan said nonprofits like Seed to Table are always being pushed to add new programs to meet the requirements of grants. To that end, Tehan said she has been willing to grow her nonprofit’s mission, but she’s also keen on growing smart.

“We want to expand really mindfully,” Tehan said.

There is already plenty to keep Tehan and her small staff busy. The farm grows most of the vegetables you’d find in the grocery store, according to Tehan, including lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, kale and more. Growing in the high desert is never easy because of the challenges of climate and the short growing season. There’s also the soil, which is relatively nutrient poor. Seed to Table has brought in fifteen dump trucks of compost and another fifteen dump trucks of aged horse manure to enhance to bolster its dirt.

So far, it’s worked, and the community has reaped the benefit of Seed to Table’s bounty. The farm distributes about thirty percent of what it grows to local food banks and educates about 1,500 students each year through field trips, trainings, internships and agriculture programs with local schools. During field trips, kids rotate through a nutrition station, science station and combo nutrition-science station where they get to dig in the dirt and taste-test fresh vegetables. Adults can learn about nutrition and cooking fresh food from the farm, too, including through the nonprofit’s Fresh Food Farmacy. Healthcare providers can prescribe the program to patients, which gives participants free or subsidized fresh veggies, recipes and access to educational activities about nutrition and healthy cooking.

Keep on Motoring: Historical Guidebook and Exhibit

In the throes of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt had a message to all Americans: Take a road trip and get to know your country. He hoped to divert people’s attention from their daily struggles by highlighting the country’s natural splendor and incredible diversity. His ulterior motive was to encourage people to spend money that could help to jumpstart the nation’s stagnant economy.

To support the effort, the government developed and published The American Guide Series, a serial atlas that was designed to inspire travelers. The guidebooks spurred a nation of emerging motorized tourists to take to the country’s growing highway network that, for the first time, connected the United States from New York to Los Angeles. In January, our state’s contribution to the campaign, Oregon–End of the Trail celebrates its 80th anniversary.

Traveling the wide-open roads has been an American pastime since the first Tin Lizzie rolled off the Ford plant in 1908. Auto-tourism became a hit in the Roaring Twenties, but the Great Depression put the brakes on travel. Hoping to rekindle the public’s interest, the Federal Writer’s Project, one of President Roosevelt’s New Deal agencies, published a guidebook for every state.

“Guidebooks promised to harness writers for a product that was potentially an economic catalyst,” said David A. Taylor, author of the book, Soul of a People. “Not only would the writers adapt local histories for a general audience, but travel guides could, in theory, generate tourism and local business. This was early in the automobile culture, so references for auto-based travelers could literally open paths for local growth.”

Though designed to portray Oregon to visitors, it is also intended, […] to present Oregon to Oregonians.

The project was imagined by Henry Alsberg, director of the Federal Writer’s Project, and his second in command, Katherine Kellock.

“[Alsberg] pitched his notion of capturing American regionalism, and [Kellock] in turn pitched the idea of having the writers create state guides,” said Nate Pedersen, former Deschutes Public Library Community librarian and a local expert on the WPA guides. “The unique format of the state guides comes out of that pleasant working tension between those two ideas.”

Although there was an expressed wish to have the Washington D.C. version kick off the launch, the first guidebook out was Idaho: A Guide in Word and Pictures, published in January 1937.

Oregon–The End of the Trail was published in March 1940. Oregon Governor Charles Sprague introduced the book, “Though designed to portray Oregon to visitors, it is also intended, […] to present Oregon to Oregonians,” wrote Sprague.

The more than 500-page book offers a mix of history, agriculture, transportation, social welfare, religion, literature, music, and art.

The Bend Bulletin’s editorial board was not impressed with the book. Led by owner and Roosevelt critic, Robert Sawyer, the paper published a dismissive critique of the Oregon guidebook.

“It is most unfortunate that in a volume that has taken so much work to compile and that must have cost so much, so many inaccuracies should be perpetuated,” the paper wrote.

Perhaps Sawyers’ bad review was due to feeling slighted. Neither the Bend Bulletin, nor the newspaper-owned KBND, were mentioned in the “Newspaper and Radio” chapter of the Oregon guidebook.

A guidebook about Oregon, with suggested “tours,” may feel quaint in an era when everything is available on Google Maps. But the guidebook offered more than just driving directions. It included a chapter on Oregon myths and legends and even a recipe for huckleberry cake.

Perhaps surprisingly, the guidebook mentions Bend only in passing as one of the side tours. Portland, Eugene, Salem and other cities along U.S. Route 99 have individual chapters.

“Bend had only been incorporated for thirty-five years when the book came out,” said Kelly Cannon-Miller, director of the Deschutes Historical Museum. “In 1940, the city was a tiny place with some nice hotels, nice things to see, and two enormous mills, but not enough history at that point to rank us on a chapter.”

Bend may have not merited a full chapter at the time, but the WPA guidebook is getting the royal treatment from the Deschutes Historical Society, which is paying tribute to the publication’s 80th anniversary with an exhibit about motor travel and tourism called Crusin’ 97. Included in the exhibit are the Oregon guidebook’s local travel suggestions for exploring the Dalles-California Highway 97 and Century Drive.

If you’re planning to use the publication as a travel guide, you may want to cross-reference the information with contemporary resources like AAA or the Central Oregon Visitors Association. Those publications are more likely to include such “new” attractions as Mt. Bachelor ski area (just sixty-one years old this season) and Sunriver Resort (only fifty years old). But if you’re looking for a snapshot of a young nation on the edge of a motorized revolution that helped to forge America’s identity for the next century, you’ll find plenty to explore.

Timberline: King of the Hill

Timberline Lodge looms large on Oregon’s highest peak.

“The weight of history” is a cliché, but in certain exceptional places, the phrase nevertheless thrums in your mind. Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood just feels heavy. Weighty with timber and stone, solidly built on the flanks of Oregon’s highest peak, yes—but also heavy in spirit. There is a heft to the atmosphere in the old lodge’s creaky hallways, a heightened gravity that pulls you into a worn chair twice your age, a settling in the air that hints at the thousands of people who have visited here over decades. Out the windows, the weight of time itself emanates from the rugged basalt of the mountainside.

Timberline Lodge was completed in 1938, built during the Depression by the Works Progress Administration as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. The project was meant to boost the economy, but the assembled workers were also tasked with creating a stately lodge in a difficult location—an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet on the side of a volcanic peak. Among other challenges, the craftsmen had to construct and enclose the exterior in one summer season, before the snow fell. Economy, ingenuity and speed led to innovative touches that today make Timberline so endearing—newel posts made from telephone poles, railroad ties bent into andirons, tire chains transformed into fireplace spark arresters. FDR and his wife Eleanor visited Mt. Hood for the lodge dedication in 1937, during which they were fed a luncheon of salmon and huckleberry pie. The lodge opened to the public the following year.

What happened very shortly thereafter was an unfortunately familiar story of decline, neglect, doors closing and someone suggesting the whole place be burned to the ground. Thankfully, that isn’t how this story ends. Luck, hard work, passion, a little bit of crazy—Timberline would never have reached the “weight of history” phase it enjoys today without a little of each. Richard Kohnstamm, the lodge’s fifth operator, took control of the property in the mid-1950s. He was determined to treat Timberline like he owned it, even though it was (and still is) government property. Kohnstamm moved his family in, he took a loss for the first five years, and he didn’t quit. His son Jeff remains the lodge’s operator to this day.

On the winter day of our arrival, my husband and I stood before an impressive painting of Kohnstamm in the lodge entryway, a room defined by significant features in stone, wood, wool and steel. As a National Historic Landmark that doubles as a working lodge, Timberline must adhere to strict guidelines whenever anything is reproduced, be it blanket or carpet or chair, so it’s a fair bet that everything you see looks a whole lot like it did when Franklin and Eleanor were here. The sound of a piano drew us into the Barlow Room, a common area near the entrance named for the toll road over Mt. Hood used by Oregon’s earliest settlers. The music was generated by a guest, who played a tune while her children explored the room, including the curious large-scale, leather-carved paintings that depict early Oregon life.

Timberline is open year-round and receives most of its visitors in the summertime. But winter is really the historic lodge’s home season, when the structure is cozy and compact under abundant snow, the mountain itself white and gleaming, the fireplace inside radiating heat. The Timberline Ski Area that literally surrounds the lodge is the obvious draw in the winter, but a surprising number of guests (like us) visit to observe the wintry magic from indoors, rather than venture out into it.

A great place observe is the lodge’s central room, known as the “head room.” Five hand-carved Douglas fir columns, each the diameter of a Volkswagen beetle on end, surround a massive stone fireplace. Windows face north, uphill with a direct view to the perfect peak of Mt. Hood (11,250 feet). We sat on hefty leather and wood sofa and gazed up the luscious alpine slopes. A flight of stairs took us to the Ram’s Head Bar, where nostalgia for my last (summertime) visit led me to the huckleberry margarita, while my husband chose a craft beer from down the hill at Mt. Hood Brewing Company in Government Camp. To the southwest, a pink and salmon colored sunset bounced off of the slopes.

Dinner was back downstairs in the Cascade Room, a place defined by chunky wooden tables, low ceilings, tinkling glasses and utterly delicious food. We shared an arugula salad garnished with apple, radish and egg. My husband reveled in the much-recommended New York Steak with chanterelle mushrooms, while I enjoyed the Wild Pacific Salmon, accompanied by a glass of Sokol Blosser pinot gris.

In the morning, we awoke to the ice-grey clouds of imminent snow. The winding road down the mountain was calling, but first, we had a mandatory photo op to perform. When pressed, many visitors to Timberline admit that their urge to ascend the six miles from Highway 26 to actually see this place for themselves came not because of an interest in history, or in skiing, but in film—or rather one film: The Shining. That 1980 film looms large in the lore of Timberline Lodge, even though no one really talks about it on the property except in hushed tones, perhaps out of fear of ghosts, and anyway, only the exterior appeared in the movie’s footage. Still, countless people associate Timberline Lodge with a leering Jack Nicholson menacingly wielding an ax. If you ask nicely, the front desk staff will hand over a replica ax—inscribed with the words “Here’s Johnny!”—and let you pose for photographs with it. Which we did.

If You Build It: Explosion of interest in pickleball is testing players allegiance to tennis

In some tennis circles, Lee Whitwell is a heretic. A former touring tennis pro, Whitwell has been teaching tennis for two decades and spends most of her workday organizing league play or teaching juniors at the Athletic Club of Bend, where she is the director of tennis operations at the seven-court facility. Tennis players like Whitwell’s no-nonsense style. It’s what she does in her spare time that has some of them wondering just where her allegiance lies.

When Whitwell isn’t at the Athletic Club, she’s down the street with a racquet in her hand. The problem, some would say, is that it’s the wrong kind of racquet. That’s because Whitwell is a not-so-closeted pickleball player. Yes, pickleball that sport that looks like a combination of badminton and ping pong that was popularized by card-carrying members of the AARP at RV parks in Arizona and Florida.

Laugh if you like. But the pickleball revolution is here. Whitwell is one of a growing number of tennis players young and old who are picking up a pickleball racquet and finding that they are having trouble putting it down.

“Tennis will always be my first love, but I see the benefit of both and how they can coexist,” said Whitwell.

Whitwell juggles her time between her duties at the Athletic Club and a second job as the head pro at a new indoor pickleball facility at Widgi Creek, a semi-private golf club on Century Drive. Club owner Barry Helm recently built the ten-court facility after seeing the explosion of interest in pickleball locally and nationally. It’s the second indoor pickleball-only facility to open in Bend in just the past two years.

The tension between tennis and pickleball is real. The fast-growing pickleball population is gobbling up court times and playing space in traditional tennis clubs. Pickleball players are pushing parks officials in places like Redmond to repurpose under-utilized tennis courts into pickleball venues. The demand is growing and widespread. Between 2016 and 2017, pickleball participation grew nationally by almost 13 percent. Today, there are now more than three million people in the U.S. who identify as regular or casual pickleball players, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. By way of contrast, tennis participation in the United States remained flat for casual players last year and decreased for regular players, defined as those playing more than nine times per year.

Widgi’s Helm understands the tension as well as anyone. A recreational tennis player, Helm initially proposed building three indoor tennis courts at Widgi. He changed his mind when others asked him about the possibility of pickleball. He quickly realized that he could more than double the number of courts by pivoting to pickleball. A trip to the outdoor pickleball courts at the Bend Pine Nursery park, confirmed that player interest was high.

“I went out on a Friday and saw sixteen courts with lines of people waiting to play, and that was the “A-ha” moment,” Helm said.

Developed in the 1960s, the game is somewhat of a latent sensation that has exploded in popularity as baby boomers reach retirement. These “active” young seniors are finding they have more time on their hands than they do cartilage in their knees. So, they’re setting aside tennis racquets and basketballs for a sport they say is a perfect blend of socializing and competition. No surprise, destination retirement places like Central Oregon are seeing an explosion in interest.

Lisa Palcic who teaches at the Bend Pickleball Zone, an eight-court indoor facility in northeast Bend, said it was common for her to see twenty-five new players per week when she was teaching pickleball through the Bend Parks Department just a few years ago. The Bend Pickleball Club that was formed to help organize the construction of the sixteen courts at Bend Pine Nursery reported almost 800 dues-paying members as of June.

Nancy Brook is one of those who started playing as a substitute for another activity and got hooked. Brook typically got plenty of exercise by competing in dog agility events with her canine. But when her dog sustained an injury, she turned to pickleball as a diversion and a casual way to stay fit.

Brook wasn’t a racquet sports novice. She and her husband had owned and operated a tennis pro shop at a club in California before moving to Bend. Brook hadn’t played tennis in a decade but found that she was a quick study at pickleball.

“I’m sixty, but I was able to learn a lot of things pretty quickly. I was hooked from day one, but I took a lot of lessons and took advantage of the group lessons,” she said.

The ability to pick up the game relatively fast is a big draw for pickleball. Unlike, the traditional country club sports of tennis and golf, it takes players only a few minutes to grasp the basic and a few hours to build their skills. It also offers a more level playing field, allowing players of different ages and abilities to compete and still have fun.

“I could never take a family of four coming to Bend on vacation and give them a tennis lesson and say, ‘Now go play tennis, and have fun.’ That would result in lost balls and arguments and tears. You name it,” said Whitwell.

What To Read: Winter Reading List

Summer gets all the buzz when it comes to book releases, but winter is the time to catch up on all your reading. Here are new favorites to cozy up with on the couch or add to your wish list.

1. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell, author of popular novels such as I Found You and Then She Was Gone, is back with her latest thriller. The Family Upstairs follows three families occupying the same house that all become entangled in lies. While the thriller genre has become oversaturated with similar story lines (read: dead girls), Jewell stands out for her intricate plots, surprising endings and deep truths.

2. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Frankly, I’ll read anything Ann Patchett writes. Her novels The Patron Saint of Liars, Bel Canto and State of Wonder have pulled at my heart and captivated me for years. The Dutch House, released in October, is the story of two siblings who confront issues of building a life and identity while bearing the scars their family’s past. Told over five decades, The Dutch House promises to be one of Patchett’s best novels yet.

3. Find Me by André Aciman

The much-anticipated sequel to Call Me By Your Name, Find Me follows the same characters years later. Author André Aciman managed to capture the emotional turmoil of young, first love in such a delicate and sensitive way, I’m excited to see how he handles the nuances of love as his characters age and grow.

4. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus has been a slow-burning hit since it was released almost a decade ago. Since then we haven’t heard much from the author, but her new novel The Starless Sea is already generating a lot of buzz. “It’s about stories and storytelling and fate and time and video games,” according to the author, and if it’s anything like The Night Circus, I’ll be wrapped up in it all month.

5. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Essayist and commentator Jia Tolentino recently noted in her New York Times, “By The Book,” piece that middle-grade and YA literature should not be overlooked by critics or readers. The Grace Year is a case in point. It’s a speculative novel that tackles misogyny and the devastating power of young women. Read it before the movie comes out, currently in development by Elizabeth Banks.

Bend Design 2019: For The Creative Vanguard

After attending Bend Design in 2018, I could hardly wait to see the catalog of presenters for 2019. As a young professional employed in the marketing, writing and design industries, this conference has become a tipping point in my work. Progressive concepts, industry-leading presenters and world-class workshops contribute to the articles, campaigns and graphic art that I create every day. Here are some of the highlights I am looking forward to in the 2019 line-up. I hope to see you there! Register here.

Obey Giant’s Film, The Art of Shepard Fairey | October 23 | 7:30 pm

The documentary film chronicles street artist Shephard Fairey’s rise from punk rock and skateboard artist to mainstream sensation. Fairey designed the iconic HOPE poster for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, but the artist’s word is rooted in the country’s counterculture. Bend Design partnered with BendFilm for a free screening of the documentary film at the Tower Theatre. Tickets are free- register here.

Chris Martin, Live Podcast presentation | October 25 | 3:30 pm

Chris Martin, producer of the podcast Getting Work To Work, will interview long-time friends and collaborators Ivar Ziele and Peter Burr. Martin will dive into topics that every creative entrepreneur can relate to, including:

the creative process
successes and failures
the never-ending struggle to evolve in a fast-paced world
and how to think bigger

There will also be time for Q&A and behind-the-scenes commentary on what it takes to produce a weekly podcast.

Kate Bingaman-Burt, Zine Reading Room workshop | October 25 | 1:30 & 3:30 pm

“Zines” are DIY publications, ranging from small magazines to fanzines and comics. Come and browse some selections from the Outlet Zine Library. Bingaman-Zurt will be setting up a temporary studio filled with collage materials, art supplies and other tools to create your zine.

Deanna Van Buren, Peace By Design presentation | October 24th | 1:30 pm

DJDS believes that our environment embodies many of our society’s inequities. Peace by Design looks at the work of Designing Justices Designing Spaces (DJDS), along with research that explores how informed design concepts support healing from interpersonal and transgenerational harms. The organization works with nonprofit, government, and community partners to create new prototypes such as peacemaking centers, mobile classrooms, and housing for foster-age youth.

Tré Seals, Being Vocal presentation | October 24th | 4:00 pm

D.C.-based designer and creative engineer, Tré Seals brings a minority perspective to a traditionally white male industry. A multi-disciplinary creative, Seals will focus his talk on delivering a more inclusive mindset to the font and typography niche through his agency, Vocal Type Co. His talk will cover the founding of Vocal Type Co., the importance of diversity in design and a look at his process.

Joyce Carpenter’s Raspberry Mocha Cake

Joyce Carpenter caters desserts for parties and special events in Bend. “I’m sharing this recipe because it is by far my best and most popular dessert recipe,” she said. “I started making this cake thrity-five years ago when I was a Consumer and Home Management Teacher in Irrigon, Oregon. It was just a basic chocolate cake at first but I added the coffee then raspberries over the years to enhance the flavor. Many people have said it is the best chocolate cake they have ever had.”

Cake Ingredients
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking bar
1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp. instant coffee
2 tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa
3/4 cup butter
2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups fresh raspberries

Break chocolate baking bar into small pieces and place in small saucepan with 1 cup water, instant coffee and unsweetened baking cocoa. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Set aside until cool. Cream butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Blend in cooled coffee chocolate mixture. Sift flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with 1/2 cup water on low speed. Beat just until well-blended. Pour batter into two well-greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes then remove from pans. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients
1/2 cup water
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking bar
2 tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa
1 tbsp. instant coffee (or more for a richer coffee flavor)
2 cups (4 cubes) butter at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
4 cups powdered sugar

Break baking chocolate bar into small pieces and place in small saucepan with 1/2 cup water, instant coffee and unsweetened baking cocoa. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Cool. Whip butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add cooled coffee chocolate mixture, vanilla and salt. Mix until well blended then gradually add 4 cups of powdered sugar. Frost cake with a layer of raspberries in the middle.

Living Walls: A Green and Growing Trend for the Home

Offering a fresh take on the use of plants in decor, living walls provide the kind of striking feature that make a home or business stand out.

These vertical gardens come in a variety of types, shapes, colors and sizes, but are most often a wall of lush green in one form or another. In the past, you may have seen them on the exterior wall of a chic restaurant’s patio area, or in the lobby of a luxe hotel. But living walls are spreading their roots, moving beyond just large-scale installations and into people’s homes, with the same eye-catching effect.

Living walls, or green walls, encompass many different kinds of vertical gardens that are mounted to a wall to display a group of plants as you would a canvas. They come in such a range of styles, they can morph to fit almost any design approach. Tightly planted succulents inside a dark frame could add a hint of warmth to the clean lines of a contemporary room, while thick pouches sagging with plants may be the obvious choice for a modern farmhouse.

Spend any time scrolling Instagram or Houzz and you’ll see that green houseplants, from philodendrons to fiddle leaf figs, are in. Plants are lovely to look at and can freshen up the air in your home. But why are living walls the new thing? It may simply be part of the explosion in popularity of indoor gardens—sometimes more closely resembling small jungles—that have popped up in the design world in recent years. In a way, living walls are a new take on ivy-covered exteriors, brought indoors, making all of our secret garden dreams come true. They offer the same beauty and benefits of everyday houseplants, plus some added extras.

For one, they’re perfect for rooms or areas short on space. Whether your home is generally lacking in square footage or you’re looking for the right statement piece over your staircase, living walls can add texture and greenery to the most unlikely places. Up off the ground, vertical gardens put your prized plants out of reach of little hands, too. They can even improve a room’s acoustics by absorbing extra noise, providing an art solution that’s easy on the eyes and the ears.

In Bend, a green wall could be a wonderful way to add color to your home, especially during the long winter. Picture the whimsy of a wall of trailing vines in your living room set against the stark contrast of white outside your window. Living walls may also be the one foolproof way to protect your plants from nibbling deer in Central Oregon—by bringing them indoors.

Like any living thing, vertical gardens require at least a little maintenance. Many offer drip systems built into the set-up, and some living walls are even installed for you. But you’ll still likely have to do some pruning and trimming for perennials or changing out of annual plants.

Beyond plant care, there are some other logistics to consider. Depending on their size and makeup, living walls can be fairly heavy with the combined weight of the plants, soil and water. Pros can help you determine the set-up for your vertical garden, or build it for you. If you’re looking to DIY, make sure to do some research and planning ahead of time. Remember, you’ll need a spot with natural light unless you’re also willing to install a grow light.

With so many different types of living walls, the toughest part may be choosing the right one for your space. Luckily, there’s no shortage of examples out there to get inspired.

Kondo Me! A Personal Take on the Art of Decluttering

Last summer, my family moved out of our 4,000-plus square foot Bend home that we’d inhabited for fifteen years.

Oh my, did we accumulate a LOT of stuff during that time. The task at hand led me to the Marie Kondo method of tidying up. The author’s two books The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing both have been bestsellers.

Admittedly, when I read Kondo’s first book, I thought she was somewhat obsessive compulsive about cleaning and discarding. But I learned that by growing up in a tiny Japanese home, she taught herself out of trial and error how to not only tidy up, but how to not get in the habit of cluttering again. In short, Kondo has made a successful profession out of helping people like me. Her name has turned into a verb—it was time for me to “Kondo” my home.

Step 1
Clothing Clutter

For the uninitiated, the Kondo method goes like this. Supposedly, the easiest purge starts with clothes. Start discarding items by first piling every piece of clothing in the middle of the floor. It’s a psychological unloading. As I excavated my closets, I was horrified by dozens of pieces I never wore, many with tags still attached. I soon realized I had done some serious “retail therapy” for several years following my teenage daughter’s death. I could actually envision what shops the pieces of clothing had come from, and looking back I realized shopping was the one activity I could do, where shopkeepers didn’t know my sad story, and I could feel normal, at least in that moment. I had purchased a lot of unworn clothing, shoes, purses, even houseware items. Kondo advises mentally thanking each piece of clothing you’re giving away for sparking joy for the times you wore it. I thanked the items and put them in a box. In total, I took a half-dozen carloads of clothing to Goodwill, Opportunity Foundation and Bethlehem Inn. They were grateful and I was liberated, just as Marie Kondo predicted.

Step 2
Book Blowout

Next challenge to tackle, per Kondo, are books. I love books. I belong to two book clubs in Bend, and while I love the library here, I also love owning books. Books spark joy, at least for me, and we had a dedicated office/study with many bookcases. But even if you love a book, do you ever re-read it? For me, the answer is no; there are just too many splendid books to read in one’s lifetime.

I packed at least a dozen big boxes of books and sent them on their way to be donated, mainly to the library, where I hope another bibliophile will enjoy them as much as I did. Thank you, great books, for sparking joy and imagination.

Step 3
Komono Clash

The next area to tackle are things. In Japanese that’s “komono,” and yes, I love stuff, especially nice dinnerware and place settings. I had the Spode Christmas dinnerware, and there were my red Italian Ro Valentine plates, spring/Easter bird plates and bowls, summertime floral dishes, and three sets of formal china. In total I had eight sets of dinnerware, not including the china sets, along with dozens of chafing dishes, more than a dozen large bowls, thirteen serving trays and five crockpots.

To be fair, after my mom had to move into assisted living, I inherited more stuff, like another china set with a tea service, and LeCreuset pots and pans. It was all a sentimental journey, when I hauled that stuff into my house.

Step 4
Where Christmas Never Ends

Another huge sifting and discarding came with Christmas and holiday decorations. I swear there’s not a Christmas ornament or Nutcracker I didn’t love. I dragged almost a half-full attic into one pile in the entertainment room, and whittled it down to just six boxes of ornaments and Christmas stockings. Sadly, all six faux Christmas trees were donated, including a splendid twelve-footer.

As empty nesters downsizing, we realized there’s just no room to bring all the stuff with us. While some is sentimental, a lot, if you’re being honest, is emotional baggage. Kondo says things and possessions are holding you back. Only invite those things that spark joy. Only then will the things you hold onto bring you more happiness. That’s her basic philosophy.

I’m just a newbie at this, so the results are still pending. But so far, I haven’t missed a thing.

The More the Merrier: How to embrace the maximalism trend without really trying

There was a time when you couldn’t open Instagram without seeing a line-up of interior design images that all looked the same.

White walls, mid-century modern furniture and perhaps a potted succulent were on every squared-up post. Five years ago, it felt refreshing, but today it seems inauthentic. Over the last year a noticeable shift in interior design has occurred, perhaps as a reaction against that aesthetic—a picture may be worth a thousand words, but spare walls don’t tell much of a story. Enter: maximalism.

The interior design trend is about embracing what you like, be it bold color on the walls, patterned furniture, art on every wall or shelves filled with tchotchkes that evoke memories, not social media likes. Maximalism will turn a house into a home. The best part is, you’re probably halfway there, because the trend is about putting your possessions on display and creating a space with things that you like, not with things that fit a mold.

One way to embrace the maximalist aesthetic in your home is to pick one room and start with color. In a living room, a fresh set of pillows in contrasting color to a chair or sofa can reinvigorate a space without costing much money. Mixing patterns also works when the color palettes align. In the kitchen, repainting cabinets is easier than repainting the whole space. Cool colors like blue or green are timeless and add depth to the room. Color is an easy way to create some interest in a room where there wasn’t any before.

Paint isn’t the only way to add interest to walls. In recent years, the variety of peel-and-stick wallpaper has grown to include designs that would suit any home and style. In lieu of a single paint color, consider wallpaper on one wall as an accent, or on all four as a way to create some texture and drama in a space.

There is a thin line between curated and cluttered. When it comes to objects, keep in mind the rule of three to avoid looking crowded. A lamp plus a plant plus a vintage clock on an end table. A piece of art plus a framed photo plus a textured wall hanging on a wall. Grouping objects into threes draws attention without overwhelming the eye. An exception should be made for shelves of books, because there can never be too many of those in a home.

Maximalism is a timeless design trend that can’t be done wrong because it’s all about living with your things and not trying to keep it all drawers and closets. What makes a home interesting is your mom’s old coffee canister on the counter that she gave you for your first apartment, the fly fishing rods that parallel your ceilings and are used almost daily or the guitar that hangs next to the sofa, easily in reach when the mood strikes. Maximalism tells the story of your home and your life, one room at a time.

If you’re ready to embrace more, might I suggest you start by browsing your local thrift store. There are hidden treasures galore there that could fill design voids in your home, probably donated from your neighbor’s latest design purge in an effort to fit in to the feed. Their loss—more is always more.

Building Outside the Box

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Central Peaks Construction customizes quality for homeowners.

When it comes to building a business, Scott Noveron believes in starting small and dreaming big. Four years ago, Noveron moved to Central Oregon and worked for friends before he and his wife Chelsie formed the family-owned Central Peaks Construction in 2018.

After seeing high quotes and hearing stories from homeowners who had been overcharged on projects, Noveron believed his company could do better. “For me, it’s not a typical kind of ‘make money quick and move on to the next project’ model,” he said. “We want to perform quality work at an affordable price for consumers.”

Licensed as a residential and light commercial contractor, Central Peaks Construction works on remodels as well as new construction projects across the region, including framing, roofing, flooring installation, painting, decking and fencing. “We do a touch of everything,” said Noveron, who sees even the smallest job as art. “Trustworthiness is really huge for us. I treat every project as if it were in my own house and expect the same kind of craftsmanship to go into someone else’s home.”

A Central Peaks Construction business card reads, “Where dreams become reality.” For Noveron, it’s a reminder of how small beginnings have led to bigger things. This year, his crew took on its biggest project to date: a 3,800 square-foot duplex in Redmond that the company oversaw from start to finish. Other favorite projects include an immaculate custom floor inlay that moved a homeowner to tears and the giant “O” he installed in a floor for an Oregon Duck fan.

Noveron said projects like these are what sets his company apart in the industry and keep the referrals coming. “If we can’t do it, we’ll figure out a way to do it—I think that’s one thing that makes us stand out and why we’ve been so busy is the fact that we think outside of the box and give a homeowner different options,” he said.

In Central Oregon’s competitive market, Noveron credits a lot of Central Peaks’ success to honest collaboration, with other contractors as well as homeowners. “Working with Scott is a positive experience,” said Noah Harvey, a plumbing contractor of Cascade Roots LLC. “Not only did the finished product turn out beautifully, but the project was managed appropriately and efficiently with minimal stall time.” Noveron also cites his company’s commitment to remaining affordable; sometimes charging less, he says, leads to more jobs in the future.

“I think it speaks volumes when you’re able to save money for a homeowner. For me, the secret is just being humble and honest about what we can do,” he said.

Legacy of Service: Century 21 Lifestyles Realty

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At Century 21 Lifestyles Realty, Jenny Gregoriou is very much at home in her new role as Designated Principal Broker. That’s because for her, real estate runs in the family.

CENTURY 21’s new office space on 3rd Street in Bend.

Starting in 1988, Gregoriou’s father Rich Hadley operated his own real estate company in Central Oregon for two decades before franchising with Century 21’s Sunriver satellite office in 2009. Two years later, he and Gregoriou purchased the franchise and expanded north into Bend. Today, the branch continues to grow and recently moved into new offices on 3rd Street. With a new location and new brand look, Gregoriou takes charge of her father’s company while carrying on his legacy of commitment to customer service.

Growing up, Gregoriou said she never intended to go into the family business. After college, she returned home for a year to help her father manage a property in Three Rivers South. Thrust into a world of permits and payrolls, she worked alongside her dad and obtained her realtor license in 2010.

“That one year turned into eighteen,” she said with a laugh. “Real estate became an evolution of me saying ‘I’m not a salesperson’ and Dad telling me ‘Someone is coming to you asking for help—we’re just solving problems.’ Sellers want to sell, buyers want to buy and there are a series of hurdles to remove in between to help both parties achieve their goals. I love that challenge and that all deals are different; I learn something new every day.”

Gregoriou said she considers herself lucky to work with a team of more than thirty brokers including two cousins, a brother, a nephew and his wife. “We are very much a family-focused company, she said. “The culture of ‘a rising tide raises all boats’ is so important to us, and my cousins Robbi and Chelsey support me daily.”

After thirty years of selling real estate in Central Oregon, Rich Hadley said he has been blessed to work with his daughter. “Jenny is a natural leader. Not only does she have good common sense, but she continues to research and study our industry. The most experienced agent knows they can come to her for information and help,” he said.

Looking ahead, Gregoriou said she is excited to grow a company that gives back to its community through local initiatives including the Relentless High School Student of the Week program and helping veterans find housing.

“We continue to build on the culture of our company and what we can do for the community,” said Gregoriou. “We strive to make ourselves a staple in Central Oregon for client-focused real estate solutions and are working toward that goal every day.”

CENTURY 21 Lifestyles Realty | (541) 382-3333 | C21Lifestyles.com

Creative Architecture That’s Built to Last

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Bend architect takes an innovative approach with a classic touch.

In any given Bend neighborhood, you’re likely to be near a home or building designed by local architect Neal Huston. There’s Worthy Brewing on the east side, the Ronald McDonald House off Purcell Boulevard, condos in NorthWest Crossing and custom homes in North Rim.

The long list of structures Huston has architected over his decades-long presence in Central Oregon range from mountain lodge-style to mid-century modern. But there is a common thread throughout. Huston takes a thoughtful approach to offer fluid layouts with timeless design.

“I believe one thing we try to think about is how some of these really starkly contemporary homes are going to feel and weather over time,” Huston said. “If someone wants contemporary, we try to follow that path, but also think more classic, so that it’s going to be appealing to the owner or future owner as time goes on.”

Huston has worked as an architect in Bend for well over forty years. An Oregonian raised in McMinnville, Huston started his career in Bend designing homes in Black Butte Ranch for Brooks Resources in 1970. By 1976 he’d finished his apprenticeship and partnered with two other fellows to start Waldron Huston Barber, which later became Huston Barber Barrett Turner, before opening up the enterprise we know him for today—Neal Huston & Associates.

Much of Huston’s work in recent years is on custom homes, though you’ll recognize his commercial work around town, too, like inside Jackson’s Corner eastside. With years of practice under his belt, Huston is an expert at integrating a client’s vision with a smooth user experience, architecting a design that will stand the test of time.

In his office of five, Huston is joined by his wife and business manager, an office coordinator, and two fellow architects, who have been with him for twenty-plus years. While Huston provides the design component, his colleagues provide support for other aspects of the project, including producing construction documents and communicating with contractors throughout the building process.

“The thing about our arrangement is that there’s continuity in design because I’m always doing it, where in a larger firm, this project may go to various staff,” Huston said.

Huston is known for crafting plans that speak to the style of the moment but remain ageless. For several local couples, Huston has architected an initial custom home, and designed for them again when they’ve downsized years later. “What a lot of people tell us is that we listen to what they want to achieve, but if we think they’re going down a path that may not be the best for them we offer them options,” Huston said.

He remembers coming to Bend years ago, noticing how so many homes and businesses had windows that were overly small and wood paneling that soaked up the light. Huston wanted to take advantage of Bend’s natural beauty and abundant sunlight by architecting plans that highlighted Bend’s best views while being beautiful in their own right.

In any of his designs, you’ll notice sweeping windows, plenty of natural light and a creative approach that incorporates the builder’s wishes and ideas into a classic form that will age well. One of Huston’s favorite projects is a home he designed in 1997. The home was in many ways ahead of its time—fitting the style of the moment but still holding up perfectly today.

The couple who originally built the home had Huston architect again for their next, smaller home. The young couple who recently bought the contemporary 1997 house couldn’t believe it was more than twenty years old. “Contemporary to us is very broad,” Huston said. He asks clients to share images that appeal to them so he can get an idea of their brand of “contemporary.” From there, he can draft a design that fits current style while maintaining classic elements.

Until about 2008, Neal Huston & Associates’s work was comprised of about 70 percent commercial and the rest residential projects, but as the nation started coming out of the recession Huston’s firm began doing more residential and less commercial.

“Whether it’s modest or larger commercial projects, I believe that the perception is often that a larger architectural firm is required to take on such work, while smaller firms usually provide the same level of technical expertise and design creativity while perhaps providing more personal attention,” Huston stated. “One would think, that if you’ve survived for decades, you must have something of value to offer.”

Connecting People with Community

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Nancy Melrose of RE/MAX key properties brings experience to real estate brokering.

Nancy Melrose owned a classic French restaurant in West Germany for a decade, and then worked as the Director of Marketing for a prominent office building in San Francisco. Both experiences, she feels, prepared her for a career as a residential real estate broker. “I realized that I’m a people person, happy to speak with whoever walks in the door. I enjoy interacting with the public and providing customer service, and I’m good at handling details and managing timelines,” she said.

Family ties, a love of the high desert and a desire for a change from a busy urban lifestyle brought Melrose and her husband to Central Oregon nearly twenty-five years ago. Transitioning into residential real estate, she said, was a natural fit, and she earned her license and began selling real estate in 1996. She became a Principal Broker and opened a boutique brokerage on Bend’s Westside in the early 2000s, which she ran for almost a decade. Twenty-three years later, she’s earned her reputation as a top local real estate agent.

Melrose’s longstanding familiarity with the region and deep knowledge of the local real estate market past and present are great assets to her clients. “I have historical market knowledge,” she explained. “I really know the communities here and can help people understand their options. I have a more holistic approach to this business. I love to help clients make choices that translate into a happier life for them.”

For people coming from a metro or urban environment, Melrose’s approach may be quite different than what they are accustomed to. “I like to spend time with people.” She begins each encounter with what she calls a counseling session, during which she tries to determine a client’s true goals. “I also always ask, what do you see yourself doing when you are here? That can help guide where they might feel most at home. Bend has so many different vibes, from urban living to golf course communities to family neighborhoods.”

“Often people think they know what they want, but they don’t really,” she said. Sometimes that’s because a buyer simply doesn’t know what their options are in an unknown market. “They need a professional to guide them to what might be a better fit. It’s not just about selling them a house, it’s about finding a community that fits their personalities, and helping them to become a part of that community.”

For the first-time buyer, Melrose might suggest neighborhoods that have more opportunity for increased equity, if they plan to start a family and will need a bigger home in three to five years. For the investor client, the conversation is all about risk assessment and return on investment and identifying those options accordingly.

Melrose finds that what Bend buyers do have in common is that they truly want to be here. “So many people in Bend are here very purposefully,” she said. “I think of it as ‘choice’— for the most part, people move here by their own choice. That makes the community here very special and enthusiastic.”

Melrose works as a Principal Real Estate Broker full-time, handles all sorts of properties, and loves the rewarding career that she has found here in Central Oregon. She especially loves showing clients new to the area around town. “I think sometimes we take for granted all of the wonderful things that are around us in Bend. To be able to see the excitement and wonderment in my clients’ eyes as we tour the area, to be able to observe their discovery, it’s terrific to be a part of that. To hear a newcomer say that they can see the stars at night or smell the Ponderosa pine for the first time—that is wonderful.”

Timberline Construction – Creating Memories

Cliffside Retreat by Timberline Construction

An aging ranch-style home, perched on a rocky outcropping with sweeping views of the Deschutes River and the Cascade Range started out with good bones, but was in need of major renovations. Timberline Construction of Bend, known for its custom homes, embraced the challenge. It gutted the old structure down to its wall studs and transformed the floor plan into spaces tailored to the homeowners’ lifestyle. For instance, the kitchen was reimagined with contemporary materials and appliances.

Rustic kitchen island in cliffside retreat home.

Timberline also built an entirely new wing with access to the main quarters through a breezeway. A key aspect of the redo was upgrading to energy-efficient elements throughout the home. Outside, a courtyard tucked between buildings allows inhabitants and guests to traverse terraced stairs and landings for stargazing or recounting active Central Oregon days around the barbeque and firepits.

Q&A: An interview with the owner of Timberline Construction, Kristian Willman

What was the existing home like when you started the remodel?

It was an old home with good bones, but it wasn’t energy efficient. There was no insulation in the roof, and ice dams formed during heavy snowfall. The homeowners were burning through electricity for warmth. It had exposed beams and tongue-and-groove ceilings, features that the owners loved but didn’t allow for insulation.

How did you remedy those issues and create a future-forward home?

We made it a higher-performing home by installing new windows and doors, sheetrock, spray insulation and blown-in blanket insulation. We were trying to build a well-functioning home, thinking about energy efficiency and finishes that match the upgrades.

What were the considerations of whether to raze the old house or remodel it?

The existing home was on a cliff overlooking the Deschutes River, a site that couldn’t be built on with today’s building codes. Instead, we built on the original footprint and constructed an additional wing accessed through a breezeway. The only thing that stayed true was the wood-burning fireplace and wood storage box.

How do you expand on a client’s goals to meet their needs?

We moved the primary bedroom to an entirely different location in the house and made a cool kitchen with more usable space and a bigger living room. The clients are a family of four with an active lifestyle and were originally from Seattle. The goal was to have a great place to spend time together when they had people in town.

Kitchen farmhouse sink in rustic cliffside home

What are other considerations for a remodel outside the scope of four walls?

Mike Szabo (landscape architect) did an amazing job transforming the outdoor spaces. A sizable portion of the remodel budget went to the outside hardscapes. The patios and terraced steps create inviting respites and, more than anything, peaceful spaces that take advantage of the river and mountain views.

Kitchen table with a view

You’ve mostly done custom homes rather than remodels. What drew you to this project?

I have a fondness for remodeling projects, particularly because many older homes are in need of revitalization. There’s a certain satisfaction in deconstructing and reconstructing these spaces, turning something dated into something modern and efficient. It’s a challenge I enjoy tackling. Working on remodels allows me to take old structures and breathe new life into them, enhancing both their efficiency and functionality. Brandon Olin, the architect on this project, played a pivotal role with his creative floor plan, further enhancing the transformation process.

RESOURCES

Architect: Brandon Olin
Olin Architecture | 541-508-9579 | olinarchitecture.myportfolio.com

Builder: Timberline Construction-Bend
541-388-3979 | timberlinebend.com

Interior Design: Anne Mastalir
Design Bar| 503-260-8661 | designbarbend.com

Landscape and Hardscape: SZABO Landscape Architecture
541-382-2059 | szabo-la.com

A DECADE OF DISRUPTION

Hydro Flask’s Scott Allan on how his company maintains morale and perspective

Ten years ago Hydro Flask revolutionized the water bottle with a simple idea: What if a water bottle could keep water colder, longer? The technology already existed. It was in your dad’s insulated Thermos; it just needed a makeover and rebranding. Voila!-the first Hydro Flask was born, a double-walled steel bottle with a powder coating finish to add a splash of color. Fast forward to 2019 and the little Bend brand is now a household name from Connecticut to Kona. It remains one of the fastest growing outdoor businesses in the country, and has been named one of the best places to work by Outside Magazine. We talked with Hydro Flask General Manager Scott Allan, who has overseen much of the company’s meteoric rise, about the challenges of growth and the secret to Hydro Flask’s success.

Scott Allan — “The community is really proud of local companies, so get them behind your company or brand as much as possible”

Hydro Flask works in a crowded space with tons of knockoffs. How important is innovation and creativity in your ability to maintain and grow the brand and business?

At a macro level, the category was crowded before Hydro Flask launched, so this hasn’t changed too much. What has changed is the consumer experience, and how innovation and creativity fit within the lives of active, on-the-go consumers. This is how Hydro Flask has set itself apart. We entered the market as the first company to introduce an all-vacuum insulated lineup, as well as the first to combine vacuum technology with the lightweight, sleek aesthetic of a water bottle.

How are those concepts of innovation and creativity fostered within the Hydro Flask? Are there any things HF’s does to make sure those values are expressed in your culture?

For employees, they start with the onboarding process where we talk about our origin story, key moments that shaped the brand and culture, and the important role we play in helping consumers live a happier, healthier and outdoor-enriched life. One of our core values is “Deliver Delight,” which becomes the vehicle for our staff to be creative and innovate with the consumer in mind. Our mission-To Save the World From Lukewarm-further reinforces this and is our call to action to banish compromise and mediocrity as a brand. There is no way to do this without creativity and innovation.

With the 2016 sale to Helen of Troy, Hydro Flask is now part of a larger business operation. Talk about the challenge of meeting the expectations of a new owner while maintaining the kind of culture and products that have made Hydro Flask so unique.

Reflecting over the past seven years, higher expectations would have happened whether Helen of Troy acquired us or not. When a brand is more established, there is more at risk, and expectations rise with that. Of course, being a public company means each quarter we are publicly accountable for our divisional results. That isn’t a trivial thing.

Hydro Flask is a real success story; what advice do you have for entrepreneurs and small business owners in Central Oregon who look at Hydro Flask as a model?

First off, very few companies play out like Hydro Flask-I know this from my own long career with failed or perpetually struggling companies prior to Hydro Flask. That being said, lean into the positives of Central Oregon. The community is really proud of local companies, so get them behind your company or brand as much as possible. For Hydro Flask, this has shown up in locals promoting and gifting Hydro Flask bottles to friends and families around the country. Second, network via the many channels that exist – especially EDCO Pub Talk, Oregon Outdoor Alliance (OOA) (if the business is in the outdoor space), or sponsoring a great local event or cause to get your brand out there and meet others. This will help with identifying and recruiting local talent and finding financial services, legal, organizational development, web development, and other resources to help you over time. There is a lot of talent here for a region our size. Finally, use Central Oregon to attract great talent when you need to hire for a specialty position for which there isn’t a local candidate. You’d be surprised at the level of talent you can attract because their entire family wants to here.

Hydro Flask makes tremendous investments in talent and culture. Can you talk about how important that is for your brand’s success?

For Hydro Flask, culture is the internal view of our brand that ultimately manifests into everything we do. Meaning, if our culture is not healthy, it’s a matter of time before our products, services and other customer facing work are negatively affected. Ultimately, that is what shapes the external view of our brand. For growing businesses, there is a war for talent given near 50-year lows for unemployment. There is also a shift in generational workforce. So as leaders or business owners, we should all be asking-how are we leading in a way that attracts and retains talent.

Culture is a big lever here. Additionally, studies have shown that people don’t leave companies, they leave bad managers. So as leaders or business owners, we should also be asking how are we developing and training our managers to be great people managers. Finally, growing companies have plenty of challenges but also opportunities for people to learn and grow.

So as leaders we should ask how we grow and develop everyone to the extent they value this. When people grow at Hydro Flask and land a great role elsewhere, it’s not always a great thing for Hydro Flask but we take pride in how we contributed to that person’s career. – Eric Flowers

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Bend-based Cairn is blazing new trails in the evolving retail landscape

Back at The Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania’s grooming ground for future financiers, Rob Little and Jared Peterson were a little odd. “We both had this entrepreneurial bug and loved the outdoors,” Little says. “Those things aren’t really in the majority there.”

That was 2012, the year the friends attended a series of lectures on innovation and creativity in the retail world. At one end, the professor explained, you had the brick and mortar shops that many believed a dying breed. At the other end lay the disruptive, mega-buck-making world of e-commerce. “In between there was really a lot of room do to something new,” Little recalls. “Thinking about that got our wheels turning.”

Jump to today and Little and Peterson are now the brains behind Cairn, their Northwest Bend-based company that has created new, innovative ways to carve out a claim in those changing spaces on the retail map. For a monthly fee, Cairn subscribers get a curated box of outdoor gear that fits their interests, from socks to solar panels. But the real genius comes from how Cairn has harnessed its subscription base and community of 150,000 people to provide more than 250 brands with client feedback on that gear, and then drive those customers’ reviews to other sites that influence what we buy.

“Go to REI.com and look up solar lamps,” Little says. One has zero reviews; another has 40. But the latest version of the Luminaid-a design heavily influenced by Cairn customer feedback-has nearly 1,500 reviews that came almost entirely from Cairn customers. “Which one would you buy?”

Now, five years since its founding in 2014, the company has started to explore ways to disrupt the idea of ownership or to at least find innovative ways to inspire it with a program called Kitted. Launched earlier this year, Kitted sends curated gear to customers who may be new to the outdoors and are looking to get geared up for a specific activity, like, say, backpacking. “People who aren’t familiar with Black Diamond may not want to drop $600 on the latest jacket because that’s intimidating,” Peterson says. “But if I can help them read about it, learn about it, and then get it physically in their hands to take in the mountains to use before the barrier of price even becomes an issue, then they understand why a $600 shell is so valuable.”

But innovation doesn’t stop there. It runs through all levels of the business, from the way they handle shipping and packaging to vacation time, which employees take as much of as they want. “Cairn is in this sweet spot space between the digital community and all of the outdoor companies and their products,” says Gary Bracelin, founder of Bend Outdoor Worx, which mentored Cairn in its early days. “They just think differently.” – Tim Neville

HYDAWAY WATER BOTTLE

Good things come in small packages

It could have been intimidating to start a water bottle company in the hometown of HydroFlask. Instead Hydaway founder Niki Singlaub drew inspiration from the brand leader across town. A product designer, Singlaub was looking for a reusable water bottle that was more portable than anything on the market. His collapsible bottle uses an accordion style design that packs down into the palm of users’ hands.

Founded in 2015, the company has been growing steadily thanks in part to a successful Kickstarter campaign last year that saw the company meet its $20,000 goal in less than a day. Hydaway went on to raise more than $180,000 in the campaign. Singlaub’s ultimate goal is to see his product make a dent in the plastic problem. Recent wins including placement in Whole Foods indicate Hydaway has tapped a lucrative niche. – Eric Flowers