Road Trip: Along Oregon's McKenzie Hwy

The McKenzie River

Ok, I know this blog is called Bend Oregon Photos. But, from time to time, as I travel... you'll probably see some photos from other places around Oregon. Plus it's my blog... I'll do what I want! ;)

This shot comes from along the McKenzie Highway. I was on the way to an Oregon Ducks (Go Ducks!) game this last weekend. I wanted to get out of the car and stretch my legs, so I pulled in to this little day park off the highway. There was a trail that led down away from the park, and I followed it.

The air was wet and fresh. It smelled great. The ground was covered in large, yellow, wet leaves. The McKenzie river babbled on in the distance.

It was such a great time of year to be there. No else in sight. The air was cool, and crisp. It felt clean as you inhaled. Almost energizing.

I loved the walk down to the river. The leaves soaked my shoes, but that didn't matter. Fallen trees covered areas of the path. Moss grew wildly across everything two feet off the ground and up. As I came to a clearing by the water, there were large stones all around the water. I was able to build a make shift bridge, by lining up these large stones in the water, all the way out a large rock. Once I got out there, I was able to just sit there for a while and take it all in.

Mixed Feelings About Bend Video

VisitBend.com's Promo Video

I love Bend, Oregon. Let's just get that straight right off the bat. I grew up here.



It is annoying however, to watch your town start to deteriorate slowly as the population grows. Crime increases. A 10 minute drive becomes a 20 minute drive, due to traffic. Big chain stores move in and wipe out local businesses that have been here for years. Property prices blow through the roof, and make home ownership an impossibility.

The video is right though, Bend, Oregon is probably one of the greatest places to live in the Western United States. Bend is big enough to have all you need. The natural beauty is truly breath taking. So, while I love Bend... I hate to see it advertised.

The Bend Bulletin's Well Shot Photo Contest

Bend Oregon Photography!

I was pleasantly surprised to come across a recent issue of the Bend Bulletin's Local section. It appears they are running a "Well Shot!" photo contest. The issue of the paper with the winning photos is published every Tuesday, in the Local section of the paper. It would appear that shots are published a week after professional photographers offer their advice. You can also find more details on the photo contest at http://bendbulletin.mycapture.com/wellshoot.

There is some great local photographic talent in the Bend community and The Bulletin showcases it nicely! In Tuesday's issue, the theme was portraits. There were some amazing entries this week! Including one from a blog I currently subscribe to: Juniper Seahorses, written by Jacqueline Smith. Her photo was of a man named Larry. If you get the chance, stop by her blog and look at some of her stunning photography.

In the month of November there will be a "The Dark" theme followed by a "Wildlife" theme. This month's theme is "Water," and in December two more themes. If you get a chance, enter the contest! If you'd like, let me know and I may up for publishing some local photography here on this blog!

Shooting East of Bend, Oregon

Bend Oregon Photography

This Saturday I headed out east of Bend, Oregon shooting... and I don't mean with my camera (well, I guess with that too). I mean with riffles and a shot gun. Guns for the day were a shot gun, a 30-06, a .22 cal, along with some clay pigeons and paper targets.

The spot was on the old highway, about two and half miles off the main highway (E. Highway20). This spot is about 15 - 20 miles east of Bend's city limits. It's near the Horse Ridge National Area. There is a lot of neat canyons to explore, hike and tour in this area. What is nice about the Horse Ridge and BadLands area, is that it is still pretty close to Bend and city amenities.

The whole area is also known as the Central Oregon badlands. Further east is Millican Oregon, which is a podunk little town. The community was named for George Millican, a settler. The latitude of Millican is 43.879N, the longitude is -120.918W. Millican is well known amongst dirt bike riders and ATVers.

Below are the photos of this area:

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Meadow Lakes Golf Course

Bend Oregon Photos - Golf Courses of Central Oregon

Bend Oregon Photos takes a field trip! Today I went golfing with some friends. We were looking for some cheap golf, so we headed out east of Bend, Oregon. In Prineville, there is a course called Meadow Lakes. It's not the most glamorous course in Central Oregon by any means, but for what it is... it's a pretty good value.

The photo above is of a green. I suppose I'd be a much better photo journalist if I kept track of the details, but I don't... so, I can't tell you which hole this photo is of. If you look in the image, off to the left you can see a blue flag pin waving in the wind.

Oh... the wind. Did I mention the wind yet? It was a cold day here in the high desert, which is pretty typical of Bend, Oregon and it's surrounding areas. Especially this time of year. The weather today on the course was pretty much just that (cold). We had cloud cover close to the whole time, with an arctic wind that just wouldn't stop. The clouds broke here and there, providing us with some warm sun, which was nice. It was short lived however, and those very same clouds returned with some nice central Oregon hail for us.

In this picture (photo above) you can see the wind blowing the tree limbs everywhere. This picture is taken right at the tee box, which one of the white markers can be seen in the left area of the photo. Harder to see, is a water hazard off to the right of tee box (look for the weed like willows at the edge of the grass). I liked this hole and wanted to get a shot of the trees here.


Wrapping up our day, we returned our carts to club house. As I pulled off my sunglasses, I could see light reflecting off the hoods of golf carts all lined up in the shed. I pulled out the old digital camera and took a shot. Well, apparently my camera has better light perception than I do. What looked very cool and photogenic to me, didn't translate so well in the above image. I decided I'd include it anyway.

Meadow Lakes of Prineville, Oregon:

• 300 SW Meadow Lakes Drive
  Prineville, Oregon 97754

Other Central Oregon Golf Courses

Broken Top
Broken Top Dr, Bend, OR 97702

Tetherow Golf Club
Skyline Ranch Rd, Bend, OR 97701

Bend Golf & Country Club
Country Club Dr, Bend, OR 97702

Eagle Crest Ridge Course
Cline Falls Rd, Redmond, OR 97756

Find more photos like this on Kidd's Kids

Kidd Kraddik (a morning show DJ) is taking terminally and chronically ill children to Disney land. It is a great charity that was started in 1991. To donate go here: http://www.kiddskids.com/page/make-a-donation

From the website:
"I founded Kidd's Kids in 1991 with the hope of making a difference in the lives of terminally and chronically ill children. Each year, Kidd's Kids offers five amazing days of suspended reality to children whose lives have been ravaged by disease. Kidd's Kids children and their families are given the chance to experience the exuberance of being "normal." That is the gift that you and I can offer by supporting the Kidd's Kids organization.

-Signed, Kidd"

Here in BEND, Oregon, Power 94 radio is going to be at all the McDonald's in town. So make sure to stop and give a couple bucks if you can!

Photo Hit List

I apologize about the lack of posting. I have some new spots to add to the Bend Oregon Photos hit list. I've made sort of a mental note, as I've been doing my daily travels throughout Bend this last week. Here they are, in no particular order:

• Photographs of the Old Mill District.
• Photographs of Hwy 97
• Photographs of the Bend Oktoberfest

These are a few I'd like to add to the site. I think with fall approaching, there will be some good shots of fall colors to come. Stay tuned Central Oregon (and beyond)!