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.
Showing posts with label Bend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bend. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
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!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Bend Oregon - Barrel Aged Brew Festival
Bend Oregon Photos - The Little Woody
On Saturday September 12 (today, as of this post), in Bend Oregon, there is going to be a barrel-aged brew festival! It will be on the lawn of the Deschutes Historical Museum, in downtown Bend on the corner of Wall and Idaho. Another easy way of saying this is that it is just a few blocks from the Bend library.
The event runs from 12PM - 10PM, and is for those that are 21 and over. This event will have food, beer tasting, live music, and even a wood carving exhibition. Admission to The Little Woody festival includes a commemorative glass. The Deschutes Historical Society will also receive a portion of the benefits from the event.
On Saturday September 12 (today, as of this post), in Bend Oregon, there is going to be a barrel-aged brew festival! It will be on the lawn of the Deschutes Historical Museum, in downtown Bend on the corner of Wall and Idaho. Another easy way of saying this is that it is just a few blocks from the Bend library.
The event runs from 12PM - 10PM, and is for those that are 21 and over. This event will have food, beer tasting, live music, and even a wood carving exhibition. Admission to The Little Woody festival includes a commemorative glass. The Deschutes Historical Society will also receive a portion of the benefits from the event.
Featured Breweries:
- Deschutes Brewery
- Cascade Lakes Brewing
- Bend Brewing Company
- Silver Moon Brewing
- 10 Barrel Brewing
- McMenamins
- Three Creeks Brewing
I am not yet sure I will be attending this event, but have wanted to. I am not completely reliable when it comes to committing to weekend events. We'll have to see what the day brings tomorrow. If I do go, I will post some photos from the event.
For more info on the Bend Oregon Brew Festival visit http://thelittlewoody.com/
Friday, September 4, 2009
Bend Oregon Photos - Mt. Washington Dr.
Bend Oregon Photos - Bend in September
Ah, September in Central Oregon... the air crispens to a nice cool temp, the tourists start to depart back to their homesteads and off of our local roadways, and the skater children go back to school... flat billed hats, long unruly hair, and all. Really, it's a nice time of year. Still sunny, but things start to slow a little. It's a pace I like.
The photograph above is taken from a spot off of Mt. Washington drive. There are some trails here and pretty neat views. The foot traffic is light, and I think it's one Bend Oregon's lesser known spots. This shot is of the trail.
In this picture (above), you can see Bend from a bird's eye view. Notice the Old Mill smokes stack, dwarfed, off in the distance? You can see more of the West side from this spot. 
These next two (below), were shots from the same spot I was at. I kind of liked the landscape and tried to capture some interesting shots from different angles. The first was of a large rock laying in the sage. The second, some yellow wildflowers (or weeds) in front of a large stone. The darkness of the stone worked well to accent the yellow on the buds of the plant.
Ah, September in Central Oregon... the air crispens to a nice cool temp, the tourists start to depart back to their homesteads and off of our local roadways, and the skater children go back to school... flat billed hats, long unruly hair, and all. Really, it's a nice time of year. Still sunny, but things start to slow a little. It's a pace I like.
The photograph above is taken from a spot off of Mt. Washington drive. There are some trails here and pretty neat views. The foot traffic is light, and I think it's one Bend Oregon's lesser known spots. This shot is of the trail.
In this picture (above), you can see Bend from a bird's eye view. Notice the Old Mill smokes stack, dwarfed, off in the distance? You can see more of the West side from this spot. 
This photograph is from a few feet down the trail. It's still off to the same side as the last. From here you can spot Pilot Butte rising up from Bend's landscape.
More Photos:
These next two (below), were shots from the same spot I was at. I kind of liked the landscape and tried to capture some interesting shots from different angles. The first was of a large rock laying in the sage. The second, some yellow wildflowers (or weeds) in front of a large stone. The darkness of the stone worked well to accent the yellow on the buds of the plant.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Bend Oregon - Pilot Butte
Bend Oregon Photos- Pilot Butte
Ah, Pilot Butte.... or "The Butte," as we locals like to call it. "I walked the Butte today." "Guess who I saw up on the Butte?" Pilot Butte is an old cinder cone in Bend Oregon, that has now been turned into a state park (although the website http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_42.php claims the Butte is east of Bend, it is actually just on the east side of Bend...within city limits). There are two trail routes up to the top, which equates to a 2-mile walk (round trip). Once you reach the summit (which offers a rather stunning view of Bend and Central Oregon), there is mountain view finder that will help you find any of the Cascades. It's rewarding workout for all.
Ah, Pilot Butte.... or "The Butte," as we locals like to call it. "I walked the Butte today." "Guess who I saw up on the Butte?" Pilot Butte is an old cinder cone in Bend Oregon, that has now been turned into a state park (although the website http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_42.php claims the Butte is east of Bend, it is actually just on the east side of Bend...within city limits). There are two trail routes up to the top, which equates to a 2-mile walk (round trip). Once you reach the summit (which offers a rather stunning view of Bend and Central Oregon), there is mountain view finder that will help you find any of the Cascades. It's rewarding workout for all.
The Photo above is an information board at the base of Pilot Butte. It tells about the history of Pilot Butte, and some of the Bend area.
This photo is taken of the left fork or the paved route. By following this you actually walk away, sort of, then hairpin back to road. This will keep you on the paved portion of the road to the top, rather than the dirt trail.
I took the above photo at the summit of Pilot Butte. Up there, you'll find great views of the surrounding city and mountains. This is a compass and points off to each mountain. It gives the name and some general info.
This image is on the decent. Rounding the first corner as you leave the viewing area, you met by a spiraling downward road. I thought this old snag was kind of interesting, so I snapped a picture of it.
As you round the old snag and walk down a couple feet, if you turn to your left, you can see all the way down 15th Street. It looks off to the South East. You can see by this photo it's kind of a smokey August summer.
This is kind of the stock photo everyone takes from Pilot Butte. You'll see all kinds of Bend Oregon posters and websites that are of this very image. It looks up Highway 20, to the west.
This photo is of Pilot Butte Middle School's track. It kind of stick outs against a lot of the Central Oregon landscape. This is just off Neff Road, and one of several middle schools in Bend.
A view down the side of Pilot Butte. You can see the yellow wildflowers (or weeds?) sprouting out of the hill side. Also seen here are natural wooden reinforcements, holding the loose cinder hillside from sliding.
My final shot is of Highway 20 Eastward. You can see Smolich Motors, and Hertz in this photo. Follow this Highway East and you'll head toward Prineville, Burns, and Idaho.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Bend Oregon Photos - Out of Business
Bend Oregon: Not all rainbows and butterflies...
Contrary to what all the Realtors and tourism businesses in Bend Oregon will tell you... Bend is not all that beautiful. In fact, there are a lot of ugly, run down, and poverty stricken places here. Although, I doubt you are going to find this information on most of the websites you visit.
I was out and about town today, and decided to snap a few pictures of the ugly side of Bend Oregon. Surprisingly, for a tourist town (and a town full of extreme wealth), there are quite a bit of unsightly areas. After all, I feel that since there are two sides to this coin, readers of this blog deserve not to be duped.
These photos are all taken with in probably a quarter of a mile of each other. It's on Bend's Northwest end, off of Revere. There is a homeless shelter over here, sadly, I don't think it's a coincidence. On this side of town you will find a lot of off/on ramps are to the parkway, railroad tracks, and bridges pass over here as well.
This is an area of places that have gone out of business. Seemingly, one after another. I decided to document this on Bend Oregon Photos.
Below are some photos of Bend Oregon's north side:
I was out and about town today, and decided to snap a few pictures of the ugly side of Bend Oregon. Surprisingly, for a tourist town (and a town full of extreme wealth), there are quite a bit of unsightly areas. After all, I feel that since there are two sides to this coin, readers of this blog deserve not to be duped.
These photos are all taken with in probably a quarter of a mile of each other. It's on Bend's Northwest end, off of Revere. There is a homeless shelter over here, sadly, I don't think it's a coincidence. On this side of town you will find a lot of off/on ramps are to the parkway, railroad tracks, and bridges pass over here as well.
This is an area of places that have gone out of business. Seemingly, one after another. I decided to document this on Bend Oregon Photos.
Below are some photos of Bend Oregon's north side:
These are photos of an old Chinese restaurant in Bend, called the Shanghai Garden. It was a well known place for years, but now is out of business. An empty building and for lease signs are now all that remain of this once busy restaurant...
This building was (for a long time) a local pool, spa, and stove place. I remember going here once or twice as a kid with my parents. A large pool was out front with a fountain and an over-sized kid's play floaty could often be seen covering the sidewalk most summers. Now... an empty building and lot.
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