“I was born on June 24th; six months from Christmas Eve (I planned it that way so I could get presents every six months).” –Jere Greene

After their mother passed in 2023, my daughter Chris and my son  Michael planned and connived for over a year and a half to give me a special birthday present. While I had previously flown to visit my daughter in Oregon over the years, they wanted to make this a special event. 

Chris bought a train trip for me to see the house that she had not only purchased, but had worked to make it her own through planning, modifying, and hours upon hours of hard work. It represented a project of which she was extremely proud and that I wanted to share with her.

The city of Bend has an extensive public outreach network, and while I don’t use social media, my daughter is an active participant. She went online and said that I was coming to visit, and asked if anyone might have any suggestions for things to see that she might include. More than 135 responded, with over 70 offering a variety of options that would have filled a summer-long vacation. Unfortunately, I was only going to be there for a week.

My neighbor was kind enough to drive me to the Fullerton Train Station, where I took the Metrolink (south-side tracks) to Union Station in L.A. There, I transferred to the 24-hour Amtrak Coast Starlight through the Cascade Mountains. Once onboard, I found my roomette on the upper deck. (Roomette, not a roommate)! After settling in, I decided to visit the Observation Car, where I found all the seats were occupied while the rest of the car was filled with tables and chairs containing card and dice game players and other passengers, all keeping themselves entertained. Returning to my roomette, I discovered that the view from my two bay windows provided the same height and view as the Observation Car. It offered not only the same view and privacy, but it turned out that when we were traveling along the coast, my side of the car (even numbered roomettes) faced the ocean.

I went to the dining car for lunch, where a woman at our 4-person table said that she travels the train extensively and that when the train is loaded at Union Station, there is always a rush to grab a seat in the observation car. She said that many camped out for the entire 24-hour trip. At least my roomette was private, had the same view, and was converted to a bed by the staff around 8 PM (definitely better than sitting in a chair all night)!

In the morning, after an early breakfast, I took my bags down the narrow (24-inch-wide) stairway to be ready to get off the train at the Chemult station. I was the only passenger to disembark, and after walking to the parking lot to take a photo, my daughter pulled up. We loaded my baggage and headed north to Bend. I found it interesting that, as large and popular as the city of Bend is, it has neither a train station nor an airport. The trip north was picturesque, and if nothing else, Oregon has miles of scenic trees, roads that are well-maintained and populated with valuable informational signage.

Upon reaching Bend, we went to my daughter’s home, and while I had seen pictures of it, I was overwhelmed with everything she had done to it. The rooms were expansive and tastefully furnished. They were all filled with personal memorabilia, which announced that “Chris lives here”. Her work-from-home office contained both a personal computer and her work-remotely, company computer system.

We visited Ponderosa Park to take a 4-generation family photo. It included my grandson Steven, my great-granddaughter Scarlett, my daughter Chris, and yours truly, all with obligatory copies of the Fullerton Observer! 

We continued past Drake Park, a major centerpiece in Bend, and while we didn’t stop it was because I had been there during previous trips to Bend and the sunlight was burning.

We drove on to the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, where fish are raised from fingerlings to catch-size fish in long concrete pools before being used to stock Oregon’s vast network of lakes and streams. While primarily trout, other sport fish are raised here as well. Tourists can purchase small handfuls of fish pellets from vending machines for a quarter. Children then toss the fish food into the pools where the fish swarm after the pellets while proud parents capture the excitement on smartphones.

Driving in Oregon is somewhat different than California. They utilize an extensive use of roundabouts rather than traffic lights at many intersections. You just have to remember that a vehicle on the roundabout has the right-of-way over vehicles entering.

We continued to the Sisters Meat and Smokehouse in the city of Sisters for lunch. The Smokehouse is well-known for the variety and quality of its food, which was excellent. Situated at the base of the Three Sisters Mountain range, this quaint town is fashioned similarly to the early, rugged western town motif, even though most of the city is fairly recent.

A trip to the High Desert Museum was a must-see stop. I saw a Bat exhibit when I was last in Bend, and they currently have a 40-minute Raptor show that features a dozen birds of prey. Entering the open-air area, we sat on the steel benches that were set in parallel lines. The narrator warned us to keep our hands below the tops of our heads and not to gesture with an open palm or point with a finger, as these were cues the handlers used to signal a response from the birds. One at a time, each was brought out of its portable cage while the narrator described the bird’s specific details, such as hunting with its claws or using its beak.

The first was a Barn Owl that, because it can’t move its eyes, has the ability to rotate its entire head over a large range. It can fly at very low speeds due to the wide wing span. Then, at a signal from one of the handlers, the owl flew from one perch, just inches above the heads of the guests, landing gracefully on another perch across the seating area. This procedure was repeated with each bird species being presented in turn for almost an hour. All the birds did, in fact, make repeated flights just above our heads. On one occasion, as a bird with an exceptional wing span flew directly over me, the tip of its wing brushed my ear.

After the Raptor exhibit, we visited a representative cabin with a docent who was knitting a mat (working both from the bottom and from the top, and ending up in the middle), a working saw mill, and a barn area. All with details matching the exhibit. We came upon an outhouse that didn’t have a doorway. Chris had me pose outside while desperately looking for an entrance.

We continued on to see the otter exhibit around lunchtime, but the otters weren’t where the otters ‘otter’ be, so we left. The final exhibits were representations of various local Indian tribes that included multiple statues and a detailed tepee exhibit that was very well done.

Later, we took the chairlift to the top of Mount Bachelor for lunch and an exquisite view of the surrounding area. I was impressed with the use of the ski lift system after the winter snows were gone during the summer. Once at the top, they provide access to several mountain bike trails of varying difficulty back down the mountain. There is also a zip line back down, but I was content to just sit back and enjoy the chair lift ride.

We stopped at Handel’s Ice Cream store and bought a Waffle Bowl and a 4-scoop Sampler. Handel’s ice cream is definitely as good as it’s said to be!

Continuing, we drove to my grandson’s and got a tour of their home. Steven and I went to his computer room, where we discussed the newest AI programming techniques he is developing for his company.

We returned to my daughter’s home, and after putting her car in the garage, we went back inside. A few minutes later, we heard a loud noise, which Chris thought was from her new neighbor who might have fallen. After a couple of additional noises, I said it sounded like hail. When we checked her patio, it was being pelted with a deluge of thumb-sized hail that hit the ground and then bounced two to three feet in the air.

We then went out the front door to see not only her front yard and porch being covered with hail, but the entire street as well. The deluge lasted around twenty minutes or so, and while short-lived, the barrage resulted in a half-hour power outage. My daughter said that in all the years she has lived in Bend, this was by far the most intense incident she had ever seen. I knew she went out of her way to provide a wide range of entertainment for my visit, but this hail storm exceeded even my wildest expectations.

Pilot Butte is a caldera cinder cone that is part of the extensive volcanic history of the Cascades area. It is unique in that it is situated on the outskirts of the city. Bend incorporated Pilot Butte as a major tourist attraction by providing a road that winds around the caldera and terminates as a circular vista at the top. A table-like structure in the center offers a 360-degree view of the surrounding volcanoes, each identified with miniature replicas aligned in each direction.

Chris and I had a lovely meal at the 1919 Pine Tavern restaurant, which features two huge trees that grow through the roof in the center of the restaurant. We enjoyed an excellent meal that included a beautiful view of the river from our table.

On the final evening of my vacation, we decided to order something from Axel’s Taco Shop. We reviewed the six-page menu, which featured a wide range of low-cost Mexican food options. We made our selections of one of my favorite foods and brought it back to the house for a leisurely dinner.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. After a wonderful week, Chris helped me pack, fed me breakfast, and, after saying goodbye to her little dog, Cali, she drove me 30 minutes north to Redmond for my flight to Portland. Thus began the first leg of my flight back to California. After a short layover, I took my final flight to Orange County.

Upon arriving at John Wayne, I took my bags to the curb and called my neighbor, who was waiting in the cellphone lot, telling her which numbered stanchion I was standing next to. She drove up, loaded my bags, and we returned to Fullerton. That night, I slept like a baby, dreaming of what a wonderful gift this birthday trip had been. I am so blessed to have such wonderful children.

While this was a personal, family event for me, I would recommend it as a wonderful adventure to Bend for anyone to check out as an exciting and rewarding option you may have never considered.