Bend

The Museum at Warm Springs

The Museum at Warm Springs is a museum and cultural conservancy operated by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint

The Peter Skene Ogden State Senic Viewpoint is a state park located on the west side of U.S. Route 97 as it crosses the Crooked River Valley. Three bridges span the canyon here: the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway's 1911 Crooked River Railroad Bridge, the original Route 97's 1926 Crooked River High Bridge (now used only for pedestrian traffic), and the modern four-lane Rex T. Barber Veterans Memorial Bridge which now carries Route 97.

Tumalo State Park

Tumalo State Park is an Oregon state park on the Deschutes River.

Blockbuster Video

This is the last surviving franchise location of the once-ubiqitous Blockbuster video rental chain. Blockbuster peaked in the early 2000s with some 9,094 stores, then collapsed into bankruptcy by 2011. Dish Network bought the remains of the company but failed to regain profitability and closed all company-owned stores in 2014. Around fifty stores took the one-time option of remaining in busiess as independent franchises, with all but this one going under by 2018.

The High Desert Museum

The High Desert Museum is a private museum and zoo focused on the history and ecology of the Oregon high desert region.

Drake Park ⁄ Mirror Pond

Drake Park ⁄ Mirror Pond is a city park on the east bank of the Deschutes River as it flows through the downtown core of town.

Bend Whitewater Park

Bend Whitewater Park is a unique city park located on the Deschutes River where it crosses an old mill dam. The dam was partially demolished and three seperate channels created over it: a protected habitat zone, a fish ladder also navigable by recreational floaters, and a high-energy artificial whitewater channel.

Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a federal monument within the Deschutes National Forest. The Lava Lands Visitor Center and the Lava River Cave were seasonally closed at the time of my visit, but NF-9702 forest road was still open so we were able to visit the Old Mill and Benham Falls hiking trails.

Pine Mountain Observatory

The Pine Mountain Observatory is a University of Oregon astronomy facility located on one of the mountains of the Deschutes Formation range. It is closed to the public at this time of year, but there is an adjacent Forest Service campground.

Oregon Badlands Wilderness Area

The Oregon Badlands Wilderness Area is a 29,180 acre National Conservation Land operated by the Bureau of Land Management. This area showcases the volcanism-driven geology of the Pacific Northwest, as it is a rootless shield volcano buried under volcanic ash soil from the last eruption of Tum-sum-ne (Mount Mazama, i.e. Crater Lake) and subsequently grown over with native juniper woodlands.

Mt. Hood National Forest