Blogs from Bend, Oregon, United States, North America
May 6th 2012
(English version on the bottom) Liebe Verwandte und Freunde Als erstes möchte ich euch an einem schönen Ereignis Teil haben lassen: Bei einer Passfahrt in British Columbia haben wir gleich neben der Strasse einen schönen Schwarzbären entdeckt. Wir halten an und können ihn in aller Ruhe beim Fressen beobachten. Er ist sicher noch nicht lange von seinem Winterschlaf erwacht und muss nun möglichst viel Nahrung zu sich nehmen. Hier begnügt er sich aber lediglich mit den ersten feinen Gräsern. Er ist nur etwa 15 Meter von uns entfernt, lässt sich aber von uns überhaupt nicht stören. Es ist das erste Mal, dass wir einem Bären so lange und so nah zuschauen können. Nun sind wir also wieder in den USA. Nach Besuchen in Vancouver haben wir Canada verlassen und die Grenze überschritten. Das ist ein mittleres ... read more
March 11th 2012
As my road trip comes to a close I feel like I should have written more. A million thoughts passed through my mind as I took in nature's moments of serenity; later I am unable to recall most of them. One thing stands out though; sunsets attract the broadest audiences. Whether watching from the Western Michigan shores of Lake Michigan, the stone wall in Mallory Square on Key West, or anywhere along the Pacific coastline, if you take a moment to look around to see who else is watching you may be surprised. My last Pacific coast sunset drew in children playing on the beach, photographers perched on low dunes, couples walking hand in hand on the bridge, sea gulls, sea lions, and crows. The sunset even draws the surfers from their waves to plant their ... read more
August 6th 2011
Today we drove all the way from Prineville to Medford in Oregon. We saw a lot of beautiful pinetree forrests on the few hours drive we had. We did two main stops today. The first one was few miles south of Bend for the High Desert Museum. Our second stop was for few hours to explore some of the Crater Lake National Park scenery. Later on we made our way to Medford to our hotel. This would be our last full day in Oregon of a wonderful week on the roads of this beautiful state. So our first stop today was the Museum of High Desert. The museum is lost few miles south of Bend, in a beautifil forrest. Here, we could discover further the native indian history, first settlers and cowboy history as well as ... read more
Andy's Book is Out! "Southern Exposures" is out on Blurb
Published: July 23rd 2011North America » United States » Oregon » Bend
July 22nd 2011
I keep trying to close out this travel blog, but as there are still some subscribers to the blog, I thought it pertinent to give an update on Andy's book. Andy has put together an absolutely beautiful photography book, called "Southern Exposures". It highlights our family volunteer experience in Ecuador and Peru and is an excellent companion to my upcoming book: "An Egg and A Cigarette: Tales of a Family's Volunteering in Ecuador and Peru". He's barely marked up the book above his costs -- it's not cheap to put out a quality photography book. You can preview several pages of the book -- and if you're interested in making a purchase, the website will guide you through the purchase process. I've included a few of the photographs you'll find in the book. Enjoy!! http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2331946 (sorry, ... read more
Time Flies -- and Time for another adventure (or two)
Published: July 7th 2011North America » United States » Oregon » Bend
July 7th 2011
Indeed. It’s hard to believe that well over a year has passed since we returned from our four month family volunteer trip to Ecuador and Peru. When we returned to Oregon, the girls fell back into their school routine, summer time fun, and then another academic year. Andy and I spent the summer months working on our TESOL and TEYL certifications, and then began volunteering teaching English with our local community college. We resumed our lives back at our respective jobs and all was good – but not exactly. Lots of restlessness and thinking about what we had done and what we might like to do in the future. Late last fall, we read about a culture and teaching assistant grant program in Spain. We decided to apply for the North American Culture and Teaching Assistant ... read more
Bent on Bend, and Lava Land 1
Published: August 14th 2010North America » United States » Oregon » Bend
August 14th 2010
Aug 9-11: Having sipped at the cool well of friendship in Walla Walla, we headed south on Rt. 11 to Pendleton, had lunch in the park next to the rodeo stadium (we've found that every western town seems to have a lovely verdant park—and most towns are by some water source), then south on Rt. 395 through grassland and range country and on up into Umatilla National Forest. Thanks, Jerry, for the recommendation of the forested state park at Dale. We had it all to ourselves!! We like to pull in early, so we have time for reading, walking, whatever. Next day was a big driving day, and we got an uncharacteristically early start because I had lost track of my sunglasses and didn't want to be heading due west in the afternoon without them. So ... read more
June 28th 2010
Formiddagen brugte vi det meste af på at vente på at vi kunne få bilen, jeg var så uforudseende at gå i et indkøbscenter sammen med resten af familien, nå men jeg fik mit peanut butter i den rigtige model, så helt spildt var indsatsen heller ikke. Vi var egentlig blevet lovet at vi kunne få den omkring k 11.00 men den var faktisk først klar ved 13 tiden og så tog det næsten to timer at blive instrueret i hvordan sådan et apparat virker. Men omkring kl. 16 havde vi endeligt fået sturvet vores habengut ind i blilen og var klar til at drage af sted. Vi fik sagt farvel til Mary og Wayne og satte sigtkornet mod vest - endelig. Vi kørte først mod Ontario Oregon og drejede derefter af mod Bend også i ... read more
October 25th 2009
After the Hot Springs I drove to Bend on October 21st. Bend was extremely beautiful and refreshing. Colorful fall weather and again some really great people that crossed my way. Among them a lady with Luxembourgish origins ;) I bumped into accidentally one evening when I got lost on my way to my great couchsurfing hosts Elizabeth and Brandon (and their housemates Jennifer and Chuck). We connected instantly and I regret that I couldn't spend more time with them. ... read more
October 13th 2009
Another Deer Park summer has come to an end. We had four wonderful months filled with truly special friends and almost daily golf. Though we're sad to leave all of that behind, it does feel good to be on the move again and we'll be seeing everyone at various times and places throughout the winter. Our first stop was Pendleton, Oregon, where we spent 10 days visiting with Shawn & Christina (Terry's daughter) and their three kids, Jacob, Bryson, and Sheviann, and with Todd (Terry's son) and his two kids, Krister and Kessa. Kessa - age 4 months - is the newest addition to the family and just a living doll. We had a very nice visit and got to watch both of the older grandsons - Jacob (13) and Bryson (10) - play some football. ... read more
October 4th 2009
This trip is already starting off on a crazy note. My plan had been to work the majority of my shift and just leave a couple hours early to give me time to drive the 130 miles to the airport and catch our flight. Instead, we awoke to 3-4 inches of fresh snow covering the car and roads. Jose helped me load the suitcases and everything into the car so that I could leave straight from work and he would bring Mia and meet me in Redmond. The drive to work soon convinced me that this plan was not going to work. While Kara was driving her truck behind me on the way to work, an oncoming car lost control and spun in circles crossing all four lanes of traffic and ended up in our lane. ... read more
