It was finally time to venture outside Cali. We headed inland from the California coast via Grants Pass and the Deschutes National Forrest and arrived in Bend on Friday evening. We met up with our friend Sam and cruised to town for some craft beers at Deschutes Brew Pub. After a long day of driving and one beer our eyelids started to get heavy so we treated ourself to a motel for hot showers and warm beds.
We woke up refreshed and ready to explore Oregon on Saturday. But first, we hit downtown for some epic breakfast sandwiches at Bad Wolf Bakery and Bistro. Seriously, the Buttermilk Breakfast sandwich is rich folks! We rode around town for a bit, picked up kabobs to make for dinner and headed west to spend a few days in Willamette National Forest.
BUTTERMILK BREAKFAST SANDWICH, PHOTO COURTESY OF BAD WOLF BAKERY & BISTRO
I was psyched to spend a few days in one place after some aggressive driving and single night stays. We had all the resources we needed for an awesome weekend in the wilderness and thanks to our buddy Caleb, who recently spent time in the area, we had a map with all the hot spots. This was the genesis of what I call the "Map Files" which was basically Johnno being buried in this map of Oregon and me sneakily snapping pictures, hehe. I suppose it was justified; Willamette is one of the largest national forests with more than 1.6 million acres most of which is covered by Douglas-fir, the state tree of Oregon. It's easy and awesome to get lost in this place.
We posted up at Olallie Campground on Saturday afternoon. The boys ventured out for some mountain biking while I attempted some riverside yoga. The highlight of the day was definitely "happy hour" in a small hot spring along the river. We drove around for almost an hour, and just before giving up Johnno spotted it, making it that much sweeter.
We spent most of our time exploring a zone along the Mckenzie River just north of Belknap Springs with a seemingly endless supply of trees, trails, waterfalls and swim holes. After three days in Willamette I was still not ready to leave. Mostly because of the biscuits and gravy breakfast we discovered at Takoda's in a small neighboring town, Rainbow, but also because of the beauty, serenity and seclusion of this protected forest. Here's a peak at the van in action; I'm filming because I'm not into off-roading.
We packed up on Tuesday morning, I drove the rig solo for the first time to Rainbow (tempted by Takoda's) while Johnno rode the rest of the Mckenzie River trail before we hopped back on the road.
Back to the beach we go! Next stop, Manzanita.
- Megan, HOBO 1