Bend, Oregon, we missed you! Outdoor recreation paradise and world-class brewery nirvana. We said we’d be back, we just didn’t expect so soon 😀 And so quickly, our week just flew by. This post too!

Back at The Camp for cornhole and barbecues.

The Haven co-working office was the largest, most contemporary, most buzzing place we’ve worked at on our travels. Too kool for school and way too cool for us. There were different zones for different needs – with or without background music, with or without phones/video calls, diner-like booths, boardroom style tables, high top standing desks.

The kitchen was decked out with everything you could want, including snacks (to buy), coffee, and beer on tap. The furniture was impressive, the river views even more so.

The only thing about overlooking the Deschutes river was that you could constantly see people kayaking, rowing, stand up paddleboarding, tubing, swimming, fishing, running, dog walking, you name it. Basically doing anything other than working.

The Haven office building perched above the Deschutes river

Seeing other people have so much fun, we made sure to get out and about before or after work. No trouble getting the steps in this week!

View down to the Old Mill district from the river path

We got our bearings hiking up Pilot Butte, an old volcanic cinder cone with views of the city and the mountains.

As we walked along the Deschutes river trail at sunrise, a splashing sound alerted us to a frolicking beaver. No pic unfortunately but we were able to watch him mooching around and diving under water, seemingly oblivious to our presence.

We also made sure to fit some of those awesome Bend breweries in. But we didn’t spend every evening walking to the brewery, oh no. Sometimes we biked it 😝

It’s been a long time coming but a few weeks earlier, Canada announced they would soon be opening their border to US Citizens (not us) and US Permanent Residents (YAY, that’s us, whoop whoop!) on 9th August. Change of plans from our initially scheduled Little Loop trip which had us circling back through Idaho and down to the Tetons.

We knew it would be cutting it fine to drive all the way up to Alaska and back before I had to be back in the office in September, but we figured I could always fly back if needed. And then the Delta variant gave us a helping hand in extending our office closure until January.

And so Alaska, here we come! Just one more week to bide our time (and get our Covid tests) until the Canada border opens…