Day 19 Mile 204-209

Bend

I was up at 5 am this morning and drove into Shepherd’s Mission with Don and Ernest. I swept and mopped the mission floors, helped move tables around, set-up the breakfast breads and cereals , and helped out in any way I could. Over the course of the next couple hours, several men, couples, and families came in for breakfast and to socialize. The mission seems to be a communal hub where everyone knows each other and have developed friendships. There were several kids there because the school had an in-service day and many people came in just to rest and have a warm safe place to be. I enjoyed visiting and just listening to the interactions going on. I had a long walk yesterday and a very early morning today so I was very content to just sit, read, and listen. I read the first several chapter of Genesis for the first time. At around 11:00 I started out towards downtown. Bend is a beautiful progressive community on a section of river that has been dammed redirected and manicured in order to provide for a pristine lush environment. The vital downtown district is right on the river and there are a series of parks on both sides. The residential townhouses are all beautiful and the architecture and landscaping makes one understand why Bend is growing so fast and is one of the top ten communities in the country to move to. The shops and local businesses are thriving and the culture has embraced a new-age, outdoorsy vibe that is very accepting and inviting. I stopped in at the Bean & Batter coffee shop and crepery and had a Very Berry Smoothie! I got chatting with Madeline and Joscelyn two student at the college here. Madeline was from San Diego and desired a more upbeat community than Bend and Joscelyn is studying art and is enjoying her new found talent as a painter. I walked along the river park and up and down the main streets for a while and then popped in at the DownTowner for lunch. It was a bustling place with a colorful chalk board menu and I had to wait for an available seat... but it was worth it. I had a great sandwich and Salad. I had the pleasure of being joined at my table by Chuck Arnold, The kind of downtown Mayor/ director. He was the Executive Director of the Bend Downtowners Association. He filled me in on all the work his organization is doing to ensure that Downtown stays unique and vibrant and the center of cultural activities. Before coming to Bend with his wife and two children, he lived in LA and was very involved in the LA river revitalization project. His work to restore the environment and build community was inspiring and its very exciting to see communities really starting to shift in the sustainable direction as an answer to a shifting economy and in response to a new desire for social and communal interactions. I then headed over to the Old Mill District where the Old Mill and the smoke stacked have been transformed into an REI and the surrounding area has become an up scale shopping and entertainment district. Again all the housing going in around this area was all green friendly and built with accessibility and community in mind... Bend is a great Walking town. I stopped in at the REI and got some Crocks sandals for my camping nights and a new water proof container for my video camera and sleeping bag. I headed back into downtown again and met a Oregon State Ranger named Forest. I met him just outside of McMenamins and he kind of reassured me about my route for the next two days and gave some suggestions of places to camp for tomorrow night. I went into McMenamins and had a Garden burger and some Cajon Tator Tots. I am now in a Motel on the outskirts of town right of Route 20. I have a long and hard two week stretch ahead and I needed some good rest especially since I was up early, pushed hard yesterday and hadn’t really even caught up after the mountain push on the weekend. The folks at Motel West gave me a great rate on a very comfortable room so here I am! I don’t know the status of the cell conectivity over the next two weeks... so if you don’t see updates for a while don’t worry about me and if you want to contact me better do it soon!

Here is a google map of my tentative next two weeks.