Friday, August 10th
We started our day at Tiny’s, a trendy little coffee shop near Elliot and Brad’s apartment that featured delicious breakfast sandwiches and good coffee. There, we said good bye to Brad and made moves to our last stop in Portland, the city’s staple where good things come in pink boxes. We could not possibly leave without trying Voodoo Doughnut (Too)! When we pulled into the parking lot, Charla spotted a Voodoo Doughnut tuk tuk. She didn’t even need to try one of their creations before she was in love. We waited in the short line (much shorter than the one wrapping around the block in front of the original Voodoo shop we had checked out on our first night) and then faced a difficult decision: what to order? Chase settled on the Portland Cream and the Maple Bacon Bar (yes, that’s bacon on a doughnut!) while Charla went the sweet route with a Captain My Captain, covered in Cap’n Crunch cereal, and an Oreo King, topped with Oreo crumbles and chocolate.
A few miles on I-84 led us to Highway 26, a scenic road that took us through Mt. Hood National Forest. To get an even better view of the snow topped mountain, we cruised up to Timberline Lodge. There were skiers and riders walking around the lodge, and Chase started aching for a ride. If only the winter gear were more accessible in the Pilot right now! Meanwhile, Charla was channeling her inner film buff and getting a little scared just thinking of The Shining, which filmed its outside shots here.
After leaving Timberline and driving southeast, we started to experience a dramatic change of topography and temperature. From the cool mountain climes that promoted the growth of much greenery, we entered into the hot and dry high desert where the only green we saw grew up around irrigation systems. Coming into Bend, we came back into a lot of vegetation, as the Deschutes River and National Forest are nearby.
Miles back, in Kirkland, Washington, Charla spotted her first Jimmy John’s since returning from Southeast Asia, but we went out for a great Thai meal with Alison instead. The craving had not gone away, so we went straight to Jimmy’s when we arrived in Bend. After loading up on sandwiches, we walked around downtown and the riverside before going to the Deschutes Brew Pub to sample the local brews. In addition to the Chainbreaker White IPA and Spencer’s Gold Ale, the bar staff gave us directions to a camping spot in the National Forest. We ended up pulling off the road a bit before their favorite locale by Tumalo Creek for a good place to watch the Perseid meteor shower that was just getting into swing.
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