Settled along the Deschutes River and a stones throw from Mt. Bachelor, Bend is a small town in Oregon that has an infinite amount of things to offer. I first visited Bend years ago when I picked up my Cascadia Vehicle Tent - a quick trip that didn’t result in much time around the city or the vast landscape that surrounds it. This trip was a perfect blend of vacation, work and recreation to keep me wanting more.
Staying in a home just outside the proper city limits of Bend, we find ourselves overlooking a massive valley and across to The Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor. The backyard boasts an infinite stretch of desert brush filled with sticks, dirt and small critters. Heaven, as some dogs refer to it. We hit a perfect weather streak leaving us with dry, warm days to enjoy while outdoors soaking in the sunshine. We also scored massively with a roaring sunset every evening of our stay.
The mornings consisted of hot coffee and throwing gigantic pinecones for the pups while we watched the sun begin to fill the valley below us with light. Being just before winter begin to kick in, the mountains teased us in the background with their snow covered peaks, yet delivered a cold breeze that made us thankful for the coffee in hand. Starting a day off in nature always mentally steers you in the right direction no matter what you have on your list for the day, and this particular morning was nothing less of expectations.
Allowing design, as an identity, flow in to my person life more and more, over the years I have began to appreciate certain moments and my surroundings in a much greater, inspirational sense. While my career path has been strictly Apparel Design, I’ve learned to absorb and welcome new ideas in all shapes and forms in to my life. I’ve become fascinated not only in how things work, but how things make you feel.
So we sit, Riley and I, at a massive table in the heart of the home - both heads down on our respective workloads. A door to the back porch is cracked open to allow the dogs to come and go along with sporadic breaths of fresh mountain air. The sun is in full force, warming the house from the outside in and giving us another reason to smile. The home sits in stillness and boasts a beautiful blend of materials and design aesthetics that you could sit and compliment for hours on in. The home not only provides us a space to do our work, but gives us a space to be inspired and allow us to be as open minded about the task at hand. We spend the majority of the day at this table, toying with aesthetic advice between each others projects, bringing ideas to life and sharing occasional glance of affection from across the table. This, is a work-life balance that I could get used to.
We attack our final day as early as a warm bed filled with each other and our dogs and beautiful view can allow us to do. We quickly make our way through winding farm land roads and empty lanes of scenic turns. We meant to hit the trail before sunrise to experience it from the top, but we are also…ambitious. Nonetheless, we find parking and begin hastily making our way up the steep trail…ambitiously.
Taking multiple stops along the climb to appreciate the quickly changing view, gain our breaths back and exchange a series of gross, lovey words to each other. The climb kicked our ass, but in the best way possible. We eventually made it to the top while the sun was still working its way up and the parking lot below begin to fill. Although we didn’t embark as early as we’d hoped, our earlier start was still paying off with a thin crowd and all the rising sunshine to soak up ourselves.
I’ve spent a large amount of time of my life outside and am always extra grateful when it happens to be in a National Park. Being able to experience landmarks and spaces, knowing they’re protected and kept beautiful, is something of its own. I will always be thankful for the work that Park Rangers and communities do to keep these areas as pristine as they can.
