22 posts categorized "Oregon"

If you’ve driven past 27th Street lately, you’ve seen it—Bend’s new Stevens Ranch Library is rising fast. Construction is really moving. The main structure is up, and crews are making steady progress toward what’s going to be a beautiful and much-needed 100,000 sq feet community space. The temporarily closed stretch of 27th Street should reopen soon, which will be a big relief for those of us who’ve been dodging detours for the past several months. While we still don’t have an official opening date, the exterior is looking close to done. And what has me excited? The mass timber design inside. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but judging by the plans and the early renderings, this is going to be one of the most architecturally interesting public buildings in Bend. Read more →


I kicked off the new year with a pre-dawn snowshoe hike up Tumalo Mountain. There’s something special about walking in the dark with just a headlamp and the promise of sunrise. I got to the trailhead near Mt. Bachelor at around 5:00 a.m. It was cold, maybe in the teens, and the forest was calm. My plan: climb 1,400 feet and catch the first sunrise of 2025. Read more →


This past weekend was all about the outdoors. On Saturday, I kayaked 8 miles on a crystal-clear Cascade lake, where the water was as cold as it was stunning. Then, on Sunday, we hiked 7 miles with a 2,000-foot elevation gain into the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. With a wilderness day permit in hand, We made it to the glacier on Three Finger Jack. The hike was made even better by the intoxicatingly sweet scents and breathtaking views of wildflowers along Canyon Creek and spotting a rocky mountain goat. Read more →


A few years ago in 2015, I wrote on this blog about the changing of the carpet design in the Portland Oregon International Airport. PDX Carpet Designs in AutoCAD DWG The new design was confusing and not iconic and fun like the classic design. Wikipedia on the PDX carpet design Well, roll forward to 2024 and they have finally heard my complaint, or the many others and are now returning to installing the old classic design carpet.The classic design was based on the airport’s North and South runways as seen by air traffic controllers at night in a nerdy artistic way. Read more →


Last Friday evening, Stefanie, our two dogs, and I embarked on an adventure to Lava Lake in the Cascades, just a short drive from our home in Bend, Oregon. The area had just emerged from winter, was the perfect for our outing, especially with the potential of a spectacular aurora borealis due to a massive solar storm—the largest in over two decades. Read more →