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K.M. Collins

A native Oregonian, K.M. Collins is a geologist-gone-writer. Covering everything outdoors and a spectrum of journalism, she's a jack of all whitewater sports and her favorite beat is anything river related. Don't blow her cover as a freshwater mermaid amongst humans.
Posted inNews

Pulled Over on a Paddle Board

It’s happened to this writer twice. In the interest of being a true local, here’s how to avoid it
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Poaching paddle spots is part of my recreation repertoire. Typically, I search Google maps, find a blue feature remotely in the vicinity of my driving route, identify a bridge on said waterway and use it as a put-in. It’s a simple equation… what could go wrong? In playing this Russian roulette paddle game, a shocking […]

Posted inOutside

An uptick in tick-borne illness

Got a tick? Here’s what to do—and how to know whether it’s the Lyme disease-carrying kind
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Stories about Central Oregon tick encounters are popping up all over social media. Last month, Kaylin Landry, who studies social sciences at Oregon State University-Cascades, described her tick confrontation by posting, “Guess who had her ‘Oh god, that was a tick that fell off my neck and into my cleavage!’ virginity taken today?” Landry explained, […]

Posted inNews

50 miles for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act’s 50th Anniversary

Some said she couldn’t do it. But for one intrepid river lover, running the John Day from Clarno to Cottonwood on a paddleboard was NBD
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The sun is barely up and I’m launching. Current—2,500 cubic feet per second of it—catches my fin. I had hoped to run Clarno to Cottonwood on the John Day River twice already this spring, but it didn’t work out. As my standup paddleboard (or standup paddle raft, as I like to think of it) gently […]

Posted inOutside

Sculpted to the Wave

A Bend local is making boards specifically for the waves at Bend’s Whitewater Park
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Local river surfers could find any old surfboard at a number of commercial retailers—or, they could get a river board created to the specifications of Bend Whitewater Park‘s beloved Green Wave (second wave down river, looking from the footbridge). Fifth generation Oregonian, Conway Bixby, hasn’t been content riding waves on mass manufactured boards, ever. Rewind […]

Posted inNews

Out to Dry

Can one below-average snowpack year make or break a high desert summer?
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On the Lower Deschutes River near Warm Springs, Alysia and Elke Littleleaf recall the effects of the drought in 2015, brought on by low snowpack. Warm Springs had to go on emergency rations for home water usage, recalls the pair, owners of Littleleaf Fishing Guides. Alysia also recalls blooms of green and blue algae, black […]

Posted inCulture

Visiting Valor

Transgender activist and former Navy SEAL Kristin Beck will speak in Bend at two film screenings
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What’s the difference between an advocate and an activist? According to veteran and LGBTQ activist, Kristin Beck, there are, “three ways to make change: protesting, activism and advocating. Protesting is super aggressive. You piss people off, which makes lines of communication shut down. Activism is lighter on the protesting. If you aren’t as hardcore, you […]

Posted inNews

Inside DAWNS House

A peek inside a home of women supporting women through recovery
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Inside a comfortable living room, the women of DAWNS House divulge their hopes for the coming year, and lament some of their past choices. “I want to connect with my family more,” one girl shares. “I want to lose weight,” another says. These resolutions are not unlike those heard in any other home—but this home […]

Posted inOutside

River Talk

A three-year-long study of the Upper Deschutes is nearing completion. Here’s what two local river advocates think so far
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Like a Central Oregonian impatiently waiting to go for a swim on a hot high desert day, Natasha Bellis and Gail Snyder jumped right into the hyped Upper Deschutes River Basin Study. After rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands wet, Bellis, program manager for the Deschutes River Conservancy and Snyder, co-founder and executive […]

Posted inOutside

Pow-Ow

Can certain sorts of injuries be tied to low-powder years?
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At the risk of bringing up a sour subject, the base depth and snowfall for the 2017-18 snow season has been low compared to last season’s inundation. According to Mount Bachelor historical snowfall data, this season’s snow pack depth maxed out in early March at 104 inches, compared to last season’s 145 inches. As for […]

Posted inNews

Investing in Infill

One tool in the toolbox for solving Bend’s housing crisis? The ADU. Here’s how to build one
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Like many homeowners, Bendites Tim and Natalie Page were looking for a way to increase their income. Tim is a development associate for the Environmental Center, while Natalie works as an educational assistant for Juniper Elementary School. Their solution: Adding onto their home to make room for a vacation rental. “We are in fact low […]

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