Taking on the great outdoors is a serious game here in Bend. Whether it’s biking around Crater Lake or skiing down Mt. Bachelor, it’s important to have the right equipment. Luckily, Pine Mountain Sports stacks the deck with the best gear in town. Looking for mountain bikes? Pine Mountain carries the latest wheels from some […]
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Why Count Butterflies?
Pretty pollinators play a key role in ecosystems
Over the last couple of months, my wife, Sue—a long-time member of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) and student of the beauty and ecology of butterflies—has conducted several butterfly counts in the region. She counts them because their numbers are vital to knowing what’s going on in our world, and she loves to teach […]
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Go Here 8/10-8/17
Relay for Love Wedding Chapel This popular event invites friends and families to celebrate life and joy with a fun day of running, walking and ceremonies to honor cancer victims, survivors and caregivers. This year’s participants will experience an extra dose of joy and fun with a different kind of ceremony: one that involves a […]
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The Alligator Lizard: A Creature by Many Names
This alligator lizard shown at right was serious about living up to its name as it tried to eat Caleb’s finger. They met while we were exploring the Lava Beds National Monument back in the 1980s when my wife Sue and our kids were pursuing and tagging Monarch butterflies on the northern part of the […]
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Go Here 8/3-8/10
Haulin’ Aspen Twenty-six-point-two miles seem too far to run? Start off with 13.1 miles—just half the distance a the regular marathon. Thanks to the Oregon Half Marathon Series, there are plenty of opportunities afoot for both experienced and beginner runners. In fact, one of the most popular races in the series, Haulin’ Aspen, is Saturday, […]
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Keeping the Machine Running
Physical therapy helps with injuries, performance
Serena Gordon was coming up to the halfway point of the Cascades High 100 bike race when she crashed. “I was on pace to beat my time from last year,” she said. “I don’t remember crashing at all, but from what I can piece together, I probably washed my tire out in a loose corner […]
Posted inCulture
The Only Local Nature Guide You Need
Bend author’s new book covers the spectrum of local nature, with humor, facts and stunning photography
Let’s say you’d like to know more about the Central Oregon outdoors. Before you head out on your next adventure, you might drop a field guide for birds into your backpack. Plus one or two for wildflowers. Then one more for mammals, and another for trees and shrubs. Or you could take just one book. […]
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The World Beneath Bend
Wanderlust’s cave tours packed
with science, adventure
This summer, intrepid explorers can add one more environment to their local bucket list: Bend’s underground. Wanderlust Tours is offering lava tube cave tours, taking visitors deep beneath the high desert to explore a cavernous world. Tourists can visit Skeleton Cave or Boyd Cave, two distinct caverns that exemplify the common features of lava caves. […]
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Quite Possibly the Creepiest Bug You’ve Ever Seen
Right here in our very own backyard —quite literally—is the strangest insect we will ever see: The Jerusalem Cricket (Stenopelmatus fuscus). However, to begin with, it’s not a cricket, and has nothing whatsoever to do with Jerusalem. (How it got that name is as baffling as how it got here.) It really belongs in a […]
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Go Here 7/20-7/27
Prineville Bike Park Kick up the dirt in Prineville! After a combined three years of planning and construction, Prineville Bike Park officially opened this past Saturday, July 16. The bike park is the first of its kind in Central Oregon and was designed to be versatile for all types of bikes and all skill levels. […]