In My Backyard: Coffee and the Deschutes River Trail
I set out today on a quest to find two of my favorite things — coffee and the river.
Since moving to Bend, Oregon, I’ve been eating and drinking everything in my path with reckless abandon. It’s not hard to do here, there are so many yummy things to consume around every corner. What better way to explore my new town than to taste my way through the streets? I know one thing for sure, I’m going to have to up my fitness game, big time. I’ll be honest, I don’t really have much of a fitness game to begin with, so, I’m adopting baby steps as my current mantra. If only I could apply this new mantra to my recent pastry consumption, I wouldn’t need such a big fitness game.
With all of the accessible wilderness surrounding Bend, it seems only natural to start hiking. Fresh air. Good cardio. Vitamin D. Who knows, I might even meet my future husband out there on the trail. Today, I’m looking for an easy (and preferably flat) place where I can stroll along the river, rest in the shade if I need to, and listen to the birds while I sip my coffee and contemplate my new life in Oregon (perhaps even journal about my fitness goals). I’m pretty sure a stroll is half way to a hike? Baby steps.
First things first. Road trips — no matter how big or small, always begin with coffee.
With all of the roasters in Bend, the task at hand is challenging. Naturally, I plan on trying them all. I choose Thump Coffee as my pre-road trip destination for this afternoon. My café decision proves a good one all around — nice staff, a beautiful space with an amazing view of the mountain range to the West (note to self: I really need to learn all of the names of the giant peaks around here soon), and a delicious new drink to add to my list —a Madagascar Vanilla Latte. As a creature of my coffee habits, I don’t usually stray too far from my usual Americano, but man, I’m so glad I did.
Sun roof open, coffee in the console, and my new Oregon Outdoor Fitness Mix in shuffle mode (see, I’m motivated), I’m headed up the Cascades Lake Highway.
Fifteen minutes later, I arrive at Slough Day Use Area, one of a series of river access parks along the Deschutes River Trail. This section of the trail is just my speed. There are birds chirping and flying between the trees. The river flows gently between two waterfalls — Dillion Falls and Benham Falls. There are canoes, kayaks, and inner tubes drifting up and downstream (water sports are next on my list, if you call floating on an inner tube a sport).
I marvel at my surroundings as I whisper to myself, “I’m fifteen minutes from my new apartment, this beautiful place is basically, in my backyard.”
And just like that, with a very short and painless labor, my new blog was born along the banks of the Deschutes River, with a cup of delicious coffee, and plenty of shade.
Photos by Shanti Nelson (Top Left): My delicious Madagascar Vanilla Latte at Thump Coffee (Top Right) The beautiful Deschutes River Trail
Lots of shade along this stretch of the Deschutes River Trail
Looks like the perfect place to start kayaking (or floating in an inner tube)
Thump Coffee — the NW Crossing location has the most amazing view of the mountains