A surprise hit with our family! I can't believe I almost skipped this place on our trip - don't…read moremake the same mistake! This museum is incredible. It has indoor and massive outdoor exhibits. I'd plan at least 4 hrs here but you can easily spend all day. There's interactive and interesting exhibits on volcanos, the history of central Oregon, the Native tribes, animals (all rescues and include a skunk, bobcat, porcupine, birds of prey, snakes, lizards, otters, turtles, tortoises, free roaming chickens and turkeys, and more) and a really cool raptors show - don't miss this! It's better than the bird show at Disney World. The best part are the volunteers. There's volunteers dressed in period attire, teaching kids leather art, weaving, and games kids used to play. My kids LOVED this. There's other volunteers with animal furs or shells or skeletons that kids can actually touch and learn so much about. And there's Gary, the best volunteer who just knows everything and is the most friendly and helpful person ever. Seriously, he made our whole visit so pleasant. The raptor show is an $8/person add on but so worth it. It's only once a day so get tickets early. I won't spoil it, but sit near the middle/rear near any of the stumps... Also, if you're military, admission is free between May-Sept as HDM is part of the Blue Star Museums program. Don't forget to stop by the gift shop and cafe! All money goes to helping more rescue animals!

Definitely my favorite part of our trip to Bend, Oregon! There's a little something for everybody…read moreat this museum. They have antiques, artifacts, stones, and lots of exhibits to look through. We went through the indoor animals pretty quickly, and then found an 80s themed volcano exhibit, which was very classy. Felt like stepping back in time in 1985. All of the art looked like something out of my high school planner ha ha. We found the pioneer section that talked about different time periods in Bend, Oregon, everything from settlers, miners, indigenous, people, and some more modern things. It was like a time capsule. The ambience was really cool too. Lots of ambient sounds and music. Seeing the animals was really cool. It always warms my heart to see otters playing together, swimming together, and just being cute. Although my wife and I aren't very big fans of animals in cages at zoos, we can tell the animals are really well taken care of here, and since many can't be released back into the wild, we do it as them getting a new lease on life and getting to be admired, adored, and educating people as they pass through Bend, Oregon, and stopped for a visit. Definitely worth the money. Good parking. Service was very good. I can tell the people who run the museum really like what they do.

Everything about the library sysyem was terrific until the planning started for the new library…read more The new library is in a word overkill and a hugh waste of taxpayers' money. And when thinking about the planning for the opening of the new library and the virtual closing of the existing downtown library the planning is in my mind nonexistent. Bend is a city of 100.000 and we virtually have no ibrary at this time. The plans for the remodeling of the existing downtown library are again a waste of $. It is in a word "perfect" as is. I would guess that if the public had any idea of how the $ were to be spent (wasted) the library bond issue would have been voted down! The plan of how to spend the bond proceeds should have been "as needed" instead of spend (blow) it all!

Human Citizens of Bend:…read more How are you so fortunate to have this amazing collection of resources? I came here to say: The staff have always been most helpful. Thank you for helping me with kindness and empathy when I needed it.

I finally visited the Petersen Rock Garden, and it was absolutely delightful! I grew up in Eugene,…read morebut somehow never made it there before now. I have photos of my grandparents and mom there in the 1950's. I was thrilled to hear it has been acquired by folks seeking to preserve it and realize it's potential for a community space. I was surprised at how many structures there were around the entirety of the property, and the scale of many were larger than I'd imagined. You can see where part of some structures (and the water features) are obviously still undergoing or waiting for restoration, but I was actually impressed by the conditions having read of it's previous neglect and decline. I spoke at length with one of the guys who is working there, and it seems obvious that it is in good hands. I happily bought a t-shirt at their gift shop, which is located inside the old diner they have been working on restoring. He said that the museum had just finished being restored and would be opening in a couple weeks. Eventually, they envision hosting a community garden and events. I didn't even mention...they have peacocks! You can see them lounging about the property. I have a bit of a soft spot for these quirky roadside attractions like this, or the Prehistoric Gardens, or Enchanted Forest. These are little treasures built by artistic individualists simply for the love of the creative process itself. They've provided delight for generations of Oregonians, and I'm thankful to see people step up to preserve it. It's a $10 suggested donation on the honor system, but you can always donate more if you enjoy your experience! Or buy a t-shirt.

What was going to be a quick stop to check out a quirky roadside attraction turned in to a lovely…read moreafternoon at this beautiful location. We stopped here on a weekday and we're surprised at how many people were visiting. The parking area was packed but there were still some spaces for us. Once we got out and started looking around, I realized why there were so many visitors. This is a truly magical place that a lot of thought has been put into and you can wander here for hours finding new and unique things. It's very dog friendly and we brought our pup everywhere with us. We explored the grounds for over an hour and then enjoyed a picnic lunch at one of the shaded tables while we watched the peacocks wander and children play on some of the people friendly sculptures. The sculptures are unique and created with love. They are made from a wide range of different materials so there are lots of different textures and colors. And every time you think you've seen them all, you find more things to look at. I think one of my favorite things was a little shack kind of out in the very corner that has been set aside for visitors to write their dreams on... I spent a long time in there reading what people had written and imagining who they were and where they came from. It made me cry. We made sure to buy some items from the gift shop and leave more than the suggested donation, but I love that you can come here even if you don't have much and just enjoy the space without any demands on you. I highly recommend stopping by here and donating generously if the mood moves you to keep this place open and available for the world to see.

Beautiful one-of-a-kind gallery located in the middle of the Old Mill District. It is practically…read morehidden in its upstairs location, so I feel fortunate I followed the signs. Twin sisters work together to create unique artwork. One sister focused on oil painting and the other on printmaking. They brought these two mediums together to create what they call fiber art. The space is split between their artists' studio and a gallery displaying about a dozen finished pieces. There is also an album so you can view completed pieces previously sold to other buyers. They do work on commission and if you fall in love with one of their existing pieces, they may create a "sibling" piece. Similar, but not identical. You can also view their work and order on-line on their website: http://www.lubbesmeyer.com/

If you love art don't miss the Lubbesmeyer Studio & Gallery. Twin artists, Lisa and Lori…read moreLubbesmeyer create gorgeous, layered landscape and still-life fiber and acrylic paintings. I bought an acrylic painting of sky and fields. Every time I see it in my home it makes me happy. The colors are so vibrant! When you visit you'll want to ask them how they create their work together. I don't want to spoil it for you but I don't know any other artists that work this way. As the other Yelp reviewer pointed out the gallery is tucked away in the Old Mill so just follow the signs and they will lead you to the bright, upstairs gallery.

Mary Medrano's art is truly inspiring. I discovered her work several years ago when it was being…read morefeatured in a San Francisco cafe, when she created her crow series, and loved the collection so much that I bought one of the paintings and have been following her work with delight ever since. After purchasing the painting, Mary spent a long time talking to me about what the painting meant to her and what she hoped people would get out of her work--and listened with all kindness as I shared my own ideas about her paintings. If you get the opportunity to see Mary's work, see if you can still find anything from her crow or Day of the Dead series. Those are older collections--and just as amazing as her current work. She is both a nice lady and a beautiful artist.

Mary is a top notch artist and makes a contribution to the community by providing beautiful works…read moreof art!

Little Woody is a different sort of beer festival, as compared to the much larger and popular Bend…read moreBrewfest, for instance. Featuring mostly local breweries, this festival is about beers you might not see in the brewpubs. As the name suggests, a lot of barrel-aged beers. Which means a lot of beers with high ABV (alcohol content). So, one has to be careful or one might find themselves falling down in the gutter before too long. Located on the grounds of the Deschutes Historical Museum, the festival is compact without being tight. Just about perfect in terms of size, I'd say. You can survey the options fairly quickly and then easily find a spot to enjoy your choice. Note that the vendors are almost exclusively beer & cider & whiskey - there's not a lot of 'other' booths selling various craft goods and whatnot. Also as the name implies, there's whiskey happening here, too. Those vendors - all local, I believe - were sequestered in their own larger tent. Several food trucks on site but, as I've mentioned elsewhere in my Bend festival and food truck lot reviews, I find them somewhat disappointing. Bend loves food trucks, so I would hope to see that improve in time. The good and the bad: - Easy access and check-in. Price for admission, which gains you an initial supply of beer/whiskey tokens, is quite reasonable and you can buy more tokens without hassle. - Virtually no waiting for beer. I attended Friday and Saturday and even though there were quite a few people in attendance, I don't think I waited more than once to have my glass filled. - Whiskey tent: pricey. I literally could not 'afford' a sample of many (most?) of the whiskies with the full number of tokens I received on admission. You can buy shots for less at any number of local bars. If participation in the event is meant to showcase their products, that's a big fail. - Lots of great local, unusual beers. Most were quite strong. Like the whiskey folks, some of the beer vendors were out of line with prices, though. I feel every beer/cider should have been priced at $2 (two tokens). You don't get but a taste, so the idea is for people to try stuff they might not otherwise drink. Even at $2, given the small glass, you're paying more than you would at the brewpubs themselves. - Worthy ran out of the apparently popular Betty White early on Saturday. Rather than take the sign down for that beer they chose to announce - rather brusquely - that they were out of it as you approached the booth. Other booths simply took the sign down if they ran out of a beer. - Schatz Pretzel: Love their tip jar, not so much the pretzel, which was very stale on Friday, almost inedible. At $8, that constitutes robbery. - I didn't patronize any other food trucks, although a couple were familiar. Tots, for example, is quite good. I'll be back next year.

Wow!!!!!!! Dark heavy barrel aged beers.... YUMMMMY!!!!!! There's also a tots truck and a pretzel…read moretruck with warm pretzels!!!!! With just a touch of cool fall air, the dark beers hit the spot!!!! Games.... growler fills..... specialty small batch beer. What more could you ask for????? This is the 10th anniversary of this festival. If your around Bend, come on down!

This is one of my favorite cities to visit to get some cool weather in September. It is about a 3…read morehour drive from Portland and under 30 minutes from the Redmond Municipal Airport. There are a variety of hotels, motels, and B&B's between downtown and the Old Mill District. If you want a quieter environment, stay in the Old Mill District area. Bend has some beautiful landscapes full of different outdoor activities. Flow riding on the rapids of the Deschutes River, jogging along the river paths, shopping in town, and dining at some wonderful restaurants. I also love that Oregon is tax-free on merchandise, so the price of goods is the total price. Bend still had that small town feel even though it is quickly becoming more popular with people moving here for a better family environment.

I feel like Bend is now known as a playground for Californians with too much money. Growing up, I…read moreonly visited a few times, mostly related to a youth organization I was in; it's about 2.5 hours east but my family wasn't into skiing or anything and there were rivers, lakes, and reservoirs much closer to home. But rather than just sit at home and stare at each other we decided to take a drive to Bend when I was home recently. When we go my mom likes to drive by the house which my grandparents lived in for a few years whilst she was in college, before moving back to Eugene, and there's not usually anything in particular we're here for. This was not really an exception. We did stop at the Last Blockbuster, since my nephew was along and wanted to. We went to the downtown district where there are some cute shops. I got a permanent bracelet at Nashelle and I love it; I wish that I was closer because they had some really nice charms to go with it. Bend Burger has good burgers. But what people usually come to Bend for is the recreation. Located in the Deschutes National Forest and at a high elevation, Bend is a place for skiers. Mt. Bachelor isn't too far away. Suttle Lake is nearby as well, so if lake recreation is more your bag you'll find it here as well. Volcanic eruptions in the state has left some of the area covered in lava beds. Fishing, rafting, and so on are all popular activities in the area.

Saw 'Grounded', a captivating one-person monologue. Great experience…read more - 2nd Street is a nice, intimate theater. People are fantastic. - Seats all have a good view and are reasonably comfortable. - Before the show, you can buy beer, wine, small munchies.

I had such a great time at theater watching "Disaster: the Musical" that I cannot say enough good…read morethings about his establishment. The cast was amazing and entertaining, the service crew was helpful and the owner was very down to earth and genuine that I will be back!! They will have an Addams Family play this winter - which gives me something to look forward to.