A few years ago I moved to Bend, Oregon because I wanted to pursue a lifelong interest in whitewater kayaking. Initially I thought my great joy in this sport would be river running or creek boating. Dropping down a nice set of rapids over ledges, between gigantic boulders seemed like great fun. It is great [...] Read more »
Is the Colorado Street Whitewater Park a Good Idea?
The Bend Paddle Trail Alliance has been working with the Bend Parks and Rec district and the City for a number of years to pull down the old timber era spillway at Colorado street to make passage safer for recreational users of the river. In the process of removing a dangerous obstacle the plan would [...] Read more »
Flash Mob in Bend
At 11:45 AM on December 5, 2009 the citizens of Bend, Oregon witnessed a flash mob. Just prior to the start of Bend’s annual Christmas Parade a young girl touched off a dance number in the middle of the street that would end up having over 100 participants. This incident has become known as the [...] Read more »
Typhoons and Terrorists: My 9/11
Eight years ago on September 11th 2001 I was the Leading Chief Sonar Technician onboard USS Curtis Wilbur DDG-54 homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. Tuesday September 11th broke with a typhoon heading towards Tokyo Bay so our daily task was to secure the ship for the storm. Around noon someone made a decision to send everyone [...] Read more »
August Explodes with Excitement
The first weekend in August just exploded with tons of great events going on, and lots of excitement. Working with On The Go-Go I had the opportunity to go see Sugarland at the Les Schwab amphitheater, interview Kim Breedlove, the master luthier behind Breedlove Guitars, and finally cover a concert by Blues Legend Johnny Winter. [...] Read more »
Chef Jose Andres at the 21st Sagebrush Classic
Every year for the last 21 years the Deschutes Brewery has hosted a golf tournament called the Sagebrush Classic. What began as a little scramble golf tournament for the customers of their downtown Pub in Bend, Oregon quickly turned into one of the big social events of the summer. I had the pleasure of attending [...] Read more »
Blackstrap at Alder Creek’s Pickin & Paddlin Wednesdays
In June Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop hosted the first Pickin & Paddlin Wednesday event with local Bend Band Blackstrap. All afternoon folks came out to try out different kinds of canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards. Lots of fun on the water, but that was only a prelude to the evening’s entertainment. Blackstrap set up [...] Read more »
First Whitewater – The McKenzie River – Oregon
Kayaking is one of the primary reasons that I moved to Oregon. My Dad taught me how to canoe when I was still wearing diapers, and we were always going on great weekend canoe trips in Louisiana and Mississippi. Sometimes we’d go a bit farther out. These were great beautiful rivers with swift currents, and [...] Read more »
Seal Launch at Tetherow Logjam
This past weekend I was out with the crew from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe shop in Bend, and Geoff Franks busted this great seal launch just below Tetherow Logjam on the Deschutes River. I did my own seal launch just a few feet downstream from here where the bank of the river was only [...] Read more »
Kayaking on the Deschutes River
Last weekend my niece Joanna Ridgeway came to town for a visit, and we went kayaking on the Deschutes River. No white water on this trip, just a pleasant paddle upstream from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop to the Bill Healy bridge. This section of the Deschutes is backed up by a low damn [...] Read more »