With more sunshine than Portland or Eugene, nature on the doorstep and great craft beer and coffee, Bend may just be the perfect small US city stopoff
The change in the Oregon landscape was profound: US route 26 had taken me from the rain-soaked, lush green of the Pacific Northwest over Mount Hood and into the central part of the state. As I headed down that beautiful mountain on the three-hour drive from Portland to Bend, forests and foliage gave way to the dry, dramatic and craggy. The car now coasted past creeks and swooped up along ridges, before I swung into Bend: population around 80,000, with 18 breweries, four wineries, three cideries – and almost unlimited year-round access to adventures in the great outdoors.
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