Days #594-600 of Our Epic Trip

6-18-2025
H: 76ºF L: 42ºF
Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver, Bend, Oregon

We traveled further north to Bend, OR. Years ago, I had considered moving to Bend as I had heard good things about the town plus Oregon doesn’t have any sales tax. We drove around the town a little. It’s prettier than I thought it would be in this area and the town is very vibrant. Bend, OR is on the cusp of where the forests and Cascade Mountains in western Oregon turn into a semi-arid, high-desert climate in eastern Oregon.

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6-19-2025
H: 70°F L: 38°F
Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver, Bend, Oregon

We went back to Bend, OR to explore. We stopped at the only remaining Block Buster in the world. It brought back a lot of memories for Daniel and me. Memories of all the time spent trying to find the perfect movie for the night, that peculiar smell, and “Be Kind, Rewind”.

We walked around downtown and had fun looking in the stores. One thing we have noticed in Bend is that they have large apartment or condo complexes with a small area of businesses like a bodega, bar, and coffee shop in the middle. We also noticed that people are friendly and seem happy here. Almost everyone is thin here, too. However, traffic is bad.

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6-20-2025
H: 49ºF L: 37ºF
Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver, Bend, Oregon

We took the boys for a walk at Deschutes National Forest. It was nice to be out in the woods by ourselves. The boys had a great time running around and exploring. I’ve noticed that Marcel knows exactly what to do (pose for a picture) when he sees me holding my phone up.

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6-21-2025
H: 51ºF L: 36ºF
Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver, Bend, Oregon

We chose to chill out at the camper. We have really enjoyed watching free shows on UnchainedTV which showcases vegan food, animal rights, and animal welfare shows. UnchainedTV can be accessed online or via their app.

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6-22-2025
H: 59ºF L: 46ºF
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

Today is a travel day! We will be spending two weeks near Mt. Hood. We were 14 miles away when Daniel pulled over because Rosie the Cybertruck was too low on charge. I have been encouraging Daniel to listen to podcasts and he did today but I guess he enjoyed them too much and got distracted. No matter, we just plugged Rosie into the camper battery for a little charge.

Mt. Hood is spectacular and our campsite is gorgeous with big trees and ferns providing lots of privacy.

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6-23-2025
H: 72°F L: 44°F
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

We went for a run/walk around our new campground this morning. They have the beautiful wildflowers, Foxglove, we found in the northeast last year. This campground is sprawling but pretty quiet. There is even a residential area of small cabins or tiny homes that we walked through.

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6-24-2025
H: 72ºF L: 51ºF
Mt. Hood Village Campground, Welches, Oregon

We went to the best BML park today! The Wildwood Recreation Site in Welches, OR has paved trails which meander through an old growth forest next to the Salmon River. It also has an Underwater Fish Viewing Chamber which is built next to a small stream. I felt like the fish were watching us too!

Next we went to Timberline Lodge. You may remember the outside of this lodge from the movie The Shining. It was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and opened to the public in 1938. It showcased the excellent craftsmanship of Americans. While the lodge has done well for many years, at one point it was shut down by the Forest Service for poor financial management, gambling, and prostitution.

We had fun exploring the property and finding cool nooks and crannies full of wood carvings and functional metalworking art.

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Stats

Expenses:

• Tesla Cybertruck fuel: $16.56
• Tesla Model X fuel: $0
• Campsite: $0
• Camping memberships: $38.26
• Food: $280.83

Tesla Cybertruck miles driven: 268.6 (190.1 kWh)

Tesla Model X miles driven: 454.9 (111.9 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1

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