Spending Time with my Inheritance.

Two weeks ago yesterday, I drove in to the adorable airport in Redmond, Oregon. A friend from Phoenix was due to arrive for a four-day visit to Bend, Oregon, and I and the dogs picked her up.

It was an unseasonably hot day — sadly part of the new normal for the Northwest. I had to leave Sally and Trax in the RV with the AC running — the pavement was too hot for their paws.

My friend stayed in an Airbnb in Bend, and the doggies and I were in a nearby state park.  On Saturday morning, I dropped Sally and Trax off at a Rover.com sitter for two days so that we humans could do touristy things.

First stop…brunch!

We used Uber and Lyft throughout the weekend. Our first stop after brunch was to a museum about 10 miles south of Bend. We knew we were in trouble when the Lyft driver mentioned that his phone mount broke, so he was going to “one-hand it”. Second warning — he was a talker. And yup, he totally missed our turn, we had to go an extra 10 miles to the next exit, double-back, and the fare was then about tripled. The driver was all beside himself with apologies and a promise that he would “take care of it”. We stepped out, not too happy. More on this later.

The High Desert Museum is located on 135 acres, and has both indoor and outdoor exhibits. It’s really quite nice and I recommend a stop if you’re in the area. We spent about three hours and didn’t see it all. Check it out here.https://www.highdesertmuseum.org/visit-bend-oregon/

Below is one of the coolest art exhibits I’ve ever seen. It’s called Blanket Stories: Talking Stick. That tower is made of blankets and quilts all stacked one on top of the other with no visible outer support.

The exhibit is located in the middle of an otherwise empty room — the one with the tallest ceiling in the museum.

Every blanket/quilt was donated by a member of the community, and each one has a hang-tag that describes the story behind it. The one below reads:

My brother and I thank  you for prompting us to remember what a comfort first wrapping this baby blanket provided for each of us, 2 year apart. Our grandmother, Madeline Hart Borgh, made this blanket in 1950. Her efforts and affection supplied at least half the warmth this blanket gave to both of us.

Another was donated  by a woman whose aunt  made the quilt out of her kimono silks after  the family fled the area to avoid being detained  in a Japanese internment camp in the 1940’s. 

 

I was totally fascinated by the Blanket Stories. I read every tag I could reach. Since I’m a short people (the kind you have to pick up just to say hello), most of the tags had to go unread. The docent at the exhibit had a few interesting factoids:

• The artist assembled the display in secret, and she would not reveal how it’s held up. Theory is that there is a pole in the center.
• Lots of people come in and try to tip it over (what the heck is wrong with people?).  It sways a lot, but so far, it hasn’t rained blankets.
• Visitors who are touched by the exhibit share their own stories with the docent. She said that everybody has a blanket story.

I was completely mesmerized by this display — I would spend time, leave it, and return. I did that at least twice. More than once I had tears in my eyes — from reading the stories, and from sheer awe of the concept. The history. The families represented.

For more about the Blanket Stories, https://www.highdesertmuseum.org/blanket-stories/

When we finished up with the museum, we hailed a Lyft driver for the return ride to town —  an excellent driver. We described the pretty awful ride we had experienced earlier, and his comment was, “driving one-handed while watching his phone is illegal, and he should be fired” It’s state law in Oregon — no mobile device use while driving. We reported the incident on the app, and Lyft promptly refunded the fare for the out-of-the-way portion of our travel. And probably one Lyft driver was jobless by the end of the day. Too bad, so sad.

Bein’ a Lyft Sherrif can make a couple gals work up a powerful thirst. And beer is big in Bend. I found a stat that stated that there is  one brewery for every 4,500 people in the town, which is the most breweries per capita in the state of Oregon.

We had our new friend the Good Lyft Driver drop us off at a brew pub that had been recommended by some camper neighbors I met in Idaho. The Camper Guy grew up in Bend, and said this one, 10 Barrels, is his favorite.

We each had their flight, which is ten 3-ounce beers.

A stop the next day at Spork.  The name says it all, and the menu was wonderfully eclectic — it was like ordering from a dozen different food trucks.

 

We split two items. The Pozole Rojo, Mexican stew with pork and roasted guajillo peppers, tomatillos, hominy, cabbage, cojita cheese, green onions, cilantro and radishes.

Also the Korean Short Ribs. My friend had an Old Fashioned – I had a Mexican Coke.

INTERRUPTION: Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.

The Deschutes River flows right through town — lots of watersport activities.

We packed a lot of fun into our four days.  On Tuesday we drove the short distance to the airport and said goodbye to our friend, who was able to book a non-stop flight from Redmond to Phoenix. And then we drove off to our next stop  by ourselves — happy, but just a little lonesome.

I love the life that I live — traveling with just the dogs from here to there and back again.  But it is always special to be able to connect with friends – especially to become real tourists and explore someplace new to both of us.

A last note…this particular friend was originally, along with her parents and sisters, a friend of my late husband Charly. I knew them all, but not really well.  After he died, she befriended me, and in the ensuing 11 years we’ve become quite close. I call her my inheritance. 

:-)