Day 3.
We started day three in bend at Backporch Coffee where I picked up this really good bottle of cold brew.
Once we were fully caffeinated we made our way out to Smith Rock State park because we all needed to finally see Monkey Face after reading about it at least a million times in Goodnight Oregon.
We got to Smith Rock State Park and it was actually quite packed with hikers, rock climbers and fellow sightseers. While I would have liked to have gone for a hike my parents were with us and they are not the hiking types. That didn’t stop us from finding a flat path to walk around although I spent most of my time holding my breath as I watched people (both big and super little) propelling themselves off the side of the rock cliffs. When I wasn’t holding my breath I was telling Neil to step away from the edge. Something I never thought I would have to say because he used to be petrified of heights and ledges. Looking back it was quiet a stressful visit! [you can find more photos here.]
After Smith Rock State Park we dropped the kids back off at the house with the grandparents and we made a break for it. We debated a few places to go and settled on Crux were we sampled a number of beers and loaded up on amazing vegan food.
We had some seriously amazing food and then headed downtown to walk around and find more coffee before heading back to our littles.
This was our third and last full day in Bend. The following day was pretty dull and basically started with breakfast, more Backporch Coffee and ended with us driving home with a few quick stops including Rowena Crest where we saw the amazing view below.
We are looking forward to our next trip to Bend and of course there is so much we didn’t do or see. What are your favorite things about Bend?
I am so in love with Bend. We were there over President’s Weekend and I went to Smith Rock for the first time (took me long enough to finally go!). I loved it, even though it is busy it is so pretty out there. I totally agree Crux is great, and has such good for, especially for a brewery. I’m also a big fan of The Lot, the really cool food cart pod!
I love Bend and Smith Rock! Sounds like a very fun trip. We were at Smith Rock last fall but didn’t have enough time to spend there!! I’d love to go back. I just googled Crux Fermentation Project–what a cool name! I was wondering if they had raw sauerkraut, kombucha, etc! Sounds like a fun place.
I love your photos. I keep seeing great Bend photos. 🙂
I cannot believe I’ve lived most of my life in Oregon and never visited Smith Rock. We may be going to Bend this summer and if so, this is definitely on our list!
When I was in Bend last we were just passing through, but I have it on my to do list to definitely visit Smith Rock, which to me if we’re hiking means an overnight stay to recover!